Just like the AP voters and the coaches who vote in the USAToday Poll, I am also a human voter, but unlike the AP voters and coaches, I allow sound logic to define my rankings.
I am not sure what some of those voters base their rankings off of—The flip of a coin perhaps, or maybe they ask their wives which teams have the the prettiest colors?
Here's a real man's top 10, not based on heads, tails, excellent color coordinating, or just plain idiocy...
No. 10 - Alabama (7-1)Alabama was No. 8 in last weeks BCS standings and will likely move up at least one or two slots after their win over Tennessee, combined with LSU's loss at Auburn.
What the national poll voters are ignoring is that after Alabama lost by 14 points to South Carolina (5-2), the Gamecocks then went on to lose at Kentucky (4-4), and they struggled until late in their 21-7 win against Vanderbilt (2-5) last evening.
Also last evening, Georgia (4-4) took the Wildcats out behind the woodshed to the tune of a 44-31 pounding in Lexington.
Only one of Alabama's wins have come against a team still currently ranked in the top 25 (Arkansas) and the loss to South Carolina continues to look worse and worse with each passing week.
No. 9 - Ohio State (7-1)Like every other team, Ohio State is not perfect, but they are a solid top 10 team.
In the national polls, Ohio State is 10th, while Alabama is 6th, but those voters have it wrong. The Buckeyes deserve to be ahead of the Tide for several reasons.
Ohio State has one win over a team currently in the top 25 (Miami-Fl (5-2)), but their 13-point-loss in Camp Randall Stadium to now-No. 9 Wisconsin (7-1) looks much better than Alabama's loss at South Carolina.
It's true that no loss is a "good loss", but Ohio State losing at Wisconsin was much less of an upset than Alabama losing at South Carolina.
The Badgers only loss this year was in East Lansing to No. 5 Michigan State (8-0).
The Gamecocks have two losses—to Auburn (8-0) and Kentucky (4-4).
Ohio State is also the only team with a loss in the FBS that ranks in the top in both scoring offense (6th, scoring 40.8 ppg) and scoring defense (9th, allowing only 14.0 ppg).
The only other teams in the nation that have a top 10 scoring offense and scoring defense are Boise State, TCU, and Utah.
No. 8 - Wisconsin (7-1)As mentioned above, the Badgers only defeat was to the No. 5 Spartans in East Lansing.
Last night, Wisconsin won their second huge game in as many weeks when they traveled to Iowa City and took down the No. 18 Hawkeyes, 31-30, one week after beating then-No. 1 Ohio State.
The case could be made by others and even myself that Wisconsin is too low sitting here at No. 8, but the top 10 will become much more clear in the next two to three weeks and they could find themselves in the top five when that dust settles.
No. 7 - Utah (7-0)Utah might be a slot or two too high, but you have to respect an unbeaten team and not punish them just because the other teams in their conference mail it in every year.
Also, you may remember from above that Utah is one of only four FBS teams ranked in the top 10 in both scoring offense and scoring defense.
They opened the season with a win over then No. 15 Pitt and have not really been tested since then, but that will all change starting next week.
It is possible, although unlikely, that the Utes could go from 7-0 to 7-5 to finish off the season with remaining games at home against AP No. 4 TCU and BYU and road games against Air Force, Notre Dame, and San Diego State.
Coming out of the mine field unscathed and still unbeaten would be an absolute miracle for Utah.
No. 6 - Michigan State (8-0)The Spartans last started a season 8-0 in 1966 and ended up winning a share of the national title. In the corrupt system that is the BCS, they might not get the chance to play for a title this season even if they finish 12-0.
[rant]Everyone with a half-functioning brain can tell you that the BCS is all about selling tickets and making money, period. If you don't believe that, just ask Boise State, Utah, and TCU who all have done well in games against BCS-conference schools, yet have continually been shutout when it comes to having a chance to play one of the "big boys" for the BCS title.
Michigan State doesn't have that problem in that they are a member of the Big 10, but they do share the same problem that gets those teams repeatedly passed over—they are not a traditional football power that has a huge national following like a Texas, USC, Ohio State, Alabama, or Notre Dame.
The BCS would gladly invite a 1-loss Alabama to play in one of it's games over an unbeaten Spartans team. Hell, they'd probably take Texas, who may end up with 4 or 5 losses this year over Michigan State if they could get away with it...[/rant].
The bottom line is MSU is 8-0, they have two wins over teams that were ranked in the top 20 when they defeated each (then-No. 11 Wisconsin, and then-No. 18 Michigan), and they have a very good QB, two excellent running backs, a tough-as-nails coach, and a solid defense.
This week they travel to Iowa to face the No. 18 Hawkeyes. If they win that game, an unbeaten season is nearly a lock.
Now all they need should they finish the season 12-0 is a fair shake from the BCS, but don't hold your breath.
No. 5 - Missouri (7-0)In a lot of ways, 2010 feels like 2007 all over again.
No. 1 ranked teams were dropping like flies that year, and so far this year.
It's also the last time the Tigers were this high in the rankings. They actually made it to No. 1, only to lose to Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game and missed a huge opportunity to play in the BCS championship game.
This time around, Mizzou took it to the BCS's No.1 ranked Sooners, handing them a 36-27 defeat.
Oklahoma, however, was as usual over valued. They did blowout then-No. 17 Florida State earlier in the year and they also narrowly beat a then-overrated Texas team by eight points in the Red River Rivalry, but close wins over Utah State, Air Force, and Cincinnati revealed the real Sooners.
So, not to take away too much from what Missouri did to the Sooners, they do move up into the top five, but they could be even higher if Oklahoma were really as good as some blind voters believe they are/were.
Missouri faces the same problem as Michigan State. This week should be their final legit test as they face No. 14 Nebraska (6-1) and then their schedule, and lack of a huge national following will likely hurt their ranking.
They have one saving-grace which will be the Big 12 championship game should they win out.
Not in their favor if that scenario plays itself out is the fact that the Big 12 South representative will probably be Baylor, Oklahoma State, or Oklahoma and a win over any of those three probably won't do much to help the Tigers move ahead of anyone.
No. 4 - Boise State (6-0)Last week I had Boise State at No. 1 and the only reason they are not No. 1 this week is because they were idle again, while Oregon, Auburn, and TCU all played and played well.
Oddly, everyone else has played seven or eight games to their six.
Anyway, Kellen Moore is one of the best quarterbacks in the country and if ever a team was truly a "team" in every sense of the word, the Broncos are it.
There are no selfish egomaniacs on the Broncos. They play together and all they do it win, and win, and then win some more.
They have two wins this season over previously ranked BCS member schools Virginia Tech (6-2) and Oregon State (3-3). Their remaining schedule has only three games against Hawaii, Fresno State, and Nevada where they might face some competition, but they will be favored in each of those contests.
It's not fair to punish a non-AQ team like Boise State just because the majority of the teams in their conference mail it in early every year. That is not their fault, and neither is the fact that they have a standing offer to play any BCS team in that teams home stadium, or at a neutral site, but have very few takers.
If Boise State keeps winning, you can take it to the bank that no team with a loss will ever jump ahead of them in this guys' top 10.
No. 3 - TCU (8-0)TCU may have the best chance of the non-AQ schools to play for the title this year and here's why.
They beat then-No. 24 Oregon State 30-21 to open the season.
In week three, they rolled over Baylor, who is now ranked at No. 25 in the BCS standings, by a score of 45-10.
After pitching back-to-back shutout wins over Colorado State and Wyoming, and a 31-3 blowout of BYU, the Horned Frogs crushed Air Force 38-7. Yes, the same Air Force team that leads the nation in rushing and the same Air Force team that former No. 1 Oklahoma only beat by three points.
On November 6th, TCU will travel to Provo to face No. 7 Utah. If both are still unbeaten going into that meeting as expected, the winner of that game should benefit greatly, despite the fact that the BCS is designed to keep them down.
TCU would obviously benefit the most since they are already currently in the top five, but Utah could do just as well with a win and a few losses by other key teams currently ahead of them.
Should TCU finish the year 12-0, I will have a hard time not giving them my No. 1 ranking based on their entire 2010 body-of-work.
No. 2 - Oregon (7-0)As a Buckeye fan, I couldn't put Oregon at No. 1 this week. I heard all about Oregon's speed and talent and how unstoppable they were on offense last year before the Rose Bowl.
Everyone said Ohio State would do well to keep within 25-30 points. Oregon was going to score at least 50 and Ohio State would lose yet another BCS bowl.
Ohio State 26, Oregon 17.
Here it is 2010 and Oregon, minus thugs Jeremiah Masoli and LeGarrette Blount, are otherwise pretty much the exact same team.
So what makes them legit now?
The same thing that had everyone fooled in 2009—style points.
Never mind the fact that they are averaging over 55 points per game solely because six of their seven games have been against horrible teams with terrible defenses.
AP voters love style points, even when all the competition are doormats.
And even in beating Stanford, the Ducks lone victory over a ranked opponent this year, they didn't exactly face a defensive juggernaut.
The Cardinal are 60th in scoring defense, giving up over 24 points per contest. Even hopeless Washington State scored 28 on the Stanford "D".
Oregon is 7-0 and they have talent, but if they lose this week to USC like I think they are going to, they can almost certainly kiss this top 10 ranking goodbye.
No. 1 - Auburn (8-0)Let me start off by saying I hate the SEC and every SEC team as much as I hate that team up North, so you better believe that it pains me to rank any SEC team No. 1.
That being said, in a season where there appears to be no dominant great team, but many very good teams, no other team has proven to me that they belong in the top spot this week than the Auburn Tigers.
Their defense could end up being their Achilles heel, but they have faced, and defeated, five teams of the eight teams they have played that are, were, or could be ranked in the top 25, so the 23.5 points they are allowing per game isn't as bad as it seems when you consider the level of competition they have faced.
Having Cam Newton as their QB doesn't hurt either. He is leading the nation in rushing and much like Vince Young at Texas in 2005, could be on his way to leading his team to the BCS title. Unlike Young, he may also being home the Heisman too.
After beating then-No. 6 LSU this past Saturday, moving Auburn up to No. 1 was a no-brainer.
Mississippi and Chattanooga will provide little resistance as Auburn should easily move to 10-0, with surging Georgia and former No. 1 Alabama left on the schedule at the end of the year, plus a potential SEC title game appearance.
With their rankings in the human polls and the love the computers will show them, there is no way the Tigers don't play for the BCS title if they win out.
With their SOS, they might still get a shot at the BCS title even if they lose one of the next four games.
We'd all like to see what a non-AQ team could do vs. one of the best from a BCS conference, but if Auburn or even Alabama plays in and wins the SEC title game, it's almost a guarantee that the BCS will do what they always do and screw the unbeaten little guy, aka Boise State, TCU, etc.
Nation Front Page
It hasn't been since before the kickoff of the 2008 BCS National Championship Game that the Ohio State Buckeyes were the No. 1 team in the country until Sunday's polls came out.
Nation Frontpage
I finally dropped UF from No. 1 after their not-so-great performance vs. Tennessee. They finally played a BCS team, and not a very good one, and I was not impressed. Texas gets the slight nod over the Gators this week after mostly containing a highly explosive Texas Tech offense.
See Texas above. Pounding cupcakes, then barely beating an average BCS team will bite you in the ass every time.
Jahvid Best is absolutely my Heisman front-runner until further notice. The Gophers have a decent team, but Best carried the Bears to the road win with 100+ and five touchdowns, and carried his team to the top three of my ballot. 
Running back Mark Ingram and quarterback Greg McElroy have Tide fans sold, that once again, this is their year. I know they beat Va Tech in week one, but these last two pushover games have shown me very little. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now, but I'm still not 100% sold on these elephants. 
Ho hum, the Nits won their third game of the year vs. their third high school caliber opponent. I really feel when Penn State plays a real team, they are going to crash and burn, but I'll keep them here for now so I can laugh harder when it happens.
The Tigers went out and beat the Washington Huskies in week one, something USC failed to do, so I moved them up three spots this week even though their last two wins were over Vandy and A directional Louisiana team. I still don't know who to truly believe in from the SEC West... 
The Broncos are 3-0 and look to be the new flavor of the week for the mid-majors after BYU's blowout loss to unranked Florida State. Quarterback Kellen Moore and running backs Jeremy Avery and DJ Harper could all start for many BCS schools. Other than maybe at Tulsa on October 14, Boise State's remaining games are all pretty much guaranteed wins. I don't see them going anywhere from here, but up. 
The Rebels are 2-0 after drilling Southeastern Louisiana 52-6. Their other win was over Memphis, so this ranking is somewhat a leap of faith at this point, mainly because I'm on the Jevan Snead bandwagon. This Thursday, they play at South Carolina, then at Vanderbilt the following week, and on October 10, they will host No. 3 Alabama. The next two games are very winnable, likely setting up a potential top five showdown with the Tide in three weeks. 
What a difference a week, and more aggressive play-calling, makes. Albeit it, Tressel wasn't as afraid of making costly mistakes vs. the Rockets as he was against the Trojans. Terrelle Pryor wasn't perfect, but he was very good overall, accounting for over 300 totals yards and four touchdowns in just over three quarters. Unless I'm on crack, look for more of the same next week as the Buckeyes open Big Ten play when they will host what seems to be a previously over-valued Illinois team.
After starting outside of the top 25 this preseason, the Bearcats have steadily clawed their way into my top 10. They traveled to Corvalis and came away with a 28-18 victory. That is no easy task to win there. Just ask USC. Brian Kelly can coach, and Tony Pike can play quarterback. In fact, Pike is absolutely a (darkhorse) Heisman candidate as of right now. If Cincy keeps winning, and if Pike keeps playing this way, the Bearcats and Pike may once again find themselves in a BCS bowl, and Pike could be in New York at the Downtown Athletic Club come December. 
Hurricane quarterback Jacory Harris just might be better than Robert Griffin and Terrelle Pryor. He hasn't gotten the hype and the headlines until now, but that hasn't stopped him from leading the Canes to two huge wins over then No. 25 FSU, and of then No. 8 Georgia Tech. The Canes might be back, or at least close to being back. Their games the next two weeks will be tell-tell as they travel to No. 13 Va Tech before hosting No. 12 Oklahoma. Before the season, the experts thought "The "U would be 0-4 to start the season. As it looks right now, 4-0 is a definite possibility.
Freshman QB Landry Jones has made leaps and bounds in his first two career starts. Jones set a Sooners record by tossing six touchdowns in the 45-0 rout of Tulsa on Saturday. OU now has a bye week and an extra week to prepare for their now bigtime showdown in Miami vs. the No. 11 Canes in two weeks. This game sure isn't going to be the easy win many thought it would be just a few short weeks ago. It could end up being one of the best games of the year.
The Hokies have bounced back from their week one loss to Alabama and have found another star running back in Ryan Williams. Nebraska, then No. 15, came to Blacksburg with plans to upset the Hokies, but Va Tech came from behind and held on for a 16-15 win. Next week, surprising No. 11 Miami and rising-star Jacory Harris come to town in what could be the game of the week. Don't miss it.
The Cougars had a week three bye, but will get back at it this week as they host Taylor Potts, and the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Texas Tech hung in for a while vs. Texas Saturday night in Austin, but in the end, Colt McCoy and the Texas "D" were too much. Houston has already pulled the upset of the year over the Oklahoma State Cowboys in week two and quarterback Case Keenum is a big reason why Houston is ranked where they are. If they win over the Red Raiders this week, they are almost a lock to go undefeated and sould have a great shot at a BCS bowl.
A lot of people want to make excuses for USC when they lose a game they aren't supposed to, to an inferior Pac-10 opponent. I'm not one of those people. Who cares that Barkley didn't play? Corp was already the starter for USC until he was injured just before the start of the season. Others say you can't drop USC below a team they already beat (i.e. Ohio State) to which that I say, tOSU looks to have learned from their mistakes vs. USC and improved over the past week, while USC regressed and looked like they didn't belong on the field vs. Washington. BYU beat Oklahoma head to head, but you'll notice they aren't in the top 25 this week, while OU is. USC may have been questionably better than the Buckeyes last week in the Shoe, but this week, most definitely not.
Zac Robinson and Dez Bryant showed this week that the Cowboys do belong, and that their loss to Houston may have been the result of a letdown and a fluke after their big week one win over Georgia. Their next two games are against Grambling State and Texas A&M. The Cowboys should win each of those games before a somewhat brutal stretch to close out October when they host Missouri, travel to Waco to face the Baylor Bears, then host the Longhorns on October 31. If their defense plays like it did against Houston, October won't be kind to the Cowpokes, and my rankings will ultimately reflect that. 
The Frogs jumped a few spots this week after a few upsets but they still need a signature win to solidify their ranking. That could come this week as they will travel to South Carolina to take on the (2-1) Clemson Tigers. Clemson running back CJ Spiller has been great out of the backfield and as a return man, so for TCU to have a chance to win and hold onto their top 15 ranking, they must contain Spiller and move the ball offensively against a Tiger defense which last week, held Boston College to just seven points. 
The good news for the Jayhawks (3-0) is they are averaging 42 points per game on offense, led by QB Todd Reesing and running backs Jake Sharp and Toben Opurum. The bad news is, we still don't know if they're really any good or not. Nor will be know before October 24 when they host Oklahoma. Their next three games are all extremely winnable, meaning Kansas will likely start (6-0). In their final six, at least five are possible losses. I guess all I can say to Kansas fans is enjoy it while you can.
Nebraska led at halftime, and practically the entire second half of the game at Va Tech, until when it mattered most. Tyrod Taylor threw the game winning TD with just 21 seconds left on the clock to shock the Huskers. Nebraska had not one, but two touchdowns taken off the board, one by penalty, and one because the receiver fumbled the ball when he hit the ground. It was a valiant effort and Nebraska still hangs in the top 20 on my ballot this week.
I guess I really can't justify putting UM lower than 20 for now, so by default, the Wolverines crack the top 20, even though they still have not beaten anyone good. The lucky win over Notre Dame looks much less impressive when you consider that MSU, who lost to Central Michigan of the MAC last week, gave the game away to Notre Dame in the final minutes over the weekend in South Bend. Michigan fans are getting way carried away and even touting Tater as a Heisman candidate, in 2012 in small print, but still. Right now, he's their hero and savior, and at least 1000 times better than Pryor, McCoy, or Tebow among others—but he will choke when UM finally plays a good team, and when he does, then we'll see just how much UM fans really love him.
Georgia Tech has really disappointed the last two weeks. A close win, barely holding on at home vs. Clemson a week ago, and now a blowout loss to Miami has the Yellow Jackets out of the top 20 on my ballot. Jonathan Dwyer has underperformed in the last two games and if he and Josh Nesbitt can't get back on track, GT won't be in my top 25 much longer. 
Take away QB Chase Daniel, TE Chase Coffman, and WR Jeremy Maclin and what do you have? A Missouri Tigers team that looks almost as good as when those three were still suiting up. This years Tigers (3-0) are led by QB Blaine Gabbert. Sure, they've beaten up on two weak teams the last two weeks, but they did open the year with a 37-9 beatdown of Illinois on a neutral site. The next four games (at Nevada, vs. Nebraska, at Oklahoma State, vs. Texas) will truly measure how good these 2009 Tigers are.
Pitt was my pick to win the Big East, followed by West Virginia, then Cincy. RB Dion Lewis has been outstanding taking over at RB for Shady McCoy. I still believe Pitt could challenge the Bearcats for the conference crown, and fittingly, they play each other in the final game of the season. The Panthers handled the Navy Triple option much better than the Buckeyes did, but that was week one when OSU opened with the Midshipmen, and to be fair, Pitt plays NC State next week, not USC, so really no reason for them to look ahead. 
I suppose they could prove me wrong, but I still do not like this Seminoles team, and I don't think FSU will win more than seven or eight games this year. That being said, they just whipped BYU in Provo, and everyone remembers that BYU beat Oklahoma on a "neutral" site, so I have no choice but to move them back onto my ballot, but I trust it won't be for long. (Sorry FSUTampaGuy).
Iowa dropped out of my top 25 after the miracle win when they blocked two FG's vs. Northern Iowa in week one. The Hawkeyes (3-0), are now back after two wins over BCS teams. Now, Iowa State is a Big 12 doormat so that win did not sway me and Iowa did not move up last week, but Arizona is a pretty decent team from the Pac-10 so I do now believe Iowa is worthy of of the No. 25 slot. This coming Saturday, the Hawkeyes travel to Happy Valley for a game I am greatly anticipating. Penn State has yet to be tested and I'd love nothing more than to see an instant classic, and an Iowa victory. The game is the 8PM Saturday night ABC game—Don't miss it! 
OSU LINKS