The top 25 pretty much stays stagnant this week. Some teams slid a bit after disappointing performances. There are 4 new teams in the 20-25 range this week.
1. Alabama Crimson Tide - It usually takes two bad performances for me to move a number 1 team down in the rankings. Bama needed a last second field goal block by Terrance Cody to hold off the Tennessee Volunteers. The Tide desperately needs to find a passing attack if they want to win the SEC this season.
2. Texas Longhorns - Texas put together its best game of the season. For the first time all year Colt McCoy played well the entire game. Instead of waiting until the second half to get things rolling, the Longhorns jumped out on the Missouri Tigers early in their romp. Next week is a big challenge as Texas will play Oklahoma St.
3. Florida Gators - The Gators move down a spot for the second straight week. I still think Florida is the best team in the nation, but they're just not playing like it. Back to back unimpressive performances against Arkansas and Mississippi St. leaves this Gator team with a lot of unanswered questions as they prepare for Georgia.
4. Cincinnati Bearcats - Another week, another impressive Big East victory for Cincy. The Bearcats were able to defeat Louisville even without starting QB Tony Pike. Next week should bring similar results as Cincinnati will play Syracuse.
5. USC Trojans - USC escaped with a victory over Oregon St. on Saturday Night. That result is an improvement from SC's game last season vs. the Beavers. The Trojans will face an even stiffer challenge next week as they play the Oregon Ducks.
6. LSU Tigers - LSU leapfrogged a few teams after their dominating performance against Auburn on Saturday night. The game for the Tigers, against the Tigers, may have been the Bayou Bengals' best all around game on the year.
7. Boise St. Broncos - The worst news for the Broncos this past weekend was that TCU absolutely dismantled BYU. The Horned Frogs are getting growing support as the best Non-BCS team in the country. I still think Boise St. is better, and their win against Oregon is more impressive than anything TCU has done this season.
8. Iowa Hawkeyes - Iowa barely snuck out a late second victory over Michigan St. this weekend. The Hawkeyes still control their own destiny within the Big Eleven. They still have Ohio St. on the slate. Outside of the Buckeyes, Iowa should be favored in it's remaining games.
9. Oregon Ducks - The Ducks pulled out yet another uniform combination this week. The black helmets were actually an upgrade from their regular apparel. We'll see what the Ducks can come up with for next week's showdown against USC.
10. TCU Horned Frogs - TCU finally cracks my top ten this season. The Frogs were this week's most impressive team in their victory over BYU. The Cougars had all the motivation in the world to knock off TCU, but they were completely outclassed by this TCU team.
11. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets - With the Jackets' win over Virginia on Saturday, Georgia Tech became the unofficial champion of the Commonwealth State. In back to back weeks, Ga Tech has embarrassed Virginia Tech and Virginia. With Miami's loss, the Yellow Jackets become the favorite to make the ACC Championship game.
12. Penn St. Nittany Lions - Penn St. destroyed the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday. They should get a nice rest next week as they play Purdue. Then again, Ohio St. thought they had a nice break against Purdue too.
13. Oklahoma St. Cowboys - Oklahoma St. had no problems taking care of Baylor without Dez Bryant or Kendall Hunter. It may be a different story next week. Oklahoma St.'s defense will need to come up big if the Cowboys want any chance of upsetting Colt McCoy and the Texas Longhorns.
14. Virginia Tech Hokies - The Hokies enjoyed a bye week this week. They move up a few spots thanks to losses by BYU and Miami.
15. Miami(FL) Hurricanes - Speaking of Miami, the Canes let one slip away against Clemson on Saturday. I'm sure Randy Shannon will have nightmares of C.J. Spiller for the next few days. Miami should be able to rebound nicely next week against Wake Forest.
16. West Virginia Mountaineers - What impressed me the most abut West Virginia this week was the class they showed against Connecticut. That all starts with Bill Stewart. Stewart is a tremendous human being who has this West Virginia team paying extremely well. I wish them nothing but the best for the rest of the year, and I hope the Stewart bashers from a few years ago have enjoyed eating their words.
17. Pittsburgh Panthers - Pittsburgh humiliated South Florida at home on Saturday. Surprisingly, Dave Wannstedt has not done anything to screw this up yet. Dion Lewis is the real deal at running back.
18. Utah Utes - The Utes needed overtime to take down Air Force on Saturday. That's not all that impressive. Utah is quietly still in the hunt for the Mountain West crown.
19. Houston Cougars - The Cougars beat up on another lowly C-USA team. This time it was SMU's turn to take the beating. Imagine the Cougars' standing if they hadn't lost to UTEP. They could possibly be ranked in the top 5 right now.
20. Ohio St. Buckeyes - Ohio St. bounced back from their loss to Purdue quite nicely. The Buckeyes put together a great game led by, believe it or not, Terrelle Pryor, en route to an impressive win over Minnesota. Next up for the Buckeyes is a daunting visit from the New Mexico St. Aggies.
21. Arizona Wildcats - Arizona is quietly putting together a solid season under Mike Stoops. We'll see how long the Wildcats can hold onto their surprising BCS ranking.
22. South Carolina Gamecocks - South Carolina remains at the 22 spot after barely beating Vanderbilt at home. The Gamecocks' D is one of the fiercest in the nation. Their offense hasn't quite lit the world on fire. Alshon Jefferey is a stud at the WR spot.
23. Central Michigan Chippewas - Central Michigan's only loss this season was to the aforementioned Arizona Wildcats in the first week of the season. They have since reeled off 7 wins in a row, including a victory on the road at Michigan St. Time for the Chippewas to get some love.
24. California Golden Bears - Cal re-appears in the top 25. Yeah their two losses were by a lot. But they were against Oregon and USC. Two very good teams. Plus, the Golden Bears are led by one of the most potent offenses behind RB Jahvid Best.
25. Ole Miss Rebels - The Rebels also re-enter the top 25 this week. Like Cal, Ole Miss' 2 losses were against two very good teams (South Carolina & Alabama). Dexter McCluster finally showed up in Mississippi's big win over Arkansas this week. Perhaps his emergence will help Jevan Snead at QB.
1. Alabama Crimson Tide - It usually takes two bad performances for me to move a number 1 team down in the rankings. Bama needed a last second field goal block by Terrance Cody to hold off the Tennessee Volunteers. The Tide desperately needs to find a passing attack if they want to win the SEC this season.
2. Texas Longhorns - Texas put together its best game of the season. For the first time all year Colt McCoy played well the entire game. Instead of waiting until the second half to get things rolling, the Longhorns jumped out on the Missouri Tigers early in their romp. Next week is a big challenge as Texas will play Oklahoma St.
3. Florida Gators - The Gators move down a spot for the second straight week. I still think Florida is the best team in the nation, but they're just not playing like it. Back to back unimpressive performances against Arkansas and Mississippi St. leaves this Gator team with a lot of unanswered questions as they prepare for Georgia.
4. Cincinnati Bearcats - Another week, another impressive Big East victory for Cincy. The Bearcats were able to defeat Louisville even without starting QB Tony Pike. Next week should bring similar results as Cincinnati will play Syracuse.
5. USC Trojans - USC escaped with a victory over Oregon St. on Saturday Night. That result is an improvement from SC's game last season vs. the Beavers. The Trojans will face an even stiffer challenge next week as they play the Oregon Ducks.
6. LSU Tigers - LSU leapfrogged a few teams after their dominating performance against Auburn on Saturday night. The game for the Tigers, against the Tigers, may have been the Bayou Bengals' best all around game on the year.
7. Boise St. Broncos - The worst news for the Broncos this past weekend was that TCU absolutely dismantled BYU. The Horned Frogs are getting growing support as the best Non-BCS team in the country. I still think Boise St. is better, and their win against Oregon is more impressive than anything TCU has done this season.
8. Iowa Hawkeyes - Iowa barely snuck out a late second victory over Michigan St. this weekend. The Hawkeyes still control their own destiny within the Big Eleven. They still have Ohio St. on the slate. Outside of the Buckeyes, Iowa should be favored in it's remaining games.
9. Oregon Ducks - The Ducks pulled out yet another uniform combination this week. The black helmets were actually an upgrade from their regular apparel. We'll see what the Ducks can come up with for next week's showdown against USC.
10. TCU Horned Frogs - TCU finally cracks my top ten this season. The Frogs were this week's most impressive team in their victory over BYU. The Cougars had all the motivation in the world to knock off TCU, but they were completely outclassed by this TCU team.
11. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets - With the Jackets' win over Virginia on Saturday, Georgia Tech became the unofficial champion of the Commonwealth State. In back to back weeks, Ga Tech has embarrassed Virginia Tech and Virginia. With Miami's loss, the Yellow Jackets become the favorite to make the ACC Championship game.
12. Penn St. Nittany Lions - Penn St. destroyed the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday. They should get a nice rest next week as they play Purdue. Then again, Ohio St. thought they had a nice break against Purdue too.
13. Oklahoma St. Cowboys - Oklahoma St. had no problems taking care of Baylor without Dez Bryant or Kendall Hunter. It may be a different story next week. Oklahoma St.'s defense will need to come up big if the Cowboys want any chance of upsetting Colt McCoy and the Texas Longhorns.
14. Virginia Tech Hokies - The Hokies enjoyed a bye week this week. They move up a few spots thanks to losses by BYU and Miami.
15. Miami(FL) Hurricanes - Speaking of Miami, the Canes let one slip away against Clemson on Saturday. I'm sure Randy Shannon will have nightmares of C.J. Spiller for the next few days. Miami should be able to rebound nicely next week against Wake Forest.
16. West Virginia Mountaineers - What impressed me the most abut West Virginia this week was the class they showed against Connecticut. That all starts with Bill Stewart. Stewart is a tremendous human being who has this West Virginia team paying extremely well. I wish them nothing but the best for the rest of the year, and I hope the Stewart bashers from a few years ago have enjoyed eating their words.
17. Pittsburgh Panthers - Pittsburgh humiliated South Florida at home on Saturday. Surprisingly, Dave Wannstedt has not done anything to screw this up yet. Dion Lewis is the real deal at running back.
18. Utah Utes - The Utes needed overtime to take down Air Force on Saturday. That's not all that impressive. Utah is quietly still in the hunt for the Mountain West crown.
19. Houston Cougars - The Cougars beat up on another lowly C-USA team. This time it was SMU's turn to take the beating. Imagine the Cougars' standing if they hadn't lost to UTEP. They could possibly be ranked in the top 5 right now.
20. Ohio St. Buckeyes - Ohio St. bounced back from their loss to Purdue quite nicely. The Buckeyes put together a great game led by, believe it or not, Terrelle Pryor, en route to an impressive win over Minnesota. Next up for the Buckeyes is a daunting visit from the New Mexico St. Aggies.
21. Arizona Wildcats - Arizona is quietly putting together a solid season under Mike Stoops. We'll see how long the Wildcats can hold onto their surprising BCS ranking.
22. South Carolina Gamecocks - South Carolina remains at the 22 spot after barely beating Vanderbilt at home. The Gamecocks' D is one of the fiercest in the nation. Their offense hasn't quite lit the world on fire. Alshon Jefferey is a stud at the WR spot.
23. Central Michigan Chippewas - Central Michigan's only loss this season was to the aforementioned Arizona Wildcats in the first week of the season. They have since reeled off 7 wins in a row, including a victory on the road at Michigan St. Time for the Chippewas to get some love.
24. California Golden Bears - Cal re-appears in the top 25. Yeah their two losses were by a lot. But they were against Oregon and USC. Two very good teams. Plus, the Golden Bears are led by one of the most potent offenses behind RB Jahvid Best.
25. Ole Miss Rebels - The Rebels also re-enter the top 25 this week. Like Cal, Ole Miss' 2 losses were against two very good teams (South Carolina & Alabama). Dexter McCluster finally showed up in Mississippi's big win over Arkansas this week. Perhaps his emergence will help Jevan Snead at QB.
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