1. Oklahoma (4-0) – The Sooners had the week off, resting and studying. Their next victim is Iowa State, which was the latest casualty in Northern Illinois’ cinderella season. It could get ugly.
2. Miami (4-0) – The Hurricanes also sat this week out. Not to sound repetitive, but their game against 1-3 West Virginia could get ugly as well.
3. Virginia Tech (4-0) – Kevin Jones rushed for more than 100 yards again, but this time he did it with only 12 carries. Look for more of the same this week against Rutgers.
4. Florida State (5-0) – I feel sorry for Duke. The Blue Devils are horrible at football. Good thing for them, basketball season starts soon. As for Florida State, the Seminoles keep winning, and winning big, as their 56-7 victory against the Dukies indicated. They get the week off to prepare for their state championship game against Miami on Oct. 11.
5. LSU (5-0) – Not too many people expected the Tigers to be undefeated going into their bye week, but they are. They need this week off to get some people healthy before hosting Florida on Oct. 11.
6. Ohio State (5-0) – The Buckeyes finally won a game in impressive style, shutting out Northwestern 20-0. But that was only Northwestern. Watch out, do not be surprised if the Buckeyes fall by the wayside this week against Wisconsin.
7. Tennessee (5-0) – The Vols met their match Saturday against South Carolina. Lou Holtz had his boys ready for that one, but the Vols prevailed in OT. They have another physical game this Saturday against all-run, no-pass Auburn.
8. Michigan (4-1) – The Wolverines returned to the “W” column Saturday against Indiana as Chris Perry put up a 100-yard performance. When he does that, the Big Blue is hard to beat. He’ll attempt it again Saturday against Iowa and their tough run defense.
9. Arkansas (4-0) – The Razorbacks came from behind to force overtime with the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, then won it in double overtime. That’s not the first time Arkansas orchestrated a comeback victory, is it Tiger fans?
10. Southern California (3-1) – The Trojans were shocked Saturday against California 34-31 in triple overtime. USC really needs to find a running game if it wants to make an impact this season.
11. Nebraska (4-0) – The Cornhuskers seem to be back. The defense is creating turnovers, and their option seems nearly impossible to defend. But, I’m a skeptic, and they have to win a big game before I jump on the bandwagon. And they don’t play a tough game until Nov. 4 – Texas.
12. Georgia (3-1) – The Bulldogs had the week off to reflect on their loss at LSU and prepare for the big game against Alabama. They’re back healthy, and don’t be surprised if it’s a blowout win for the Dawgs.
13. Kansas State (4-1) – Ell Roberson will be back for the Wildcats in Saturday’s much anticipated matchup with Texas. They sorely missed him in their loss to Marshall. Without him, this team plays like poo.
14. Texas. (3-1) – The Longhorns beat up on Tulane the same way they did to Rice the previous week. They needed to vent some frustrations after losing to Arkansas. But now the real season starts. Texas plays Kansas State and Oklahoma in consecutive weeks starting Saturday. If they are 3-3 after this, many people in Austin will be screaming for a coaching change. Poor Mack Brown.
15. Pittsburgh (3-1) – Larry Fitzgerald is sick. The man is ridiculous. I don’t think any team in America can slow him down. He added three more touchdowns to his resume on Saturday, which gives him nine already for the season.
16. Washington State (4-1) – The Cougars marched right into Autzen Stadium in Oregon and punished the Ducks … completely punished them. They have played only one bad half of football all season, and it paid for it with that overtime loss to Notre Dame. Washington State plays Arizona this weekend, and Arizona may hire former Cougar coach Mike Price this week. Things could get interesting for that game.
17. Washington (3-1) – The Huskies have rolled off three straight wins since losing to Ohio State to start the season. Cody Pickett and Reggie Williams have played well, but they haven’t put up quite the numbers everyone expected.
18. Iowa (4-1) – The Hawkeyes lost three fumbles and threw one pick in their 10-point loss to Michigan State. The Hawkeyes could not do anything without turning the ball over and could not force the Spartans to turn it over once. That was the story of the ball game.
19. Northern Illinois (4-0) – OK, so they’re pretty good. They beat Maryland, Alabama and now Iowa State, and the rest of their schedule is made up of MAC teams. If they finish the season undefeated, do they deserve a BCS bowl?
20. Texas Christian (4-0) – Beating Arizona by the score of 13-10 will not get you much respect in the rankings. This week the Horny Toads play 0-4 Army. If the score is close, the people in Fort Worth will not be happy.
21. Florida (3-2) – Chris Leak won in his first game as a starter, but it wasn’t pretty. A 24-21 come-from-behind win against Kentucky will not make the Gator faithful feel comfortable. Florida plays Ole Miss this week, and if Leak can put up 650 yards passing like Texas Tech did to the Rebels, the Gator fans will forget about Kentucky.
22. Minnesota (5-0) – The Golden Gophers handed it to Penn State on Saturday. This year resembles last season. Minnesota jumped out to 7-1 start, then lost to Michigan, Ohio State, etc. They finished the regular season 7-5.
23. Oregon (4-1) – The Ducks were still celebrating their big victory against Michigan and forgot to play a game Saturday. Washington State went into Eugene and beat them 55-16 at what Lee Corso calls “per person the loudest stadium in the country.”
24. Purdue (3-1) – The Boilermakers beat Notre Dame by 13 points Saturday. So I really like them this week. I love it when Notre Dame loses. They play Illinois this week and should win.
25. Wisconsin (4-1) – Dwayne Smith stepped in for the injured Anthony Davis and rushed for 193 yards on 34 carries. Something tells me it’s not only the talent up there that gets it done. Barry Alvarez has a good system and is always successful running the ball. He hopes for more of the same Saturday against Ohio State.
26. North Carolina State (3-2) – Philip Rivers accounted for three touchdowns and more than 400 passing yards against in-state rival North Carolina on Saturday. If the Wolfpack defense can step up, Rivers has a case for the Heisman.
27. Bowling Green (3-1) – A seven-point loss to Ohio State is the only thing standing in the Falcons’ way of an undefeated record. The Falcons average 523 yards per game on offense and are scoring points in bundles. The MAC is a strong conference this season.
28. Louisville (4-0) – After taking care of business against Kentucky and Syracuse, the Cardinals had two cupcakes (UTEP and Temple) and now will begin the Conference-USA schedule. Louisville is one of the more balanced teams in the country, passing and rushing for more than 200 yards per game and allowing only 17 points per game.
29. Air Force (5-0) – Run left. Run right. It doesn’t matter where they run it, the Falcons are gaining momentum on the ground. They average more than 300 yards rushing per game and possibly could go undefeated with their weak schedule.
30. Michigan State (4-1) – John L. Smith is doing some good things in his first year in East Lansing. The Spartans haven’t played anybody yet (with the exception of Iowa, who turned the ball over four times), but they look much improved from last season. They have two more easy games until their real season starts. Then we’ll be able to tell just how improved they are.