Top 25 - 9/25/11 (Now It Gets Interesting)

Now that the "preseason" cupcakes are out of the way for most major programs, it's time to dig in to some serious conference play. True, a few teams broke out the conference matchups right off the bat, but now there's nowhere to hide for everyone else. So this is the final Top 25 before everything gets the James Bond martini treatment.

Let's go.

1. Oklahoma - First conference test against a scrappy Missouri Tigers squad. "Only a ten-point victory over an unranked opponent?" you say? Keep in mind that Missouri was preseason ranked in the top 25. I'm not a fan of dropping a team because of a "bad" win, and 38 points is still a strong offensive showing. Sooners stay #1 in my poll. Breathing room next week against Ball State.
2. Alabama - Same story for the Tide. Played a pretty good Arkansas team and put up 38. The margin of victory was a little better than OU, but we're splitting hairs. The two red and white schools have been atop my poll for the first few weeks, and Les Miles can't change that without someone ahead of them faltering. Bama stays #2, bring on the Gators.
3. LSU - Yes they are strong, and yes, they may be playing the best of the top 3, but they didn't start the season up there, and it's a long season. So they beat up on a good West Virginia squad, but LSU finds a way to struggle against Kentucky quite often. Let's see how they handle them next week.
4. Boise State - A 20 point win over Tulsa and Stanford on the bye means Boise holds steady. Kellen Moore AGAIN looks almost perfect passing. On the year he is throwing a 79% completion rate, and a 192 passer-rating....sick. Is it just me, or would anyone else love to see a BSU v. OU rematch in January?
5. Stanford - Can't lose when you take the week off.
6. Oregon - Their defense is starting to look a bit suspect. Sure they might  score 50 most weeks, but giving up 30 to Arizona has got to be concerning. The first time they face another team with a legit defense, watch for the points to pile up quickly (see LSU week 1).
7. Wisconsin - Russell Wilson  makes Kellen Moore look like Ryan Leaf. 76% passing completions, but 218 passer rating?! Those are video game numbers. But Wisco hasn't played anyone of note yet...until Nebraska comes to Madison next week. Can Wilson keep the Heisman performances coming?
8. Oklahoma State - I honestly didn't think this game would be as close as what it was. Sure, I had A&M in my top 10, and ahead of OkSt too, but the Aggies have looked less than intimidating of late, and the Cowboys have been turning it up. They should be able to keep up the winning ways next week against Kansas. But the following 3 will be tough at Missouri and Texas before coming back home for RG3 and Baylor.
9. Virginia Tech - Florida State is now officially "not that good" so VaTech replaces them as the sole ACC team in the my top 10. This could be a short stint as they come right back to face Clemson. Luckily for Beamer and the Hokies, this one is in Blacksburg. Should be a good matchup. Anyone know where GameDay is headed?
10. Nebraska - This feels wrong. Despite my comments to Oklahoma at #1, I have dropped Nebraska 1 spot each of the last 2 weeks. But I can't justify anyone else ahead of them based on losses. I almost kept Texas A&M in this spot. After all, they did beat the 'Skers last year. But I digress. They will be more aptly ranked next week (in the high teens) after Wisconsin introduces them to Big Ten conference ball.
11. South Carolina
12. Texas A&M
13. Florida
14. Texas
15. Baylor
16. South Florida
17. Michigan
18. Clemson
19. TCU
20. Florida State
21. Arkansas
22. West Virginia
23. Ohio State
24. Michigan State
25. Illinois