College Football Top 25

By Matt Smith

Another crazy week.

1. Ohio State (8-0): The schedule got a bit tougher and the game got a bit closer. They are a loss waiting to happen.

2. Boston College (7-0): An off week keeps them safe from a loss. Big, big game on Thursday in Blacksburg.

3. Oregon (6-1): The Ducks are soundly beating all the teams they should beat and now have a chance to assert themselves as the best in the Pac-10 when they host USC.

4. LSU (7-1): They are truly a second half team. They might have not beat Auburn by much, but a win is a win against a ranked SEC team.

5. Oklahoma (7-1): Can’t look great every day I suppose. They took Iowa State’s best punch and were still standing.

6. Florida (5-2): A nice bounce back win for the Gators puts them in the driver’s seat again as far as reaching the SEC championship game.

7. USC (6-1): Sanchez looked like he settled in during his second start. They were playing Notre Dame, but looked very dominant.

8. West Virginia (6-1): Just lambasted Mississippi State, an SEC team that had beaten Auburn and played others tough.

9. Virginia Tech (6-1): Quietly waiting for their big chance to get into the BCS picture with Thursday’s game against BC.

10. Arizona State (7-0): What happens when you are unbeaten, have a bye and several teams ahead of you lose? You move up.

11. Michigan (6-2): They have come back very nicely from the opening pair of losses and withstood several key injuries to beat Illinois in Champagne.

12. Hawaii (7-0): See Arizona State.

13. Kentucky (6-2): This is right where I thought they belonged before the Florida game, and I still feel that way after a tough loss to a tough team.

14. Missouri (6-1): Good bounce back win from the Oklahoma loss. They exposed Texas Tech for the pretender it was.

15. Cal (5-2): They are two mistakes by their quarterbacks away from being the Nation’s top team.

16. South Carolina (6-2): Thank god they lost. Sixth in the BCS!?! Joke.

17. South Florida (6-1): This where the Bulls should be. They are a good team, but not a great team.

18. Texas (5-2): The Longhorns eventually pulled away from Baylor. They are good for what they are, but this year it’s not a BCS contender.

19. Georgia (5-2): A week off before a big game with Florida.

20. Alabama (6-2): John Parker Wilson stepped up and had a big game to get Bama back in the race.

21. Penn State (6-2): Big Ten is still wide open and the Nittany Lions are as tough as anyone in the conference.

22. Auburn (5-3): I watch them beat Florida and play LSU as tough as anyone and I wonder how they lost to Mississippi State.

23. Kansas (7-0): Beat someone.

24. Rutgers (6-0): The Scarlet Knights led at halftime in both of their losses. They are close to being undefeated and they looked tough in that South Florida win.

25. Virginia (7-1): To quote my website cohort Ben Malley, “the loss to Wyoming is perplexing.” They don’t win pretty and they don’t win big, but they have won seven straight.