2 USC - The Trojans started slow this week, but adjusted in the 2nd half to blow Washington out. USC has impressed me more & more each week.
3 Oklahoma - OU got it done against a good Kansas team, but they are not infallible. The next two weeks will tell the tale of this Sooner team... Oklahoma St. and Texas A&M on the road. After that, it's home free vs. Nebraska & Baylor.
4 Miami - If Miami, Auburn, and OU win out, who gets the nod for the BCS title game? Both Auburn and OU are better than Miami. Miami and/or USC losing would make things a lot easier. Miami has no defense and their offense is sporadic.
5 Florida St. - Wyatt Sexton had his first bump in the road as the starting FSU quarterback. He is still better than Rix though, and this team is still on pace to garner an at-large BCS berth.
6 Wisconsin - Wisconsin has never won pretty and last week was no exception. Oh how I wish the Badgers would play Michigan this year.... Michigan would kill the Badgers.
7 Cal - Cal destroyed Arizona last week. The Bears have a big test vs. Arizona St. this week. If they get by that, they stand a good chance to go to the Rose Bowl... provided that USC goes to the national championship, and either Florida St. or Texas loses.... A Utah loss wouldn't hurt either.
8 Utah - Maybe Utah is for real... they absolutely crushed UNLV. But then again, it was UNLV. How seriously can we take Utah? I know they beat A&M, but still... are they more deserving than Florida St., Texas or Cal for a BCS at-large berth??
9 Texas - I think Texas proved how good a team they are this p?ast weekend in a 51-21 thrashing of Texas Tech. Texas is a fast team that can compete with any team in the country... and before you naysayers start in with your OU talk, let me remind you that 12-0 is not a blowout. They played them tough.
10 Michigan - Michigan will probably win out and go to the Rose Bowl. Michigan will spend the next few years in the top 5 with a rising star at QB, freshman Chad Henne.
11 Tennessee - Tennessee is an extremely talented team with no discipline and little experience. Barring any unforseen events, the Vols should end up in the SEC Championship game against Auburn. The Vols will most likely end up in either the Outback or Peach Bowl.
12 Georgia - Georgia held off a feisty Arkansas team last week. With A&M slipping in their win vs. Colorado, Georgia jumped the Aggies on my list. UGa is probably the best team in the SEC East, but won't get to show it in Atlanta at the SEC Championship game because of their loss to Tennessee a few weeks back.
13 Texas A&M - The Aggies dropped two spots on my rankings this week due to their anemic performance vs. a woeful Colorado team. Were it not for a fumble by Bobby Purify with the game on the line, A&M leaves Kyle Field with a loss and three tough games vs. the heart of the Big XII South....
14 Virginia - The Cavs handled Duke quite easily and now have a week off. They better use the week off wisely because they have a tough final four games. vs. Maryland, Miami, Georgia Tech & Virginia Tech. If they win out, they win the ACC.... but that isn't likely.
15 Purdue - I know they have two losses and normal ranking systems have them a lot lower than this, but the Boilermakers are a good team. Look at who their two losses came to.... #6 Wisconsin & #10 Michigan. Kyle Orton is still arguably the best QB in the nation.
16 Oklahoma St. - A great comeback vs. Mizzou sets the stage for what should be another epic battle between OSU & OU. Oklahoma St. is not out of the hunt for the Big XII South title, but they must win here if they want a shot.
17 Arizona St. - Arizona St. passed their first test of recovery from the USC thrashing this week by squeaking by a good UCLA team. The battle for 2nd place in the PAC10 and a possible Rose Bowl berth is waged this week.... ASU vs. Cal.... one of my games of the week this week.
18 Louisville - Louisville crushed the Bulls of South Florida this week 41-9. If only Louisville would have finished the job at Miami, we could be talking about the BCS instead of the Liberty Bowl.
19 LSU - Troy is a tough team to play, especially for big conference teams who tend to overlook the #4 major university in Alabama. That does not excuse LSU from nearly losing to them however. LSU is good, but not as good as I thought they were. They could sneak into the Cotton Bowl, but only because of their easy remaining schedule.
20 West Virginia - West Virginia is climbing back up the rankings this week with a win over Syracuse. They are a solid team that keeps improving, which is why they jumped idle Virginia Tech this week.
21 Virginia Tech - Virginia Tech has a big game this Thursday vs. Georgia Tech. The winner will likely represent the ACC at either the Peach Bowl or the Continental Tire Bowl, depending on if two ACC teams make it into BCS bowls.
22 Iowa - Iowa won a classic Big 10 grudge match vs. Penn St. last week. This week should be an easy win vs. Illinois. After that, the road gets tough against Purdue, Minnesota, & Wisconsin.
23 South Carolina - If South Carolina wins out, they will win the SEC East, doubtful as it may be. Tennessee starts it out this week.
24 Boston College - The Eagles proved that they are the 2nd best team in the Big East this week with their upset win over Notre Dame.
25 Boise St. - Boise St. is still undefeated, but they aren't better than any other team in the Top 25.
Waiting List.....
Minnesota, Southern Miss, Texas Tech, Georgia Tech, Northern Illinois, Alabama, NC St., Mizzou, Bowling Green, Ohio St., UCLA
