1-Texas Tech-Unbeaten in the nation’s best conference and beat the clear-cut No.1 team. Enough said.

2-Penn State-Yeah, the Big Ten is bad, but the guilt-by-association perception of the Nittany Lions is a bit extreme.

3-Alabama-Clemson and Georgia wins don’t seem like as big a deal now, but you’ve got to give the Tide credit for taking care of business all year.

4-Texas-The Longhorns still might have the best resume’ in the nation: three top 10 wins and a last-second loss at Texas Tech.

5-Florida-Gators are probably the best team in the nation right now, but you still can’t erase the Ole Miss loss.

6-Oklahoma-Sooners are giving up an awful lot of points

7-Oklahoma State-Cowboys can bet back in title picture with a win at Texas Tech this week.

8-USC-Pac-10 is so awful its hard to get a gauge on how good the Trojans are. Its best win was over Ohio State without Beanie

9-TCU-Horned Frogs have been a little bit more impressive than Utah. The debate will be answered on Thursday.

10-Boise State-Broncos put the wood to Hal Mumme on Saturday.

11-Utah-A win over TCU would put the Utes in prime position for a BCS at-large berth

12-Missouri-Tigers should cruise into Big 12 championship game after tough win at Baylor.

13-Ohio State-Rose Bowl is the best the Buckeyes can hope for.

14-Georgia-Bulldogs’ season now officially a disappointment

15-West Virginia-Bill Stewart has turned it around in Morgantown.

16-Georgia Tech-Paul Johnson gets my vote for Coach of the Year

17-Michigan State-Spartans kept Big Ten title hopes alive with late win vs. Wisconsin.

18-LSU-Tigers have done nothing thus far to suggest they’ll beat Alabama next week.

19-Ball State-Central Michigan could end the Cards’ unbeaten season on Nov. 19.

20-Florida State-Gave one away at Georgia Tech

21-Maryland-Not sure the Terrapins are really this good, but 6-2 and 3-1 in ACC deserves some sort of ranking

22-Northwestern-Banged-up Wildcats showed its character with miraculous win at Minnesota.

23-BYU-Needs to knock off Utah to erase memories of blowout loss to TCU.

24-California-Win over Michigan State in opener is still the season highlight.

25-South Carolina-Other than Vandy, Gamecocks have won the game they’re supposed to win.

The University of Kentucky was ranked 32nd in this week’s Associated Press media poll and placed 33rd in the USA Today coaches poll released on Sunday. UK travels to No. 5 Florida this week.

AP Poll

Coaches poll

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.

The University of Kentucky is 32nd in the USA Today poll and 33rd in the Associated Press poll released Sunday afternoon. The Wildcats, who were 28th in both polls last week, lost 17-14 at No. 2 Alabama on Saturday. Teams are ahead of UK in the AP poll include Pittsburgh (24th), Ball State (25th), Tulsa (27th) and Northwestern (30th).

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

I’m back on the beat after a brief hiatus, and what a time to return. It was quite the crazy week in the Top 25, and now a Kentucky team still trying to find itself is facing a road game against the nation’s hottest team. With that in mind, here’s my Top 25 for this week:

1-Alabama-Maybe Oklahoma is a little better, but the Crimson Tide’s destruction of Georgia was one of the most impressive regular season wins I’ve seen in years. Top that off with the season-opening blowout of Clemson, and ‘Bama has earned this ranking.

2-Oklahoma-Tore through a pretty good TCU team on Saturday. This looks like Mike Stoops’ most complete team in Norman.

3-Missouri-Chase Daniel has surpassed Tim Tebow as the country’s glamour quarterback.

4-LSU-Has a week off to prepare for the Oct. 11 trip to Florida.

5-Penn State-Looks like JoePa and the boys are for real this year.

6-Texas-The Longhorns have beaten four bad teams, but it is what it is.

7-BYU-How did they only beat Washington by one point?

8-USC-Vastly inferior opponents seem to turn the nation’s best big-game team into chumps.

9-Ohio State-I hate to put the Buckeyes this high, but they do look like a different team with Terrelle Pryor and Beanie Wells.

10-South Florida-The Bulls made a much-needed statement by pounding N.C. State on the road.

11-Georgia-There’s no shame in losing to Alabama, even at home. But 31-0 at halftime?

12-Auburn-Tommy Tuberville and Tony Franklin need to settle on a quarterback.

13-Florida-The loss to Ole Miss was a shocker, but the Gator offense had been sending warning signs all season.

14-Utah-Season-ending game against BYU is shaping up as a biggie.

15-Kansas-Three-point loss at South Florida tells us more about the Jayhawks than their three cupcake wins.

16-Texas Tech-Just don’t think the Red Raiders are that good.

17-Vanderbilt-How good does the road win at Ole Miss look now?

18-Boise State-Might be 11-0 going into regular-season finale against Fresno State

19-Virginia Tech-Quietly posted impressive back-to-back road wins at Georgia Tech and Nebraska.

20-Oregon-Ducks have used four quarterbacks in four games.

21-Wisconsin-Gacked one up in Ann Arbor.

22-Oklahoma State-Pushing Missouri for title of nation’s most explosive offense.

23-Fresno State-Had to work harder than they should have at UCLA.

24-Michigan State-All of a sudden the Spartans look like legit Big Ten contenders.

25-Kentucky-It came down to the Cats and UConn for the final spot, and UK gets the nod based on this: Both teams have three cupcakes wins and a road victory at Louisville. Kentucky beat the Cards 27-2, while the Huskies stole the game late. The Cats need to avoid embarrassment at Alabama to remain within sniffing range of the Top 25.

The Next Best Five

26-UConn-Win next week at North Carolina, and the Huskies will rise up several spots.

27-Wake Forest-You don’t lose to Navy at home without free-falling in the polls.

28-Maryland-They did lose to Middle Tennessee, but wins over Cal and Clemson negate that slip.

29-Ole Miss-Road win over Florida pulls more weight than close losses to Vandy and Wake.

30-Northwestern-Yeah, the Wildcats are 5-0, but their best win is at Duke (Yes, I think Duke is better than Iowa).

Welcome back for another version of my unofficial weekly Top 25, with last week’s rankings in parenthesis.

1-USC (1)-These Trojans are as good defensively as the Bush/Leinart teams were offensively.

2-Oklahoma (2)-Sooners and Trojans would be a toss-up right now.

3-Georgia (3)-Not playing to the level of USC or Oklahoma, but winning ugly in Columbia is nothing to be ashamed of.

4-Missouri (7)-Would love to see Chase Daniel, Jeremy Maclin and the Tigers’ explosive offense face off against Tim Tebow, Percy Harvin and the Gators..

5-Florida (5)-Should be rested and ready for next week’s trip to Knoxville.

6-Wisconsin (14)-Had the guts to travel to Fresno and the toughness to pull out a win.

7-Oregon (15)-The double OT triumph at Purdue is the type of win teams get during special seasons.

8-Texas (9)-The Top 25 team I know the least about.

9-East Carolina (10)-The magic continues for Skip Holtz. Considering how tough Tulane played Alabama, a victory in New Orleans has to be considered high-quality.

10-Alabama (14)-Took care of business against Western Kentucky, now comes back-to-back road trips to Arkansas and Georgia.

11-BYU (24)-Max Hall should now be on everybody’s Heisman radar.

12-Auburn (8)-Tony Franklin better get that offense fixed before LSU gets to town on Saturday.

13-Penn State (13)-Still haven’t played anyone with a pulse but averaging over 55 points a game.

14-South Florida (16)-Beat a darned good Kansas team in helping the Big East save some face.

15-Texas Tech (17)-Red Raiders just biding time. Should be 7-0 when they travel to Kansas on Oct. 15.

16-Utah (18)-BCS hopes will get a real test at Air Force on Saturday.

17-Virginia Tech (NR)-Held off a solid Georgia Tech team, and that close loss at ECU doesn’t look nearly as bad now.

18-Wake Forest (19)-Can cement itself as the ACC favorite with a win at Florida State on Saturday.

19-Kansas (12)-Can’t dog the Jayhawks too much for a narrow road loss to a good South Florida team.

20-Ohio State (5)-Now we don’t have to worry about the Buckeyes getting blown out in a third straight BCS title game.

21-West Virginia (18)-Not as down on the Mountaineers after the ECU loss as a lot of other folks.

22-Vanderbilt (25)-The Commodores dominated Rice in a game that past Vandy teams would have blown.

23-Oklahoma State (NR)-Mike Gundy doesn’t have any reason to go off on any reporters with the way the Cowboy offense is rolling.

24-Florida State (NR)-Seminoles might have finally found a quarterback in sophomore Christian Ponder.

25-Air Force (NR)-AFA picked up a nice road win at Houston and can skyrocket up the charts next week if they knock off Utah.

DROPPED OUT-Arizona State, Fresno State, California, Illinois

NEXT BEST FIVE

26-TCU-The Horned Frogs could be a sleeper BCS buster.

27-Tennessee-That UCLA-BYU score didn’t do Phil Fulmer any favors.

28-Boise State-Will have a chance to get into the BCS mix by knocking off Oregon next week.

29-Fresno State-Came up just short against the Badgers.

30-Clemson-Tigers didn’t pound a bad N.C. State team the way they needed to.

LOCAL UPDATE

Kentucky-MTSU showed that the Cats don’t have any business thinking Top 25 for awhile.

Louisville-Kansas State is a crossroads game for the Cards.

Indiana-Could end up with a better record than Kentucky and Louisville

Brooks stopped a moment to reflect on the Top 25 rankings. The 2-0 Wildcats received six votes in the Associated Press poll, which places them 35^th; and got 28 votes in the coaches poll, which is good for 29^th.

“I find it interesting that Kentucky football perceived as poorly as it is,” Brooks said. “I’m not saying we’re a top 25 team, but if some teams that I’ve seen are ranked, then we are too.”

“We haven’t had a touchdown scored on us. We did win a bowl game last year. We did beat the No. 1 team in the nation last year.”

Brooks said he believes that the lack of a winning tradition at Kentucky has affected his team’s ranking.

“If we had a history of being more competitive, we’d probably be ranked in Top 25,” Brooks said. “If we were in a different league, we’d probably be ranked in the Top 25. I don’t think people are looking at how good we are right now. They’re looking at our schedule and saying how many games are we going to win? I think they’re saying, ‘Well, they can’t beat that team or this team.”

Last year I had the pleasure of serving as the state’s official voter in Associated Press Top 25 poll. My man Kent Taylor from WAVE-TV in Louisville is representing the Bluegrass this year, but I had so much fun with it last fall that I’ve decided to post my own unofficial top 25.

Here it goes:

1-USC-They probably sat at home this weekend thinking they’re going to make “Beanie Weenies” out of the Buckeyes.

2-Oklahoma-My preseason No. 1 pick, but they’ll need to be ready to play on the road next week against what should be an emotional Washington team.

3-Georgia-The Bulldogs don’t need to even worry about rankings. If they run the table with this schedule, they’ll be in the national title game.

4-Florida-The offense isn’t humming yet, but the Gator defense looks vastly improved.

5-LSU-One of three SEC teams using a two-quarterback system, joining Auburn (Chris Todd/Kodi Burns) and Kentucky (Mike Hartline/Randall Cobb).

6-Ohio State-Forget about USC. Do you really think the Buckeyes would beat Georgia, Florida or LSU right now?

7-Missouri-Best offense in the country at this point of the season.

8-Auburn-The Tigers are still trying to master Tony Franklin’s offense, but the defense is scary.

9-Texas-Don’t really know what to make of Texas, and might not know anything until the Oklahoma game on Oct. 11.

10-East Carolina-Why not this high? The Pirates have the most impressive two-game resume’ in the country, and it’s not even close. The bad news is that now the big boys will be coming after Skip Holtz.

11-Arizona State-Nobody’s talking about the Sun Devils, but they’ll be primed, ready and 3-0 when Georgia visits on Sept. 20.

12-Kansas-We’ll find out about the Jayhawks when they travel to South Florida on Friday.

13-Penn State-Oregon State’s not that good, but a performance like that with all the distractions is still pretty impressive.

14-Alabama-Still not convinced that the Crimson Tide are as good as they looked against Clemson, but they’ve earned their ranking.

14-Wisconsin-P.J. Hill is a darkhorse Heisman candidate

15-Oregon-I know Utah State’s a tomato can, but piling up 688 yards on anybody deserves a little love.

16-South Florida-Struggled with UCF more than I expected.

17-Texas Tech-Their trip to Nevada didn’t produce the offensive fireworks that most thought it would.

18-West Virginia-Somewhere in Ann Arbor, Rich Rodriguez is smiling.

19-Wake Forest-The Demon Deacons look like the early class of the ACC but still needed a late field goal to beat a second-tier SEC team in Ole Miss.

20-Fresno State-Watch out, Wisconsin. The Bulldogs have had a week’s rest after whipping up on Rutgers.

21-Utah-Figures to fight with BYU all season to become a potential BCS-buster.

22-Illinois-Will be on cruise control until a Sept. 27 trip to Penn State

23-California-Either the Bears are better than I thought, or Washington State is just plain awful.

24-BYU-Theme song should be Kool & the Gang’s ‘Celebration’

25-Vanderbilt-Don’t laugh. They went on the road and spanked perhaps the best team in the MAC (Miami), and were clearly better than South Carolina.

THE NEXT BEST FIVE

26.Tennessee-I still believe the Vols are good, but why start the season on the West Coast when you’re in the SEC?

27. Clemson-The Tigers are better than this, but they’ve got to earn their way back in after laying that egg against ‘Bama.

28. Oklahoma State-Mike Gundy has his offense rolling.

29. UCLA-Can the Bruins make it two upsets in a row at BYU next week?

30-Boise State-I’ve got to see more of the Broncos. A Sept. 20 trip to Oregon should tell me something.

LOCAL UPDATE

Kentucky-I know my mailbox will be flooded with inquiries from Wildcat fans wondering why they’re not in my Top 25. I don’t think the Cats are there just yet, but win the next two, and they should be ranked going down to Alabama on Sept. 27.

Louisville-This sounds a little silly considering how they looked against UK, but the way the Big East is looking, the Cards have to feel like they at least have a shot at a conference crown and BCS bid.

Indiana-I’m looking at the Hoosiers’ schedule and can see the potential for eight wins.

One final note: Notre Dame still stinks.