Last week’s rank in parentheses:
TOP 25
1. Alabama, 7-0 (1): Crimson Tide gets to expose Mississippi State this weekend.
2. Oregon, 7-0 (2): Ducks host Colorado. Running clock anyone?
3. Florida, 7-0 (3): Gators with another big game. This time, it’s Georgia.
4. Notre Dame, 7-0 (4): Irish keep hanging in there, but just barely.
5. Kansas State, 7-0 (6): Can the Wildcats win the national title and claim a Heisman in the same year?
6. USC, 6-1 (5): Barkley 19-for-20 last week against Colorado. All the more impressive because he was wearing a blindfold to make it more fair.
7. Oregon State, 6-0 (7): QB Sean Mannion back this week, and Mike Riley dared to tell everyone.
8. LSU, 7-1 (8): Has a bye week to prepare for Alabama.
9. Ohio State, 8-0 (10): Buckeyes with only one ranked opponent left: Michigan.
10. Oklahoma, 5-1 (11): Sooners step out of conference for big tussle with Notre Dame.
11. Florida State, 7-1 (12): Gators gets ACC Coastal Division-leading Duke (you read that right) this weekend.
12. Stanford, 5-2 (13): Two huge games remain for Cardinal against Oregon schools.
13. Georgia, 6-1 (14): Chance to shake up the SEC with a win against Florida.
14. Clemson, 6-1 (15): Defense is flaky, but offense has multiple weapons.
16. South Carolina, 6-2 (9): Gamecocks taking their road lumps after strong start.
17. Louisville, 7-0 (17): Two-point win last week over lousy South Florida. Expect a loss to Cincinnati this week.
18. Boise State, 6-1 (18): This week’s layup: Wyoming.
19. Mississippi State, 7-0 (20): Heads to Alabama for a dose of reality.
20. Rutgers, 7-0 (21): Versus Kent State this weekend, and we would not be surprised by an upset.
21. Texas A&M, 5-2 (22): Tight game with LSU no reason for poll punishment.
22. Texas, 5-2 (24): Still scoring like crazy. Still can’t defend.
23. Texas Tech, 6-1 (25): Will be much tougher to score this weekend at Kansas State.
24. West Virginia, 5-2 (16): Geno Smith and Co. barely hanging on now.
25. Michigan, 5-2 (NR): Denard Robinson the whole story for Wolverines.
Pacific -12
1. Oregon 7-0, 4-0 (1): At USC next week. Buckle up.
2. USC 6-1, 4-1 (2): Trojans could be in for tricky one at Arizona.
3. Oregon State 6-0, 4-0 (3): Beavers don’t think game against Huskies will come down to 2-point conversion.
4. Stanford 5-2, 3-1 (4): Tune-ups against WSU and Colorado before Oregon schools.
5. Arizona State 5-2, 3-1 (5): Sun Devils joined wreckage left behind by Oregon.
6. UCLA 5-2, 2-2 (6): Running back Johnathan Franklin on verge of becoming No. 1 rusher in school history.
7. Arizona 4-3, 1-3 (8): Rich Rodriguez at hoops intrasquad game Sunday begging fans to come to football. Yikes.
8. Cal 3-5, 2-3 (9): Coach Jeff Tedford’s seat brought to you by the sun.
9. Washington 3-4, 1-3 (7): Huskies reducing media access, winning and fan patience.
10. Utah 2-5, 0-4 (10): We repeat: Can’t throw, can’t run, can’t win.
11. Washington State 2-5, 0-4 (11): Mike Leach bans players from Twitter. Yeah, that’s the problem.
12. Colorado 1-6, 1-3 (12): At Oregon this week. RIP.
todd.dybas@ thenewstribune.com
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