My Top 25

1. Alabama-The Crimson Tide survived a scare, needing two Mt Cody blocked field goals in the 4th quarter to prevent Lane Kiffin and Tennessee from singing Rocky Top all night long but has still been clearly the most impressive team this year.
2. Florida-Urban Meyer's squad continues to be unimpressive but also continues to win and until they lose, they have to be in the top two due to the jewelry on their fingers.
3. Texas-Texas dominated Missouri on Saturday night as they did last year. A lack of a running game may ultimately be their downfall should they reach the title game but it should still be enough for the Longhorns to go undefeated the rest of the way.
4. Iowa-It just has the feel of a magical feeling for Kirk Farentz's team after beating Michigan State with a touchdown on the last play of the game and after overcoming 10-0 deficits at Penn State and Wisconsin, doesn't it?
5. Cincinnati-They moved down to 8 in the BCS rankings this week, despite thrashing Louisville 41-10 without starting QB Tony Pike. If they end up the only undefeated BCS conference team or one of only two undefeated BCS conference teams and don't make it the national championship game, something needs to be fixed immediately.
6. TCU-The Horned Frogs just keep getting it done and remain undefeated after throttling BYU on homecoming in Provo.
7. Boise State-After Boise State stomped Oregon, we questioned whether Boise was that good or if Oregon was that bad. The Ducks are now the best team in the Pac-10. Boise's just that good.
8. Oregon-The aforementioned Ducks absolutely demolished Washington in Seattle and have been rolling since losing to Boise State. They look like the best team in the Pac-10.
9. Georgia Tech-Some people questioned the decision to hire Paul Johnson because they weren't sure if his Triple Option attack would work. They were wrong. The offense that was so great running the ball last year added Anthony Allen who's been phenomenal so far.
10. USC-Freshman QB Matt Barkley has really come into his own the past two games against quality opponents in Notre Dame and Oregon State. However, if the Trojans are to be looked at as a championship contender, their defense is going to have to step it up big time. They allowed 27 second half points to Oregon State last week and 13 points in the 4th quarter against Notre Dame and almost allowed the Irish to come back and win.
11. Virginia Tech-Frank Beamer probably wishes he never has to travel to Atlanta ever again after suffering both losses this year there. Although, maybe it's because the teams he lost two(Alabama and Georgia Tech) were both Top Ten teams.
12. Penn State-Give JoePa credit. Penn State looked awful against Iowa and now has looked very impressive since by dominating Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan. Although, maybe that's because the 3 aforementioned teams were mediocre. But for now, they're high in the rankings.
13. Miami(Fl)-I think people are taking too much out of their loss to Clemson. The Tigers are very talented and are finally putting it together. That was more Clemson good than Miami bad. The 'Canes still hold impressive wins at Florida State(who's better than their record) and against Georgia Tech and Oklahoma. And for those who don't remember, they absolutely crushed the Yellow Jackets.
14. Oklahoma State-The Cowboys have looked quite impressive even without RB Kendall Hunter and WR Dez Bryant. They'll probably have Hunter back for the Halloween showdown against Texas that should decide the Big 12 while it remains to be seen when and if Bryant will return after being suspended. If the Pokes beat the Longhorns, they shouldn't just be considered Big 12 title contenders, but national title contenders. Plus HC Mike Gundy is a man and he's 41!(They must be kicking themselves for dropping that one to Houston)
15. Pittsburgh-Pitt must be kicking themselves for letting that one in Raleigh against NC State slip(this is the same NC State that lost at home to Duke!). RB Dion Lewis is by far the best freshman in the country and QB Bill Stull has been fantastic with 16 TDs to just 4 picks.
16. Houston-The trend of teams that are kicking themselves for losses that make your head scratch continues with the one that started it all. Give the Cougars credit. After losing a ball breaker at UTEP, they responded by winning at a Mississippi State team that gave LSU and Florida all they could handle. QB Case Keenum should be a Heisman candidate.
17. Clemson-You must think I'm crazy for putting the Tigers here even though they have 3 losses. However, 2 of the losses(vs #6 TCU, @Maryland) can be directly attributed to the kicker missing field goals that he should make every time while the loss at #11 Georgia Tech can be partially attributed to having a huge 3rd down conversion called back due to a phantom holding call in a game where they went from trailing 24-0(after two TDs given up fake field goals, one of them being them trying a pooch punt return TD)to leading 27-24. All in all, that's 3 losses by a total of 10 points. They're finally putting it together with a 38-3 thrashing of a good Wake Forest team and a big 40-37 OT win at #9 Miami. Also, RB CJ Spiller should win the Heisman if they continue the winning.
18. South Carolina-I figured I should keep the two teams from the Palmetto State together. The Gamecocks have been impressive this year especially on defense. LB Eric Norwood is probably the most underrated player in the country of the past 4 years and has gotten better this year. He can stop the run, drop back in coverage, and even rush the passer. QB Stephen Garcia has been good at getting the ball to WR Alshon Jeffrey deep.
19. LSU-Count me as someone who believes the LSU has been the most overrated team the past two years. Last year, they were continually ranked in the Top 15 despite beating no one and still got a Chick-Fil-A bowl berth(which some argue then validated with their throttling of Georgia Tech, but that doesn't mean they deserved to be there). This year has been much of the same. LSU is ranked #9 in the BCS despite being just pretty good this year. They've had decent wins at Washington, at Georgia(in a game where the refs admittedly screwed the Dawgs over), and Saturday vs Auburn. However, I don't think 3 wins against mediocre teams should equal a top ten ranking. People need to stop basing everything off of the fact that they won the national championship two years ago. They've been the 6th or 7th best team in the SEC over the past two years and are only this high in the rankings because they haven't played enough good teams to lose yet and merit dropping any lower.
20. Notre Dame-I guess Charlie Weis figures must have high blood pressure already from being so grotesquely overweight because every game they've played this year, save Nevada, has come down to the wire with the Irish only being burned against USC(in a game where they fought back from being down 34-14 in the 4th quarter to almost tying it)and at the Big House against Michigan. QB Jimmy Clausen is a legitimate Heisman candidate and should lead the Fighting Irish to another BCS bowl that they don't deserve.
21. Arizona-The Wildcats from Tuscon should be 6-1 as opposed to 5-2(their second loss came at Washington in a game being called by Arizona fans as the Immaculate Interception). Their only other loss came at #4 Iowa. Mike Stoops' team finally has a balanced offense led by QB Nick Foles, TE Rob Gronkowski, and RB Nic Grigsby to go along with his always stout defense.
22. West Virginia-The Mountaineers offense may have lost QB Pat White(one of the 5 best college players of my lifetime)but they still remian explosive thanks to speedy RB Noel Devine who had the game winning 56-yard touchdown run against UConn on Saturday. QB Jarrett Brown has been solid in replacing White, however he was the reason for West Virginia's loss at Auburn with 5 turnovers(4 INTs)
23. Ohio State-QB Terrelle Pryor has not been very good this year. People have tried to claim that he proved everyone wrong this week against Minnesota after going 13-25 for 239 yards, 2 TD's and an INT. Call me crazy but I don't think he's back after having a 52% completion percentage and throwing two TDs on plays where the receivers had no one within 10 yards of them. Basically, I'm putting the Buckeyes here by default, because I don't believe any other team is worthy of a ranking this high and they're still extremely talented and could easily put it all together and win the Big Ten.
24. Wisconsin-The reason behind the Badgers' resurgance is no secret. They've finally begun to establish the run behind RB's John Clay and Zach Brown. QB Scott Tolzien has been able to make some plays this year, especially to TE Garrett Graham, to compliment that. Wisconsin is also playing solid defense.
25. Central Michigan-Well, we all know that Jake Locker is the Tim Tebow of the West and Tim Tebow is the Tim Tebow of the East(duh). Well, Dan LeFevour is the Tim Tebow of the Midwest. He's the only other QB besides Tebow to ever have 20 TD's passing and rushing in a season. Behind him, the Chippewas have a 7-1 record that includes a win at Michigan State with their only loss at #20 Arizona.