My AP Poll Week 4
As the season progresses, the top part of the poll is starting to solidify a bit. But the lower part is quite a jumble. After Virginia Tech at No. 19, I didn't feel really great about any of the teams and where I had to place them. Just a reminder that this poll is in the order that I voted the teams. The actual AP Poll Ranking is in parentheses
1. USC (1). The Trojans edge out LSU for this spot because USC has a big win on the road, at Nebraska, while the Tigers' big wins have all come at home. Of course, Nebraska's looking less and less impressive these days.
2. LSU (2). Nice win over the Gamecocks. The Tigers' next chance to prove their No. 1 worthy will come Oct. 6 against Florida. Again, it's in the confy confines of Death Valley.
3. Oklahoma (3). Did the Sooners run up the score on Tulsa in their 62-21 win? Perhaps. But when you ask for the shot to play the big brother in-state power, that's the risk you run. Sorry Golden Hurricanes.
4. West Virginia (5). The Mountaineers may have turned in their best all-around performance in rolling over ECU, 48-7. That was good enough for me to leapfrog them over Florida.
5. Florida (4). Well, the whole "Tim Tebow Cured Cancer" crowd keeps getting more evidence to support their adulation. But the young defense looked pretty mortal in the narrow win over Ole Miss.
6. Cal (6). With the exception of those two garbage-time touchdowns scored by Colorado State, the Golden Bears have played the part of a Top Ten team convincingly.
7. Rutgers (10). Nothing to report here. The Scarlet Knights were idle.
8. Texas (7). Finally, the Longhorns looked dominant. Granted, it was against Rice ...
9. Ohio State (8). Routing Northwestern is no big deal, but with Penn State's loss and Wisconsin's continued malaise, the Buckeyes are looking like the favorite in the Big Ten.
10. Boston College (12). The Eagles are the top Catholic school football team in the land. They get to prove it on Oct. 13 at Notre Dame. Did you know the Irish are 0-4? I'm sure you did, but I just enjoy mentioning it whenever possible.
11. Oregon (11). The Ducks didn't show up in their first half against Stanford. I had to wait until Sunday morning to find out that they had crushed the Cardinal in the second half and were worthy of being moved up from two spots.
12. Clemson (13). As a childhood fan of South Carolina, it depresses me to say this: The Tigers look really, really, good. Think Tommy Bowden will make it through the year?
13. South Florida (18). You know I've been fan of the Bulls since the preseason. They impressed again by making the previously smooth T.J. Yates have a pretty rough day.
14. Kentucky (14). You could write off the Louisville win as playing big in a rivalry game. Winning at Arkansas with a fourth-quarter comeback means you're a legit Top 15 team. Wasn't Rich Brooks supposed to be fired already?
15. Wisconsin (9). I feel like my fellow voters are falling into the trap of voting the Badgers high because we put them that high in the preseason. Well, I just won't do it. As long as Wisconsin keeps turning in bland performances, I'll keep dropping them. Seriously? Have the Badgers looked like a Top 10 team to you?
16. South Carolina (16). Hey, I thought it would be worse. I think a four spot drop in the rankings is about right. No shame in losing by 12 at LSU.
17. Georgia (15). Good win by the Bulldogs at Alabama, but can someone explain to me why the rest of the AP voters put Georgia ahead of the South Carolina team that beat the Bulldogs in Athens? These are the quirks of the AP Poll that drive me nuts.
18. Penn State (21). So Penn State lost to Michigan which lost to App State which lost to Wofford which got crushed by N.C. State. Maybe I should have dropped the Nittany Lions a little lower.
19. Virginia Tech (17). The Hokies have gotten the Tyrod Taylor Era off to a nice start. Then again, they haven't played anybody yet, either.
20. Nebraska (25). In retrospect, I should have moved Nebraska down lower last week after their loss to USC. Now, after the Huskers should edged mighty Ball State at home, I kind of got stuck not being able to move down Nebraska further.
21. Alabama (22).This is where it gets kind of weird. Right now, I think Alabama is the better team, but I couldn't justify having them move up from where I'd previously voted them (21 last week) after a loss and move ahead of a Nebraska team that won.
22. Hawaii (19). Yep, I'm being more conservative in my ranking of Hawaii than the rest of the pollsters. Wins over Charleston Southern just don't do much for me.
23. Cincinnati (24). The Bearcats join the national poll a week after I had them in mine. I'm such a trend setter. Next up, bringing back Members Only jackets.
24. Missouri (20). I've got nothing to say about the Tigers this week after they beat Ilinois State, so I'll just add this: They've got a nice journalism school.
25. Arizona State (23). Dennis Erickson has the Sun Devils back in the AP Top 25. Can probation be far behind?
Dropped out:
Georgia Tech - 19 last week. Chan, Chan, Chan. Virginia?
Louisville - 20 last week. Everybody keeps wondering if the Cardinals are unhappy with new coach Steve Kragthorpe. But Kragthorpe's an offensive guy. Louisville's not having any trouble there. Now on defense? That's entirely different.