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Ed Bagley's Top 25 Poll - Week 8 - It's Teetering at the Top

Alabama, Florida, Iowa, West Virginia and South Carolina all needed every ounce of effort to win games and hopefully retain their national rankings this week. Here is my Top 25 for college football's Week 8:

1) Alabama (8-0) - The Crimson Tide needed a blocked field goal attempt on the last play of the game to preserve a 12-10 victory over Tennessee. Teams seem to forget who is the defensive coordinator for the Volunteers; he is Monte Kiffin, one of the greatest defensive coordinators in modern football history and the father of Lane Kiffin, the Volunteers' head coach. Yes, Florida's victory was weak too; the Crimson Tide stay on top for at least another week.

2) Florida (7-0) - Extended the nation's longest winning steak to 17 with an unimpressive 29-19 win over Mississippi State. The Gators' offense seems to be imploding, raising questions about can they hang on. Even though Florida looks beatable, I bet Georgia is not excited about traveling to the Gators his week.

3) Oregon (6-1) - Picked up a bone-jarring 43-19 win against a game but youthful Washington Husky team. Next up for the Ducks will be Southern California coming from Los Angeles. This should be an excellent game; would not surprise me if Oregon wins.

4) Cincinnati (7-0) - Stomped Louisville 41-10 and not much interested in slowing down. Schedule is weak but 3rd-year coach Brian Kelly had 10 wins his first year and 11 wins last year. This dude is serious about winning.

5) Southern California (5-1) - Beat Oregon State 42-36 but gave up 36 points to a 4-3 Beaver team. Pivotal week for USC as they get Oregon on-the-road. Either Southern Cal beats Oregon or the Trojans drop in my poll. Either Oregon knocks USC down a notch or the Ducks drop in my poll.

6) Texas (7-0) - Uses Missouri for road kill, 41-7, but now has tougher prey at Oklahoma State. Texas was much better last year and should have been in the national championship game against Florida instead of Oklahoma. Maybe it will be Florida and Texas this year, and then again, maybe neither will make it.

7) Texas Christian (7-0) - Slapped around BYU 38-7 and had fun doing it. Who is going to catch a Horned Frog?

Iowa (8-0) - Needed last play of the game to get past Michigan State 15-13. Hawkeyes have some defense and little offense; 7 of their 8 wins have been by 11 or fewer points. The Spartans' have lost 4 games by a combined 15 points, and they are not that good, which makes you wonder when Iowa's magic show stops.

9) Boise State (7-0) - Beat Hawaii silly, 54-9, trying to impress voters. No wonder, Hawaii is 2-5 and throwing pineapples rather than footballs.

10) LSU (6-1) - Ran past Auburn 31-10 and just waiting for top tier teams to lose again or lose for the first time this year, Tigers stalk their prey.

11) Georgia Tech (7-1) - Tore up Virginia 34-9 and now travels to Vanderbilt. The Commodores are in trouble again.

12) Penn State (7-1) - Can't stand Penn State and Jo Pa but can respect a 35-10 win over Michigan on-the-road. Will have to beat Northwestern by 3 touchdowns to keep me impressed.

13) Oklahoma State (6-1) - Leveled Baylor 34-7. I think Baylor is an afterthought of a football team somewhere in Texas. Hosts Texas this week; Longhorns should provide more competition.

14) Houston (6-1) - Back scoring again, took out Southern Methodist 38-15 after leading 31-3 going into the 4th quarter. Houston has an offense and no defense. Don't know who is better—Houston or Ohio State. Nod goes to Houston with 1 less loss.

15) Ohio State (6-2) - Buckeyes blast Minnesota 38-7, now host 148th-ranked New Mexico State. Should beat the Aggies about 56-zip; New Mexico State is beyond terrible; watching the Aggies is like getting electrical shocks until you fall over.

16) Pittsburgh (7-1) - Panthers handled South Florida 41-14. I am elevating Pittsburgh because the Panthers have 7 wins and everyone else looks too lame to take seriously.

17) Utah (6-1) - Not classy in beating Air Force 23-16, but a lot of teams have looked crappy at certain times this season.

18) West Virginia (6-1) - Did not look good in getting by Connecticut 28-24, but ditto above.

19) South Carolina (6-2) - Horrible win over a 2-6 Vanderbilt team at home. Travels to Tennessee this week and could return with a headache and a 6-3 record. I will be very impressed if they beat Tennessee.

(20) Mississippi (5-2) - Beat a stubborn Arkansas team 30-17 at home. May be finally ready to move up and on. Gets Auburn next on-the-road. LSU choke-slammed Auburn 31-10; let's see what Ole Miss can do.

21) Central Michigan (7-1) - Just keeps winning when other better teams lose. Wins count for something.

22) Notre Dame (5-2) - Beat Boston College 20-16 in a very Catholic game. Hosts a 1-6 Washington State cupcake this week; the Cougars are one of the worst teams in the Western Hemisphere and not getting much better by the week. Latest word is they have found a quarterback; when they find 10 more players they may be ready to do something.

23) Idaho (6-2) - Yes, the Vandals got run over on-the-road in Nevada, 70-45, but what other major college team has 6 wins besides those I have already listed? This is a character test for the Vandals; either they win against Louisiana Tech this week or we put them out on the street with a bunch of other 3-loss teams.

24) Navy (6-2) - Hey, there's another 6-win team, just beat Wake Forest 13-10 on the way to the chow hall.

25) Brigham Young (6-2) - OK, Brigham Young, but it pains me after the Cougars were trashed by TCU 38-7 and exposed for what they are, not ready for prime time. To save face, BYU needs to take down Utah in its last regular season game before the Cougars go bowling.

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About the Author

Check out "Ed Bagley's Top 25 Poll" for Week 8—you get rankings plus humor.
"College Football - A Season of 2 Games: One Becomes Abject Heartache, The Other Extreme Joy - Part 1"
"College Football - A Season of2 Games: 'The Immaculate Footception' Will Live Forever in Washington Husky Lore - Part 2"
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