40 Acres Sports

SI.com writer Stewart Mandel has written up his predictions for all the BCS and non-BCS bowls and has the Horns headed to the Fiesta Bowl. He’s predicting [tag]Texas Tech[/tag] will win out and make it to the BCS title game. The Red Raiders winning out would make football hell freeze over but is actually the clearest path for the Horns to make it into a BCS game. Mandel’s BCS and Big 12 predictions are below:

BCS Bowls

Orange: Maryland (ACC champ) vs. Cincinnati (Big East champ)
Rose: Penn State (Big Ten champ) vs. USC (Pac-10 champ)
Sugar: Alabama (BCS at-large) vs. Utah (BCS at-large)
Fiesta: Texas (BCS at-large) vs. Ohio State (BCS at-large)
BCS Championship: Texas Tech (BCS No. 1) vs. Florida (BCS No. 2)

Big 12 non-BCS Bowls

Alamo: Missouri (Big 12 No. 4) vs. Northwestern (Big Ten No. 4)
Holiday: Oregon State (Pac-10 No. 2) vs. Oklahoma State (Big 12 No. 3)
Toilet: Michigan (Big 10 No. 9) vs. Texas A&M (Big 12 No. 11)
Sun: Arizona (Pac-10 No. 3) vs. Nebraska (Big 12 No. 5)
Insight: Minnesota (Big Ten No. 6) vs. Kansas (Big 12 No. 6)
Cotton: Oklahoma (Big 12 No. 2) vs. LSU (SEC)

The Texas defense bent (a lot) against [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag] but held strong just when they needed to secure the win. In what may have been the most important play of the season so far they stuffed the OSU offense on fourth down on a critical fourth quarter drive. The defense sniffed out the wide receiver slip screen and defensive tackle [tag]Lamarr Houston[/tag] tackled Dez Bryant as soon as he caught the ball, well short of the needed yardage.

That play is up against plays from [tag]Florida State[/tag], [tag]Georgia[/tag]. and probably the deserving winner from the [tag]Ohio State[/tag]/[tag]Penn State[/tag] game. That big hit and then fumble by Terrelle Pryor probably put Joe Pa in the title game.

Go to www.pontiac.com/ncaa and vote for the Horns. Be sure to click on “Rush” to see the ESPN guys talk at length after a good replay of [tag]Vince Young[/tag] running for 80 yards against Okie State back in the incredible 2005 game.

Some really good match-ups this weekend, especially in the Big 12. You get to start off the day with Texas Tech playing on the road in Kansas, and then get to watch the #1 Texas Longhorns play Oklahoma State in the afternoon. Then you get to finish on the day with Penn State playing at Ohio State in the late game on ABC. Overall not a bad Saturday, not bad at all.

Now I did only go 2-2 last week, but I am still around 70% for the season. This weekend should be good.

#8 Texas Tech vs. #23 Kansas (PK) – 12:00 PM EST on ESPN. Texas Tech is 7-0 for the first time since 1976, but their undefeated is in serious jeopardy this weekend playing at Kansas. Kansas has proven they can score and Texas Tech’s defense has been looking pretty week in the last 2 weeks. The over/under in this one is around 68, which is not nearly enough for these two teams. Look for this one to be in the 80s as Kansas pulls out the victory in the end.

#6 Oklahoma State vs. #1 Texas (-12.5) – 3:30 PM EST on ABC. Texas doesn’t get a break as they face another top ranked team for the 3rd straight week. I think Texas has proven they can handle the pressure of being #1 in the nation by demolishing Mizzou last weekend. Even though Texas has won 10 straight in this match-up, Oklahoma State has been a trouble spot for Texas in recent years, needing many a miracle 2nd half comeback to pull out the victory. I think this year Texas will jump out early at home and continue to apply pressure throughout the game. Give the points in this one.

#7 Georgia vs. #13 LSU (-1.5) – 3:30 PM EST on CBS. To me this one seems pretty simple. LSU has nothing at the quarterback position, and that will kill you with the SEC defenses. LSU’s defense struggled mightily against Florida’s speed, and it will probably be more of the same against Georgia. I really hate to go against LSU, but my gut tells me they don’t have a shot in this one.

#3 Penn State vs. #9 Ohio State (+2) – 8:00 PM EST on ABC. This one might be the toughest on the board. You can make pretty good arguments both ways. Ohio State has been playing much better since getting blown out by USC, but Penn State has just been dominating every opponent. To me this one just comes down to offense. Ohio State struggles to score points, and Penn State averages 45 points per game. Even though this one is at OSU, take Penn State minus the points.

Not sure any weekend will be able to top the match-ups we saw on Saturday, but there are plenty of good games to watch tomorrow. You get to start your day off with an early SEC battle with #22 Vanderbilt playing at #10 Georgia. Then you get a nice afternoon game with #16 Kansas playing at #4 Oklahoma. After that I suggest you take a quick nap and then it will be time for #1 Texas to take on #11 Mizzou in the marquee match-up of the day. Gameday will be in Austin, as will I.

Let’s take a look at the rest of the big games. FYI, I went 3-1 last weekend against the spread (for around the 5th straight weekend). Hopefully some of you are making some money with me.

#22 Vanderbilt at #10 Georgia (-15) – 12:30 PM EST on ESPN Gameplan. How will Vanderbilt respond to their first loss of the season? I’ll tell you how, they will get destroyed by Georgia in Athens. Let’s just take a quick look at the numbers here. Georgia is averaging 440 yards in total offense and Vanderbilt is only averaging 262.5 yards. Georgia is averaging 280.8 yards passing and Vanderbilt is only averaging 102.7 yards. This has blow-out written all over it.

#16 Kansas at #4 Oklahoma (-20) – 3:30 PM EST on ABC. Talk about a line jump, this game was set to open at 14 and was immediately bumped up to 20. Seems like a big number to me. Oklahoma’s best defensive player Ryan Reynolds is out for the season and their defense is fresh off allowing 438 yards to Texas. Kansas’ 7th ranked passing offense should keep them in the game. I don’t expect Kansas to win, but I think they can hang in there and not lose by 3 touchdowns.

#12 Ohio State at #20 Michigan State (+3.5) – 3:30 PM EST on ABC. I guess you won’t really be able to watch this game since the OU game will be on, but this one could get interesting. Ohio State should be on high upset alert as Michigan State has been on a roll winning their last 6 games. You may know by now I am a big advocate of the run game, and that is where Michigan State excels with Javon Ringer already racking up over 1100 yards. And just so you know since Pryor took over the quarterback duties from Boeckman, the Buckeyes have had the 10th worst passing offense averaging 128 yards per game. I am liking Michigan State here, money-line.

#11 Missouri at #1 Texas (-5) – 8:00 PM EST on ABC. I remember reading Hornfans last week and noticing most people seemed pretty level headed in that it would take a great game to beat OU. Now if you read Hornfans you will see a lot of people talking about how we will dominate Mizzou and how we will be all over Chase Daniel, etc, etc. This scares me a little. Missouri is a tough team and they don’t average 555 yards (383 yards passing) for nothing. And then you have the fact that Texas just gave up 5 passing touchdowns and you can see where my concern is. With all of that said I think Texas will be up for this game and ready to defend their #1 ranking. Home field advantage is the key here.

For the second time this year 3 of the Top 4 teams in the nation lose. No one is safe at the top, and most of the Top 10 will be playing each other in the next few weeks so expect to see even more changes. So far this year is looking even crazier than last year.

1. [tag]Alabama[/tag]

   
   LW: 3

   Even though they didn’t play, I don’t think they deserved to be bumped down below Texas.

2. [tag]Texas[/tag]

   
   LW: 5

   Texas won with Colt’s leadership and the defense stepping up at the right times. Will Muschamp has the defense improving every week. It was kind of nice cruising through the season unnoticed, but that time is definitely over.

3. [tag]Penn State[/tag]

   
   LW: 7

   I guess I to move up Penn State after their blowout win. It looks like they are definitely the class of the Big 10, though that is not saying very much.

4. [tag]Oklahoma[/tag]

   
   LW: 1

   Sam Bradford threw for 5 touchdowns and still lost. Oklahoma has a great team and their schedule is setup to keep them in a BCS bowl game.

5. [tag]Florida[/tag]

   
   LW: 11

   I had watched Florida play a few times this year, but I have never seen the speed and precision they displayed against LSU. They have some of the fastest running backs in the nation, and if they can keep Tim Tebow from making mistakes they should be good.

6. [tag]Texas Tech[/tag]

   
   LW: 8

   Texas Tech played like crap but was surprisingly still able to come out with a win against Nebraska. They have a pretty easy road before playing Texas at home.

7. [tag]Oklahoma State[/tag]

   
   LW: 15

   Not sure if was too much of an upset, but Oklahoma State managed to put a hurting on Mizzou. Oklahoma State has proven they definitely have the offense, but do they have the defense to hang with the big boys.

8. [tag]Missouri[/tag]

   
   LW: 2

   I am actually pretty disappointed that Mizzou lost, because that would have meant Texas would play two #1 teams in a row. Now that Mizzou has lost, Texas will definitely be expected to beat them this Saturday.

9. [tag]USC[/tag]

   
   LW: 10

   Looks like USC is getting back into form after totally dominating Arizona State 28-0. They probably have the easiest schedule left of any Top 10 and will probably somehow backdoor their way into the national championship.

10. [tag]Georgia[/tag]

    
    LW: 9

    Georgia had a solid win against Tennessee but I am still not very impressed with this team. I expect them to lose 2 more games this season.

11. [tag]BYU[/tag]

    
    LW: 6

    I have decided to not leave BYU so high up in the polls. They play nobody, and until they beat Utah I will not move them any higher.

12. [tag]LSU[/tag]

    
    LW: 4

    You either smoke, or you get smoked, and LSU got smoked. That was a pretty weak performance against Florida, and if they don’t get someone to play quarterback they will struggle all season long.

13. [tag]Kansas[/tag]

    
    LW: 12

    Kansas continues to plod along and will probably go relatively unnoticed the rest of the way unless they can beat one of the big teams in the Big 12. Don’t expect that to happen.

14. [tag]Utah[/tag]

    
    LW: 13

    Utah and BYU really don’t seem much different to me. They will have to prove their ranking by beating both TCU and BYU.

15. [tag]Boise State[/tag]

    
    LW: 16

    Thank goodness we didn’t have to see them play on their ugly blue field this weekend.

16. [tag]Ohio State[/tag]

    
    LW: 17

    Luckily Ohio State beat Purdue because they are about to lose two in a row. I can’t wait to drop them out of the Top 25.

17. [tag]Michigan State[/tag]

    
    LW: 19

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

18. [tag]Virginia Tech[/tag]

    
    LW: 18

    Does anyone really care about anyone in the ACC. They will probably all beat each other and end up with a conference champion that has 3 losses.

19. [tag]South Florida[/tag]

    
    LW: 20

    Bye week

20. [tag]North Carolina[/tag]

    
    LW: 21

    It took a last minute play, but North Carolina thankfully kept Notre Dame out of the Top 25. North Carolina is making the most out of their spot, but see Virginia Tech.

21. [tag]Wake Forest[/tag]

    
    LW: 22

    Another so-so ACC team barely holding on to their spot in the Top 25.

22. [tag]California[/tag]

    
    LW: 24

    Bye week

23. [tag]TCU[/tag]

    
    LW: –

    TCU has another huge game coming against BYU. Can they prove BYU is overrated, or will they fall back out of the Top 25?

24. [tag]Vanderbilt[/tag]

    
    LW: 14

    It was only a matter of time before Vanderbilt came back down to reality. They couldn’t handle the pressure of the being a top team and now they will probably struggle the rest of the way.

25. [tag]Tulsa[/tag]

    
    LW: 25

    They struggled a little only scoring 37, but I am sure they will get back on track and put up 60+ on UTEP.

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.

Texas vs. Colorado in the Big 12 Championship

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.

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 latest top 25 polls are out and the Longhorns have moved up a spot without playing a game. They’re now number seven thanks to USC drubbing [tag]Ohio State[/tag] back to the Stone Age (and a #13 ranking). The Trojans certainly looked like a national title contender as did the Oklahoma Sooners in a lopsided victory over a Pac 10 opponent.

Check out this week’s rankings or view the top 10s below: