Sept. 21 top 25 and analysis

 Here is my top 25 ballot for this week followed by a link for the new top 25.

 

 

1. Georgia
2. USC
3. Missouri
4. Florida
5. Oklahoma
6. LSU
7. Texas
8. Wisconsin
9. Alabama
10. Penn State
11. Texas Tech
12. Auburn
13. Ohio State
14. South Florida
15. BYU
16. Kansas
17. Wake Forest
18. Boise State
19. Illinois
20. Utah
21. Connecticut
22. Fresno State
23. Vanderbilt
24. TCU
25. Colorado

 

Here's a link to the top 25

 

New on my ballot:

 

TCU – The Horned Frogs are 4-0 and have been downright dominant, outscoring their opponents, 172-31. Those first four opponents were New Mexico, Stephen F Austin, Stanford and SMU. Traveling to No. 1 Oklahoma this Saturday will be an entirely different story.

 

Colorado – Other voters are putting the likes of Clemson, East Carolina and Oregon on their ballots. I’ll give a little credit for a good home win over West Virginia and an unblemished record. The Buffaloes have another chance to prove the doubters wrong this week when they make a road trip to Florida State.

 

On the cusp of my ballot:

 

Clemson – The Tigers have rebounded with three consecutive wins after that season-opening debacle against Alabama. They're getting closer to resurfaciing, but only because other teams are screwing up.

East Carolina -- The Pirates are one of those teams that screwed up Saturday. Skip Holtz had a chance to put the game against N.C. State on ice with a field goal in the fourth quarter, but he decided to go for a touchdown. The move backfired, and the Wolfpack came back to tie the score and send it into overtime, where they won it. Holtz single-handedly lost the game, and now the Pirates have no chance of going to a BCS bowl game. That's not the way to get a better job, Skip.

 

Other thoughts…

 

*Yes, I still have Georgia No. 1 on my ballot. The Bulldogs had an impressive victory at Arizona State. It never gets easy in the SEC. Next up is a home date with No. 9 Alabama.

 

*At least three conferences are having “down” years. The Big Ten, Pac-10 and Big East have had their share of struggles against teams from mid-major conferences. I wonder if I’ll live to hear the words: “It’s a down year for the SEC.” I’m thinking not.

 

*BYU is getting people’s attention with their last two games. The Cougars beat Wyoming and UCLA by a combined score of 103-0. They are getting more respect than Penn State, which has been even more dominant overall in its first four games.

 

*Northwestern hasn’t exactly been awe-inspiring on its way to its first 4-0 start since 1962, but the Wildcats could be on their way to having a very nice season because the schedule is in their favor. They don’t have to play Wisconsin or Penn State. The first ranked team on the schedule is Ohio State on Nov. 8. Voters are starting to put them on their ballots, but I’m going to wait to see how they do the next few weeks at Iowa and at home against Michigan State.