College Football Week 5 Power Rankings - Vito's View Sports

Before offering up last week’s power rankings, I warned of potential “trouble brewing on the BCS horizon.” I claimed that even though it was early, the BCS could be facing a nightmare scenario with USC and the winners from the SEC and the Big 12 all finishing the season unbeaten.

Boy, was that a bunch of crazy talk or what?

USC went into Corvallis with an unbeatable mystique before Oregon State humbled them--again. Florida, my new No. 2 last week, looked to be the class of the SEC until Ole Miss shocked them at home. And Georgia...oh Georgia...the team that was supposed to give the SEC its third straight national title ran into the new buzzsaw that is Alabama.

When the weekend of upsets finally bled into this week of recovery, the damage was felt throughout my rankings: Nine of my top 25 lost, four of my top 10 fell, and six teams overall lost to unranked opponents.

While I was cautioning against impending BCS doom last week, I also wrote that, “Last season taught us that, in this day of overarching parity, it’s unwise to look beyond college football’s immediate future.”

I wish I listened to myself.

This week’s rankings:

1. Alabama (5-0, LW 10)
From 10 to 1. They might not be able to do it in the AP and USA Today polls, but the Tide do it here. That’s what happens when you go into Athens and embarrass the Dawgs. I’ve been a late believer in Nick Saban’s magic, but there’s no denying that this guy can coach—and his team can play ball.

2. Oklahoma (4-0, LW 3)
The two teams ahead of them last week lose and the Sooners still don’t get the top spot. It’s not that I don’t have faith in OU...Sam Bradford is excellent and has had his team in my top 5 all year. They’ll be able to make their case for No. 1 when they play Texas in two weeks.

3. LSU (4-0, LW 4)
After surviving Upset Saturday, the Tigers have an off week to prep for a difficult October that sends them to Florida and South Carolina before a home date with Georgia.

4. Missouri (4-0, LW 6)
The Tigers picked a good week to be off. Now, they head to Nebraska seeking their first win in Lincoln since 1978. Trouble is, Mizzou is only 4-6 after bye weeks under Gary Pinkel.

5. Texas Tech (4-0, LW 8)
After watching Tech beat up on four patsies, we can finally get a sense of how good the Red Raiders are when they open Big 12 play this week.

6. Texas (4-0, LW 9)
QB Colt McCoy has the offense rolling, and the defense is suffocating opponents. But can it continue during a brutal five-week stretch in which the Longhorns play (are you ready for this one?) Colorado, Oklahoma, Missouri, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech?

7. Penn State (5-0, LW 14)
So much for the notion that Penn State hasn’t played anybody. Now the favorite to win the Big Ten, the Lions face a very difficult stretch in which they’ll play four of the next five games on the road. Making matters worse—they play Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio State during that span.

8. BYU (4-0, LW 13)
As the Cougars get ready for hapless Utah State, QB Max Hall is imploring his teammates to keep their heads in the game and avoid an unthinkable upset. “We cannot be flat. We’ve got to be ready to go. We need to take it to those guys.”

9. Ohio State (4-1, LW 12)
Talk all you want about my putting OSU ahead of USC even though the Trojans crushed them a few weeks ago. With QB Terrell Pryor quickly growing into a stud and RB Chris Wells returning from a foot injury, this is a much different—and better—Buckeyes team.

10. South Florida (5-0, LW 18)
Thanks to the bevy of upsets this week, the Bulls shoot up in my rankings. “We haven’t even started yet,” C Jake Griffin said. How true. South Florida, now the favorite in the Big East, opens conference play this week.

11. USC (2-1, LW 1)
Pete Carroll is taking some heat because his ultra-talented teams have been losing to supposed lesser competition in recent years. But as you look for answers for these stumbles, remember the prime directive of college sports: At the end of the day, they’re just kids.

12. Florida (3-1, LW 2)
Apparently, I was a little too high on the Gators, who lost an SEC opener for just the second time in 20 years. Tim Tebow was so distraught that he apologized to fans after the game. Can I get an apology, too, Tim?

13. Georgia (4-1, LW 5)
So much for the magic of the black uniforms. Alabama scored on its first five possessions to humble the Dawgs in front of a home crowd. “We’ve got the open date to get stronger and heal up,” coach Mark Richt said. “All hope is not lost by any means.”

14. Wisconsin (3-1, LW 7)
That was a costly nap you guys took in the second half. Your failure to hold onto a 19-point lead gives the Wolverines’ season new life.

15. Auburn (4-1, LW 11)
New offensive coordinator Tony Franklin is drawing fans’ ire after the Tigers’ attack was punchless once again. “Coach Tuberville put a lot on the line in hiring me to try to change things up,” Franklin said. “My job is to not screw it up.” But that’s exactly what you’re doing, Tony.

16. Utah (5-0, LW 16)
Heading into Saturday’s game against Weber State, coach Kyle Whittingham announced that he was looking to win by about 40 or 50 points. Instead, the Utes settled for a 16-point W. Now comes an interesting matchup Thursday night against Oregon State.

17. Boise State (3-0, LW 17)
It’s not often you get to see a ranked team play on a Wednesday night, but you can watch one this week when the Broncos open WAC play against Louisiana Tech in front of a national TV audience.

18. Kansas (3-1, LW 19)
Mark Mangino hopes that QB Todd Reesing used the bye week to learn to play with more control rather than trying to make a big play every time he touches the ball. “I don’t want him to think he has to do everything. Obviously, somewhere, somebody told him that he needs to be the whole show. He doesn’t.”

19. Virginia Tech (4-1, LW 24)
Virginia Tech is once again the best team in the ACC. It’s a good thing lawmakers strong-armed the Hokies into this league—where would it be without them?

20. Oklahoma State (4-0, LW NR)
The Cowboys have put up at least 55 points in each of their last three games and are 4-0 for the first time since ’04. “Our goal is to score every time we touch it,” QB Zac Robinson said. Isn’t that the idea, Zac?

21. Oregon (4-1, LW 22)
Despite their injury problems at QB, the Ducks got back to their winning ways...just in time for this week’s clash with USC.

22. Michigan State (4-1, LW NR)
RB Javon Ringer should start hearing his name mentioned in Heisman talk after carrying the Spartans to another win, rushing 44 times for 197 yards and a TD as the Spartans won their fourth straight after a season-opening loss to Cal.

23. Fresno State (3-1, LW NR)
The Bulldogs jump back into the rankings by getting back to business, which for them is going on the road and dumping a BCS team.

24. TCU (4-1, LW 23)
I’m not going to knock the Frogs out of the rankings just because they got blitzed by Oklahoma in Norman. I did think they were going to keep it a little closer though.

25. Vanderbilt (4-0, LW NR)
You know things are going well for the Commodores when they don’t even play and jump into the rankings. Just another sign of a crazy week in college football.

Dropped from rankings:
Wake Forest (3-1, LW 15)
Top 25 teams don’t lose to Navy at home.

Illinois (2-2, LW 20)
Preseason expectations are a tough burden to carry, aren’t they?

East Carolina (3-2, LW 21)
There goes your BCS dreams. You were hanging by a stitch after last week’s N.C. State loss. But you managed to break the thread this week. Nice work!

Clemson (3-2, LW 25)
Speaking of caving under preseason expectations...

On the radar:
Northwestern (5-0)
Only two Big Ten teams enter October with a perfect record. One is Penn State. The other is Northwestern. The Wildcats are 5-0 for the first time since 1962.

Connecticut (5-0)
The Huskies would have reached the power rankings after starting the season 5-0. But they’ll find it much more difficult to sustain their success with QB Tyler Lorenzen (broken foot) and TE Steve Brouse (fractured fibula) out for at least six weeks.

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Message Edited by Vito_Forlenza on 09-30-2008 12:26 PM