Week 3 top 25
Here's my top 25 for this week. Arizona State takes the huge tumble of the week after being upset by UNLV at home.
1) USC (1) - The Trojans pretty much put a hammerlock on this spot by destroying Ohio State on Saturday. Beanie Wells or not, 35-3 is pretty impressive.
2) Georgia (2) - The polls dropped the Bulldogs for a 14-7 win over South Carolina. I won't, because inter-conference road games are always tough.
3) Oklahoma (3) - Just rolling along after smacking down feckless Washington.
4) Florida (5) - Gators didn't play, but move up anyway. Thanks Ohio State.
5) Missouri (6) - Three games, three wins where the Tigers have scored 50 or more points.
6) LSU (7) - Didn't let remnants from Ike dampen a 41-3 rout of North Texas.
7) Texas (9) - Horns move up two despite having their game with Arkansas pushed back two weeks because of Ike.
8) Texas Tech (10) - The Red Raiders smacked down SMU. They basically moved up because they looked less feeble than other teams.
9) Wisconsin (11) - Gotta give the Badgers credit here. Winning at Fresno State is no small task.
10) Auburn (8) - Tigers win on the road in-conference, but drop because they won 3-2. Guess Auburn grad Frank Thomas hit a three-run shot in the seventh.
11) Ohio State (4) - Buckeyes were beat up and beat down by USC. But they'll be back toward the top of the Big Ten.
12) Alabama (13) - Tide did well against Western Kentucky. Western Kentucky just joined Division I-A last year.
13) Oregon (16) - Ducks get a bump after a gutty OT comeback win at Purdue.
14) East Carolina (15) - Tulane almost upset the Pirates and killed their BCS-buster dreams. But the Pirates survived the "letdown game".
15) BYU (17) - UCLA fans will be having the shakes over losing 59-0 to BYU Saturday for weeks, if not years.
16) South Florida (18) - The Bulls' last-second field goal win over Kansas saved the reputation of the flagging Big East - for now.
17) Penn State (20) - The Nits have looked pretty great in their first three games. Of course, Coastal Carolina, Oregon State and Syracuse aren't exactly a murderer's row.
18) Wake Forest (19) - Moved up despite not playing. Have a big one this week at Florida State.
19) Kansas (12) - Jayhawks get seven-spot drop for a loss, but a Friday night loss on the road to a top 20 team isn't the end of the world.
20) Utah (22) - The Utes' signature win at Michigan has probably lost some luster, but their 42-14 win over UNLV last week has definitely gained some back.
21) Clemson (21) - The Tigers beat N.C. State, who looks really bad. Still not sold on Clemson moving up any time soon.
22) West Virginia (24) - Mountaineers will get a decent test Thursday at Colorado.
23) Illinois (NR) - Illinois' 20-17 win over Louisiana-Lafayette didn't really do much for me, but a lot of losses in this region of the rankings moved it up.
24) Vanderbilt (NR) - This is definitely my shocker of the week, but the Commodores have looked good in going 3-0. They are definitely a sleeper.
25) Virginia Tech (NR) - It wasn't pretty, but that win over Georgia Tech was a good one. Plus, that ECU loss isn't looking so bad anymore.
On the cusp: Tennessee, Florida State, Fresno State, Arizona State, TCU
Dropped: No. 15 Arizona State (lost to UNLV), No. 23 California (lost at Maryland), No. 25 Fresno State (lost to Wisconsin).

T.J. Berka has been covering sports for The Sun since 2006. As a graduate of the University of Michigan, T.J. know good sports when he sees them - at least he thinks he does.



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