1. Louisiana State (NC)
2. Southern California (NC)
3. California (+2)
4. South Florida (+13)
5. Ohio State (+3)
6. KENTUCKY!!! (+5)
7. Wisconsin (+7)
8. Boston College (+2)
9. South Carolina (+6)
10. Georgia (+3)
11. Oregon (+5)
12. West Virginia (-6)
13. Oklahoma (-10)
14. Florida (-10)
15. Florida State (NR)
16. Purdue (+7)
17. Virginia Tech (+1)
18. Missouri (+1)
19. Arizona State (NR)
20. Cincinnati (NR)
21. Michigan (-1)
22. Michigan State (+3)
23. Kansas State (NR)
24. Auburn (NR)
25. Rutgers (-18!)
Dismissed: #9 Texas, #12 Clemson, #21 Penn State, and #22 Alabama
National Title Pretenders: #3 Oklahoma, #4 Florida, and #6 West Virginia
Legit: #3 California and #5 South Florida
Wow: NR Kansas State and NR Auburn
Honorable Mention: Colorado
Further comment...
Well, I've never seen a September Saturday quite like yesterday. The BCS title game picture took on a much sharper focus in the form of FIVE Top 10 teams falling to defeat, incredibly, two of them on home soil. While it is true the Florida Gators retain a slim chance of reentering the Not Sugar scenarios with a win over LSU next week, for the rest, it is over.
Oklahoma's conference had let it down, until the Sooners ensured that they would have no case, legitimate or otherwise, to make in mid-December.
Texas embarrassed itself, period, not as humiliating as Notre Dame's twenty-six point defeat to Michigan in South Bend last autumn, but close.
Presented with a golden opportunity, Rutgers could not get past a less-than-imposing ACC team--at home in New Jersey.
The vanishing acts of OU and FLA don't leave me much choice: all praise to USC for winning another night road game. I now believe the drop-off from #2 to #3 and beyond the largest in many a year. A one-loss Trojan campaign, clipped either in Eugene or Berkeley (unless the Bears go undefeated), deserves a BCS title game berth, excepting a decisive loss.
A reasonable Top 10 now includes California, South Florida, Ohio State, Boston College, and Kentucky, and some of those teams are needed to fill out the Top 5.
DeSean Jackson took a giant step towards competing for the Heisman Trophy, whereas Tim Tebow went in completely the opposite direction. Sam Bradford? Steve Slaton? Well, perhaps the less said the better.
LSU staggered to a 10-9 lead into halftime as a forty-point favorite against Tulane, yet somehow emerged as the most polished and focused team of the afternoon. The Gators, backed into a corner, arrive in Baton Rouge next week.
A few last points about the remarkable nature of this poll:
1) Florida State, ridiculed in an opening loss to Clemson, now stands ONE spot behind archrival Florida.
2) Oregon and Michigan State each received a higher ranking based on... close losses, and the former lost AT HOME!!
3) #7 Rutgers lost at home to an unranked team by double digits, and, owing to the rash of upsets, remained, barely, in the Top 25.
4) #5 Ohio State travels to West Lafayette to play #16 Purdue next Saturday... in the biggest game of the day involving two undefeated teams.
5) The University of Kentucky football program is one win away from Top 4 status... and perhaps two or three wins away from, well, we dare not say.
6) To borrow a line from Gregg Easterbrook, I don't mean to alarm you, but Oklahoma State and Texas A&M will play next weekend... for first place in the Big 12 South.
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