1 Oregon (10-0) – Almost losing at Cal is no worse than Auburn doing the same at Kentucky and the Ducks have obliterated everyone else including top 10 Stanford and USC while Auburn has struggled into the fourth quarter nearly every week.
2 Auburn (11-0) – That said about Oregon, Auburn has also played a much tougher schedule. I just happen to think that Auburn would have struggled just the same while still winning against many of the teams on Oregon's schedule.
3 Boise St. (9-0) – Get a promotion back to the number three spot with another blowout win and its not because TCU was not impressive, its because the rest of TCU's schedule weakened greatly and Utah is nowhere near what anyone thought.
4 TCU (11-0) – The win over San Diego St. was impressive despite the close final score. The situation actually reminds me of something that happened in 1994. That year, Penn St. allowed Indiana back into the game late after a slow start and dominating middle. The outcome was never really in doubt, but Nebraska jumped the Nittany Lions never to be seen again even though both teams went undefeated.
5 Wisconsin (9-1) – 83 points? Maybe just a little bit of overkill there Badgers. I know you need to be ranked highly but that was ridiculous. At what point does a team have enough?
6 LSU (9-1) – Somehow scored 51 points without getting 300 yards of total offense. Normally this might be a concern, but LSU has done this all season. In fact, the score was eye-popping because LSU finally annihilated someone on the scoreboard the way a team of their ranking should.
7 Ohio St. (9-1) – Buckeyes smoked Penn St. in the 2nd half. That was as complete a half as I have seen played against a quality opponent all season by anyone.
8 Stanford (9-1) – Cardinal struggled against Arizona St., but many other teams including Oregon, Wisconsin and USC have as well. Especially on the road, there is no need to punish Stanford for the closer than expected win.
9 Nebraska (9-1) – Cornhuskers seemed bored against Kansas, just as they did against South Dakota St. early this season. The next week, they obliterated Washington. Texas A&M better hope the same thing doesn't happen to them.
10 Oklahoma St. (9-1) – This kind of season was supposed to happen last season for the Cowboys. Kudos to Mike Gundy for getting it right this year with a team that doesn't have as much talent.
11 Alabama (8-2) – Tide blowout of Mississippi St. was likely their best game of the season. The offense will be fine whoever is in there against Auburn and the defense finally looked good again for the first time against a quality opponent since the Penn St. game.
12 Arkansas (8-2) – Razorbacks continue to roll up huge numbers. Since the back-to-back games against Alabama and Texas A&M where they were largely held in check, the Hogs have been frighteningly good on offense (of course that didn't help at Auburn).
13 Missouri (8-2) – The Tigers have been much better than advertised this season and have now won eight games for the 5th consecutive season. I never though I would see that.
14 Michigan St. (9-1) – A case could be made for Sparty to be ranked above Wisconsin and Ohio St. considering the head-to-head line. I have no desire to make it considering how bad the Iowa loss was. If Michigan St. wins out including a big road win at Penn St. I would be willing to revisit though.
15 Texas A&M (7-3) – Aggies probably should have made the quarterback change earlier than they did. If they had, maybe the Aggies would be in the driver's seat in the Big 12 South right now.
16 Oklahoma (8-2) – Still having problems on the road. Good luck the next two weeks. You are going to need it. At Baylor and at Oklahoma St. await.
17 South Carolina (7-3) – Congrats on winning the SEC East. Also, I am willing to write off the Arkansas game entirely as the game meant nothing as long as there are no slip ups against inferior opponents before the rematch with Auburn in Atlanta.
18 Virginia Tech (8-2) – Have made a nice recovery from the James Madison debacle. Now the toughest remaining game come. At Miami. The way Va Tech has been playing though makes me think they have this handled.
19 Nevada (9-1) – Won a tough game at Fresno St. Now just have to beat patsy New Mexico St. to set up a huge showdown with Boise St. to get a share of the conference title.
20 Miami (7-3) – Once again writing off loss number three which was to Virginia in the Jacory Harris injury game, at least for now. Steven Morris looks like the real deal at quarterback and might be better than Harris even now.
21 USC (7-3) – Another week, another win over an Arizona school and a resume that seems to be getting stronger as the season progresses. Too bad there wasn't a major national power on the non-conference schedule this season.
22 Mississippi St. (7-3) – Bulldogs might be overrated here, but the three losses aren't bad losses and the win at the Swamp (even if everyone else seems to be winning there this season) is still pretty valuable.
23 NC State (7-3) – Haven't lost to North Carolina since Tom O'Brien got to Raleigh and if they win this week, there is just one win between them and the division title.
24 Arizona (7-3) – Has a week off to figure things out, but the next game isn't likely to go very well. Oregon is just too good at home for this team.
25 Iowa (7-3) – Losing to Northwestern again is just bad. You would think by now that the Hawkeyes wouldn't overlook the Wildcats any more.
Others Considered
San Diego St. (7-3) – Impressive in defeat against TCU, the Aztecs have been good all season and are about to make coach Brady Hoke very rich, whether it be at San Diego St. or somewhere else.
Northwestern (7-3) – The win over Iowa validates this team to some degree, but I want to see them play this week without Dan Persa and I still remember that this team lost to Purdue and nearly lost to Minnesota.
Maryland (7-3) – Terps are shockingly still in the ACC Title chase a year after a 2-10 season despite not really doing anything well. I don't know if this is an indictment against the ACC (of which there are already many) or a sign of good coaching.
Michigan (7-3) – I know everybody on the Purdue offense is injured at this point. I don't care, holding them to 16 points is pretty good. Maybe the Michigan defense does have a prayer (or maybe I am just grading it on a different scale). I hope the run defense is ready for the battering ram that is coming at it this week.
Florida St. (7-3) – Seminoles just won the who can screw up tons of talent more bowl with Clemson. Of course it took a fluky 55 yard field goal to do it, but a win is a win.
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