1. Oklahoma (9-0) – If you picked Oklahoma State to upset Oklahoma, you must have been suffering from a disillusional fantasy. It doesn’t matter that the Cowboys won the past two, these are a different bunch of Sooners, a better bunch of Sooners.
2. USC (8-1) – The Pacific-10 Conference game of the year started off pretty close, but just as they’ve done all year, the Trojans took control in the second half and ran away with the win, 43-16 against Washington State.
3. LSU (8-1) – During the past three weeks, LSU has played like a top-ranked team. Unfortunately for the Tigers, so have USC and Miami.
4. Florida State (8-1) – The Seminoles were the latest team to bury Notre Dame. Florida State won 37-0 and continue rolling.
5. Virginia Tech (7-1) – After getting dominated physically by West Virginia up and down the field, the Hokies came back and did the same to Miami at home Saturday night, winning 31-7. The Hokies will travel to Pittsburgh this weekend for another important Big East game.
6. Miami (7-1) – Brock Berlin looked terrible against the Hokies and eventually got pulled in favor of backup quarterback Derrick Crudup. The Hurricanes get another tough test this weekend when Tennessee travels to the Orange Bowl.
7. Ohio State (8-1) – The Buckeyes had to come from behind to beat the plundering Penn State Nittany Lions 21-20 on Saturday. As long as they keep winning games, the Buckeyes will remain in the Top 10, but they are entering the tough part of their Big Ten schedule this week.
8. Iowa (7-2) – The Hawkeyes enveloped Illinois Saturday 41-10 in preparation for Purdue this weekend. If not for mental errors – four fumbles in one game and three special teams miscues in another – the Hawkeyes would be undefeated.
9. Michigan (7-2) – The Wolverines won the state championship by beating Michigan State on Saturday 27-20. They get the week off before going to Evanston, Ill., to take on Northwestern on Nov. 15.
10. Georgia (7-2) – In three consecutive weeks, the Bulldogs have not played well. After barely beating Vandy and UAB, the Bulldogs could not defeat Florida. But that’s nothing new. Georgia has beaten Florida only once in the past 14 meetings between the two teams.
11. Purdue (7-2) – The Boilermakers handily defeated Northwestern by 20 points while keeping an eye on Iowa for this week’s Big Ten Game of the Week.
12. Washington State (7-2) – The Cougars ran into a brick wall when they tried to upset USC to take the Pac-10 crown. They entered the game undefeated in Pac-10 play while USC had one loss, and they are now tied with the Trojans. If both teams finish the season with one loss, USC takes the crown in a tie-breaker.
13. Texas (7-2) – The Longhorns dominated Nebraska to the tune of 31-7 on Saturday. Texas faces yet another challenge this week when it travels to Stillwater, Okla., to take on Oklahoma State.
14. TCU (8-0) – The Horned Frogs won a shootout against Houston, 62-55. Although it came away with the victory, TCU allowed Houston to accumulate 684 yards of total offense. This week it finally gets a challenge when it plays Louisville.
15. Nebraska (7-2) – Well, the Cornhuskers fell to Texas again. But they can’t hang their heads long because they have both Kansas schools coming up in consecutive weeks.
16. Tennessee (6-2) – The Vols get a shot at Miami this weekend in what should be a great game. They may have been looking ahead at the Hurricanes in their dismal 23-6 win against Duke.
17. Florida (6-3) – Wow, watch out America, here comes the Gators. Apparently the players on this team do not want their coach to get fired at the end of the season. After faltering to a 3-3 start, the Gators have won three consecutive games against ranked opponents.
18. Bowling Green (7-1) – The Falcons remain flying high after their bye week, which followed their upset against Northern Illinois. This week they will play in another big game against Miami, Ohio, which features two of the best quarterbacks in the land – Bowling Green’s Josh Harris and Miami’s Ben Roethlisberger.
19. Pittsburgh (6-2) – The Panthers disposed of Boston College, the latest team to defect to the ACC, and will take on Virginia Tech this week, which also left the Big East for the ACC. All eyes will be on the matchup between Pitt wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and VT cornerback DeAngelo Hall.
20. Michigan State (7-2) – The Spartans could not get over the hump Saturday in a 27-20 loss to Michigan. Now they will take on Ohio State in a move to remain atop the Big Ten standings.
21. Minnesota (8-2) – The Golden Gophers easily handled Gerry DiNardo’s Hoosiers on Saturday, 55-7. The Gophers host Wisconsin this weekend in a big game for the program.
22. Auburn (6-3) – Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville showed why he is a jerk as he ran the score the up on helpless ULM in a 73-7 win. The Tigers have a good team and play a huge game against Ole Miss on Saturday.
23. Ole Miss (7-2) – Who would have thought that in November the Ole Miss Rebels would be the only undefeated team in the SEC? Well, they are. But it won’t last long as they are slated to play at Auburn before hosting LSU two weeks later.
24. Oklahoma State (7-2) – Well,they had to play Oklahoma, so the Cowboys knew they would have to lose. Although they were poised after having beaten the Sooners in two straight games, they had to have secretly known they couldn’t do it this year.
25. Missouri (6-2) – Missouri took the bye week to reflect on its 62-31 blowout of Texas Tech and prepare for taking on Colorado this week. Brad Smith is one of the two most exciting players in college football, along with Larry Fitzgerald.
26. Wisconsin (6-3) – The Badgers can’t seem to beat the teams they are supposed to beat. After losing games to UNLV and Northwestern, they better get back on track as they go to Minneapolis to face Minnesota this weekend.
27. Louisville (7-1) – The Cardinals have a chance to move to the top of the Conference USA standings this week as they travel to Forth Worth, Texas to take on TCU. Louisville is also awaiting an invitation to join the Big East, which may occur this week.
28. Northern Illinois (8-1) – The Huskies nearly have an off week this Saturday as they play 1-9 Buffalo. Northern Illinois is still kicking themselves after their loss to Bowling Green, which ruined its chances for an undefeated season.
29. Miami, Ohio (7-1) – Big Ben Roethlisberger and his Redhawks host Bowling Green this Saturday in the MAC Game of the Week. If Miami wins the game, Bowling Green, N. Illinois and Miami would all be tied for the MAC championship.
30. Boise State (8-1) – The Broncos obliterated BYU on Thursday night in the middle of a snowstorm on ESPN. The Boise State punt team is the only facet of the game that kept to Broncos from playing a practically flawless game, as they snapped two punts into the end zone for two safeties.