1. Ohio State - I'd consider myself to have been a healthy skeptic of the Buckeyes for most of the season, but the skepticism can only go so far. The Bucks have the best QB-WR duo in the NCAA with Smith and Ginn, a strong #2 WR in Gonzalez, and have shorn up their defense. The kicking game has settled down since the first two weeks, and they've had comfortable wins over Texas and Iowa.
2. Florida - How'd 99% of people out there miss this team? Well I did too, so don't ask me. Their 1-point win over Tennessee looks a lot better now, and they gained 311 yards against a LSU defense that had been giving up less than 200 ypg, scoring 23 against a defense which had given up just 37 in 5 games. Defensively the team is amazing, with one of the best secondaries in the nation led by Ryan Smith and Reggie Nelson, and the defense is giving up just 56 ypg rushing despite having faced a tough SEC schedule. Tebow is a great change of pace, and when Wynn returns the offense will be even better.
3. Michigan - If Arrington continues to emerge, the offense will have five legitimate weapons which will make them one of the most well-rounded units in the nation. The defense has given up just 40 ypg rush per game, and they have faced Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan State's offenses. Looking ahead, this stat implies that the Wolverines may match up very well against West Virginia.
4. Louisville - Perhaps more than anyone else, this team exemplifies what it means to have depth. Incurred losses have had no effect on their gameplay.
5. West Virginia - Other than ECU, their wins have been impressive, but in every instance they've been against cupcakes.
6. USC - Struggling with the injury bug and struggling to defeat mediocre teams in conference play. Though they're still unbeaten, that Cal-Oregon-Notre Dame stretch suddenly starts to look like it may be too much for the Trojans.
7. Texas - This week answeed a lot of questions for me. The defense has held its own against two very strong offenses in Ohio State and Oklahoma. While the offense was held to just 7 against the Bucks, turnovers negated them actually gaining about the same number of yards. As McCoy matures, TOs will go down and scoring will go up, as we saw this past weekend.
8. Tennessee - What they've done against Cal, Georgia, and even Florida is impressive, particularly offensively, but at the same time I don't like a defense giving up 30 points to Air Force and Georgia.
9. Auburn - Let's not forget that the Tigers did beat a good LSU team and have one of the best backs in the nation, but at the same time Arkansas did expose their size issues and troubles in the passing game.
10. California - A 21-point win over Oregon is impressive, and now that 18-point loss to Tennessee on the road doesn't look so bad. The offense is incredibly explosive, but the defense hasn't had a truly good performance yet.
11. Clemson - I don't know what to make of this team, but they're unlucky not to be undefeated with a weird loss to BC. The FG block unit has scored two TDs and a 2-point conversion, which is impressive.
12. Georgia - With Tereschinski back, the offensive struggles may be over. The defense, though, was shredded by Tennessee... giving up 51 points is not acceptable for a team with title aspirations.
13. Iowa - Potentially strong, yet inconsistent performances.
14. Notre Dame - Can I gripe for one minute? They're ranked no lower than NINTH in any of the major polls. How quickly people forget their blowout at the hands of Michigan, a fortunate choke by Michigan State, or for that matter the fact that Stanford rivals Duke as the worst team in a BCS conference.
15. Georgia Tech - The win over Maryland was closer than it should have been, but they're a TD away from being undefeated, and that loss was to the team right above them.
16. LSU - The defense is still scary, but not being able to run the ball is a major liability.
17. Oregon - The defense is mediocre, the offense is great, but this team needs to learn how to hold onto the ball. The offense turned the ball over four times against Cal and four times against the Sooners, five of those being interceptions thrown by Dixon.
18. Missouri - They're solid on both sides of the ball, but they have a freshman QB and still haven't beaten a good team.
19. Arkansas - This team's not as bad as they looked against USC, nor are they as good as they looked against Auburn. Their HB duo is frightening, but Mustain's play has been weak for the most part.
20. Nebraska - Okay, so Big Red isn't exactly back. But their rush defense has been solid enough, and have looked good in four of their six games. (yes, we're getting to that level of teams) Frankly we won't know much about them until they play Missouri... well, unless they pull the upset of Texas.
21. Boise State - Undefeated and with a bruising running game... but right now, you could argue that their toughest opponent has been 2-3 Oregon State.
22. Oklahoma - AD's presence means that most defense can't stop them. The problem is, OU's defense doesn't look like they can stop too many people either.
23. Virginia Tech - They still haven't really done anything, but their loss to GT wasn't that bad either.
24. Rutgers - Well they are unbeaten afterall.
25. Wisconsin - Sure, why not. 5-1 record, averaging close to 200 ypg rushing.
