Clark's Top 25

Alabama came up big with a good win against LSU this week so the Crimson Tide keep the top spot in the Clark Poll. After that there's some shake ups.

1. Alabama (1) - Heisman candidate Mark Ingram ran for 144 yards and much maligned Alabama QB Greg McElroy threw for 276 yards and 2 TDs as the Crimson Tide took control of the SEC West. Up next Mississippi State.
2. Texas (3) - The Longhorns had a walk in the park against the fighting George O'Learys of Central Florida. The BFF combo of McCoy and Shipley racked up yards in droves as Texas won 35-3.
3. Florida (2) - After one week of domination, Florida fell back to the middle a bit last week with a lackluster 27-3 win against Vandy. Tebow was efficient, going 15-20 for 208 yards and a TD but the Gators struggled to score early. Next up: a game against the Ol' Ball Coach and the Cocks.
4. TCU (5) - The Horned Frogs dominated another hapless opponent with a 55-12 win against San Diego State. TCU will have a chance to impress voters next week with a game against Utah.
5. Cincinatti (4) - Backup quarterback Zach Collaros was hot again for the Bearcats with 480 yards passing, but the Bearcats defense allowed UCONN to stay in this game to the bitter end as Cincy won 47-45. The question is now, do the Bearcats have a QB controversy with Tony Pike coming back?
6. Boise State (6) - The Broncos may have been dealt a double blow this week. They looked sketchy in a 45-35 win against Louisiana Tech and then Oregon was beat by Stanford. That puts the Boise/Oregon debate to bed but it also decreases the worth of Boise's only big win.
7. Georgia Tech (12) - The Yellow Jackets got lucky this week. Despite needing overtime to beat Wake Forest 30-27, GT moves up after the bottom part of the Top 10 fell.
8. Pittsburgh (17) - I wanted the Panthers to get a big win before I shot them up the poll but with the losses at 7-11, I had to make the move now. Syracuse may not be good but a 37-10 win is convincing.
9. Ohio State (16) - The Buckeyes have looked shaky all season but got it together to beat Penn State 24-7. Terrelle Pryor didn't turn any heads with only 8 completions, but had 2 TDs. With a win against Iowa next week the Buckeyes can still win the Big Ten.
10. Oklahoma State (14) - The Cowboys recovered well from the beatdown at the hands of the Longhorns with a 34-8 win against Iowa State in Ames. The Pokes have a big game against Tech this week. A win could put them in good bowl position.
11. LSU (10) - I'm not going to punish LSU too much for losing to the best team in the country.
12. Miami (18) - The Hurricanes dominated Virginia 52-17 as Jacory Harris and RB Graig Cooper romped. Miami now faces North Carolina.
13. Oregon (7) - The Ducks defense looked downright pedestrian against Stanford as they allowed RB Toby Gerhart to rumble for 223 yards and 2 TDs. Stanford QB Andrew Luck also had a big game 251 yards and 2 TDs. I still think Oregon is a good team. They may have just gotten bitten by the hype bug.
14. USC (9) - I had some reservations about dropping USC four spots after a win, but 14-9 against 4-5 Arizona State is nothing to write home about. Not to mention, I think Oregon still deserves to be ranked ahead of USC.
15. Virginia Tech (13) - Tne Hokies played decent in a 16-3 win against East Carolina as RB Ryan Williams had 179 yards on the ground. But with Pitt moving up and the Buckeyes looking solid I had no choice but to dump VT.
16. Iowa (8) - I called it. My second favorite team, the Northwestern Wildcats, finally gave Iowa its first loss of the season. The Hawkeyes now have to rally around freshman QB James Vanderburg who looked shaky replacing Ricky Stanzi.
17. Penn State (11) - The Nittany Lions struggled against the OSU defense as QB Darryl Clark couldn't take a step forward. Now Penn State is out of the Rose Bowl race.
18. Houston (15) - I thought the Cougars were a lock to beat Tulsa by more than one point. Final score: Houston 46, Tulsa 45. Screw Houston.
19. Arizona (24) - Arizona thoroughly destroyed an already reeling Washington State team 48-7. Now the Wildcats will have to prove how good they are next week against Cal.
20. Utah (21) - Utah looked strong with a 45-14 win against New Mexico. The Utes needed a good win as they now head to Fort Worth to face undefeated TCU.
21. West Virginia (22) - WVU edged out Louisville 17-9 . Though the Mountaineers did not look convincing, they'll have a chance this week to stand out against undefeated Cincy.
22. Wisconsin (NR) - The Badgers held on to beat Indiana last week as RB John Clay had 134 yards and a TD. Next up: Michigan.
23. BYU (NR) - The Fightin' Mormons dominated Wyoming 52-0 last week.
24. South Florida (NR) - I have only one thing to say: Nobody circles the wagons like the South Florida Bulls!
25. Stanford (NR) - With a legitimate Heisman candidate in RB Toby Gerhart and a freshman QB that NFL scouts are already salivating over in Andrew Luck, I thought Stanford deserved the final spot here.