The TFFE Top 25: After Week 12

#1 LSU (10-1, #1 LW): The best of a very flawed bunch, as LSU's fallen from their undisputed #1 status to look very, very disputed. I mean, come on, Ole Miss? I went back and forth, but I eventually kept LSU on top ahead of...

#2 Ohio State (11-1, #4): ...yes, these guys. I seem to be higher on the Big Ten than, well, just about anyone, but I see OSU's schedule as absolutely fine, and they're the only team here that's absolutely dominated in all of their wins.

#3 West Virginia (9-1, #3): So close to elite status. Their case of fumblitis at a crucial time in the Cincy game worried me, especially in light of their 6-turnover loss to USF earlier this year. Still, this is a team that can beat anyone, especially with how they've shut down the running game.

#4 Missouri (10-1, #5): I still have questions about the defense, as it sort of comes and goes. Still, nobody's been able to stop Chase Daniel, and this is a very good team, and in a year like this, very good gets you #4.

#5 Arizona State (9-1, #7): Suddenly the best team in the Pac 10 by default. They're very good!

#6 Georgia (9-2, #8): Matt Stafford's still somewhat shaky, but with that running game and defense, he can afford to be. Much like Missouri, a very good if not great team, but again, that gets you #6.

#7 Florida (8-3, #10): Tim Tebow is so awesome, that people made Chuck Norris-like exaggerations about him, and he slapped them for not being funny, like, two years ago.

#8 Kansas (11-0, #14): Yeah, I'm buying in. There's nothing here to suggest they're not on the level of, say, Missouri, even if they might not actually win.

#9 USC (8-2, #13): Still lurking.

#10 Virginia Tech (9-2, #16): A team that suddenly decided to match their reputation, they've come through with a string of excellent performances on defense and good enough performances on offense.

#11 Oklahoma (9-2, #6): Told you they were vulnerable! I haven't seen anything on Bradford or Murray missing extended periods of time, so this seems about right for a team with McFadden Syndrome: the best in the country some of the time, and horribly disappointing at others.

#12 Oregon (8-2, #2): A bit of a precipitous drop for the Ducks, but, well, did you see them with Brady Leaf in the game? Oh jesus. If they tailor the schemes to better fit him and it looks good and all, I'll bump them back up accordingly, but I'm very pessimistic at the moment.

#13 South Florida (8-3, #18): Wow. They absolutely annihilated Brian Brohm, so they can shut down pretty much any QB in the nation. Which, of course, means they can beat any team in the nation.

#14 Wisconsin (9-3, #9): Even writing off playing that close to Minnesota - MINNESOTA! - as a one time thing, this is the least I can penalize the Badgers.

#15 Illinois (9-3, #17): God help us all, Juice Williams looks like a, at the very least, decent passing quarterback.

#16 Texas (9-2, #15): Flawed, talented, suspect defense, nothing much to say with them on a bye week.

#17 Virginia (9-2, #20): See above, replace "defense" with offense, more or less.

#18 Boise State (10-1, #23): Kansas-lite, in that they've looked very good in beating absolutely nobody. Plus that Washington loss because somewhat less inexplicable after this week.

#19 Kentucky (7-4, #21): Still the best of the second-tier SEC teams.

#20 Michigan (8-4, #12): I mean, they have the excuse of injury, but still. Putting them here is kind of splitting the difference - I assume Henne and Hart will be near 100% by the bowl game, so I didn't want to drop them too far, but they really don't deserve to stay anywhere close to steady after laying THAT big of an egg.

#21 Cincinnati (9-2, #22): Playing WVU tight legitimized them as an above-average team, even if a bit inflated thanks to all those takeaways.

#22 BYU (8-2, #25): SOLIDLY ABOVE-AVERAGE MID-MAJOR TEAM! Nothing more, nothing less.

#23 Penn State (8-4, #11): Oh, Anthony Morelli. Pardon while I sigh and shake my head. Or is that shake my head and sigh?

#24 Boston College (9-2, --): Yawn. A perfectly fine team nudged back into the top 25 by attrition.

#25 Clemson (8-3, #19): Inconsistent, frustrating, inexplicable at times, still better than Hawaii.