2 - USC - I've been very cynical of the Trojans this year, but they really impressed me in their 45-7 rout of a good Arizona St. team. Matt Leinart reminds me a lot of Ken Dorsey... in control. Reggie Bush is the 2nd best running back in the nation. USC won't be challenged again until late November, when they play Notre Dame & UCLA in consecutive weeks.
3 - Oklahoma - OU is a good team. Good defense. Solid offense highlighted by the best running back in the nation. However, OU has reminded me of the Philadelphia Eagles the past few years. They always find a way to screw up, especially following a big win. Case in point, last week K-St. gave OU all it could handle.
4 - Miami - Miami may have the most talent in the nation, but they are too unstable to make it to the national championship. They still have NC St., Virginia and Virginia Tech on the schedule and they would do well to win 2 of those 3. Don't expect them to stay undefeated that much longer with such a horrendous defense.
5 - Florida St. - The Noles still have a good chance to win the ACC pending a Miami loss. Even if Miami does win the ACC, the Noles should get an at-large spot in a BCS bowl. FSU was very impressive last week vs. UVa. FSU's toughest remaining game is vs. Florida....
6 - Wisconsin - The Badgers should have lost to Purdue, but instead they got a huge break. Wisconsin has always struck me as one of the most unimpressive good teams in the nation, year in and year out. But I have to give them credit, they are 7-0 and beat a great Purdue team. Wisconsin's only tough game remaining is vs. Iowa. So if the Badgers are undefeated at the end of the season, let's hope that the BCS committee is smart enough to keep Wisconsin out of the national championship regardless of what anyone else does.
7 - Cal - Cal almost beat USC and has handled everyone else quite easily, including three projected bowl teams, Air Force, Oregon St. and UCLA. Aaron Rodgers is the key to Cal's success this season. If USC makes it to the Orange Bowl, Cal could sneak into the Rose Bowl in an at-large spot.
8 - Purdue - Purdue should have won the Wisconsin game. That loss was not indicative of the Boilermakers. They don't have to wait for a shot at redemption, though.... they play Michigan this week. Kyle Orton should still be considered for the Heisman despite his fumble in the waning seconds of the Wisconsin game.
9 - Utah - The Utes have had some good wins against decent teams and one win (vs. aTm) that is looking better by the week. Utah was rated seventh in the first BCS rankings today. This, in my opinion, was more for appeasement purposes, than it was for Utah actually being that good. Don't get me wrong though, Utah is good and will probably beat Louisville in the Liberty Bowl.
10 - Michigan - The Wolverines have gotten back on track, winning four in a row following their collapse @ Notre Dame. Michigan is tied with Wisconsin for first in the Big 10 right now. Too bad Michigan doesn't play Wisconsin this year... Michigan would tear Wisconsin up. Game of the week: Michigan vs. Purdue.
11 - Tennessee - This team is somewhat of an anomaly. They get beat in every area but the scoreboard vs. a mediocre Florida team, they get crushed by Auburn, then they beat Georgia. To top it off, they squeak by an underachieving Ole Miss team. Nevertheless, Tennessee is talented enough and has the quality wins to warrant this high a spot.
12 - Texas A&M - I'm gonna take some flack for this one I know, but.... A&M's only loss came to an undefeated Utah team that a good friend of mine lauded as 'better than Texas.' Since that opening loss, A&M has easily handled Clemson & K-St. and crushed Iowa St. & previously 7th ranked (in my poll) Oklahoma St. The Wrecking Crew isn't fully back, but they are much better than they've been the past few years. They are tied with OU for first in the Big 12 South.
13 - Georgia - UGa is as inconsistent as Tennessee is. UGa struggled against a schizophrenic South Carolina team, they crushed a good LSU team, and then they lose to Tennessee. This ranking is largely based on talent and potential. Looks like an Outback Bowl appearance for UGa. Tennessee has too easy of a road to the SEC east Championship for UGa to contend for it.
14 - Texas - UT is a solid team that will probably end up in the Cotton Bowl. UT will lose on of these 3 games: Texas Tech, Oklahoma St., Texas A&M. It will be interesting to see what Mack does with the QB situation. As far as I'm concerned, Brown deserves the problem he has.... (bitterness over Applewhite still) Texas is still better than some naysayers would like to believe.......
15 - LSU - LSU is much better than everyone thinks. The Tigers only two losses have come against Auburn and Georgia. The Tigers will end up either 8-3 or 9-2 and probably go to the Cotton or Peach Bowl.
16 - Louisville - The Cards impressed me last week. In fact, they impressed me so much that I'm not even gonna hold them blowing up against them. The Big East better watch out next year... Louisville is as good as any Big East team.
17 - Virginia - As I expected, the Cavs folded against athe superior Seminoles; they'll rebound this week vs. Duke. The FSU game didn't mean that much in the grand scheme of things.... the final two games vs. Miami & Georgia Tech will make or break the Cavs' season.
18 - Notre Dame - The Irish may be unimpressive, but they sure get it done. Notre Dame has handled one of the tougher schedules in the nation very well. Notre Dame isn't good enough to beat USC or Tennessee though. Look for a 7-4 season with a Gator Bowl appearance.
19 - Oklahoma St. - The Cowboys also imploded vs. aTm. They aren't as good as I thought. It will be interesting to see how OSU reacts. I'm picking them to beat Mizzou this week; if they don't, we'll know that they are just another mediocre team from the Big12 (i.e. Nebraska).
20 - Virginia Tech - The Hokies I'm sure had a good time demolishing Howard Schnellenberger's Florida A&M squad last week 62-0. They now have a week & a half to prepare for Georgia Tech.
21 - Texas Tech - Tech had the week off to prepare for the Longhorns. The last time the Horns came into Lubbock they got punk'd. Could it happen again? I wouldn't want to wager on this one, it'll be a good game. If Tech wins, they will put themselves in position for an Alamo Bowl berth. (That's assuming they lose one out of their next four games after UT)
22 - Arizona St. - Wow, what an implosion vs. USC. ASU is the third best team in a very competetive PAC10, that's gotta count for something. Look for ASU in the Holiday Bowl vs. aTm, Texas Tech or Missouri.
23 - West Virginia - This is a talented team.... much more talented than the way they've been playing lately. Since they beat UConn, they have pretty much sured up awininng the Big East.
24 - Alabama - The Tide rolled last week vs. a good USM team. They are now 5-2 heading into a pivotal game vs. Tennessee. They actually have a good chance at beating the Vols too.
25 - Boise St. - That's right. Boise St. lost 5 spots this week because they sucked it up against Tulsa. No one should even mention BCS when it comes to Boise St. Who have they played? Their biggest win came against Oregon St.
Waiting List.....
Florida, South Carolina, UCLA, Iowa, NC St., UAB, Georgia Tech, Stanford, Minnesota, Missouri, Memphis, Northern Illinois