40 Acres Sports

The Cam Newton ruling is stunning to me.  The NCAA says his father broke rules by shopping his son, but there’s absolutely nothing wrong for Cam to play stupid while boosters and Cecil Newton negotiated a private transaction.   I sort of get their point – if the school itself and the player itself didn’t do anything improper, what the heck are they going to do about it?

Jadeveon Clowney is the top recruit in the country according to Rivals.com.  He’s a bonecrushing 6’6″ defensive end from the Palmetto State that reminds scouts of Mario Williams, a former #1 pick in the NFL Draft and an All-Pro.  Cownley hasn’t committed yet but has offers from 13 BCS conference schools from Alabama to South Carolina to all the way out West from Southern Cal.  At this point, why commit to anyone?  Just get your dad to contact each school’s booster club and get the best price.   Rivals.com’s #3 prospect is a Virginia linebacker named Curtis Grant, who runs a 4.5 40 and is 6’3″, 222 as a high school senior.  There’s 22 schools after Grant and he hasn’t made a decision.  Why make any decision that doesn’t involve getting paid?  Just let your parents get a media spanking from the NCAA and smile as they cash the check.

I guess it’s nice to know that Texas has one of the wealthiest alumni bases in America, but now we face an ethical decision.  We share a conference with Oklahoma and Texas A&M – who have a long history of shady behavior and are going into the postseason while the Longhorns stay home this year.  If Pandora’s box has indeed been opened – the Ags and the Sooners both will be at the front of the line with their checkbooks open.  Texas can pay coordinators and position coaches more than the majority of head coaches in the FBS…but does any of that matter if OU and A&M start paying for five star athletes?  Just because RC and Switzer aren’t running things doesn’t mean those alums went away.

There’s probably some 14 year old freshman phenom right now leading his team into the playoffs this weekend that will become the first million dollar recruit if his dad plays this system right.  Coaches and scouts will flock to his games in 2014 watching him shred opponents while praying that their school’s rich alums and the phenom’s family can work out a deal behind their backs.  As long as the athletic department stays ignorant and the recruit’s parents tell him where he’s going to school, this is deemed acceptable by the NCAA.  He can roll onto his new campus in a 80K ride and have a 200K off campus condo if his parents bought it all for him, right?

All this talk about the NCAA closing this loophole is probably dumb.  That says that they don’t want a filthy program like Auburn to get punished for THIS season.  Auburn has faced sanctions a whopping 7 times since 1950.   This is a quote from former Auburn president William Muse after the NCAA dropped the hammer on Auburn in 1993 for alums paying players:  “If this program is to survive, there can be no more days like this one, intentional or unintentional.”

Guess you lucked out on this one, War Eagle.  Can Reggie Bush have his Heisman back now?

It’s not official yet but all sources are reporting that injured guard Varez Ward is leaving the Texas basketball program. The sophomore from Montgomery, Alabama only played 3 games last season before tearing his quadriceps in pregame warmups. If he transfer to another Division I school he would have to sit out one season but his injury may force him to miss time this season anyways.

This news is not surprising if you follow him on Twitter (@vward50) as he’s been hinting at needing to move on since the middle of last basketball season. Orangebloods is reporting that he wants to be closer to home due to some family health issues.

Rumors are that he’s headed to Auburn, but I’m not sure if even he knows where he is headed as according to him “need a drink… i need to get in somebody school asap.” To me that tweet means that if he is headed to Auburn he may still be waiting for the academics to be sorted out.

Good luck to Varez. I hope he gets healthy and gets it done in both the classroom and on the court wherever he ends up.

For the first time in a few weekends there are lots of good games for our viewing pleasure. A few have National Championship implications, and a few are just good rivalry match-ups. Of course the big one is tonight and all Texas fans will be glued to the match-up in Stillwater. Most Texas fans rooted for OU last week and they one, I think they owe us a favor now and need to lose against Okie State.

Another solid 2-1 last weekend and I am planning on going undefeated today. Let’s see what’s going on:

#22 Georgia Tech at #11 Georgia (-7.5) – 12:00 PM EST on CBS. Georgia doesn’t have a shot at going to the National Championship, but they probably don’t care much about that this Saturday as all they want to do is kill Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech, and the whole ACC for that matter, has been very up and down this season. Since Georgia Tech played so well last weekend, they are due to get blown out this weekend. Take Georgia and the easy win.

Auburn at #1 Alabama (-14.5) – 3:30 PM EST on CBS. Even Auburn had ANY semblance of a real quarterback, I would probably take them in this game. Even though this is a heated rivalry game, since Alabama already has the SEC West wrapped up, I feel they may be looking ahead to Florida. But that won’t really matter much since they will jump out early and dominate this game from the beginning. Take Alabama, but buy the half point just in case.

#4 Florida at #20 Florida State (+16.5) – 3:30 PM EST on ABC. The same thing applies in this game. Florida already has the SEC East wrapped up and all anyone can talk about it their matchup against Alabama. Florida State actually has the athletes that can keep up with Florida and won’t be too surprised by their speed. Now that won’t help them win, but I do think it will help them cover. I am thinking Florida State covers this one.

Baylor at #7 Texas Tech (-23) – 3:30 PM EST. The big question in this one is whether or not Texas Tech will have a letdown game after getting drubbed in Norman. Baylor has played pretty well this season and I think this 23 points might be a tad high. Yeah Tech can score some points, but I bet a lot of them think their season is over. Baylor might even win this one. Take the Bears and the points.

#3 Oklahoma at #12 Oklahoma State (+8) – 8:00 PM EST on ABC. Obviously the biggest game of the day for Texas fans. Luckily this weekend we actually get to root against OU. As much as I would like to think Oklahoma State can hang with OU, I just can’t make myself believe it. Oklahoma State does have the extra week to prepare for this one, but if OU plays up to their potential that doesn’t matter. I expect Stoops to have Oklahoma extra ready for this one and they probably plan to make another statement this weekend. Take Oklahoma and give the points, and say goodbye to our National Championship dreams.

Finally a week were pretty much all of the top teams went out and took care of business. There is a lot of shuffling around towards the bottom of the Top 25 as many teams have dropped out.

1. [tag]Oklahoma[/tag]

   
   LW: 1

   Went out and took care of business and didn’t look ahead to playing Texas. I was actually somewhat surprised they only scored 49 points against Baylor.

2. [tag]Missouri[/tag]

   
   LW: 3

   Missouri hadn’t won in Nebraska in 30 years. Apparently they were a little tired of losing there and put a whooping on the Cornhuskers. Pretty sure Bo Pelini is a little embarrassed after that one.

3. [tag]Alabama[/tag]

   
   LW: 2

   Alabama actually showed some of their first signs of struggling, but they were still able to pull out the victory. Things will get a lot tougher for them as teams will be gunning to knock them off.

4. [tag]LSU[/tag]

   
   LW: 4

   Bye week

5. [tag]Texas[/tag]

   
   LW: 5

   I was actually a little nervous playing at Colorado, but thankfully Texas jumped out to the early lead and never looked back. Texas’ defense looked better than ever and might possibly be prepared for OU.

6. [tag]BYU[/tag]

   
   LW: 8

   Still feels weird to have BYU up here so high, but they have been absolutely killing teams lately. Because of their week schedule though, they probably won’t move much past this spot.

7. [tag]Penn State[/tag]

   
   LW: 9

   Penn State continues to dominate in the weak Big 12, and will face their first tough test playing at Camp Randall against Wisconsin.

8. [tag]Texas Tech[/tag]

   
   LW: 10

   I actually thought Kansas State would give Tech a game, but Tech just scored at will. Graham Harrell threw for 450 yards and 6 touchdowns. Not a bad day.

9. [tag]Georgia[/tag]

   
   LW: 12

10. [tag]USC[/tag]

    
    LW: 11

    Starting off, USC looked like they might be losing another one to a team from the state of Oregon. But in the end they reeled off 40+ straight points and cruised to victory.

11. [tag]Florida[/tag]

    
    LW: 13

    Florida was lucky to have a bye week, oh wait, they did play Arkansas, which is just like having a bye week. Now they have to play LSU in a showdown in the SEC.

12. [tag]Kansas[/tag]

    
    LW: 14

    Kansas struggled a little bit at Iowa State but were able to squeak out of there with a win. Todd Reesing is a seriously talented QB.

13. [tag]Utah[/tag]

    
    LW: 15

    Utah is quietly hanging around in the Top 15 and beating all the teams they should. I guess we will just have to wait until they play BYU.

14. [tag]Vanderbilt[/tag]

    
    LW: 16

    Vanderbilt continues to be the surprise of the SEC. They are actually leading the SEC East! I doubt this will last much longer.

15. [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag]

    
    LW: 17

    Hard to tell if Oklahoma State is really that good or if A&M is just that bad. It’s probably a little bit of both and I am really scared of playing this team later this month.

16. [tag]Boise State[/tag]

    
    LW: 18

    I can’t stand to watch this team playing on that bright blue field, but they continue to win impressively and dominate their opponent. They have a legitimate shot at going undefeated this season.

17. [tag]Ohio State[/tag]

    
    LW: 19

    Ohio State pulled off an impressive win at Wisconsin proving the whole Big 10 is just a joke. Everyone pretty much just sucks equally.

18. [tag]Virginia Tech[/tag]

    
    LW: 21

    They don’t win big and they don’t win pretty. They somehow just manage to play just good enough to get the win. They will have to play better if they want to make it through the ACC schedule.

19. [tag]Michigan State[/tag]

    
    LW: –

    The only thing they have going for them is their running back, but man is he awesome. Can we trade for him?

20. [tag]South Florida[/tag]

    
    LW: 6

    South Florida of course had to ruin their dream season and go lose to a crappy Pittsburgh team. Does anyone want to step up in the Big East?

21. [tag]North Carolina[/tag]

    
    LW: –

    Not sure the last time North Carolina was ranked in football, but it has to be a while. They have a solid team and have a pretty favorable schedule the rest of the way.

22. [tag]Wake Forest[/tag]

    
    LW: –

    Hmm…not really sure what to make of this team. Sometimes they look really good, and sometimes they look really awful. Week to week it is tough to tell which team will show up.

23. [tag]Auburn[/tag]

    
    LW: 7

    Auburn losing to Vanderbilt? Who would have guessed that in the beginning of the season? Luckily for them they have a bye week next week, oh wait, they play Arkansas.

24. [tag]California[/tag]

    
    LW: –

    Doesn’t seem right to have a Pac-10 team in the Top 25 that’s not USC, but California is quietly putting together a nice season.

25. [tag]Tulsa[/tag]

    
    LW: –

    Tulsa seems to score 60 points every time they play, and that will usually get it done. They play SMU this week, which means they will probably score 80.

Conference play is in full swing this weekend with many teams getting their first real test of the season. The Big 12 now has 4 teams in the Top 10, with all of them on the road. It will be interesting to see if they can all come out unscathed. If Texas and Oklahoma both win their Big 12 openers, they will face off next week in a possible #1 versus #5 match-up.

Let’s take a look at a game in each of the big conferences. Remember, I did go 3-1 last weekend against the spread.

#13 Auburn at #19 Vanderbilt (+4) – 6:00 PM EST on ESPN. Vanderbilt is definitely one of the surprises of the season. And after last week their win against Ole Miss is looking that much better. Auburn has been anemic on offense and basically riding their defense to wins. With two weeks to prepare and home field, Vanderbilt has the advantage in this one. It will probably be close, but take Vandy to win.

#7 Texas at Colorado (+13) – 7:00 PM EST on FSN. There are a couple of things that worry me about this game. First, it is an almost night game in Boulder. The fans will be crazy (probably drunk) and it is tough to play with that thin air. Second, the last time we played Colorado we beat them 70-3 and knocked out their quarterback. I’m pretty sure Colorado is looking for a little revenge and will keep that previous game in mind. And finally, this game comes a week before the Red River Rivalry, so there is definitely a possibility that the Horns will be looking ahead. Now with all of that said, I still think Texas has too much offense for Colorado to handle. And with the improved defense I don’t see Colorado doing too much. Texas needs to jump out to a quick start to kill the hopes for the Buffaloes. If they do that they should roll.

#23 Oregon at #9 USC (O/U 57) – 8:00 PM EST on ABC. Everyone wants to see how USC will respond after getting smoked by Oregon State last week. I don’t expect to see a blowout or anything against Oregon, but I do expect to see USC’s A game. Both teams can score almost at will and this will probably be the typical Pac-10 shootout. Look for each team to score in the 40s and take the over in this one.

#14 Ohio State at #18 Wisconsin (+2) – 8:00 PM EST on ABC. Hardly anyone comes out of Camp Randall with a victory, with Wisconsin winning their last 16 at home and 27 of the last 28. Ohio State has now turned over the reigns to Terrelle Pryor, and with Beanie Wells back from injury their offense is heating back up. As long as their defense can do a decent job against the Badgers, Ohio State should be able to come out with the victory. Actually on second thought this game probably shouldn’t be on the “what to watch” list since it will probably be pretty boring. Just take Ohio State and cash-in in the morning.

Talk about a crazy weekend in college football. Three of the top four teams go down in upsets, with unbeatable #1 of all-time USC losing to an unranked Oregon State team.

1. [tag]Oklahoma[/tag]

   

   The clear #1 in the nation after other teams in the Top 5 seemed scared to win. The Texas game in two weeks looks bigger than ever.

2. [tag]Alabama[/tag]

   

   Maybe even more of a butt-kicking than the USC/Ohio State, Alabama got out to a 31-0 lead at Georgia. I think this was a combination of Alabama having a solid team and Georgia being ridiculously over-hyped.

3. [tag]Missouri[/tag]

   

   Good time to have a bye week. Their schedule gets tough now as they open Big 12 play.

4. [tag]LSU[/tag]

   

   LSU didn’t look all that impressive in their win against Mississippi State. They will need to improve their quarterback play if they want to continue to win in the SEC.

5. [tag]Texas[/tag]

   

   Talk about slaughtering the pig against Arkansas. The Texas defense finally showed up and held them to only 3 points for most of the game.

6. [tag]South Florida[/tag]

   

   The class of the Big East continues to look good. Now they start conference play, so we will see if they can keep it up.

7. [tag]Auburn[/tag]

   

   They don’t win pretty, but their defense can keep them in any game. If they actually had a good quarterback they would probably be #2 in the nation.

8. [tag]BYU[/tag]

   

   BYU in the Top 10? Just doesn’t seem right somehow but they are playing great football right now. Two shutouts in a row will usually give a team some confidence.

9. [tag]Penn State[/tag]

   

   I hesitate to put a Big 10 team so far up in the rankings because they will soon get smashed by some other crappy Big 10 team. Will this happen to Penn State? No doubt.

10. [tag]Texas Tech[/tag]

    

    Not sure what to say about Tech except that they probably won’t last much longer with no losses. In fact, they will probably lose to Kansas State.

11. [tag]USC[/tag]

    

    On cue, USC has their one “bare-minimum” game of the season and somehow loses to Oregon State. Now they can cruise for the rest of the season with their easy Pac-10 schedule.

12. [tag]Georgia[/tag]

    

    Not really surprised that they lost to Alabama, more surprised about how they lost. Down 31-0 at the half at home? I knew they were over-rated, just didn’t know it was that bad.

13. [tag]Florida[/tag]

    

    Rounding out the upsets this weekend is Florida. If Tim Tebow was an actual quarterback and could throw the ball, maybe they wouldn’t lose to a mediocre Ole Miss.

14. [tag]Kansas[/tag]

    

    Bye week

15. [tag]Utah[/tag]

    

    Utah continues to sneak up the polls relatively quietly. Now they have to play the vaunted Oregon State Beavers.

16. [tag]Vanderbilt[/tag]

    

    With Georgia and Florida losing, Vanderbilt now leads the SEC East. If they beat Auburn this weekend is it time for them to start thinking national championship? Ha.

17. [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag]

    

    The Big 12 is absolutely stacked this year. Oklahoma State’s offense can hang with anyone. Too bad they play @Missouri, @Texas, and @Texas Tech.

18. [tag]Boise State[/tag]

    

    Bye week

19. [tag]Ohio State[/tag]

    

    Not sure that a 13 point win over Minnesota is very impressive, but a win is a win. Terrelle Pryor looks like a legit college quarterback. I bet they are wishing he played more against USC.

20. [tag]Oregon[/tag]

    

    Hard to get a read on just how good or bad the Pac-10 is. My guess is that Oregon will be dropping soon as they play USC this weekend.

21. [tag]Virginia Tech[/tag]

    

    Man, Virginia Tech has an incredibly weak schedule this season. If they didn’t lose to East Carolina they would easily be in the Top 10.

22. [tag]Wisconsin[/tag]

    

    The Big 10 is just awful and I think Wisconsin proves that. Not sure how a Top 10 team loses to a horrible Michigan team. Oh yeah, it’s the crappy Big 10.

23. [tag]Maryland[/tag]

    

    Maryland actually looks like they have a good team this year. The ACC is wide open right now and Maryland should be near the top at the end.

24. [tag]Fresno State[/tag]

    

    Pretty impressive win at UCLA.

25. [tag]Connecticut[/tag]

    

    Impresive win at Louisville. They will be tested in next two games of three straight road games. If they can make it through that, they will be looking good.

We finally get to see Texas back in action after the game against [tag]Arkansas[/tag] was postponed due to [tag]Hurricane Ike[/tag]. Last week’s game of the year, USC vs. Ohio State, turned out to be a big disappointment. This week we get to see two of the premier teams in the SEC square off, LSU and Auburn, in what looks to be a knock-down-drag-out fight of two great defenses. It may be a low scoring affair, but it should still be an exciting football game.

Let’s see what is going on this Saturday. Remember, I did go 2-1 last weekend against the spread.

Miami (FL) at Texas A&M (+3) – 3:30 PM EST on ABC. The best news in this game might well be the fact that [tag]Stephen McGee[/tag] is injured and might not play. [tag]Jerrod Johnson[/tag] has shown some promise already this season and is probably a better option than McGee. Remember last year when Miami killed Aggy on the national stage? Well you can expect more of the same this year. Aggy will start the season 0-2 at home.

Rice at #7 Texas (-29) – 7:00 PM EST on FSN. After Hurricane Ike I am sure these two teams are ready to get back on the playing field and resume some normalcy. Rice doesn’t seem as bad this year as they normally do, but they still have no shot against Texas. Rice can actually score some points, so this will another good warm-up for the Texas defense before the real schedule starts. Rice might actually be a tough cover, but I see us winning by about 35.

#18 Wake Forest at #24 Florida State (-4) – 7:00 PM EST on ESPN2. Florida St is currently #1 in the nation in overall defense, allowing only 170 yards per game, but that is a little deceiving since they have played two Football Championship Subdivision teams. Wake Forest has owned Florida State in recent years and is the only team to shut-out FSU at home in coach Bobby Bowdens’ career. FSU is the favorite in this game for a reason. They are much more talented in the skill positions and are playing at home. I think this game might be close, but FSU will end up winning by 7 and cover the spread.

#6 LSU at #10 Auburn (+2.5) – 7:45 PM EST on ESPN. By far the premier match-up of the weekend. With two of the best defenses in the country squaring off Saturday night, this has all of the makings to be a 7-6 game. If you only score 3 points against Mississippi St, something is wrong with your offense. Even though they are playing at home, Auburn has the real potential to be shut-out. LSU’s offense is nothing to write home about either, but they should be able to put something together. I see LSU winning this game 17-6.

My Top 8 remains unchanged this week as a few teams didn’t play and the rest won easily. The story of the weekend was the Cremation in the Coliseum – USC’s dismantling of the over-hyped Ohio State. Ohio State has pretty much become a joke, getting shallacked whenever they play on the big stage. I am starting to think if I should allow any teams in the Big 10 in the Top 25 at all? Hmm….

Agree or disagree? Please let us know in the comments.

1. [tag]USC[/tag]

   
   LW: 1

   Was there really anyone surprised in their thrashing of Ohio State? USC looks unbeatable right now but they usually suck-up one game during the regular season, so we will see.

2. [tag]Oklahoma[/tag]

   
   LW: 2

   Offense, offense, offense. Oklahoma probably won’t score less than 40 points all season long. Right now Oklahoma and USC are separating themselves from the rest of the teams in college football.

3. [tag]Florida[/tag]

   
   LW: 3

   Bye week

4. [tag]Missouri[/tag]

   
   LW: 4

   Chase Daniel has the offense rolling right now, though it does help when you play a high school team like Nevada. And 6 catches, 172 yards, and 3 touchdowns for Maclin? Ridiculous.

5. [tag]LSU[/tag]

   
   LW: 5

   LSU finally got to play a game and just toyed with UNT. Not really fair. Let’s see how they do against their first real test, Auburn.

6. [tag]Texas[/tag]

   
   LW: 6

   Game against Arkansas postponed.

7. [tag]Georgia[/tag]

   
   LW: 7

   This team is so overrated it is ridiculous. But since they still haven’t lost, I will wait for them to lose so I can drop them down. That will likely happen in two weeks against Alabama.

8. [tag]Alabama[/tag]

   
   LW: 8

   Alabama’s balanced offensive attack looks impressive. Not much to dislike with this team. They have a pretty good shot to do goods things in the SEC West.

9. [tag]South Florida[/tag]

   
   LW: 19

   What a game Friday night against Kansas. Big lead changes both ways and South Florida pulls out the crazy victory. Now hopefully they won’t have a letdown after this big win.

10. [tag]Wisconsin[/tag]

    
    LW: 15

    Wisconsin just continues their boring football that wins games. But hey, whatever works.

11. [tag]Auburn[/tag]

    
    LW: 9

    3-2 victory against Mississippi State? Are you serious? Their defense is great, but they will have to actually score touchdowns to beat LSU.

12. [tag]Texas Tech[/tag]

    
    LW: 13

    Their offense looks good so far, but hard not to against the caliber of opponents they have been playing. I guess we will have to wait until Big 12 play to see how they really are.

13. [tag]BYU[/tag]

    
    LW: 17

    Absolutely smoked UCLA. 7 passing touchdowns will usually get it done. Might have to start paying attention to this team.

14. [tag]Wake Forest[/tag]

    
    LW: 18

    Bye week

15. [tag]East Carolina[/tag]

    
    LW: 12

    Barely sneaked by a weak Tulane team. Maybe they aren’t as good as we thought. They will need some more convincing wins if they want to challenge for the Top 10.

16. [tag]Oregon[/tag]

    
    LW: 16

    Probably should have lost to Purdue, but their impressive rushing attack led the charge in their comeback win against Purdue. Blount had 132 yards on 12 carries. Not a bad average.

17. [tag]Penn State[/tag]

    
    LW: 21

    Penn State racked up 560 total yards and held Syracuse to 159 yards. We will have to see how they face adversity, because so far they have breezed through this season.

18. [tag]Kansas[/tag]

    
    LW: 11

    Heartbreaking loss against a good South Florida team. I bet Reesing is wanting that one poor throw back late in the 4th quarter. Kansas is still a good football team that will probably climb back up in the rankings.

19. [tag]Ohio State[/tag]

    
    LW: 10

    Now can we please stop thinking Ohio State is any good? Lately anytime they are the national stage they get blown out. Needless to say they will not be playing for the national championship this year.

20. [tag]Vanderbilt[/tag]

    
    LW: 23

    Another solid win against Rice. SEC teams better not overlook this Vanderbilt team. They might be the surprise of the SEC East this year.

21. [tag]Utah[/tag]

    
    LW: 25

    Utah is starting to play like they did in their 2004 unbeaten season. Though their big win against Michigan isn’t looking as impressive as it did in the beginning of the season.

22. [tag]Florida State[/tag]

    
    LW: NR

    Lots of first timers making an appearance in my Top 25, and FSU is the first. They have a real test upcoming against Wake Forest, so we will see how long they stay here.

23. [tag]TCU[/tag]

    
    LW: NR

    TCU has started their season off with 3 impressive win, including a 31-14 win against Pac-10 Stanford. They virtually have no passing game, but their stable of running backs is impressive.

24. [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag]

    
    LW: NR

    Oklahoma State is chugging along basically unnoticed so far this season. Unfortunately for them they have an extremely tough schedule this year. But for now things are looking good.

25. [tag]West Virginia[/tag]

    
    LW: NR

    Even though they didn’t play, I am giving them another shot in the Top 25. They need to win convincingly if they want to stay here.

The Big 12 and SEC dominate my Top 25, holding 8 of the top 10 spots. Ohio State continues their over-hyped season by barely beating Ohio at home. Oklahoma and Missouri are proving they have the offense to keep up with anyone. And East Carolina is probably the surprise of the season, jumping all the way up to #12.

Agree or disagree? Please let me know in the comments.

1. [tag]USC[/tag]

   

   I try not to give too much praise to USC, but they looked really impressive in their blowout win over Virginia. They truly look like the best team in the nation right now.

2. [tag]Oklahoma[/tag]

   

   Oklahoma’s offense looks unstoppable. They have already scored 109 points in 2 games, and haven’t trailed yet.

3. [tag]Florida[/tag]

   

   Tim Tebow and the Gators beat Miami for the first time in the last 25 years or so, and did it against a very athletic Miami defense.

4. [tag]Missouri[/tag]

   

   Talk about high powered offenses, Missouri looks like they can score at will. But the real question is if their defense can stop the other big-time teams.

5. [tag]LSU[/tag]

   

   Even with all the weather distractions, this team looked very impressive in its home opener. What will happen when their QB’s actually have to throw a pass longer than 10 yards?

6. [tag]Texas[/tag]

   

   Colt and the offense are on a serious roll right now. Their young secondary is struggling at times, but they should be able to pick it up.

7. [tag]Georgia[/tag]

   

   I feel this is one of the more over-hyped teams in the nation. But if they can make it through some of their tougher games I will have to move them up.

8. [tag]Alabama[/tag]

   

   Coach Nick Saban has things going well down in Alabama. They absolutely destroyed Clemson on national tv. I would not want to play against this defense.

9. [tag]Auburn[/tag]

   

   Auburn’s defense always seems to keep them in games. If they can just get someone who can play quarterback they might be able to do something this year.

10. [tag]Ohio State[/tag]

    

    Ohio State is probably the second most over-hyped team in the nation. Lucky for them, they play in the weak Big 10. Unlucky for them, they are about to get smoked by USC.

11. [tag]Kansas[/tag]

    

    Kansas is another tough team from the Big 12 North. Todd Reesing is one of the top quarterbacks in the Big 12 and has their offense off to a hot start.

12. [tag]East Carolina[/tag]

    

    ECU has been one of the big surprises so far this season beating Virginia Tech and destroying #8 West Viriginia. I don’t think anyone will overlook this team anymore.

13. [tag]Texas Tech[/tag]

    

    If Texas Tech actually played anyone in their non-conference schedule they might actually be ranked a little bit higher.

14. [tag]Arizona State[/tag]

    

    ASU always seems to be that overlooked team in the Pac-10. Coach Dennis Erickson has a solid football team here.

15. [tag]Wisconsin[/tag]

    

    Wisconsin is one of those boring teams that always has a solid season. If they weren’t in the weak Big 10 they would probably barely crack the top 25.

16. [tag]Oregon[/tag]

    

    Another high powered offense from the Pac-10. Their dual quarterback play seems to be working well. And Jeremiah Johnson has a ridiculous 10.1 yards per carry.

17. [tag]BYU[/tag]

    

    BYU squeaked by Washington thanks to the refs ruining the game. UCLA should be a tougher match-up.

18. [tag]Wake Forest[/tag]

    

    Wake Forest needed a last second field goal to beat an average Ole Miss team. Now they open their ACC season against Florida State.

19. [tag]South Florida[/tag]

    

    I was not happy with team since they delayed the coverage of the Texas/UTEP game. They are probably the best team in the Big East right now.

20. [tag]California[/tag]

    

    Cal is averaging 7.8 yards per carry as a team, including two touchdowns of over 80 yards. Their defense also held Washington State to only 3 points.

21. [tag]Penn State[/tag]

    

    Penn State has started off strong with an impressive running attack. I’m curious to see how they play on the road.

22. [tag]Fresno State[/tag]

    

    Fresno State has another solid team that dismantled Rutgers on their own field. Their real test of the season comes this weekend when they play Wisconsin.

23. [tag]Vanderbilt[/tag]

    

    Vanderbilt is slowing building their program into a tough match-up in the SEC. Georgia and Florida better not overlook this team.

24. [tag]UCLA[/tag]

    

    UCLA had an impressive second half comeback in week 1 against Tennessee. Who knew you could throw 4 interceptions and still be a hero. Their tough schedule probably won’t keep them here long.

25. [tag]Utah[/tag]

    

    Utah is a tough team to put a handle on. Their offense is usually stellar, but they really don’t play anyone. Their win against Michigan might look impressive if Michigan wasn’t so awful.