1. Oklahoma (7-0) – I have an idea. How about we give the Sooners a bye and have a playoff for the remaining top eight teams to decide who gets to lose to them in the championship game. The Sooners played outstanding against Missouri. Jason White passed for 278 yards and two touchdowns, Antonio Perkins recorded his seventh career punt return for a touchdown (tied the NCAA Division I-A record) and the defense knocked out the most exciting player in the land – Missouri quarterback Brad Smith.
2. Miami (7-0) – Jarrett Payton rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns on just 16 carries as the Hurricanes beat Temple 52-14. The son of the late great Walter Payton is one of the feel-good stories of the year.
3. Virginia Tech (6-0) – The Hokies had Saturday off to rest, but I really don’t think they needed it. They play West Virginia this Saturday, and except for the near upset of Miami, the Mountaineers haven’t fared well.
4. Georgia (6-1) – Utter amazement struck my being when I reached Columbia, S.C. on Saturday afternoon after my day-long vacation in Charleston. I turned on the tube and saw that Vanderbilt had a two-point lead on Georgia at halftime, 2-0. But the second half was a different story, and the Bulldogs won 27-8.
5. USC (6-1) – The Trojans manhandled Notre Dame in a 31-point win that was music to my ears. They return to Pacific-10 Conference play this week when they travel to Seattle to play Washington.
6. Florida State (6-1) – The Seminoles barely squeaked out a win against Virginia on Saturday 19-14. They shut down the Cavaliers’ running game, but could not stop the passing of last year’s All-ACC quarterback Matt Shaub.
7. LSU (6-1) – LSU’s defense was impressive in Saturday’s 33-7 win at South Carolina. Giving up zero rushing yards is quite an accomplishment.
8. Ohio State (6-1) – The Buckeyes came back from their loss at Wisconsin to beat Iowa 19-10 at home. The Buckeyes scored 16 of their 19 points on special teams – a punt return, a blocked punt and a safety off a bad snap on an Iowa punt.
9. Washington State (6-1) – The Cougars did not have their best game of the year, but they still beat Stanford by 10. This week they have a tough challenge when they host Oregon State and running back Steven Jackson.
10. Purdue (6-1) – The Boilermakers surprised me when they upended Wisconsin in Madison one week after the Badgers beat Ohio State in the same stadium. Purdue quarterback Kyle Orton threw for 411 yards in the win.
11. Nebraska (5-1) – A week after Texas A&M beat Baylor 73-10, Nebraska took advantage of eight Aggie turnovers and beat A&M 48-12. The Cornhuskers rushed for 333 yards. Teams usually win when they do that.
12. Iowa (5-2) – The Hawkeyes shot themselves in the foot at Ohio State on Saturday. Although they limited the Buckeyes to just 180 yards of total offense, special teams killed them.
13. Auburn (5-2) – The Tigers may be the second hottest team in the country right now, behind Oklahoma of course. Two dominating forces will collide this Saturday when Auburn’s offense goes against LSU’s defense. Can you say physical?
14. Texas Christian (7-0) – I feel as though I have to place the Horned Frogs in in the Top 15 because they remain undefeated. A come-from-behind win against UAB is not impressive.
15. Northern Illinois (7-0) – The Huskies have a big game this week. They travel down to Kentucky to take on 6-1 Bowling Green and quarterback Jason Harris. This will be the best game in the Mid-American Conference this year, which is why ESPN decided to bring its “College GameDay” to Bowling Green. ESPN will finally introduce the country to Michael Turner. The N. Illinois running back rushed for 1,915 yards last year and already has 929 through seven games this year.
16. Michigan (6-2) – The Wolverines beat the pulp out of Illinois on Saturday 56-14. This week they prepare for Purdue in a classic Big Ten showdown.
17. Arkansas (4-2) – Down 33-7, Arkansas attempted an improbable comeback against the Florida Gators but were unable to finish it off. Arkansas actually intercepted a Chris Leak pass with one minute left, but safety Tony Bua tried to rip off Leak’s head after he threw it and the penalty wiped out the interception.
18. Michigan State (7-1) – The Spartans beat Minnesota 44-38 in a high-scoring matchup in Minneapolis. They get this week off to prepare for the game of games against Michigan.
19. Wisconsin (6-2) – Was it a letdown game, or is Purdue just better than Wisconsin? The Badgers should get things going again this week in Evanston, Ill. against Northwestern.
20. Tennessee (5-2) – The Vols got a week off to find out just what happened in their 41-14 loss at home to Georgia. They get a nationally televised game this week to show the country that they are a better team than they showed when they play Alabama on Saturday.
21. Oklahoma State (6-1) – Usually when a team gives up 552 yards passing, it will lose. But the Cowboys were playing Texas Tech. First off, B.J. Symons always passes for that much, and Texas Tech has no defense.
22. Texas (5-2) – The Longhorns play Baylor this week. Vincent Young should have a banner day, and the Longhorns will roll. I wish I could watch them lose to Oklahoma again. That was great.
23. Bowling Green (6-1) – The Falcons’ high-octane offensive machine will meet Northern Illinois this weekend. I think the Falcons will pull off the win and kill the Huskies’ chances of spoiling the BCS.
24. Pittsburgh (4-2) – With a 42-7 lead against Rutgers, Pitt called off the dogs in the second half. But Larry Fitzgerald still ended up with more than 200 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He is what you call in lay people’s terms, a good wide receiver.
25. Utah (6-1) – The Utes finally crack the Power Rankings after a 28-10 win against UNLV. Their balanced offense has allowed them to reel off five straight wins after a two-point loss at Texas A&M in the second game of the season.
26. Florida (5-3) – The Gators find themselves back in the rankings after two straight impressive wins against ranked opponents. Just like in their game against Miami, they held a 33-7 lead. But this time, they held on to beat Arkansas 33-28.
27. Texas Tech (5-2) – B.J. Symons passed for 552 yards, but it wasn’t enough to defeat Oklahoma State. If Texas Tech had a defense, Symons would be a lock for an invite to New York for the Heisman Trophy presentation.
28. Minnesota (6-2) – The Golden Gophers have a great offense and score a lot of points, but they just can’t stop anybody from scoring on them. This is the second game in a row they have given up more than 35 points in a loss.
29. Missouri (5-2) – Brad Smith put forth a valiant effort, but the beating he took from the Oklahoma defense was just too much and eventually knocked him out of the game late in the fourth quarter.
30. Oregon State (5-2) – Running back Steven Jackson got shut down against Washington with only 49 yards on 22 carries. But the big back is still averaging 132 rushing yards per game as the Beavers travel to Washington State for a big Pac-10 matchup.