1. USC: Another week, another dominating performance without breaking a sweat. This team looks as good as I expected.
2. West Virginia: Blowout win over East Carolina, and now they go to South Florida. If South Florida can't knock them off this week, this team is going undefeated unless Rutgers can get the job done. Louisville sure as hell isn't, we know that much. And Pat White? He can actually throw the football now. Scary stuff.
3. LSU: Impressive win over South Carolina. Some key injuries hurt them, but I would imagine they would be healthy for the Gators in two weeks. LSU's year is all going to come down to two showdowns with the Gators, one in Baton Rouge and the other in Atlanta.
4. Oklahoma: This team looks better and better each week. Given the struggles of Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, and Texas A&M, this team has just as good of a chance of going undefeated as does USC and LSU.
5. Florida: Sure they had a close one with Ole Miss, but Tebow looked unstoppable, and this was a trap game for Florida. As with LSU, it's all going to come down to showdowns in Baton Rouge and Atlanta. I'm not sure I've ever seen a dual threat like Tebow, even Vince Young couldn't throw the ball this well, and he runs the ball like a stud I-back straight out of the 1980's.
6. Ohio State: The Buckeyes look good, very good. As crap-tacular as the Big Ten looks, the Buckeyes are the favorites to win it all.
7. Texas: Looked very good this week for the first time all year. Still undefeated, and likely to win 10-11 regular season games, but I just don't see them beating OU.
8. Wisconsin : Big win over Iowa, but this team isn't that good. Still, they are a top ten team from a year ago, and are undefeated, so you have to rank them pretty high.
9. Cal : A good solid team, but their defense is a problem. They are probably the second best team in the Pac-10, but with a defense that gives up 27 points to Arizona it's hard to imagine them beating USC. With Oregon coming up this week, we'll see who's truly the second best team in the Pac-10.
10. Rutgers: Moves up in an off-week with Penn State losing.
11. Boston College: Will move to 5-0 this week with a win over UMass, and are still the favorite to win the ACC. Still, the final five weeks are all conference games, and that will be what tells the tale.
12. Georgia: A very good win over a solid Alabama team, and they can very well win the SEC East if they can beat Florida. That said, saying if Georgia can beat Florida is about like saying if Fulmer can lose 50 pounds.
13. Oregon: Good team, great offense, poor defense. Will fight Cal this week for the unofficial title of second best Pac-10 team.
14. Clemson: Another relatively impressive win over a so-so at best NC State team. They are 4-0, but they haven't played anyone yet. Who really knows about them?
15. South Carolina: They drop after a loss to a very good LSU team, but they had some bad breaks, and it's still a good team.
16. Hawai'i : Still undefeated, likely to win 10-11 games at least this year.
17. South Florida: Impressive win over North Carolina, and a showdown with WVU looms. This is arguably the biggest game in USF history.
18. Kentucky: This is a pretty good football team, no doubt about it. They'll move to 5-0 after next week, but then a brutal stretch against South Carolina, LSU, and Florida will likely deflate them quickly. Still, another bowl trip should be fully expected.
19. Missouri: Another week, another win. Considering how god-awful Nebraska is looking, this team should win the Big 12 North.
20. Penn State : I'll keep them ranked, for now, but if they couldn't beat Michigan, this team obviously has major problems. I just can't see them winning the Big Ten, and they are likely to lose at least another two or three games.
21. Alabama: Drops a few spots after a very close loss to a good Georgia team. With a three-game stretch upcoming against Florida State, Houston, and Ole Miss, should be able to pull off three straight wins and move up.
22. Georgia Tech: After a disappointing loss to Boston College, they unexpectedly lost to a poor Virginia squad. I'll keep them ranked this week, but typical Gailey / Tech mediocrity seems to be kicking in.
23. Cincinnati: You probably haven't heard of this team, but they are 4-0 and look pretty good. As weak as the Big East is, especially with Louisville's struggles, they can very legitimately win eight or nine games.
24. Purdue: The Boilermakers are 4-0, and the offense looks great. They'll move to 5-0 after beating a piss-poor Notre Dame team, but we'll have to wait until the following week against Ohio State to figure out just how good this team really is.
25. Miami: After annihilating Texas A&M, I figure they deserve to go in at 25. They are 3-1 at the moment, and with the way the schedule plays out the next few weeks, this team could legitimately start 7-2 or so. This is certainly not a great team, but they have improved over last year, no doubt about that.