EZ's College Football Top 25, Week 4

Another week in the books, and another battle of top ten teams. The annual UF vs Tennessee matchup was also this week, and we had another week were some of the mighty have fallen.



1. USC Trojans – No Change
After last weeks big hyped battle with Ohio St, this week the Trojans rested. A week to recuperate should help this team stay number 1 as they get ready for their conference schedule to begin soon.



2. Georgia Bulldogs – No Change
The Dawgs defense was responsible for driving them to victory this week against former top 25 team the ASU Sun Devils. Next week the nation will really get to see what Stafford and Moreno are really made of when Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide await/




3. Oklahoma – No Change
The Sooners hold steady this week at number 3 by simply staying home and resting. The Big 12 is proving to be a challenging conference, and Oklahoma will need to bring it’s a game each and every week to hold their position.





4. Florida Gators – No Change
The Gators came off their bye and visited Tennessee for their annual showdown. This game was a blowout from the beginning, with the Gators beating the Vol’s in every phase of the game. The whoopin was so bad, the Tennessee faithful were exiting the stadium en masse at halftime.





5. LSU Tigers – No Change
The Tigers visited Auburn this week for a top ten showdown, and came out victorious. The truth is, this was a closer game than what I was expecting, and therefore, I cannot in good conscious give LSU a boost in the rankings. Misissippi State is on deck for LSU, and if they want the SEC title, they will need to stay strong.





6. Missouri Tigers – No Change
Chase Daniels continued to show himself as Heisman material throwing for over 430 yard and 20 straight completions in the 42-21 beating of a very overmatched Buffalo squad. This game was never in doubt, and both Daniels and his Mizzou Tigers have the nation talking.





7. Texas Longhorns – No Change
Colt McCoy had a record breaking day for the Longhorns as they rolled Rice 52-10 . McCoy threw for his 61st career touchdown, eclipsing form Longhorn signal caller major Applewhite in the process. Texas’ next battle is their makeup matchup with Arkansas.






8. Wisconsin Badgers – No Change
The Badgers had a week off, and getting the R&R didn’t help or hurt the team’s rankings. The Big 10 is anyone’s conference to win, and Wisconsin is as good a team as any to claim the crown.






9. Texas Tech – No Change
Texas Tech is probably the best team in the nation that no one is talking about. They simply murder anyone put in front of them. This week, the victim was UMass, who lost by a score of 56-14. Want to know why? Because the Raiders amassed 538 total yards to only 258 by the Minute Men.





10. Alabama Crimson Tide – No Change
The Tide beat the heck out of Arkansas this week, firmly establishing themselves as a legit top 10 team. I know they are another SEC team, but when you win 49-14 against a conference opponent, you have to take notice. SEC foe Georgia awaits next week in what should be an awesome top ten battle.





11. BYU Cougars - +3
Another week, means another seriously outmatched team getting beaten by the Cougars. Max Hall looked awesome again, and added another 3 TD passes to his list of accomplishments. A 44-0 beating of Wyoming combined with sub par wins by South Florida and OSU earned the Cougars this jump.






12. South Florida Bulls – No Change
The South Florida Bulls are a very interesting ball club. Each week they seem to play just well enough to win regardless of their opponent. This marks the third straight year the Bulls are off to a fast start. Can they show stamina this year is another question.





13. Penn State Nittany Lions - +3
Joe Pa’s team has not had to break a sweat all season. I know it won’t be as easy when they get into their conference schedule, but they have been simply on fire all year thus far. The Lions are not going to concede the Big 10 crown just yet, and their battle next week against a ranked Illinois team will show us a lot about what this team is made of.





14. Ohio State Buckeyes – -1
I know the Ohio State won, but they played a much closer game against Troy than they should have. Combine that with the convincing performances of BYU and Penn State, and you get another one spot drop for the former top 5. The Buckeyes are off next week, then reconvene to take on Minnesota. Maybe the new QB Pryor who looks an awful lot like Vince Young, can right this ship.





15. Clemson Tigers - +2
Clemson literally ran over South Carolina State on Saturday. The Tigers ran the ball 47 times to result in three James Davis touchdowns, and a 54-0 win. This Clemson team is better than the AP is giving them credit for, but I expect their play will continue to speak for itself hen they come back from next weeks bye.





16. Auburn Tigers - -5
Auburn could have been the recipients of a much greater fall had the game turned into the blowout I expected. Instead, Auburn kept the game close throughout, and in fact, almost beat LSU in the process. A loss is still a loss, and thus the Tigers do fall. Auburn’s next match-up is in two weeks against Tennessee.







17. Wake Forest Demon Deacons – +3
The ACC is not the SEC, but it is still a tough place to play football. The Demon Deacons had a top 25 showdown with conference foe FSU this wek in what should establish a lead dawg in the ACC pack. There was not a whole lot of scoring, with neither team finding the end zone, but despite that, Wake outplayed the Noles to earn the 12-3 victory., and the three spot jump in the poll.







18. Kansas Jayhawks - +1
After losing to South Florida last week, Kansas took their angst out on Sam Houston State. Todd Resing showed he has a short memory, and got right back to leading his team to victory, while becoming KU’s all time leading touchdown king with 53.




19. Utah Utes – +2
Utah played a nail biter in a game which should not have been so close. In fact, if not for Darrell Mack’s 3 second half rushing touchdowns, the Falcons would have pulled off the upset. Utah will need a better showing against Weber State who is next on the Utes docket.







20. Illinios Fighting Illini – +3
The Illini have a big battle looming next week against Penn State, which meant that it was a good thing the Illini had this week off to prepare. It also allowed them to move up 3 spots in the poll because of other team’s misfortunes.







21. Vanderbilt – New to Poll
So how about this, another SEC team making the poll. But this time it is perennial step stool Vandy. Well this year the Commodores are off and running, putting up 4 straight wins to start the season., including beating a pretty darn good Ole Miss squad this week. The schedule gets tough looking ahead with two of their next three against Auburn and Georgia but still, look how far Vandy has come.





22. East Carolina Pirates - -7
The Pirates dream of continuing to leave slain goliath’s in their path ended this week in overtime against North Carolina State. The game was close, and because of the close play, the Pirates don’t fall as far as they would have, but still their dreams of crashing the BCS party have ended.





23. Boise State – New to Poll
The Broncos earned their third straight victory this week by ousting a former top 25 team in Oregon. True it did take overtime, however, the Broncos never gave up, and have earned their way back onto the top 25 scene. If they don’t look past LA Tech to their battle with Iowa, the Broncos could be here for a while.





24. Fresno State - +1
The Bulldogs earned a 1 spot jump with their very close game victory against Toledo in overtime. Coming off the loss last week is not easy but if this team wants national consideration, they have to bounce back from losses strong than this in the future.






25. TCU Horned Frogs – New to Poll
4-0 starts can earn you some attention, and such is the case for TCU. Their 48-7 victory over SMU extends their season differential to 172-31. Not too shabby. Next up however is Oklahoma… now 5-0 would be really impressive.