NCAA Top 25

Another year, another Oregon destruction of Washington.

1. Oregon (1)
2. Auburn (2)
3. TCU (3)--I really thought about moving TCU past Auburn. They eviscerated Utah. A great team.
4. Boise St. (4)
5. Wisconsin (7)
6. Ohio St. (8)
7. Stanford (11)--dominated Arizona. The nation's most underrated team. I truly think they might be the best 1 loss team in the country. And of course, it's no shame to get blown out by Oregon
8. LSU (15)--OK, that reverse on 4th down was awesome. They keep winning the big games. I guess I have to believe. Except that I really don't. They seem almost fated to blow a game they should win. I'm not really holding the incredibly lucky win against Tennessee against them.  But good and lucky are not always the same thing.
9. Nebraska (10)
10. Alabama (6)--I still have them above some of the 1 loss teams. I think they belong there. But they've been less than dominant all year.
11. Michigan St. (14)
12. Oklahoma St. (16)
13. Utah (5)--Ouch
14. Iowa (17)
15. Arkansas (19)--nice win against South Carolina. Good that only the 5 best teams in the SEC are all in the West.
16. Oklahoma (9)--Like LSU, they've been lucky all year.  Unlike LSU, playing on the edge has bitten them back.
17. Virginia Tech (20)
18. Arizona (13)--Good, but Stanford showed them to be the #3 team in the Pac 10. At best.
19. Missouri (12)
20. Mississippi St. (22)
21. Nevada (25)
22. Miami (NR)
23. South Carolina (18)
24. Texas A&M (NR)
25. Penn St. (NR)--I don't even think Penn St. is very good. But it's getting really hard to find 25 worthy teams.

Key games for next week:

Actually, next week is a pretty mediocre week of college football. Sounds like a good week for raking leaves. I'll be out of town so that's good timing. Anyway, if you are going to watch football, here's the most important games, such as they are.

1. Mississippi St. at Alabama. Possibly the only matchup of ranked teams. Kind of interesting--how will Alabama respond to that tough loss? And is Mississippi St. actually good?

2. Penn St. at Ohio St. Ho hum. Sounds kind of boring really. If this was at Penn St., I might pick an upset.

3. USC at Arizona--the battle for the 3rd best team in the Pac-10, including one team ineligible for a bowl. It's that kind of week.

4. San Diego St. at Utah--this is probably the game I am most interested in, even if it lacks big-time implications. San Diego St. has been the nation's most unexpected rising team this year. Utah looked good all year and then was embarrassed by TCU. Could be an upset.

5. South Carolina at Florida--I suppose I should care about who wins the SEC East, which is what this game will decide. I don't.

Out--Florida St., North Carolina St., Baylor