Dropped Out: Nebraska (#18), Auburn (#21), Missouri (#22).

Gators – Did Arkansas ply up, or did Gators play down? Given Gary Danielson saying he has never seen a Florida O-line handled like this before, I am thinking the former…it just shows again that you cannot bet against the Tebow. I said it after The Promise, I said it before the Championship game against Oklahoma, and I said it in the 4Q yesterday. A man among boys.

Alabama – equally deserving of the #1 spot. There, I said it. Better schedule, but that win over VT not looking as interesting now.

Texas – slower starts than this website…but got another W despite no one playing top-notch ball in the final 8 minutes. I kinda feel sorry for Sooners and Sam Bradford as injuries destroyed their 2009 chances, but then I returned to my cynical side when I saw the season preview where Bradford said, “This season we want to finish strong.” They may still get that chance…

Miami (FL) – would love to get my homies opinions on seeing them up close at UCF yesterday. That’s what the comments are for.

LSU – There is no longer a clear Top 6, only a clear Top 5.

Boise State – that was a war in Tulsa on Wednesday Night, really a defensive battle. Given the conditions and the away game, Boise should feel good about the win, especially since the rest of their schedule is thinner than Calista Flockhart.

Cincinnati – The loss of Tony Pike seemed like a problem until the second coming of Fran Tarkenton entered the game. Fantasy wise this might really hurt Mardy Gilyard, but I would be shocked if the Bearcats DO NOT go undefeated.

Iowa – cannot be denied.

Southern Cal – good win on the road, those who thought this would be a blowout were guilty of beer goggles or something. Thankfully there are voices of truth out there. I would love to see USC-Iowa so we can separate contender from pretender.

TCU – may be a bit high, but their spotless record should go ahead of two-loss…

Virginia Tech – just when we thought the switch went on for the Hokies and Tyrod Taylor, they travel to a tough venue and get a good loss. But two good losses are still two losses and not deserving of Top Ten rank. I put them at #11 before I started sorting everything else out.

Oklahoma State – still thawing out after this one, the yardage story makes this game look a lot closer than the final 33-17. We will soon know if the Pokes are for real, two-thirds of the triplets out be damned.

Georgia Tech – how can you not root for them running the flexbone? Their first really good win against the Hokies took all of Josh Nesbitt’s best decision making, and by that I mean throwing only 7 times.

Penn State – pitched a shutout against Eric Decker and Minnesota for their best effort of the season. But that loss to Iowa almost guarantees Capital One Bowl at best.

Oregon – like Syracuse, did nothing this week to change their standing (IDLE). The more Boise, Utah and Cal win, the better the computers like them.

Brigham Young – another squeaky win, but t win nonetheless. Except for a home loss to Bizarro-Seminoles this would be a undefeated  Top Ten team.

Houston (with a bullet) – if not for an inexcusable loss to UTEP, Cougars would be undefeated with three wins over AQ conference teams (OkSt, Texas T and Miss. St) and a dark horse Heisman candidate in Case Keenum. Smells like a media darling, solid win on the road this week at Tulane.

Utah – I admit to dismissing them too quickly – it really wasn’t the road win at UNLV that changed my mind this week, it was more that they have been travelling more than LeBron James in the playoffs and their only loss is at Oregon (see above for the weighting I give to Ducks)

South Carolina – 5-2 and winning ugly, but also losing ugly. Body of work is OK though and good enough to move up in this wacky week.

Ohio State – In retrospect, Purdue had five close finishes this season and few breaks went their way. Also, we may have forgotten that Navy and others were able to pass on the Buckeyes and Tyrelle Pryor is not maturing as quickly as we all would like (on the field, Mike Vick sympathies notwithstanding). I guarantee that the BCS computers will have them much lower than the polls.

West Virginia -  My Top 20 was easy to set this a.m. (I should have stopped there but those aren’t the rules), but 21-25 were a bit crazy. Mountaineers get the nod over Ole Miss, Wisconsin, Michigan and BC based on the one loss versus that group’s two losses each. QB Jarrett Brown left early with a concussion (do not expect 485 updates on his status) so true freshman Gene Smith came in and looked OK. This will likely be the story for the rest of the season for the Couch-Burners – can they live on Divine intervention alone?

Notre Dame – sound the alarms, but a good win over Nevada, and good loss to USC and a win at Purdue look good enough for this weeks top 25.

Kansas – I wanted to kick them out since I felt they were the country’s worst undefeated team coming in to the week. In the end I think there results look better than the Group of Four listed above.

South Florida – must be late October if the Bulls are fading. I hope Carlton Mitchell has come out of his room after dropping a wide open pass late in the Cincy game.

Idaho – yes, I am muckraking-potstirring-rebelrousing here, but 6-1 with three road wins and a road loss to Washington looks good enough to me. Vandals are bowl eligible for the first time since 1999 and they deserve your attention and I want to give them some props. And it is my poll and you are going to read every word I write..