Chip’s Top 25

There wasn’t as much movement at the top this week, but it’s shaping up as quite a second half for the  2008 season.

Here’s my weekly Top 25, with last week’s ranking in parenthesis

1-Oklahoma (2)-Sooners have finally convinced me that they’re the best team in the nation. The difference between them and Alabama? OU has a stud quarterback, while the Crimson Tide does not.

2-Alabama (1)-Every team making a championship run has a game like ‘Bama did against Kentucky. And like most championship caliber teams, the Tide managed to win.

3-Missouri (3)-I know they don’t play much defense, but man that offense is sure fun to watch.

4-LSU (4)-Tigers rested and ready for trip to Swamp.

5-Penn State (5)-Nittany Lions are Big Ten’s best hope to make a dent in the national title picture.

6-Texas (6)-Mack Brown’s team has flown in under the radar, but if they knock off Oklahoma on Saturday they’ll be sittin’ pretty in the national title picture.

7-USC (8)-The Trojans will be kicking themselves at the end of the year for that Oregon State hiccup.

8-Ohio State (9)-Don’t look now, but Beanie and Terrelle Pryor have the Buckeyes right back in the thick of things.

9-BYU (7)-Still can’t get over that one-point win at Washington.

10-Georgia (11)-No longer the nation’s glamour team that they were in the preseason, Bulldogs can focus on the SEC East race.

11-Florida (13)-Forget about the Arkansas game. The Gators still don’t seem right.

12-Texas Tech (16)-I watched Kansas State play Louisville, and believe me, the Raiders’ 30-point win over the Wildcats wasn’t that big of a deal.

13-Vanderbilt (17)-All of a sudden the Commodores look like legit SEC title contenders.

14-Oklahoma State (22)-OSU-Missouri game should be one of the season’s most entertaining shootouts.

15-Utah (14)-Quality win over a sky-high Oregon State squad.

16-Virginia Tech (19)-For those of you who like to compare scores, Hokies had much more trouble with Western Kentucky than Alabama and UK did.

17-Kansas (15)-Jayhawks squeezed out a big one at Iowa State.

18-Michigan State (24)-Dangerous game at Northwestern this weekend before they host Ohio State on Oct. 18.

19-Boise State (18)-Broncos looking like the nation’s safest bet to run the table in the regular season.

20-TCU (NR)-Did something Notre Dame couldn’t do, which is blow out San Diego State and Stanford.

21-Illinois (NR)-No shame in competitive losses to Missouri and Penn State.

22-California (NR)-Looks like Pac-10’s only hope to have another good team besides USC.

23-Georgia Tech (NR)-Paul Johnson has the Yellow Jackets in the thick of the ACC race.

24-North Carolina (NR)-Posted nice back-to-back wins over Miami and UConn. The Fighting Irish is next.

25-Kentucky (NR)-I know teams don’ t usually enter the Top 25 after a loss, but if you’re 4-1 with a three-point loss to the nation’s No. 2 team on the road, you’ve earned it.

THE NEXT BEST FIVE

26-Wake Forest-Navy loss took a lot of shine off the Demon Deacons.

27-Wisconsin-Badgers need to learn to close.

28-Auburn-My colleague Mark Story and I listened to the Auburn post-game call-in show on our way back from Tuscaloosa, and it was brutal. Hope Tony Franklin has purchased earplugs.

29-Florida State-Seminoles almost turned what should have a rout against Miami into a disastrous loss.

30-South Florida-Looks like the best that the Big East has to offer, and that’s not saying much