Week 5 College Football Top 25

My inaugural college football Top 25 (on here of course)

1. LSU - The clear top dogs in college football. No one even comes close to their resume. Heck, most teams barely get to play three teams as good as Oregon, Mississippi State and West Virginia in a whole season! That rumble with Alabama in Tuscaloosa on November 5 looks to be game-of-the-year material.
Next: vs. Kentucky, October 1

2. Oklahoma - Sorry Sooner fans. It seldom seems the #1 team in the nation drops in the polls after a hard-fought win, but that's where Bob Stoops and Co. find themselves this week. After two closer-than-expected wins against Florida State and Missouri, there might be some small concern, but it should be negligible. Don't forget- Mizzou beat the Sooners last year.
Next: vs. Ball State, October 1

3. Alabama - Ho-hum. The Tide rolls on, once again driving Bobby Petrino's Razorbacks absolutely nuts in the process. Sure, Saban's boys aren't sexy, but this is a classic Alabama team. They run the ball well with Trent Richardson and play phenomenal defense. Their LSU game might devolve to a game of 10, as in whoever scores 10 first wins. Up next is a roadie at the Swamp to tangle with the new-look Gators.
Next: vs. at Florida, October 1

4. Oklahoma State - That sure was some win in College Station wasn't it? I hate the "A Tale of Two Halves" cliche, but in this case, it applies. For two quarters, Texas A&M was having their way with Mike Gundy's boys. Once halftime was over, it was the Brandon Weeden show. If he keeps that up, the Pokes will have their first Heisman winner since that Sanders guy played RB in Stillwater.
Next: vs. Kansas, October 8

5. Boise State - The Broncos are at it again. After a stiff season-opening game in Atlanta, Chris Petersen's boys are at it again, pulverizing any lesser team unfortunate enough to be in their way. Unfortunately, the week was not all good news as TCU's loss of Tanner Brock makes them a less impressive win should Boise beat them in a few weeks.
Next: vs. Nevada, October 1

6. Wisconsin - The Badgers have been absolutely dominant through their first four games, admittedly against far inferior competition. The offense hasn't missed a beat at all, even with the losses of Scott Tolzien and Gabe Carimi. Russell Wilson looks like this year's Cam Newton, though he'll be hard-pressed to put up the gaudy numbers Newton did last year at Auburn.
Next: vs. Nebraska, October 1

7. Stanford - Luck and co. have picked up right where they left off last year. The Pac-12 is completely wide-open for them (Oregon travels to Palo Alto this year) and QB Andrew Luck is making it look too easy as well as getting every professional scout, GM, and personnel director salivate at the thought of drafting him. Luckily for the Cardinal, that draft won't happen until April.
Next: vs. UCLA, October 1

8. Nebraska - The moment the Huskers have waited for has finally arrived- their first Big Ten game. Unfortunately, it's a date with the best team in the conference in their house. We'll see just how much Taylor Martinez has matured.
Next: at Wisconsin, October 1

9. Oregon - Maybe that LSU game was just an anomaly. Since that game, the Ducks have piled up 181 points and 1764 yards of offense (60.3 PPG and 588 YPG). Life in the Pac-12 is a lot easier on the Ducks' offense, it would seem. Granted, LSU can make life hard for anyone. It's clear that Oregon is back on the right track and not at all ready to go quietly.
Next: vs. California, October 6

10. South Carolina - The Gamecocks are just riding Marcus Lattimore to the promised land. It's obvious Steve Spurrier doesn't trust Stephen Garcia to take them there. Garcia's maddening inconsistency might spell doom for the Gamecocks. It's obvious the defense and running game won't be their problems. How long of a leash will Spurrier have before he puts Connor Shaw back into the starting lineup? We'll see.
Next: vs. Auburn, October 1

11. Virginia Tech - The Hokies haven't exactly been taking names on the gridiron like many expected but they're undefeated. What many assumed to be an easy ride through the ACC suddenly looks a lot harder with the emergence of both Clemson and Georgia Tech. Logan Thomas has been efficient and solid for them and the rest of the Beamer Ball boys have been up to snuff, especially RB David Wilson, who already has over 500 yards rushing.
Next: vs. Clemson, October 1

12. Florida - Snuck up on you a little didn't they? Florida is flying under the radar as much as they can this year. Will Muschamp's crew haven't had a particularly difficult schedule yet (that will change with SEC play about to start). John Brantley looks a lot more comfortable in Charlie Weis's offense than he did in Urban Meyer's.
Next: at Alabama, October 1


13. Clemson - Easily the surprise team so far in the nation, the Tigers have been playing solid football under Dabo Swinney and are 4-0 for the first time since 2007. The offense has really been off to a good start with Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins making big plays for the Tigers. Going to Blacksburg will be a big test for them. If they can win there, they'll be coasting to the ACC Championship game. After Va Tech, only one of their next five games pits them against a ranked opponent. (at Georgia Tech on October 29)
Next: at Virginia Tech, October 1


14. Texas A&M - I'm interested to see how the Aggies bounce back from a disappointing loss last week as they now face an Arkansas team that just got smacked around by Alabama at Jerryworld. Where did the offense go in the 2nd half? They missed an important chance to get a leg up on the rest of the South division.
Next: vs. Arkansas, October 1 (at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas)

15. South Florida - Skip Holtz has been doing some good work in Tampa and the Bulls are riding high having notched back-to-back 50 point games. The season-opening win at Notre Dame was only one win, but it could have been the start of something big for them. They have to feel pretty confident going into their game at Pitt this Thursday.
Next: at Pittsburgh, September 29


16. Baylor - How good has Robert Griffin III been? To put it one way, he has more TD passes (13) than incomplete passes. Ladies and gentlemen, your Heisman dark horse candidate!
Next: at Kansas State, October

17. Illinois - Ron Zook has the Illini playing some of the best football the program has ever seen. The development of Nathan Scheelhaase (71% completion percentage) coupled with the emergence of freshman RB Donovonn Young has the Illini feeling pretty good. Even better, they miss out on playing Nebraska and Michigan State this year.
Next: vs. Northwestern, October 1


18. Michigan - Once again, the Wolverines enter Big Ten play undefeated. Brady Hoke's willingness to tweak the offense has paid off in a big way for Denard Robinson, who has been absolutely electrifying since the Notre Dame game. The defense has shown improvement as well.
Next: vs. Minnesota, October 1

19. Arizona State - The folks in Eugene and Palo Alto can't be please with what they just saw in Tempe, as Dennis Erickson's Sun Devils squashed USC at home. QB Brock Osweiler has been more willing to check down and not forced as many throws this year. Although they have that one loss to Illinois on their resume, wins against Missouri and USC are impressive. The Pac-12 South looks ripe for the taking. LB Vontaze Burfict has been an absolute terror for opposing offenses.
Next: vs. Oregon State, October 1

20. Georgia Tech - Quick, which offense has been better since week 2? Oregon or Georgia Tech's? Unbelievably, the Ramblin' Wreck has been the nation's most explosive offense, scoring at a 53 PPG clip, to go along with 630 YPG (of which nearly 400 are rushing yards). QB Tevin Washington has been a nice surprise, as has AB Orwin Smith and BB David Sims.
Next: at NC State, October 1

21. West Virginia - Sure, they got manhandled at home by LSU. So did Oregon. The sky hasn't fallen on them yet and they play in a winnable conference. The Big East looks a little tougher this year than originally thought at the beginning of the year with the emergence of South Florida. As the Mountaineers get more comfortable with Dana Holgorson's offense, they will steadily improve. The December 1 game at USF might decide the Big East's BCS bid.
Next: vs. Bowling Green, October 1

22. Texas - They just had an off week, but the offense looked a lot more crisp in its first week away from Garrett Gilbert under Case McCoy. Although it sounds weird, the Longhorns might sneak up on the Big XII this year. If they can get consistency at QB and on the ground (is Malcolm Brown the answer?), they could push as high as 2nd or 3rd in the South, ahead of even A&M and Oklahoma State.
Next: at Iowa State, October 1

23. Arkansas - Bobby Petrino has to be sick of losing to Alabama, considering that Arkansas has been good against everyone else in the SEC under his tutelage.
Next: vs. Texas A&M, October 1 (at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas)

24. Florida State - Things have gotten rocky in Tallahassee really fast after two tough losses for the 'Noles. One instant, they look ready to challenge Oklahoma, the next their QB is injured and they've lost at Clemson. They have to get more from the running game if they want to win. Leading rusher Chris Thompson is only averaging 2.9 yards a carry. Clint Trickett has plenty of talent but is still young and needs help from the rest of the offense. No one doubts their defense, even after getting pushed a little recently. The schedule will not be this difficult down the stretch for them, thankfully.
Next: at Wake Forest, October 8

25. Ohio State  - The Buckeyes still have issues, but freshman Braxton Miller injected some life into the offense against Colorado. Watching to see how he develops could decide the Big 10 race. The Buckeye's upcoming schedule is going to get a lot more difficult and it starts this week with Sparty coming to Columbus.
Next: vs. Michigan State, October 1

Just missed:
TCU, Notre Dame, Houston, USC, Auburn