Where if you’ve lost already, you ain’t worthy …
1. USC – They were up 42-10, on the road, against a ranked team, which was pumped for the game. This wasn’t beating an emotionally-ravaged team in your stacked viper-pit of a home stadium. The final score doesn’t truly tell how thoroughly the Trojans kicked Nebraska’s ass. UCLA’s loss took some shimmer off the Pac-10 SOS, of course.
2. LSU – These two teams are easily playing the best right now, so … not much material to a debate right now. The SEC looks pretty weak, in truth, save Florida, so as they “beat each other up” in the SEC, it will be interesting to see how LSU’s SOS is affected.
3. tOSU – Beat a rising BCS team on the road, which cannot be underrated. The defense is solid, the offense is coming around, and maybe they’re playing better knowing Michigan stinks this year. Certainly, they rose to the challenge after the Akron slugfest.
4. Oklahoma – Have they done anything wrong? No. But their schedule is weak. I don’t see anyone in the Big XII challenging them this season (sit down, Mack Brown).
5. Florida – Beating Tennessee (now a two-loss team in mid-Sept) doesn’t win you any style points. And let’s be honest: it was only 28-20 in the third quarter. You’re good, Gators, but the four teams above you have been playing better (so far). No shame in being Top 5.
6. Boston College – This ranking may be too high, but when you’re 3-0 already in your BCS conference standings, you’ve gotten off to a great start. You beat the defending ACC champs, you beat a good Georgia Tech team in an upset on the road, and you are going to get to kick Notre Dame’s ass in a few weeks. Enjoy this, and may you keep it going.
7. Penn State – Who have they played so far? No one, really. The slow start against Buffalo can be overlooked by the fact that it was 31-3 after three periods. TCB? Oh yes, especially with a reeling Michigan team on the horizon.
8. West Virginia – Forget Steve Slaton. Say hi to Noel Devine. Impressive road win over Maryland, too. The defense finally showed up. With Louisville’s loss, they have to be considered the Big East favorites (although watch Cincinnati).
9. Rutgers – The Knights haven’t played anyone yet, but that’s in their favor since they’ve been kicking ass thoroughly. Here comes the real schedule for you now; let’s see what you got.
10. South Carolina – There’s a big drop-off already, from #9 to #10. We will learn all we need to know next weekend about these Gamecocks and the Ol’ Ball Coach. Somehow, if Spurrier manages to win at LSU this year, I think he’s officially “back”. He just hasn’t had a big enough win yet at USC-Lite to announce that.
11. Kentucky – Probably too high of a jump for them, but Louisville was a CONTENDER. Rich Brooks is a good guy; he deserves this success.
12. Alabama – They can earn this spot by beating Georgia next weekend. In the meantime, they beat Arkansas, which really shouldn’t have been losing to the Tide this season. Good for Saban, although it just means he’s more likely to leave sooner rather than later.
13. California – Beating LaTech by 30 at home doesn’t make me think anything more of their defense, which still has a lot of holes in it. When they play at Autzen in two weeks, then we’ll know what we need to know about Cal.
14. Wisconsin – The Citadel scored 31 points on the Badgers in Madison. Not good. But hey, at least Michigan sucks this season.
15. Oregon – Blowouts wins over bad teams can only get you so high, but they get Cal in a few weeks.
16. Purdue – The Boilermakers just might be Oregon East. They should be 5-0 when they host the Buckeyes.
17. Arizona State – Easy wins over weak teams (sorry, Colorado). So what?
18. South Florida – Should they be ranked this high based on a road win over an overrated SEC team which has since lost AGAIN? Maybe not. When they play the Mountaineers in two weeks, though, we’ll know all we need to know.
19. Cincinnati – Along with Utah, they’ve punctured some Pac-10 dreams. But what else? Giving up 16 points in three games is a purdy stat.
20. Air Force – Wins over Utah and TCU are looking good right now. Can they run the table with no games against ranked teams? Remember, they get to play the Irish, too.
21. Clemson – Still looking for a quality win over a good team. They’ll have chances before the season is over.
22. Missouri – Two so-so BCS wins before some play toys. Giving up 83 points in three games, however? Not good.
23. Texas – That win over TCU doesn’t look so good now, and the other wins are bad wins. How good is this team? They may be 5-0 when they play Oklahoma, but it’s going to be ugly when the Sooners are through with them.
24. Hawaii – So they hiccupped last week; they rebounded hard this week. They, like Air Force, have a good shot at running the table. I am betting they will, and they’ll still end up in the Honolulu Bowl.
25. Michigan State – Only here because of the lack of quality in still-undefeated teams. Which begs the question: should I be ranking teams with losses? No. Not yet. Not until the BCS standings come out. In the meantime, the Spartans are much improved on defense – and they get to play Notre Dame next before going to Madison to end the month. If the Citadel can score on the Badgers …
Others receiving consideration:
* Kansas – Given up only 20 points in three games against nobodies is a good sign.
* Texas Tech – Giving up 64 points in three games against nobodies is not a good sign for the defense.
* Texas A&M – Pancake schedule so far, and it says here the Hurricanes are going to pound them.
* Tulsa – Sure, they can score. But can they play defense?
* Connecticut – SOS went up when Duke won a game. Five points wins against Temple? Stinky.
* Indiana – If they can beat Minnesota, Ball State and Northwestern, they can go bowling.
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