Clark's Top 25

Well there's been a lot of talk this week about shuffling the Top 3 teams. Apparently because Florida and Texas finally played to potential we have to throw Alabama under the bus. I don't think I'm quite ready to do that. I'm not going to punish Bama for taking a week off.

The other conondrum has been the Oregon/Boise State paradigm. I think we all (aside from Boise State fans) are ready to admit Oregon has evolved as a team and is now better than Boise but can we rank Oregon ahead of the Broncs with a loss in the head to head game. I don't think we can. And I find it very hypocritical that media types like ESPN's Gene Wojohowski, who has bashed the coaches poll all year for ranking teams with a head to head win below the team they beat, now have Oregon ranked ahead of Boise. So I'm going to keep the Broncs where they are. For now. Let's get to it.

1. Alabama (1) - I have had the Crimson Tide #1 for a while now and I'm not dropping them. Texas and Florida were convincing last week but where have the Gators and Horns been all season when Bama has been crushing opponents? This week the Tide face LSU.
2. Texas (3) - I think Oklahoma State (despite not having Dez Bryant) is a good team and the throttling the Horns put on them was worth the #2 spot.
3. Florida (2) - I may be the only dude in America with the Gators at #3. Bashing Georgia was good but I expected it too.
4. Cincinatti (4) - The Bearcats looked sharp again as backup QB Zach Collaros was 22-28 for 295 yards and 4 TDs against Syracuse.
5. TCU (5) - The Horned Frogs romped again this week crushing UNLV 41-0. The result should be the same next week against San Diego State.
6. Boise State (6) - Boise looked shaky early but got things going in the second quarter and beat San Jose State 45-7.
7. Oregon (7) - Oregon looked unbelievable last week in a 47-20 destruction of Notre Dame. Right now Oregon may honestly be the best team in the nation but unless Boise loses the Ducks will be stuck.
8. Iowa (8) - The Hawkeyes overcame five interceptions by Ricky Stanzi and scored 28 points in the 4th quarter to come back and beat Indiana. The Hawkeyes really need to get a convincing win against Northwestern before heading to Columbus in two weeks.
9. LSU (10) - The Tigers didn't have to look far for a win this week. They beat up on cross-town opponent Tulane 42-0. This week the Tigers will have a chance to get back in the national title hunt against Bama.
10. Penn State (11) - The Nittany Lions struggled for a while with Northwestern before overtaking the Wildcats, winning 34-13. QB Darryl Clark has been on fire since the Iowa loss. He had 274 yards and a TD against NW.
11. Georgia Tech (12) - QB Josh Nesbit actaully showed off the long ball this week against Vandy. The junior passer completed only 6 passes but had 193 yards and 2 TDs passing, while RB Jonathan Dwyer had 183 yards on the ground.
12. Ohio State (16) - The Buckeyes didn't need much offense to beat New Mexico State as OSU dominated 45-0. Ohio State has a major showdown with Penn State this week. If the Buckeyes win it sets up a showdown with Iowa for the Big Ten title.
13. Pittsburgh (17) - The Panthers did the smart thing last week and took the week off. This week they'll play host to Syracuse.
14. Houston (15) - It kind of kills me to raise Houston after a week when the Cougars edged out Southern Miss 50-43. After Saturday the win against Okie State looks less impressive.
15. Miami (18) - Miami's season has had the ups and downs of a hurricane. Last week the Hurricanes edged Wake Forest 28-27. Miami will need to step it up if the team wants to win the ACC.
16. Notre Dame (20) - The Irish' win against Washington State was nothing to write home about but with Jimmy Clausen only playing one half I'll still give ND props. Now can the Irish win out and get in the BCS? They have to start with a win against Navy Saturday.
17. USC (9) - There's no shame in losing to Oregon right now but there is shame in getting dismantled 47-20. The Trojan's D looked hapless against the Ducks and hasn't looked good in weeks.
18. Utah (21) - The Utes beat Wyoming 22-10 to stay alive in the Moutain West race. Now they'll face reeling New Mexico.
19. Virginia Tech (13) - Losing to North Carolina wouldn't be so bad if the Tarheels hadn't started the season so poorly. The Hokies have to turn things back around in a non-conference tilt with East Carolina Saturday.
20. Oklahoma (23) - OU didn't dominate North co-leader Kansas State Saturday but Landry Jones' 294 yards and 4 TDs were enough to tally a 42-30 win. The Sooners travel to Lincoln to face the Huskers this week.
21. Oklahoma State (14) - Either the Pokes finally woke the sleeping giant at Texas or they may have some bigger problems than we thought. They have to look out for the hangover loss at Iowa State this week.
22. Arizona (24) - The Wildcats were off last week. Well played.
23. California (25) - Cal edged out Arizona State 23-21 Saturday. Not impressive but good enough. Next up is Jacquizz Rogers and the Oregon State Beavers.
24. South Florida (NR) - USF took down West Virginia last week and it was a good thing. I was getting tired of not saying "nobody circles the wagons like the South Florida Bulls."
25. Wisconsin (NR) - The Badgers have rebounded after consecutive losses to Ohio State and Iowa and beat Purdue 37-0 last week. Next up for UW is Indiana.