NCAA Top 25 Week 3

Some interesting upsets, as well as impressive wins by teams who had not accumulated impressive wins against FBS teams, has shaken up the Top 25, although not as much as often happens in this week.

Top 25 [Last week's position]
1.  Alabama Crimson Tide (3-0) [1] : The Tide continues to roll and crush all competition
2.  LSU Tigers (3-0) [2] : Huge gap between #2 and #3
3.  Notre Dame Fighting Irish (3-0) [6] : Their tough schedule is usually an obstacle, but now it helps them in strength of schedule
4.  Oregon Ducks (3-0) [5]
5.  Georgia Bulldogs (3-0) [7] : They are definitely the most impressive SEC East team so far
6.  Texas Longhorns (3-0) [11] : Leader among the EIGHT unbeaten teams in the conference - the most of any conference
7.  Stanford Cardinal (3-0) [13] : They beat USC without Andrew Luck
8.  South Carolina Gamecocks (3-0) [12] : Lots of strong teams in the SEC, so conference play will shake up the Top Ten
9.  Ohio State Buckeyes (3-0) [4] : Poor performance this week, but performances get dim after this position
10. Florida State Seminoles (3-0) [NR] : They slaughtered Wake Forest; maybe playing FCS teams these past two weeks kept them rested
11. Clemson Tigers (3-0) [9]
12. Kansas State Wildcats (3-0) [8] : Offense is good, but defense needs some work
13. USC Trojans (2-1) [3] : Wonder if Matt Barkley is starting to regret his decision to skip the NFL?
14. Florida Gators (3-0) [17] : They came back strong in the second half
15. UCLA Bruins (3-0) [16] : UCLA has looked good, but they haven't played a really tough opponent yet
16. Arizona Wildcats (3-0) [15]
17. Texas Tech Red Raiders (3-0) [18]
18. West Virginia Mountaineers (2-0) [NR] : They enter on a bye due to a clerical error last week
19. Oklahoma Sooners (2-0) [19]
20. Nebraska Cornhuskers (2-1) [22]
21. Louisville Cardinals (3-0) [20] : Best looking Big East team
22. Arizona State Sun Devils (2-1) [14] : Tough loss to Missouri
23. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (3-0) [NR] : Two Big East teams sit in the Top 25 together for the first time in years!
24. Michigan State Spartans (2-1) [10] : Terrible performance against Notre Dame, but defense tightened in the second half, until the game was obviously lost and they decided to rest for next week
25. Ohio Bobcats (3-0) [23] : To be honest, I did not expect the Bobcats to remain in the Top 25, but upset losses to Virginia Tech and BYU left some room

On the Edge: Mississippi State Bulldogs (3-0), TCU Horned Frogs (2-0), Iowa State Cyclones (3-0), UCF Golden Knights (2-1), Northwestern Wildcats (3-0), Purdue Boilermakers (2-1), Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (2-1), Texas A&M Aggies (1-1), San Jose State Spartans (2-1)

Dropped off: Tennessee Volunteers [#21], BYU Cougars [#24], Mississippi State Bulldogs [#25]

Big Ten Report
Although only two teams lost, it was again not a stellar week for the conference.  Division leaders looked weak, as Ohio State almost got too complacent against Cal and Michigan State couldn't get the offense rolling against the Irish.  Iowa nearly lost to Northern Iowa until they found life in the fourth quarter, Wisconsin again couldn't utilize Monte Ball and nearly lost to Utah State, and Indiana lost to Ball State.  The good news is that Penn State looked strong in their first victory, a rout of the Navy Midshipmen.

LEGENDS Division:
1.  Michigan Wolverines (2-1) : They continue to improve after the disaster against Alabama, which is now looking like the normal result of playing the Tide this season.
2.  Northwestern Wildcats (3-0) : They don't win pretty, but they find ways to win
3.  Nebraska Cornhuskers (2-1) : Their defense is looking better, and their offense is already the best in the conference
4.  Michigan State Spartans (2-1) : If QB Andrew Maxwell can improve, this team will be dangerous
5.  Minnesota Golden Gophers (3-0) : They win close games, which is important
6.  Iowa Hawkeyes (2-1) : This Jekyll-Hyde team needs to find an identity

LEADERS Division:
1.  Ohio State Buckeyes (3-0) : Urban Meyer seems to be destroying what made this team great in order to turn them into a reflection of his old Florida Gators.  I've never seen the Buckeye defense, their hallmark, miss so many tackles and fail to pursue runners.  TWO Cal touchdowns should never have happened.  The fact that they are atop the division is more a testament of how bad the other teams are playing.
2.  Purdue Boilermakers (2-1) : Their performance against Notre Dame doesn't look so bad now
3.  Illinois Fighting Illini (2-1) : Missouri's defeat of Arizona State hurts, but the Illini offense found some life this week as Reilly O'Toole was finally connecting with his receivers.  Plus, Nathan Scheelhaase may be back for next week's game against unbeaten Louisiana Tech.
4.  Penn State Nittany Lions (1-2) : They played very well against Navy, so perhaps they are starting to adjust to the loss of 14 projected starters.
5.  Wisconsin Badgers (2-1) : They need to get Monte Ball involved and successful.
6.  Indiana Hoosiers (2-1) : Ball State may be pretty good this season, but Indiana was too inconsistent this week.  If they find that consistency, though, and Monte Ball continues not to produce, they can leap up in the division.