The TFFE Top 25: After Regular Season

#1 Ohio State (#2 LW)
#2 USC (#5)
#3 LSU (#4)
#4 Oklahoma (#9)
#5 Missouri (#3)
#6 Georgia (#7)
#7 Florida (#8)
#8 Virginia Tech (#6)
#9 Kansas (#11)
#10 West Virginia (#1)
#11 Arizona State (#10)
#12 South Florida (#12)
#13 Hawaii (#16)
#14 Wisconsin (#13)
#15 Illinois (#14)
#16 Virginia (#15)
#17 Texas (#17)
#18 Kentucky (#18)
#19 Michigan (#19)
#20 BYU (#20)
#21 Clemson (#21)
#22 Tennessee (#25)
#23 Boston College (#22)
#24 Arkansas (#23)
#25 Penn State (#24)

The TFFE Top 25: After Week 13

#1 West Virginia (#3 LW)
#2 Ohio State (#2)
#3 Missouri (#4)
#4 LSU (#1)
#5 USC (#9)
#6 Virginia Tech (#10)
#7 Georgia (#6)
#8 Florida (#7)
#9 Oklahoma (#11)
#10 Arizona State (#5)
#11 Kansas (#8)
#12 South Florida (#13)
#13 Wisconsin (#14)
#14 Illinois (#15)
#15 Virginia (#17)
#16 Hawaii (--)
#17 Texas (#16)
#18 Kentucky (#19)
#19 Michigan (#20)
#20 Brigham Young (#22)
#21 Clemson (#25)
#22 Boston College (#24)
#23 Arkansas (--)
#24 Penn State (#23)
#25 Tennessee (--)

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.

The TFFE Top 25: After Week 11

#1 LSU (9-1, #2 LW)
#2 Oregon (8-1, #3)
#3 West Virginia (8-1, #4)
#4 Ohio State (10-1, #1)
#5 Missouri (9-1, #6)
#6 Oklahoma (9-1, #5)
#7 Arizona State (9-1, #7)
#8 Georgia (8-2, #12)
#9 Wisconsin (8-3, #13)
#10 Florida (7-3, #9)
#11 Penn State (8-3, #11)
#12 Michigan (8-3, #8)
#13 USC (8-2, #10)
#14 Kansas (10-0, #16)
#15 Texas (9-2, #17)
#16 Virginia Tech (8-2, #19)
#17 Illinois (8-2, #23)
#18 South Florida (7-3, #15)
#19 Clemson (8-2, #25)
#20 Virginia (9-2, --)
#21 Kentucky (7-3, #21)
#22 Cincinnati (8-2, --)
#23 Boise State (9-1, --)
#24 California (6-4, #14)
#25 BYU (7-2, --)

NOTES!
OSU losing wasn't the big deal - the lack of run defense was. I was on the fence about having them at #3 or #4, but West Virginia has both an ability to shut down the run and, obviously, that great offense, so I gave the Mountaineers the edge.

OU's (lack of) defensive performance against Baylor made it close between them and Missouri - I'd take the Tigers offense, albeit barely, so I moved them ahead of the Sooners.

Georgia's very good! Vulnerable, but very good, and this season, that's enough for #8.

Kansas moves up as they legitimize themselves further.

USF didn't do anything wrong - VT just had their second impressive win in a row, and Illinois, well, you know.

I still don't trust Clemson, but hey, they're playing well.

Cincinnati may be a bit of a kneejerk giving their two losses are to Louisville and Pitt - still, there's a lack of quality teams with quality wins (Tennessee over Arkansas being a case of "bad beating worse", as an example), and while UConn had been lucky all year, shutting them down so thoroughly impressed me.

I'm still not 100% sold on Boise, since they've had some games in the WAC that should probably be closer than they should, but still, they're very good.

BYU beats out Hawaii for #25 - I went with the team that has a semblance of a defense.

The TFFE Top 25: After Week 10

#1 Ohio State (10-0, #1 LW)
#2 LSU (8-1, #2)
#3 Oregon (8-1, #3)
#4 West Virginia (7-1, #4)
#5 Oklahoma (8-1, #5)
#6 Missouri (8-1, #6)
#7 Arizona State (8-1, #7)
#8 Michigan (8-2, #8)
#9 Florida (6-3, #9)
#10 USC (7-2, #10)
#11 Penn State (7-3, #13)
#12 Georgia (7-2, #19)
#13 Wisconsin (7-3, #12)
#14 California (6-3, #14)
#15 South Florida (6-3, #15)
#16 Kansas (9-0, #21)
#17 Texas (8-2, #17)
#18 Boston College (8-1, #16)
#19 Virginia Tech (7-2, #24)
#20 Alabama (6-3, #18)
#21 Kentucky (6-3, #20)
#22 Connecticut (8-1, #25)
#23 Illinois (7-2, #22)
#24 Auburn (7-3, #23)
#25 Clemson (7-2, --)

NOTES!
Oregon and WVU are very close - Oregon's had the tougher schedule and really didn't do anything to lose their spot, so I kept them ahead.

Ditto OU and Mizzou.

Michigan didn't look that impressive, so I didn't bump them up over ASU, and in fact, 8-10 are packed extremely close together.

I'm buying into the Georgia running game, so, yeah, I'm on the bandwagon.

Yeah, USF's not turning it over eight times again.

Clemson beat out Boise for the last spot. Clemson's easily the more talented team, and I think beats Boise most of the time, but I'm always tenuous with the Tigers - they just have those bouts where they completely implode.

The TFFE Top 25: After Week 9

Fuck the LIRR. Going back to the "NOTES!" version of the top 25 this week, just out of time-related necessity. (I'm essentially taking 5 AM from 7 PM out of my day for training this week, didn't get back here until 8 thanks to train delays, and have to sleep around 10 or 11ish because, again, I have to get up at 5 AM tomorrow.)

---

#1 Ohio State (9-0, #1 LW)
#2 LSU (7-1, #2)
#3 Oregon (7-1, #3)
#4 West Virginia (7-1, #4)
#5 Oklahoma (7-1, #7)
#6 Missouri (7-1, #8)
#7 Arizona State (8-0, #9)
#8 Michigan (7-2, #10)
#9 Florida (5-3, #5)
#10 USC (6-2, #6)
#11 South Carolina (6-3, #11)
#12 Wisconsin (7-2, #16)
#13 Penn State (6-3, #15)
#14 California (5-3, #17)
#15 South Florida (6-2, #13)
#16 Boston College (8-0, #18)
#17 Texas (7-2, #14)
#18 Alabama (6-2, #19)
#19 Georgia (6-2, #23)
#20 Kentucky (6-3, #12)
#21 Kansas (8-0, #21)
#22 Illinois (6-2, #20)
#23 Auburn (6-3, --)
#24 Virginia Tech (6-2, #22)
#25 Connecticut (7-1, --)

NOTES!
Oklahoma moves up mostly by attrition - the top 4 are the only real should-be national title contenders at the moment.

I hate to keep South Carolina at #11 after two losses in a row, but I still think they beat all the teams behind them, and the Vols loss was more bad luck than the continuation of a trend that started against Vandy.

Both BC and Kansas have proved they can beat decent teams and not much else - BC's just faced more decent teams.

Brandon Cox's improvements seem to be legitimate, so I'm giving Auburn some credit.

UConn at 25 may be a little bit of wishful thinking/bias, but at the very least they've played well week in, week out, unlike the inconsistent Tennessees and Clemsons of the world.

The TFFE Top 25: After Week 8

#1 Ohio State (8-0, #1 week)
The one team that is not only taking care of business, but winning in a fashion befitting of a #1 team. That defense is excellent.

#2 LSU (7-1, #2)
Same old, same old. That defense is very good, and hey, so is the offense. No longer at juggernaut status, though.

#3 Oregon (6-1, #4)
Um, hello? Oregon's lack of national publicity amazes me. The defense is somewhat suspect, but that offense might just be the best in the nation. The balance makes it amazingly dangerous - QB Dennis Dixon can take over the game and win it, and that's if RB Jonathan Stewart doesn't do so himself.

#4 West Virginia (6-1, #5)
As I said, WVU's a boring team to write about at the moment - they always play pretty much as expected. They're a very good team! They like to run a lot, dontcha know.

#5 Florida (5-2, #6)
I was going back and forth between WVU and Florida, but decided to give the one-loss team the benefit of the doubt. Plus that secondary's still a concern, even if one that can be overcome.

#6 USC (6-1, #9)
Yeah, they seem back at full strength. Cue the Jaws theme.

#7 Oklahoma (7-1, #3)
Ehhhh. That Iowa State game makes them look that much shakier. The CU performance has gone from a one-time thing to showing that they can be vulnerable, which knocks them down a tier.

#8 Missouri (6-1, #8)
Another team being slept on, if nowhere near to the degree as Oregon's been. If the Texas Tech game is a sign that they have a defense, they're a darkhorse national title contender.

#9 Arizona State (7-0, #12)
They've looked good. They've been untested, though. An undefeated year may be out of the question, but they seem at the level where they can beat three of Cal, Oregon, USC and UCLA.

#10 Michigan (6-2, #15)
Hey, why not? Part attrition, part beating a fellow top-25 team without the most consistent star player in the nation.

#11 South Carolina (6-2, #11)
Ehhhh. The Vandy loss was nothing surprising, and they beat Kentucky, AND the top 25 has a soft underbelly this year, so the Gamecocks hold steady, even if it's at a weaker #11 than last week.

#12 Kentucky (6-2, #13)
Another attrition ranking. They're still in the upper-level team, no shame in losing to two teams legitimately better than you.

#13 South Florida (6-1, #7)
Yeah, they lost to Rutgers, but that seems to be them on a bad night rather than a true indicator of their playing level. Still a very good team, and one that has a lot of reasons to like them, unlike...

#14 Texas (6-2, #14)
Just going along, beating Baylor and Iowa State. They haven't played all that great, but they have all that talent. Really just begging for someone to knock them off.

#15 Penn State (6-2, #18)
Anthony Morelli's playing well, but I have no confidence in him keeping that up. That said, he's been playing well, so I'll keep them up here until he assuredly proves me right.

#16 Wisconsin (6-2, #19)
Still a really good team. That run defense is still a question mark, but the overall level of play shows there's a lot to like.

#17 California (5-2, #10)
Still pretty much the best possible iteration of an archetype of a Pac 10 team - a bad defense makes every game a shootout, but that offense is good enough to make up for it 95% of the time. The OSU loss can be chalked up to Kevin Riley, but as for this week, well, that was part of the 5%.

#18 Boston College (7-0, #16)
Matt Ryan: Heisman frontrunner? Really? Oh, I forgot how great he was against ARMY.

#19 Alabama (6-2, --)
Huzzah, the offense showed signs of life. They almost definitely won't keep up the pace they did against Tennessee, but again, they showed signs of life, which means they're deserving of this ranking now.

#20 Illinois (5-3, #17)
Still a perfectly fine second-tier team. If their opponent has a good run defense, they'll likely be beaten. If not, watch out.

#21 Kansas (7-0, #25)
They're good! Not great, but very good.

#22 Virginia Tech (6-1, #21)
The second-best team in the ACC. I'm shocked it's worth a ranking this high.

#23 Georgia (5-2, #24)
Perfectly Fine Two Loss SEC Team.

#24 Rutgers (5-2, --)
That Ray Rice fellow is very good. Mike Teel's spotty, but the Knights are an all-around above-average team.

#25 Virginia (7-1, --)
They actually kicked the crap out of Maryland despite the final score. If they keep playing like that, they'll deserve that record.

The TFFE Top 25: After Week 7

#1 Ohio State (7-0, #2 last week)
Perhaps a bit untested, yes, but they've been dominating their schedule like a #1-worthy team should. Pretty much the same story as LSU - that defense is frightening, and that offense'll made do 90% of the time.

#2 LSU (6-1, #1)
They're still really really good. As I said, Kentucky's the type of team that can give them trouble, but let's not forget their complete annihilations of Virginia Tech, South Carolina, and even a not half bad Mississippi State team.

#3 Oklahoma (6-1, #3)
By the end of the year, this team could be amazingly frightening. That defense is excellent, if not quite at the level of the two teams above, and that offense is young enough to get much better. If the Colorado loss was more bad luck than the complete abberation in performance that it was, the Sooners would have a chance for one of the top two spots.

#4 Oregon (5-1, #6)
Had one hell of a re-establishing win, smoking a Washington State team that isn't going anywhere, but it is way better than THAT. With the Cal game one fluke fumble away from being a tie, Oregon's easily the most impressive, and probably at the moment the only elite, team in the Pac 10, and the Michigan game looks even better now.

#5 West Virginia (5-1, #4)
Steve Slaton or Pat White did not die during their bye week.

#6 Florida (4-2, #5)
Tim Tebow either.

#7 South Florida (6-0, #11)
Damn. Re-established themselves after a suspect effort against FAU quite nicely; by smoking Central Florida, they've gone from a very good team that can beat other very good teams to a team that could beat anyone in the country when they're on.

#8 Missouri (5-1, #10)
I'm not bumping Missouri down for proving that they are, in fact, a top-ten team. They just happened to play a top-five one.

#9 USC (5-1, #7)
Lurking down here until they show something more. As much talent as anyone, but they just seem like they're coasting.

#10 California (5-1, #9)
They obviously deserved to take Oregon State to OT, so I can't fault them too much. Otherwise, same old, same old; that defense is amazingly suspect, but if Nate Longshore's at QB, him and the receiving corps are elite enough to win any shootout.

#11 South Carolina (6-1, #8)
They're good. Pretty good. Prettay...prettay good. A good enough team to win every game here on out, but they haven't been all that impressive lately - nothing much to get excited about.

#12 Arizona State (7-0, #16)
Another team that had a re-establishing win; the Sun Devils just curbstomped Washington. The schedule so far's been both fairly weak and mostly at home, so there's still questions. But they've been more impressive than, say...oh wait, BC isn't next. Disregard that.

#13 Kentucky (6-1, --)
Hey, they proved themselves. I don't think they're an elite team, but they're more like Cal - that offense is good enough to make sure they can hang with anyone, and that defense'll make do.

#14 Texas (5-2, #12)
They were another shaky team with a big win, but they're hut by having two losses rather than one. Plus it was against Iowa State. They could win every game from here on out, or they could wind up with 3 to 5 losses.

#15 Michigan (5-2, --)
They're back, and they're pretty easily the #2 team in the Big Ten at the moment. They're not quite elite as expected in the preseason, but they're more than capable of beating Ohio State, as long as Chad Henne keeps playing well. Week in, week out, Mike Hart's almost definitely the best player in the country.

#16 Boston College (7-0, #15)
Meh. They haven't done anything yet to disprove that they're simply an 8-4 team that happens to have a bunch of 6-6 and under teams on their schedule.

#17 Illinois (5-2, #13)
Still quite one-dimensional, but that's good enough. Once again, if Juice Williams improves, look out.

#18 Penn State (5-2, #23)
With an actual quarterback, they'd be top-ten, top-five worthy. Come on, can't they trade?

#19 Wisconsin (5-2, #14)
The run defense is slowly going from "weakness" to "detriment" to "Nebraska."

#20 Texas Tech (6-1, --)
This is one of the up years. Graham Harrell, both the first multi-year starter at TTU in a while and the first actual high-talent QB in Mike Leach's system, is putting up the type of insane year - 258/347 (74.4%), 3153 yards, 31/3 TD/INT - that was expected of Colt Brennan. As a junior!

#21 Virginia Tech (6-1, #17)
Well, they finally showed the form expected in the preseason. Against Duke.

#22 Tennessee (4-2, --)
Playing well at the moment. Playing the best of any of the teams in that glut in the center of the SEC. Which is good enough for top 25 at the moment. Yeeeeep.

#23 Cincinnati (6-1, #19)
Another decently above-average team there's not much to say about. The Louisville game could've gone either way, but outside of almost-definite wins against Pitt and Cuse, that can be said about any Big East game involving the Bearcats. They should be the favorites against Rutgers and UConn, though.

#24 Georgia (5-2, #20)
Playing quite uninspiring ball at the moment. The running game's up to the challenge, gotta see more from QB Stafford or the defense.

#25 Kansas (6-0, #25)
They're hanging from a precipice here after not looking all too great against Baylor. So very untested.

The TFFE Top 25: After Week 6

#1 LSU (6-0, #1 last week)
Still the easy #1. The funny thing is, for as much as I bash Kentucky, they probably have the best chance of beating LSU outside of whoever the Tigers face in the SEC title game. A defense-first team won't be able to score on LSU, and will give up their share of points, as Virginia Tech showed, so Kentucky's the type of offense-based team that can score their fair share, and hope the LSU offense has an off night.

#2 Ohio State (6-0, #2)
If they had a better offense, they might give LSU a run for my #1, but as it is, Ohio State is worse on both sides of the ball than the Tigers. Still, that defense is scary.

#3 Oklahoma (5-1, #9)
Although they didn't quite dominate Texas, it looks like the Colorado game was more abberation than trend. Thus, return to your rightful place, Sooners.

#4 West Virginia (5-1, #5)
Probably the best offense in the country outside of your Hawaii-esque gimmick teams with no defense. Nobody's running with them for four quarters, as I've said many times.

#5 Florida (4-2, #11)
As I said in the recap, they established themselves as among the top tier despite losing. They would beat Auburn 85-90% of the time, and hey, no shame losing to LSU. A similar team to WVU - that offense can go with anyone's, and while there's concern on defense, it's still a pretty good unit.

#6 Oregon (4-1, #4)
Still an upper level team, just dropped a bit with some of last week's losers re-establishing themselves.

#7 USC (4-1, #2)
Oregon beats the teams they statistically dominate, USC has trouble doing so. There's your difference between 6 and 7.

#8 South Carolina (5-1, #7)
This begins the top of the...well, third tier, if you count LSU and Ohio State as their own. Pretty good veteran team, but much like Georgia, capable of being knocked off by a Tennessee-level team having a good day.

#9 California (5-0, #12)
The best all-offense, no-defense team in the land.

#10 Missouri (5-0, #14)
Second! Actually, they kind of have a defense, which I guess makes them the third-best all-offense, fine-defense team behind WVU and Florida.

#11 South Florida (5-0, #10)
FAU doing so well showed some cracks in the armor, but there's nobody stepping up to leapfrog over the Bulls.

#12 Texas (4-1, #13)
God. I actually wanted to drop the Longhorns, as they're just so...talented-but-uninspiring, but Wisconsin's run defense becoming a liability and Georgia just falling apart nudge UT up. Yawn.

#13 Illinois (5-1, #21)
Attrition's a wonderful thing. If Juice Williams is actually a decent quarterback now, why the hell not? And if he isn't, well, why the hell not?

#14 Wisconsin (5-1, #8)
The pretty good not great team I had figured before the season began, just with run defense as a giant liability.

#15 Boston College (6-0, #17)
The usual 8-4 BC team in a conference with nobody good enough to beat them.

#16 Arizona State (6-0, #15)
A step up from their disappointing 2006, but the close win at Wazzou makes it unclear if they've made any big strides.

#17 Virginia Tech (5-1, #19)
That defense is kind of good enough to lead them to maybe winning.

#18 Texas A&M (5-1, #18)
A pretty good team, nothing more, nothing less. Got a bit closer to the running/passing balance they had last year, but still not there yet.

#19 Cincinnati (6-0, #23)
A good team, if a tad overrated. That turnover margin seems to be a trend for no particular reason this year; as long as it holds up - watch out.

#20 Georgia (4-2, #6)
Things fell apart against Tennessee - there's still enough talent to justify ranking them here, and as long as one of either the running game or defense rebounds, they have enough to get by.

#21 Boise State (4-1, --)
The class of the WAC. They actually have a defense!

#22 Purdue (5-1, #20)
Still have the offense to hang with pretty much every other team except those in my top 5 or so. They just happened to play #2.

#23 Penn State (4-2, #22)
Anthony Morelli's still not any good, but in this parity-filled year, a pretty good running game and a pretty good defense will do.

#24 Florida State (4-1, #24)
Pretty good, absolutely unspectacular. I have no idea what to say about this team.

#25 Kansas (5-0, --)
I guess? Hawaii has no defense, I'm still not sold on Auburn's Brandon Cox, Tennessee is a middle of the road SEC team with 2 losses. Kansas is a fine team but nothing special, and undefeated. And this year, that's good enough.

The TFFE Top 25: After Week 5

#1 LSU (5-0, #1 last week)
Easily, despite their struggles against Tulane. The only other team that's had dominating performance like LSU has this year has been Oklahoma, and LSU has both not lost and done it against better teams.

#2 USC (4-0, #4)
They're very good, and the Washington win was actually impressive in how much they dominated despite their own mistakes. Probably the most well-rounded of the three elite teams, but have yet to have that dominating performance like LSU had over Mississippi State or Ohio State had over Akron and Northwestern.

#3 Ohio State (5-0, #5)
A bit of a mini-LSU thing going on here, with a pretty good offense and an excellent defense. Not quite as proven as the other two, but pretty much the same results.

#4 Oregon (4-1, #8)
Yes, I'm aware they lost, but the game against Cal was essentially a draw, and with all teams ahead of them losing, well, why not. Still my #2 team in the Pac 10, even if Cal closed the gap (and jumped ahead of Arizona State). The usual dangerous Pac 10 offense, and a defense that isn't particularly great like USC's, but is better than the usual non-existent Pac 10 fare.

#5 West Virginia (4-1, #3)
As I mentioned in my recap, they moved the ball pretty well against USF, and it may have been a different result in Pat White was in for the entire game. The offense is somewhat stoppable, which bumps the team down from an elite level to second amongst the "extremely good" ones, but they're probably still the best team in the Big East.

#6 Georgia (4-1, #9)
Surprisingly high mostly due to attrition, but they probably would beat most of the teams below them. Even though South Carolina beat them. Huh, funny how that works. A very well-rounded team, as Matthew Stafford's been a passable caretaker at QB, while the defense and especially the running game do the dirty work.

#7 South Carolina (4-1, #11)
Another well-rounded team - nothing really exceptional, just overall, very good. Yes, they beat Georgia, but, well...they lost more recently. So there.

#8 Wisconsin (5-0, #10)
Always pretty good, never great. The Michigan State win was a nice one, but giving up that much to the MSU offense is somewhat of a red flag. QB Tyler Donovan looks to be coming along nicely, and RB P.J. Hill's been as good as expected.

#9 Oklahoma (4-1, #2)
Last week was a disaster outside of the running game remaining solid - first-year QB Sam Bradford regressed horribly, and the defense didn't look that great either. Still, if that was an abberation rather than a trend, they deserve to be much higher.

#10 South Florida (4-0, #16)
They're very good! They've shown they can beat teams with top-tier talent that are shaky (I'm thinking of, say, Texas), but I'm still not picking them ahead teams like OU, who've been dominant outside of one abberation, or Wisconsin, who've been consistently very good themselves.

#11 Florida (4-1, #7)
They're very good, if probably too young to be in the national title race. They're still improving though, and Tim Tebow is a one-man offense. Now all they need is a one-man secondary.

#12 California (5-0, #20)
The Oregon win moved them from the top of the very good teams into the top tier, at least in my eyes. And as I said in the recap, if you're a team with a liability of a secondary that can win a shootout with anyone, the Pac 10's the conference to be in. They're a team that can run the table, but I still think if they play any team I have ahead of them, Oregon included, that secondary's going to be exploited for a win 8 or so times out of 10.

#13 Texas (4-1, #6)
And falling. The most talented of the teams that haven't really proven themselves as top contenders. They obviously have a lot of talent, but Colt McCoy's been just as shaky as that suspect secondary has.

#14 Missouri (4-0, #15)
One of the better of the many all-offense no-defense teams out there. I think.

#15 Arizona State (5-0, #18)
Just smashed the shit out of Stanford, as they've done against most inferior competition, although that was ASU's first road game. Still somewhat unproven, although that win over Colorado looks a lot better now.

#16 Miami (4-1, #19)
That defense is as good as anyone's, and the offense finally seems to be humming along pretty well. They aren't quite re-established yet, but of the teams with established defenses and questions on offense, theirs seems to be doing the best.

#17 Boston College (5-0, #23)
Mostly moving up this high thanks to attrition. BC's historically been pretty good, not great, and they've looked pretty good, not great against obviously inferior competition. They, along with 8 or 9 other teams, will probably go 5-3 or 6-2ish in the ACC; BC just happens to be the one that's won their first five games.

#18 Texas A&M (4-1, #24)
As I've said, the balance that I loved last year seems to be ditched in favor of a mostly run-based attack. They do it as good as anyone, which is why they're up here, but against a team with a very good run defense, like, say, Miami, that can cause some problems.

#19 Virginia Tech (4-1, #14)
That offense played so badly it might as well have been a loss. Virginia Tech remains well coached, and QB Tyrod Taylor should improve, but between an awful offense and a defense that's been solid but not overly impressive, the Hokies need to show something and fast.

#20 Purdue (5-0, #25)
Pretty good. Pret-tay, pret-tay good. And really not much more to say. Very good offense, decent if somewhat suspect defense, and that plus a 5-0 record is enough to get you up here in such a wide-open year.

#21 Illinois (4-1, --)
I'm as surprised as you are, actually. Another pretty good, but not great team, and one that's young enough to improve every week going forward. The defense is solid, led by J Leman, running back Rashard Mendenhall is very good, and God help us all if Juice Williams stops getting by on talent and actually matures as a quarterback.

#22 Penn State (3-2, #13)
Hey, Illinois beat them. I mentioned the all-defense, suspect-offense teams above, and Penn State probably has the best defense of them all. It's just that QB Anthony Morelli is very, very bad, and he would've gotten better by now if he was ever going to.

#23 Cincinnati (5-0, --)
A lot of their wins were inflated due to some insane turnover margins, but this in fact a very good team. Wake Forest transfer Ben Mauk has been a revelation at QB, the defense has played well, and Brian Kelly was an excellent hire as a head coach. They're no USF, but they're no...some team that's very overrated. Kentucky! God, I hope Kentucky winds up flaming out or I'll look bad.

#24 Florida State (3-1, --)
A bit of a conjecture based on how they played against Bama, but why not? The defense seemed to be pretty good, the offense seemed fine, and if the team is adapting to the new coaching scheme, they should be getting real better real soon. And they have as much of a shot of winning the ACC as anyone but Duke or UNC.

#25 Hawaii (5-0, #21)
Colt Brennan's five picks against Idaho worries me, even if he was still insanely productive otherwise. The Warriors make it in over Boise State because, obviously, that offense can go crazy and beat pretty much anyone on every given week. The Idaho game may have been their scare, at least as much as a 52-20 win can be, but this looks like a team that'll lose in the WAC somewhere along the way.

The TFFE Top 25: After Week 4

#1 LSU (4-0, #1)
#2 Oklahoma (4-0, #2)
#3 West Virginia (4-0, #3)
#4 USC (3-0, #4)
#5 Ohio State (4-0, #6)
#6 Texas (4-0, #8)
#7 Florida (4-0, #9)
#8 Oregon (4-0, #12)
#9 Georgia (3-1, #15)
#10 Wisconsin (4-0, #11)
#11 South Carolina (3-1, #7)
#12 Alabama (3-1, #10)
#13 Penn State (3-1, #5)
#14 Virginia Tech (3-1, #16)
#15 Missouri (4-0, #17)
#16 South Florida (3-0, #19)
#17 Clemson (4-0, #20)
#18 Arizona State (4-0, #18)
#19 Miami (3-1, --)
#20 California (4-0, #23)
#21 Hawaii (4-0, #21)
#22 Rutgers (4-0, #22)
#23 Boston College (4-0, #24)
#24 Texas A&M (3-1, #13)
#25 Purdue (4-0, --)

NOTES!
It's the top 5 and everyone else; Texas and Florida pretty much move up by default, they're not really deserving of the top 10, but they are merely the least undeserving teams.

Pretty hard to drop Alabama further than #12 because they're the same team coming into it as they were out. I might've put them under Penn State, but my opinion actually changed toward the Nittany Lions with Morelli being so bad.

Mizzou and USF seem a bit high, but it's mostly the same thing as above with Texas and Florida.

Still somewhat wary of Miami staying consistent, though them being at #19 is pretty much with consistency in mind.

I haven't mentioned Purdue much, but they've been torching defenses at a pretty good clip. It could be a Georgia Tech situation where a weak schedule is overrating them, but they've easily taken care of their MAC opponents, which is more than I can say for Nebraska, my last team out.

The TFFE Top 25: After Week 3

#1 LSU (3-0, #1)
#2 Oklahoma (3-0, #3)
#3 West Virginia (3-0, #2)
#4 USC (2-0, #4)
#5 Penn State (3-0, #8)
#6 Ohio State (3-0, #9)
#7 South Carolina (3-0, #7)
#8 Texas (3-0, #5)
#9 Florida (3-0, #13)
#10 Alabama (3-0, #11)
#11 Wisconsin (3-0, #10)
#12 Oregon (3-0, #14)
#13 Texas A&M (3-0, #12)
#14 Louisville (2-1, #6)
#15 Georgia (2-1, #15)
#16 Virginia Tech (2-1, #16)
#17 Missouri (3-0, #17)
#18 Arizona State (3-0, #18)
#19 South Florida (2-0, #19)
#20 Clemson (3-0, #21)
#21 Hawaii (3-0, #22)
#22 Rutgers (3-0, #23)
#23 California (3-0, #24)
#24 Boston College (3-0, --)
#25 Nebraska (2-1, #20)

NOTES!
Still not buying USC too much. The top 4 are pretty much head and shoulders the best teams in the country, but when I look at WVU, I wonder how anyone's gonna stop that offense over four quarters, where I don't get that feeling yet with the Trojans.

Texas gets bumped down a bit for just playing pretty badly.

Lots of inertia down the line, since teams mostly just did what was expected.

I was just a bit off on BC in the preseason.

The TFFE Top 25: After Week 2

#1 LSU (2-0, #1 LW)
#2 West Virginia (2-0, #2)
#3 Oklahoma (2-0, #4)
#4 USC (1-0, #3)
#5 Texas (2-0, #6)
#6 Louisville (2-0, #5)
#7 South Carolina (2-0, #7)
#8 Penn State (2-0, #8)
#9 Ohio State (2-0, #11)
#10 Wisconsin (2-0, #12)
#11 Alabama (2-0, #10)
#12 Texas A&M (2-0, #13)
#13 Florida (2-0, #15)
#14 Oregon (2-0, #17)
#15 Georgia (1-1, #14)
#16 Virginia Tech (1-1, #9)
#17 Missouri (2-0, #18)
#18 Arizona State (2-0, #23)
#19 South Florida (2-0, #25)
#20 Nebraska (2-0, #20)
#21 Clemson (2-0, #21)
#22 Hawaii (2-0, #19)
#23 Rutgers (2-0, --)
#24 California (2-0, --)
#25 Georgia Tech (2-0, --)

NOTES!
Almost put OU at #2, but I'm not there yet. The Sooners have looked better so far, but WVU is the more proven entity, and I'm more comfortable with them there. They're my security bosom, or something like that.

USC could easily be #2 with a big game against Nebraska next week, they just have to prove they deserve it.

I really wanted to drop Penn State down after Morelli's bad performance, but there's somewhat of a vacuum after that top 7. PSU's still my Big Ten favorites, though, and they're still the best team to put there.

I don't see much reason to drop Georgia too much. They still have more balance than teams like VT, who have no offense, or Mizzou or Nebraska, who have no defense.

Yes, I finally gave Rutgers their due. They can run, the defense has impressed me, and Mike Teel's looked good. I'd like a stronger schedule, but you take what you can get.

Wow, Cal's secondary is bad, I don't get why they're ranked so hi...ooh, lookit those shiny receivers.

Still somewhat wary of putting GT in my top 25, but they've looked great so far. Now they just need to play a I-A team.

Feely Top 25: After Week 1

1. LSU (1-0, #1 LW)
2. West Virginia (1-0, #3)
3. USC (1-0, #2)
4. Oklahoma (1-0, #4)
5. Louisville (1-0, #7)
6. Texas (1-0, #6)
7. South Carolina (1-0, #8)
8. Penn State (1-0, #11)
9. Virginia Tech (1-0, #10)
10. Alabama (1-0, #12)
11. Ohio State (1-0, #14)
12. Wisconsin (1-0, #15)
13. Texas A&M (1-0, #13)
14. Georgia (1-0, #18)
15. Florida (1-0, #16)
16. Miami (1-0, #19)
17. Oregon (1-0, #17)
18. Missouri (1-0, #21)
19. Hawaii (1-0, #22)
20. Nebraska (1-0, #23)
21. Clemson (1-0, #24)
22. Florida State (0-1, #9)
23. Arizona State (1-0, #25)
24. Boise State (1-0, --)
25. South Florida (1-0, #20)

NOTES!
Maybe this year, since The Joe Dailey Interception Experience is over, maybe I'll go with The Mike Henig Nonstop Rollercoaster Of Pain, in honor of the Mississippi State QB's (lack of) performance against LSU.

God, 7 through like, 21, is just one big mess of very good-ness.

I see Clemson and FSU at about the same level. And since neither is a national title contender, and again, there's that glut of very good teams, FSU drops behind Clemson rather than the Tigers taking a huge shot up.

Also Receiving Votes!: TCU, California, UCLA

THE TFFE PRESEASON TOP 119!

Just in time.

1. LSU
2. USC
3. West Virginia
4. Oklahoma
5. Michigan
6. Texas
7. Louisville
8. South Carolina
9. Florida State
10. Virginia Tech
11. Penn State
12. Alabama
13. Texas A&M
14. Ohio State
15. Wisconsin
16. Florida
17. Oregon
18. Georgia
19. Miami
20. South Florida
21. Missouri
22. Hawaii
23. Nebraska
24. Clemson
25. Arizona State
26. Boise State
27. TCU
28. UCLA
29. Tennessee
30. Oklahoma State
31. California
32. Arkansas
33. Georgia Tech
34. Rutgers
35. Illinois
36. Iowa
37. Auburn
38. Virginia
39. Purdue
40. NC State
41. Southern Miss
42. Oregon State
43. Brigham Young
44. Kansas State
45. Texas Tech
46. Notre Dame
47. Utah
48. Arizona
49. Boston College
50. Vanderbilt
51. Cincinnati
52. Kansas
53. Pittsburgh
54. Kentucky
55. Northwestern
56. Navy
57. Houston
58. Washington State
59. Mississippi State
60. Wake Forest
61. Maryland
62. New Mexico State
63. Western Michigan
64. New Mexico
65. Colorado
66. Colorado State
67. Tulsa
68. Washington
69. Michigan State
70. Indiana
71. Central Michigan
72. Troy
73. Connecticut
74. Mississippi
75. San Jose State
76. Kent State
77. Stanford
78. Fresno State
79. Minnesota
80. Wyoming
81. North Carolina
82. Bowling Green
83. Central Florida
84. Toledo
85. Iowa State
86. Memphis
87. UNLV
88. Nevada
89. UTEP
90. SMU
91. East Carolina
92. Miami of Ohio
93. Marshall
94. Baylor
95. Ohio
96. Northern Illinois
97. Louisiana-Monroe
98. San Diego State
99. Akron
100. Duke
101. Syracuse
102. Ball State
103. Air Force
104. Arkansas State
105. Eastern Michigan
106. Rice
107. Florida Atlantic
108. Buffalo
109. Middle Tennessee State
110. Tulane
111. Louisiana-Lafayette
112. Idaho
113. Utah State
114. Temple
115. North Texas
116. Louisiana Tech
117. Army
118. Florida International
119. UAB

Feely Top 25: After Week 14

#1 Ohio State (12-0, #1 LW)
#2 Michigan (11-1, #2)
#3 Florida (12-1, #3)
#4 LSU (10-2, #5)
#5 Louisville (11-1, #6)
#6 Oklahoma (11-2, #7)
#7 Wisconsin (11-1, #8)
#8 USC (10-2, #4)
#9 Boise State (12-0, #10)
#10 Arkansas (10-3, #9)
#11 West Virginia (10-2, #13)
#12 Auburn (10-2, #12)
#13 Notre Dame (10-2, #11)
#14 Rutgers (10-2, #14)
#15 Nebraska (9-4, #16)
#16 Virginia Tech (10-2, #17)
#17 Texas (9-3, #15)
#18 Wake Forest (11-2, #18)
#19 Tennessee (9-3, #19)
#20 Cal (9-3, #20)
#21 Texas A&M (9-3, #21)
#22 Georgia (8-4, #22)
#23 BYU (10-2, #23)
#24 TCU (10-2, --)
#25 Oregon State (9-4, --)

NOTES!
Again, two words: Western Carolina.

Notre Dame looks slightly worse now.

Texas's lack of an insurance policy for Colt McCoy worries me.

TCU's playing as well as anyone right now.

ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: Penn State, Boston College, Clemson, South Florida, Georgia Tech, Central Michigan

Feely Top 25: After Week 13

#1 Ohio State (12-0, #1 LW)
#2 Michigan (11-1, #2)
#3 Florida (11-1, #3)
#4 USC (10-1, #4)
#5 LSU (10-2, #6)
#6 Louisville (10-1, #10)
#7 Oklahoma (10-2, #9)
#8 Wisconsin (11-1, #12)
#9 Arkansas (10-2, #8)
#10 Boise State (12-0, #14)
#11 Notre Dame (10-2, #11)
#12 Auburn (10-2, #13)
#13 West Virginia (9-2, #5)
#14 Rutgers (10-1, #17)
#15 Texas (9-3, #7)
#16 Nebraska (9-3, #21)
#17 Virginia Tech (10-2, #18)
#18 Wake Forest (10-2, #19)
#19 Tennessee (9-3, #15)
#20 Cal (8-3, #20)
#21 Texas A&M (9-3, #23)
#22 Georgia (8-4, --)
#23 BYU (10-2, #24)
#24 Georgia Tech (9-3, #16)
#25 Hawaii (10-2, --)

NOTES!
USC's been the most vulnerable in their wins of the 2 through 4 teams. And, well, Michigan didn't schedule Western Carolina.

Man, Wisconsin got hosed.

Arkansas looked as impressive in the LSU loss as they have all year, and a lot of teams in the 11-15 range didn't do much, so I didn't penalize the Razorbacks that much.

I really want to see Boise-Notre Dame. After this week, I don't know who would win, I just know it would be a heckuva lot of fun.

13-15 were hard to figure out. Texas has the most talent, but they've just fallen off a cliff and who knows with McCoy now. I still think WVU will beat Rutgers, and essentially consider the Mountaineers a one-loss team, since the WVU-Louisville game was essentially a tossup with a strong advantage for WV.

I give Nebraska a pretty good shot against OU, they're playing well.

Ugh, the ACC.

Tennessee should've lost to Kentucky, and their performance was about as good as losing to the Wildcats.

Georgia's a much better team now than the one that lost those 4 games. I could see a case for BYU over them, but not GT (obviously) or Hawaii.

Georgia Tech's worthless. They show up from time to time, but God, what a waste of Calvin Johnson.

Nothing can stop the Colt Brennan Laser Lightshow.

Also Receiving Votes: Oregon State, Penn State, TCU

Feely Top 25: After Week 12

#1 Ohio State (12-0, #2 LW)
#2 Michigan (11-1, #1)
#3 Florida (10-1, #3)
#4 USC (9-1, #4)
#5 West Virginia (9-1, #5)
#6 LSU (9-2, #7)
#7 Texas (9-2, #6)
#8 Arkansas (10-1, #8)
#9 Oklahoma (9-2, #11)
#10 Louisville (9-1, #12)
#11 Notre Dame (10-1, #13)
#12 Wisconsin (11-1, #15)
#13 Auburn (10-2, #10)
#14 Boise State (11-0, #14)
#15 Tennessee (8-3, #16)
#16 Georgia Tech (9-2, #19)
#17 Rutgers (9-1, #9)
#18 Virginia Tech (9-2, #21)
#19 Wake Forest (9-2, #18)
#20 Cal (8-3, #17)
#21 Nebraska (8-3, #20)
#22 Boston College (9-2, #23)
#23 Texas A&M (8-3, #22)
#24 BYU (9-2, #24)
#25 Clemson (8-3, #25)

NOTES!
Again, which OSU would YOU rather lose to? Also, Western Carolina? Michigan's so easily the #2 team in the country that it's not funny. Well, it kind of is.

Arkansas's still more Tennessee than Florida in my eyes, sorry.

If OU-Texas was played again today, Oklahoma could kill them. The Sooners are just playing really, really well, and it doesn't seem like anyone is noticing.

Kind of wondering how I had Wisconsin that low...

Oh, Rutgers. I almost had them ahead of GT, but both teams are inconsistent and I think the good GT beats the good Rutgers and the bad GT murders the bad Rutgers.

The ACC is a mess.

Also Receiving Votes: Georgia, Hawaii, Penn State, TCU

Feely Top 25: After Week 11

#1 Michigan (11-0, #1 LW)
#2 Ohio State (11-0, #2)
#3 Florida (9-1, #6)
#4 USC (8-1, #7)
#5 West Virginia (8-1, #8)
#6 Texas (9-2, #3)
#7 LSU (8-2, #10)
#8 Arkansas (9-1, #11)
#9 Rutgers (9-0, #17)
#10 Auburn (9-2, #4)
#11 Oklahoma (8-2, #14)
#12 Louisville (8-1, #5)
#13 Notre Dame (9-1, #12)
#14 Boise State (10-0, #13)
#15 Wisconsin (10-1, #16)
#16 Tennessee (7-3, #15)
#17 Cal (8-2, #9)
#18 Wake Forest (9-1, #23)
#19 Georgia Tech (8-2, #18)
#20 Nebraska (8-3, #22)
#21 Virginia Tech (8-2, #20)
#22 Texas A&M (8-3, #19)
#23 Boston College (8-2, #24)
#24 BYU (8-2, --)
#25 Clemson (8-3, #25)

NOTES!
3-9 took forever to figure out. Yes, I think LSU is better than Arkansas. WVU, again, shouldn't have lost the Louisville game. I don't get why Texas is out of the top 10 in the actual polls; they're still an elite team and McCoy should hopefully be fine after the bye week.

Rutgers is legit, and moves up accordingly.

Oklahoma is back -- that defense is playing well, and that offense seems to be able to get things done one way or another.

Notre Dame has no defense. Just to remind you.

Tennessee's as good as they've ever been, Arkansas was just a bad matchup.

After GT's horrible day, Wake is actually the best team in the ACC. I'm as confused as you are.

Oregon or Maryland would probably be #26. Clemson struggled, but they're still better than the ducks, and Maryland, again, is a total fraud.

Feely Top 25: After Week 10

#1 Michigan (#1 LW)
#2 Ohio State (#2)
#3 Texas (#4)
#4 Auburn (#6)
#5 Louisville (#12)
#6 Florida (#5)
#7 USC (#7)
#8 West Virginia (#3)
#9 Cal (#8)
#10 LSU (#9)
#11 Arkansas (#13)
#12 Notre Dame (#11)
#13 Boise State (#14)
#14 Oklahoma (#16)
#15 Tennessee (#10)
#16 Wisconsin (#18)
#17 Rutgers (#19)
#18 Georgia Tech (#22)
#19 Texas A&M (#17)
#20 Virginia Tech (#21)
#21 Oregon (#23)
#22 Nebraska (--)
#23 Wake Forest (--)
#24 Boston College (#20)
#25 Clemson (#15)

NOTES!
Yep, Michigan still > Ohio State, although those 2 are obviously a lot closer to 3 now.

Florida's probably still winning the SEC now that they've clinched the East, but that game against Vandy was just brutal. Auburn's been pretty consistent as of late, so they're up there temporarily until I change my mind. Assuming I remember to.

Louisville will at least be #4 if they beat Rutgers decisively. I'm still tenative (although, Rutgers? Really?), but as long as they're set up to be in the title game, that's how high I'll have 'em.

That being said, WVU should've won that one. Cal's defense had a shit day, and LSU still has 2 losses, so I'm keeping them below the Mountaineers for now.

As for Notre Dame slipping, again, check out that Joe Dailey statline.

Oklahoma's defense and running game are fine, so they're movin' back up.

God, the ACC.

23-25 was a tough one. Wake has the best record, and BC beat Clemson. However, based on talent, it probably goes Clemson > BC > Wake.

Just missed: BYU and Oregon State. And Maryland, I guess.