1. Miami (8-0) – The Hurricanes got off to a slow start against Rutgers. Very slow. After trailing for the majority of the game, Miami put together a fantastic fourth quarter to remain undefeated and won 42-17.
2. Oklahoma (8-0) – Colorado could never get anything going against this stifling Sooner defense, and Oklahoma will have a comforting lead in the Bowl Championship Series poll.
3. Ohio State (10-0) – Ohio State showed just how weak a team Minnesota was, even though they had only one loss. The Buckeyes have to beat Michigan in a few weeks if they want to remain undefeated, but as history has shown, the team with national title aspirations always loses in this rivalry.
4. Iowa (9-1) – Even without running back Fred Russell, the Hawkeyes dominated Wisconsin. If you haven’t seen Iowa in action you need to, they are fun to watch.
5. Texas (9-1) – The Longhorns have won back-to-back games by three points against good opponents, Kansas State and Nebraska. Nebraska had the ball at the 16-yard line with 15 seconds left and decided to run one more play before settling for a field goal. The Cornhuskers threw an interception to give Texas the win and further Nebraska’s worst season in many, many years.
6. Washington State (8-1) – Jason Gesser and the Cougars doubled up on Arizona State, winning 44-22 in the battle of the Pac-10 unbeatens. Washington State has a good chance at finishing the season undefeated in Pac-10 play. Its only loss is to Ohio State.
7. Virginia Tech (8-1) – Kevin Jones went out of the game early with a pulled hamstring. Pittsburgh was motivated to win two-straight against the Hokies, and they did to end Virginia Tech’s hopes for an undefeated season.
8. Georgia (8-1) – The 20-13 score in Georgia’s loss to Florida was not indicative of the game. Florida dominated the game. Georgia could never seem to stop the Gators and the Bulldogs were 0-for-13 on third down conversions in the “Cocktail Party.”
9. Notre Dame (8-1) – The Irish lost this game exactly how they won their previous eight. This time, they had the turnovers and mishaps on special teams. This time they didn’t receive the good end on all of the calls. We were all wondering when the luck would run out. Well it finally happened. But they still have a shot at the Fiesta Bowl.
10. Alabama (7-2) – The Crimson Tide beat an overmatched Vanderbilt team 30-8 and are ready for the tough end of their Southeastern Conference schedule.
11. Michigan (7-2) – The Wolverines killed arch-rival Michigan State, 49-3, Saturday. Michigan finally looked impressive.
12. USC (6-2) – The Trojans had the week off to prepare for the rest of its brutal schedule, including Notre Dame.
13. LSU (6-2) – The Tigers are ready to handle up on Kentucky and are awaiting the Nov. 9 matchup with Alabama. The bye week couldn’t have come at a better time, with the 24 million Chinese still complaining about the Auburn game and all.
14. Kansas State (7-2) – K-State was not kind to in-state rival Kansas Saturday. After losing to Texas a week ago, the Wildcats wanted a win. They got one, in a 64-0 fashion.
15. North Carolina State (9-1) – The Wolfpack were one of the four unbeaten teams to lose Saturday. N.C. State did not have an answer for Georgia Tech’s offense in the second half.
16. Oregon (7-2) – The Ducks quacked back after back-to-back losses and destroyed the Tyrone Willingham-less Stanford Cardinals 41-14.
17. Florida (6-3) – The Gators offense got back on track Saturday against Georgia, the only thing that held them back were turnovers. Ron Zook finally got a big win as Florida’s head coach. Maybe his infamous web site (www.fireronzook.com) won’t be quite as busy this week.
18. Penn State (6-3) – Larry Johnson, once again, set the Penn State single-game rushing record Saturday. With Iowa, Ohio State and Michigan already out of the way, the Nittany Lions should finish out the season 9-3.
19. Colorado (6-3) – The Buffaloes put up a valiant effort against the Sooners, but they fell short. I made a guarantee that Chris Brown would not rush for 100 yards. I was wrong.
20. Florida State (6-3) – Well, the Seminoles played good for one game this year (the Miami game). They had to come from behind to beat Wake Forest. It doesn’t matter whether its Adrian McPherson or Chris Rix at quarterback, they have some serious problems.
21. Iowa State (7-3) – Seneca Wallace was back in form Saturday when he broke the Cyclones single-game record of total offense. He is the man, and although he may not win it, he will be invited to New York for the presentation of the Heisman trophy.
22. Arizona State (7-3) – The Sun Devils were outmatched by Washington State, but they are still the third or fourth best team in the Pac-10.
23. Tennessee (5-3) – Phillip Fulmer got his 100th victory as the Vols’ coach in their win over South Carolina. Tennessee seems poised to finish off the season with no more losses, but it still has to play Miami.
24. Pittsburgh (7-2) – Pittsburgh and Miami are the only teams undefeated in Big East play. It looks as if Pitt will finish the year 9-3 and in second place in the Big East. Who would have predicted that?
25. Bowling Green (8-0) – OK, the Falcons are undefeated and the other polls rank them in the top 20. But I don’t care if they do win all of their games, because they don’t play anybody. Does anyone in their right mind think the Falcons could beat any team I have mentioned here?