The Feely Top 25: After Week 4

#1 USC (#1 LW, Week 4: W @ Arizona 20-3): Defense had a dominating day, and this game is, scarily, probably the low end of what USC's offensive performance will be.

#2 Michigan (#5, W vs. Wisconsin 27-13): As good as anyone, and probably the most overall impressive team in the country. Mario Manningham is doing well enough to make up for any concerns about Henne, and rushing and defense are obviously fine. Like USC, I don't see a weakness.

#3 Florida (#3, W vs. Kentucky 26-7): Kentucky seems weirdly decent this year, being competitive but not looking very good. Another team where the passing game seems fine, the running game seems fine, and the defense seems fine. Schedule's keeping me from even thinking of putting them higher.

#4 Ohio State (#2, W vs. Penn State 28-6): That defense can't stop anyone from running, apparently. The high-octane offense no longer looks so high-octane, and that PSU win would look a lot worse had Morelli not shat himself.

#5 Auburn (#4, W vs. Buffalo 38-7): Ehhhhh Brandon Cox hasn't really impressed me. Still a NC contender at any rate, though SEC schedule blah blah blah.

#6 Texas (#6, W vs. Iowa State 37-14): I think they're noticeably below my top 5 teams, but they're still easily the class of the Big 12.

#7 West Virginia (#7, W @ East Carolina 27-10): I saw WVU for the only time this year against Maryland, and I couldn't envision a team stopping them. East Carolina apparently...kinda did. Could've bumped them up if they looked as impressive as the Maryland game, but now I'm just back to being skeptical. Since they can still go undefeated, I'll leave them here instead of knocking them below...

#8 LSU (#8, W vs. Tulane 49-7): Now why couldn't they do that last week? As talented as anyone, but mercurial mercurial mercurial.

#9 Iowa (#9, W @ Illinois 24-7): And here's where I feel the dropoff between "NC contenders" and "just pretty good" is. Drew Tate's looked only decent, and he's pretty much the key to the team. Iowa's almost like a time bomb -- I sense that Tate could explode at any time and suddenly make himself an elite QB, and when that happens, Iowa's shooting up the rankings. Cautious optimism abounds, especially since that breakout could happen against Ohio State next week.

#10 Oregon (#12, BYE): Way to not almost lose to Colorado.

#11 Cal (#13, W vs. Arizona State 49-21): Yeah, Cal's legit now that they've gotten their shit together. Looking at where I have them and where the polls have them, they could be pretty disrespected this year. Hell, I think they're probably a better team than Oregon, it's just that the Ducks can still go undefeated.

#12 Georgia (#10, W vs. Colorado 14-13): Well, now I have no idea what to make of the Bulldogs. I figured the offense would eventually gel, and that galaxy-beating defense would keep things up. And uh.....neither of those happened. Or anywhere near happened. But they won, so they're still this high.

#13 Louisville (#11, W @ Kansas State 24-6): Well, they still seem quite above-average. Definitely not #13 in terms of talent, but they could/should easily win every game except against WVU.

#14 Oklahoma (#14, W vs. Middle Tennessee State 59-0): Dominating win, but of course, it IS Middle Tennessee State. The defense is really the question here, and OU really seems like they'll be a frustrating team the rest of the season. I could see them beating Texas, or losing to...oh, hey, they don't play Nebraska. Uh, I guess they could lose to Iowa State. Maybe.

#15 Clemson (#17, W vs. North Carolina 52-7): One wonders what could've been if that XP against BC hadn't been blocked. Well, they could've been as high as #6 here. Easily the most impressive team in the ACC. Easily.

#16 Tennessee (#16, W vs. Marshall 33-7): Marshall's pretty down this year. Pretty good team, SEC schedule, blah blah blah.

#17 Nebraska (#19, W vs. Troy 56-0): Man, Nebraska beats the hell out of bad opponents better than anyone this year, don't they?

#18 Notre Dame (#15, W @ Michigan State 40-37): Wow, Ohio State lite, and at least the Buckeyes have a running game. Didn't impress at all in..."winning", I guess. Didn't impress at all in letting Michigan State implode. And they can't stop anyone from running either. Please take your hype and go away.

#19 Virginia Tech (#18, W vs. Cincinnati 28-13): Meh. Unimpressive win, and Cincinnati isn't that good, especially since Bearcats QB Dustin Grutza imploded. Could gel and impress more down the line, but as of right now, this is where they are.

#20 Boise State (#21, W vs. Hawaii 41-34): Offense is as good as anyone in the country. Defense may only be mediocre, but that's as good as anyone in the WAC.

#21 TCU (#22, BYE): Still could go undefeated. Yep. Not impressive at all, but stiiiiiill could go undefeated.

#22 Georgia Tech (NR, W vs. Virginia 24-7): Could do well in this year's new look (read: shitty) ACC. Calvin Johnson? A beast. That defense? Pretty good. Yep.

#23 Michigan State (#20, L vs. Notre Dame 37-40): They still have all that offensive talent. And really, who else deserves to be here?

#24 Alabama (#23, L @ Arkansas 23-24): The sudden discovery of offense for the Crimson Tide pretty much offsets the fluky loss in my mind. So they got Clemson'd. If QB John Parker Wilson's improvement is legit, that makes them as balanced (QB/RB/defense) as anyone.

#25 Florida State (#24, W vs. Rice 55-7): That defense didn't look all that great against Rice. So, uh, why are they here again? Oh yeah, the alternatives are...

Also Receiving Votes But Not Really Since I Am The Only One Voting:
Rutgers (4-0, W vs. Howard 56-7): That defense has looked good. But, against Joe Dailey, Illinois, Ohio and Howard. That running game has looked good. But, against UNC, Illinois, Ohio, and Howard. Definitely way better than expected, but still. UNC, Illinois, Ohio, and Howard.

Missouri (4-0, W vs. Ohio 31-6): Same questions about SoS here, as the Tigers have played Murray State, Ole Miss, UNM and Ohio. And the Ole Miss win looks a whole heckuva lot worse now. I'm not ruling out the possibility of legit improvement, but I'm still skeptical.

OUT:
#25 Boston College (L @ NC State 15-17): Serves me right for finally ranking them.