Chip’s Top 25

Not much movement at the top this week, but next week shapes up big with Penn State-Ohio State and Oklahoma State-Texas on the slate.

1-Texas (1)-Need there be any doubt? One of the more impressive two-week stretches I’ve seen in a long time

2-Penn State (2)-Turned it on and steamrolled Michigan after a dicey first half.

3-Alabama (3)-Crimson Tide are cutting things too close. Penn State, Texas and Oklahoma are all destroying teams. I don’t really think ‘Bama would beat the Sooners, but they are unbeaten.

4-Oklahoma (4)-This will make SEC supporters cringe, but is there a chance it could be a Texas-Oklahoma rematch in the national title game?

5-Florida (5)-The Gators ripped LSU by 30 and got a week off. Not an ideal time to be traveling to Gainesville for Kentucky.

6-USC (6)-Could have played its third string and beaten Washington State by 40.

7-Ohio State (7)-How many people will be rooting for Penn State next week just so the talk of the Buckeyes back in the title game can be killed for good?

8-Oklahoma State (8)-I’m probably under-ranking the Cowboys here. They might actually be better than Florida, USC AND Ohio State. If they are, they’ll either beat Texas next week or give them a heck of a game.

9-Texas Tech (9)-I’m still waiting on the Red Raiders to show me something against a team with a pulse. Next four games are at Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma, so 7-0 could turn into 7-4 real quick.

10-Georgia (11)-The Bulldogs are hanging around, but Florida’ s looking like the SEC East favorites.

11-TCU (19)-Horned Frogs’ defense is legit. Absolutely manhandled BYU, and ‘held’ Oklahoma to 35.

12-LSU (12)-Rebounded from Florida debacle with nice road win in Columbia.

13-Utah (14)-The Utes have an advantage in their quest to crash the BCS: They play both TCU and BYU at home.

14-Missouri (10)-Mizzou has to be a little down after dropping two straight, but they should be favored in their final five games and should still win the Big 12 North.

15-Boise State (18)-I know it’s not their fault, but it sure would be nice to see the Broncos play somebody.

16-Georgia Tech (NR)-Have road wins at Boston College and Clemson. Who said Paul Johnson’s triple option couldn’t work in the ACC?

17-Pittsburgh (NR)-Dave Wannstedt seems to finally have things on track at his alma mater.

18-South Florida (NR)-Bulls have big game at Louisville on Saturday.

19-Kansas (17)-Jayhawks went into Norman and hung tough. Should probably be ranked higher since their only two losses were on the road in competitive games against Oklahoma and South Florida.

20-Minnesota (21)-Looking at the Gophers’ schedule, winning out is definitely a possibility, meaning that Tim Brewster could go from 1-11 to 11-1.

21-Cincinnati (22)-Might be the best team in the Big East, but schedule is brutal: still have to play South Florida and Pitt and travel to Louisville and West Virginia.

22-Florida State (NR)-The Seminoles are right in the mix of a topsy-turvy ACC.

23-Boston College (NR)-Ditto for the Eagles.

24-Ball State-(NR)-Might be the safest bet to go unbeaten.

25-Tulsa-(NR)-Have played absolutely no one, but boy they sure do score a lot of points.

DROPPED OUT-BYU, Michigan State, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, South Carolina,

NEXT BEST FIVE

26-BYU-No shame in losing on the road to TCU, but the Cougars got obliterated.

27-Michigan State-No shame in losing at home to Ohio State, but the Spartans got obliterated.

28-Vanderbilt-If the Commodores only had some offense.

29-Virginia Tech-Costly loss at B.C. over the weekend.

30-Northwestern-Record (7-1) is nice, but show me a quality win.

LOCAL UPDATE

Kentucky-Wildcats saved its season in the Arkansas game. Now they need to find a way to get at least one more.

Louisville-South Florida game will be the biggest game of Steve Kragthorpe’s tenure to date. A win there would put the Cards on the radar.