Not too much shake-up in the top 25 this week. The top ten is nearly the same. The top 5 was stagnant, and there are only two new teams total in the poll. Here's how I rank them:
1. Florida Gators - The Gators got a much needed bye week this week. Hopefully, this means they get to travel to Baton Rouge flu-free. And possibly concussion-free. The next few days will be pivotal to Tebow's ability to play in the Saturday night showdown.
2. Texas Longhorns - Much like the Gators, Texas had a bye week this week. The best part about their week had to be the Oklahoma loss.
3. Alabama Crimson Tide - Alabama overwhelmed an inferior Kentucky team on Saturday. The win against the Wildcats was a good tune-up for the SEC West showdown next week against Ole Miss. Bama is on cruise control right now and they're showing no signs of slowing down.
4. LSU Tigers - LSU escaped Athens with a win over the Bulldogs Saturday night. LSU can't really throw the ball effectively, and they don't run the ball all that well either. Still, the Tigers always seem to manage to pull out the victory. They'll face a serious challenge to that acumen this week when the Gators come to town.
5. Boise St. Broncos - The Broncos did not look impressive at all against 1-aa UC-Davis this week. The only reason why they hang on to their top 5 ranking is that fact that the teams behind them weren't all that impressive either. Boise St. will have to play much better throughout the season if they hope to continue their BCS bid.
6. Vriginia Tech Hokies - With Boise St.'s struggles against UC-Davis, the Hokies were in prime position to claim a spot in the top 5. Instead, Va Tech struggled mightily against the Duke Blue Devils. The Hokies have also lost some ground to Miami, USC and Ohio St. as the best one loss team in the land.
7. Ohio St. Buckeyes - Ohio St. stays ahead of the USC team that it lost to by manhandling a pretty good Indiana team. The Big Eleven had a bad week this week. Iowa struggled, Michigan lost, and the rest of the league blows. Sounds like the formula of an Ohio St. national title run.
8. Cincinnati Bearcats - Some people would argue that the Bearcats are the best team in Ohio. I would rank them as 1b right now. That being said, Cincy might be the first real threat the Big East has ever produced for a national title appearance. Their schedule will get decidedly tougher from here on out.
9. USC Trojans - USC played inspiringly in their lopsided win against Cal Saturday night. It seems that Stafon Johnson's injury has been a strong motivational factor for this team. I'll use this space to state that I hope Johnson makes a speedy and full recovery.
10. Miami (FL) Hurricanes - The Canes make the biggest jump this week as they climb all the way back into the top ten after their victory over Oklahoma. I'm starting to really hate this Miami swagger talk now. One week they got the swagga back, the next week it's gone. Can't we just say that Miami is good?
11. Kansas Jayhawks - Kansas sat out this week and continued to rise up through my rankings. I may be naive, but I think this Jayhawks team is really good. With Sam Bradford's injury and Colt McCoy's slow starts, Todd Reesing has quietly become the best QB in the Big XII.
12. TCU Horned Frogs - TCU started off slow before exploding late against SMU. The win wasn't that impressive, which is why I don't have the Frogs in my top ten. They'll have to do more than beat a couple ACC teams.
13. Oregon Ducks- The Ducks throttled Washington St. this weekend. While a win against the Cougars isn't as good as their previous two wins against Utah and Cal, the fashion in which they beat Wazzou is still pretty impressive. I'm starting to really like the Ducks' chances of challenging USC for the PAC-10.
14. Iowa Hawkeyes - Iowa notched what was probably the least impressive victory of the week. The barely held on to knock off a scrappy Arkansas St. team. That's close victories against Arkansas St. and Northern Iowa this season. Thank god they beat Penn St.
15. Penn St. Nittany Lions - Speaking of Penn St. The Nittany Lions had no trouble in knocking off Illinois this week. Then again, who has had trouble knocking off the Fighting Zookers this year. I still like Penn St.'s chances of rebounding after their Iowa loss to compete for the Big Eleven title. They just need the Hawkeyes to lose a few games.
16. South Carolina Gamecocks - The Gamecocks move up in the rankings despite playing lowly in-state rival South Carolina St. The mettle of South Carolina will truly be tested in the coming weeks. We'll see how long they can last in the top 25.
17. Oklahoma St. Cowboys - Oklahoma St. moves up three spots despite being off this week. Houston's loss to UTEP makes the Cowboys' loss to the Cougars a little bit uglier. There will be plenty of chances for OSU to redeem itself in the coming weeks.
18. BYU Cougars - BYU struggled early against Utah St. on Thursday. They were able to pull away down the stretch, however. It makes you wonder what the hell BYU was doing when they lost to FSU...
19. Ole Miss Rebels - Ole Miss notched their first SEC victory on Saturday with their victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores. The Rebels now turn their attention to the Alabama Crimson Tide.
20. Auburn Tigers - I'd like to point out that I was the first person to rank these Tigers in their top 25. Even when the Vols are down, getting a win at Neyland Stadium on a Saturday Night is pretty impressive for Gene Chizik's bunch.
21. Oklahoma Sooners - Oklahoma becomes the highest ranked two loss team at number 21. The Sooners' two losses are good ones, if there is such a thing. They have now lost close games to two ranked teams in BYU and Miami. The return of Sam Bradford also keeps them in my rankings.
22. Georgia Bulldogs - The Dawgs make it back to back two loss teams in the rankings. Much like the Sooners, UGA's losses are not that bad either. They too have lost to two ranked teams in Oklahoma St. and LSU. The emergence of A.J. Green as a bona fide mega star is bad news for the rest of the SEC.
23. Wisconsin Badgers - Wisconsin makes its first appearance in my top 25 this week. Starting the season 5-0 will do that. Wisconsin took home the Paul Bunyon axe in a hard fought win at Minnesota this week.
24. Missouri Tigers - Mizzou is finally off of the 25 spot this week. All they needed to do to move up was have a bye week.
25. South Florida Bulls - The Bulls have faced what is easily the worst schedule of any of the top 25 teams. However, I have every other undefeated team ranked, so I gotta include the Bulls. Hopefully, they'll continue to play well as the competition starts to get significantly tougher.
1. Florida Gators - The Gators got a much needed bye week this week. Hopefully, this means they get to travel to Baton Rouge flu-free. And possibly concussion-free. The next few days will be pivotal to Tebow's ability to play in the Saturday night showdown.
2. Texas Longhorns - Much like the Gators, Texas had a bye week this week. The best part about their week had to be the Oklahoma loss.
3. Alabama Crimson Tide - Alabama overwhelmed an inferior Kentucky team on Saturday. The win against the Wildcats was a good tune-up for the SEC West showdown next week against Ole Miss. Bama is on cruise control right now and they're showing no signs of slowing down.
4. LSU Tigers - LSU escaped Athens with a win over the Bulldogs Saturday night. LSU can't really throw the ball effectively, and they don't run the ball all that well either. Still, the Tigers always seem to manage to pull out the victory. They'll face a serious challenge to that acumen this week when the Gators come to town.
5. Boise St. Broncos - The Broncos did not look impressive at all against 1-aa UC-Davis this week. The only reason why they hang on to their top 5 ranking is that fact that the teams behind them weren't all that impressive either. Boise St. will have to play much better throughout the season if they hope to continue their BCS bid.
6. Vriginia Tech Hokies - With Boise St.'s struggles against UC-Davis, the Hokies were in prime position to claim a spot in the top 5. Instead, Va Tech struggled mightily against the Duke Blue Devils. The Hokies have also lost some ground to Miami, USC and Ohio St. as the best one loss team in the land.
7. Ohio St. Buckeyes - Ohio St. stays ahead of the USC team that it lost to by manhandling a pretty good Indiana team. The Big Eleven had a bad week this week. Iowa struggled, Michigan lost, and the rest of the league blows. Sounds like the formula of an Ohio St. national title run.
8. Cincinnati Bearcats - Some people would argue that the Bearcats are the best team in Ohio. I would rank them as 1b right now. That being said, Cincy might be the first real threat the Big East has ever produced for a national title appearance. Their schedule will get decidedly tougher from here on out.
9. USC Trojans - USC played inspiringly in their lopsided win against Cal Saturday night. It seems that Stafon Johnson's injury has been a strong motivational factor for this team. I'll use this space to state that I hope Johnson makes a speedy and full recovery.
10. Miami (FL) Hurricanes - The Canes make the biggest jump this week as they climb all the way back into the top ten after their victory over Oklahoma. I'm starting to really hate this Miami swagger talk now. One week they got the swagga back, the next week it's gone. Can't we just say that Miami is good?
11. Kansas Jayhawks - Kansas sat out this week and continued to rise up through my rankings. I may be naive, but I think this Jayhawks team is really good. With Sam Bradford's injury and Colt McCoy's slow starts, Todd Reesing has quietly become the best QB in the Big XII.
12. TCU Horned Frogs - TCU started off slow before exploding late against SMU. The win wasn't that impressive, which is why I don't have the Frogs in my top ten. They'll have to do more than beat a couple ACC teams.
13. Oregon Ducks- The Ducks throttled Washington St. this weekend. While a win against the Cougars isn't as good as their previous two wins against Utah and Cal, the fashion in which they beat Wazzou is still pretty impressive. I'm starting to really like the Ducks' chances of challenging USC for the PAC-10.
14. Iowa Hawkeyes - Iowa notched what was probably the least impressive victory of the week. The barely held on to knock off a scrappy Arkansas St. team. That's close victories against Arkansas St. and Northern Iowa this season. Thank god they beat Penn St.
15. Penn St. Nittany Lions - Speaking of Penn St. The Nittany Lions had no trouble in knocking off Illinois this week. Then again, who has had trouble knocking off the Fighting Zookers this year. I still like Penn St.'s chances of rebounding after their Iowa loss to compete for the Big Eleven title. They just need the Hawkeyes to lose a few games.
16. South Carolina Gamecocks - The Gamecocks move up in the rankings despite playing lowly in-state rival South Carolina St. The mettle of South Carolina will truly be tested in the coming weeks. We'll see how long they can last in the top 25.
17. Oklahoma St. Cowboys - Oklahoma St. moves up three spots despite being off this week. Houston's loss to UTEP makes the Cowboys' loss to the Cougars a little bit uglier. There will be plenty of chances for OSU to redeem itself in the coming weeks.
18. BYU Cougars - BYU struggled early against Utah St. on Thursday. They were able to pull away down the stretch, however. It makes you wonder what the hell BYU was doing when they lost to FSU...
19. Ole Miss Rebels - Ole Miss notched their first SEC victory on Saturday with their victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores. The Rebels now turn their attention to the Alabama Crimson Tide.
20. Auburn Tigers - I'd like to point out that I was the first person to rank these Tigers in their top 25. Even when the Vols are down, getting a win at Neyland Stadium on a Saturday Night is pretty impressive for Gene Chizik's bunch.
21. Oklahoma Sooners - Oklahoma becomes the highest ranked two loss team at number 21. The Sooners' two losses are good ones, if there is such a thing. They have now lost close games to two ranked teams in BYU and Miami. The return of Sam Bradford also keeps them in my rankings.
22. Georgia Bulldogs - The Dawgs make it back to back two loss teams in the rankings. Much like the Sooners, UGA's losses are not that bad either. They too have lost to two ranked teams in Oklahoma St. and LSU. The emergence of A.J. Green as a bona fide mega star is bad news for the rest of the SEC.
23. Wisconsin Badgers - Wisconsin makes its first appearance in my top 25 this week. Starting the season 5-0 will do that. Wisconsin took home the Paul Bunyon axe in a hard fought win at Minnesota this week.
24. Missouri Tigers - Mizzou is finally off of the 25 spot this week. All they needed to do to move up was have a bye week.
25. South Florida Bulls - The Bulls have faced what is easily the worst schedule of any of the top 25 teams. However, I have every other undefeated team ranked, so I gotta include the Bulls. Hopefully, they'll continue to play well as the competition starts to get significantly tougher.
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