1) Alabama (5-0): Like it or not, the Crimson Tide posted its 18th straight victory against the seventh-ranked Florida Gators (in the AP Poll), 31-6. Oh! That hurt Gator Nation, Urban Meyer and the Gator players. Alabama looks absolutely great right now, but there are other opponents ahead who could do what Florida couldn’t.
2) Oregon (5-0) – Did I tell you how much I hate the Oregon Ducks? Okay I will. With that said, shout out to the Ducks, who outscored, outplayed and outscored a very good Stanford team that is going to win a lot of games this year. In my opinion, Oregon is better off at #2 than the state of Ohio right now. Just ask yourself this question: Who did Oregon beat over the weekend, and who did Ohio State beat over the weekend, and how did each do it? ‘Nuff said.
3) Ohio State (5-0) – The Buckeyes may have a better defense than Oregon, but it sure didn’t look that way against Illinois on Saturday. Without question, Oregon’s offense is better. Ohio State has beaten only one team worth talking about in its first 5 wins: Miami-FL. Oregon has surpassed Tennessee, the state of Arizona and Stanford.
4) Auburn (5-0) – Auburn kicked out Louisiana-Monroe foolishly, 52-3. Yes, LA-Monroe is nobody, but who else is so important at this point in the season?
5) Arizona (4-0) – Caught a bye this week. He must win big against Oregon State to stay here.
6) TCU (5-0) – Shut down Colorado State 27-zip on the road. The next host is Wyoming and it must dominate to stay here.
7) LSU (5-0) – Lady luck favored the Tigers against Tennessee, and every champion needs a little luck to come out on top. I’ll leave the Tigers here until next week when they travel to Florida. Boy, I wouldn’t want to be LSU in Florida after Alabama kicked the Gators’ ass.
8) Michigan State (5-0) – Defeated No. 11 Wisconsin and thrashed Notre Dame in South Bend. We’ll see if the Spartans can handle Denard Robinson and undefeated Michigan this week.
9) Michigan (5-0) – The Wolverines give up a ton of points but have Denard Robinson, who has no team to follow. Can he lead the Wolverines over the state of Michigan in the Big House in Ann Arbor?
10) Arkansas (3-1) – Took a bye week. It then hosts Texas A&M. He better keep winning, and winning big. The Razorbacks are here because they only lost to Alabama by 4 points. Everybody else has lost to Alabama by at least 21 points, and that includes Penn State and Florida.
11) Boise State (4-0): The road win over Virginia Tech at home looks a little better now that the Hoakies blew out 23rd-place North Carolina State. For the Broncos to be more impressive, don’t they just have to win, they just have to win big, and Virginia Tech has to keep winning too.
12) Utah (4-0) – Gets bye week. He hasn’t beaten anyone but the Pittsburgh Panthers, who are now 2-2.
13) Nebraska (4-0): This is an up-and-down team: a world champion one week, barely winning the next.
14) Stanford (4-1) – Had Oregon on the ropes from the start and could have been done if not for a late fumble that turned the tide against them. I still believe in the Cardenal, and I think they are going to win many more games.
15) Florida (4-1): Alabama gave it to them, but they’re still a team to watch until they prove otherwise.
16) South Carolina (3-1) – Caught a bye week. He then travels to Alabama and must upset the Crimson Tide to stay here.
17) Iowa (4-1) – Managed Penn State, and now has a bye week before traveling to Michigan the following week.
18) Nevada (5-0) – Has absolutely no point-scoring goal defense like Oregon. He catches another scapegoat this week at San Jose State, and could set a school scoring record as San Jose State (1-4) is very, very bad.
19) Miami-FL (3-1) – Topped Clemson and now must host Florida State. Maybe we’ll finally find out if the rubber meets the road, or if the Florida State Seminoles (4-1) are for real.
20) Oklahoma State (4-0) – Has not played a goal and is undefeated.
21) Missouri (4-0) – Has not played a goal and is undefeated.
22) Wisconsin (4-1) – Upset by Michigan State, but I think the Badgers still have some life left in them. I hope they beat every team that Michigan State doesn’t beat.
23) Oklahoma (5-0) – Defeated Texas in Red River Rivalry, however, that’s not saying much this year. It could only beat Utah State by 7, Air Force by 3 and Cincinnati by 2. And this is a powerhouse? Show me more or stay at 22.
24) Northwest (5-0) – Yeah, I know. The Wildcats have beaten Vanderbilt, AA Illinois State, Rice, Central Michigan and now Minnesota. But they are undefeated, which is more than 103 other Division IA teams can say at this point in the season, and that list includes Florida, Arkansas, Stanford, South Carolina, Iowa, Miami-FL, Wisconsin, NC State , USC, well , you understand.
25) Kansas State (4-0) – Has beaten UCLA, AA Missouri State, Iowa State and Central Florida. Ditto the above.
The rest of the applicants must participate in my poll or sit on the sidelines and complain. You know, there can only be two outcomes in a football game: results or excuses. The teams and the players decide each week what it will be by the way they play.
Copyright 2010 Ed Bagley