Clark's Top 25

Alabama sturggled for the first time this season, but Florida did too. The Longhorns took care of business for once so who's #1? As my good buddy Brian Welch says, why speculate? Last week's rankings are in ( ).

1. Alabama (1) - It took a miraculous defensive effort by DT Mount Cody to keep Alabama undefeated but don't expect me to punish the Crimson Tide just yet. Florida and Texas have sturggled plenty this season. Alabama deserves one slump game.
2. Florida (2) - I flirted with the idea of dropping Florida below Texas this week but given the Big 12 North's recent play I'm not so sure that beating Miss St. by 10 isn't betting than beating Mizzou by 34.
3. Texas (3) - Colt McCoy finally exploded ith 269 yards and 3 TDs (two to Jordan Shipley) to lead the Horns past Mizzou 41-7.
4. Cincinatti (4) - The Bearcats took care of business again, beating Louisville 41-10. Backup QB Zach Collaros was ultra efficient going 15-17 for 253 yards and 3 TDs passing.
5. TCU (8) - Up until two weeks ago I was suspicious of how good TCU really was. Two weeks later they've beaten Colorado State and BYU 82-13.
6. Boise State (5) - Like I wrote last week, as Boise's schedule continues to drag on the Broncs will continue to get dropped. Tough titty.
7. Oregon (7) - The Ducks' loss to Boise may hold them back as voters may be hesistant to jump them over a team they lost to head to head. But a win against USC this week may change that.
8. Iowa (9) - The Hawkeyes edged out Michigan State 15-13 this week and now have Indiana and Northwestern before facing Ohio State. I doubt you'd find a person who doesn't expect Iowa to be 11-0 going into that one.
9. USC (6) - The Trojans avoided their second disappointment of the '09 season with a 42-36 win against Oregon State. USC was paced by RB Allen Bradford who had 147 yards and 2 TDs on the ground.
10. LSU (10) - The Tigers looked strong again with a 31-10 win against Auburn. QB Jordan Jefferson had 242 yards and 2 TDs.
11. Penn State (11) - I thought for sure that Michigan would give the Nittany Lions a close game but Penn State romped 35-10 as QB and one-time Heisman candidate Darryl Clark had 4 Tds passing.
12. Georgia Tech (13) - The Yellow Jackets dominated on the ground again with RBs Jonathan Dwyer and Anthony Allen both topping the 100-yard mark, while QB Josh Nesbitt had 82 yards and 2 TDs on the ground.
13. Virginia Tech (14) - The Hokies took the week off last week. Well played.
14. Oklahoma State (15) - The Pokes took it to hapless Baylor last week 34-7 as Zac Robinson was on fire going 23-27 for 250 yards and 3 TDs. I'm sure that will inspire Baylor to take it to Nebraska this week.
15. Houston (16) - Houston dominated SMU 38-15 last week. I'm not too impressed with that but I can't really drop them for winning by 23.
16. Ohio State (18) - Lebron's little talk with Terrelle Pryor must have at least helped a little as he had 239 yards and 2 TDs passing and 104 yards and a TD rushing in a 38-7 win against Minnesota.
17. Pittsburgh (23) - I'm not sure how good South Florida is but beating the Bulls 41-14 is a great showing for Pitt. The Panthers are going to try and make the Big East a two-team race.
18. Miami (12) - After a fairly consistent season the Canes defense fell apart against Clemson, letting QB Kyle Parker and RB C.J. Spiller team up to embarrass the Canes in a 40-37 win.
19. Mississippi (19) - The Rebels were idle last week.
20. Notre Dame (20) - The Fightin' Irish had last week off to prepare for their first home game at a neutral site at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
21. Utah (21) - The Utes didn't look convincing in a 23-16 win against Air Force but they did good enough to win.
22. West Virginia (23) - The Mpuntaineers survived a game where emotions were high after the murder of a UCONN wide receiver. Up next for WVU is reeling South Florida.
23. Oklahoma (25) - The Sooners got back on track in what many thought would be a trap game in Lawrence, Kansas. QB Landry Jones had 252 yards and 2 TDs in a 35-13 win.
24. Arizona (NR) - Arizona seems to be the Pac 10 flavor of the week with a 5-2 record and a 27-13 win against UCLA last week. The Wildcats have this week off.
25. California (NR) - The Golden Bears dominated poor Washington State last week and will now face Arizona State this week.