Week 8 Top 25

Week 8
1. SEC	Ladies and gentlemen, we have our first new #1 of the season, and you can thank the Kansas Jayhawks.  Trent Richardson is surpassing "beast" status to another level for which I'm not sure we have a word.
2. SEC	The two-headed monster of Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson once referred to the Tigers' abysmal QB situation.  Now, they are rolling over SEC speed every week.  In other news, we have our first Less Miles sighting of the season.  Losing a challeng on an extra point?  Really?
3. Oklahoma	Uninspiring wins over Missouri are acceptable.  Uninspiring wins of Kansas are not.  In the end, it won't matter as long as OU keeps winning, but their inability to just roll over Kansas is reminiscent of recent Sooner teams who have lacked the fire to win a championship.
4. Boise State	Boise may all of a sudden hold the key to conference destruction.  If they go to the Big East (which would be absurd), then life should continue more or less as normal.  If they stay in a joint MWC/Conf-USA (also absurd), the Big East will again be facing eminent demise, and Notre Dame will be back in play again.
5. Stanford	Stanford didn't exactly blow away Wazzou early on, but they eventually got to an appropriate margin of victory.  It gets a lot more interesting now with Washington, USC, and Oregon coming up in the next four games.  This is where Andrew Luck makes his money.
6. Wisconsin	We now have a competition between Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson.  Luck made a one-handed catch on the sideline, but he didn't score.  Wilson scored but wasn't nearly as acrobatic.  This is clearly the most important determinant in the Heisman race right now.
7. Oklahoma State	There's nothing really new to say about Oklahoma State.  The offense is what it is, but, unfortunately, so is the defense.  The Cowboys will score on anybody but will not be a real threat to the Sooners until they can stop teams consistently.
8. Clemson	The Clemson/Dabo let down finally happened…then Sammy Watkins stepped in.  Clemson has proven they can score, but allowing 45 points to Maryland is worse than poor.
9. Oregon	Arizona State was a really solid win for Oregon.  Oddly enough, the Ducks were able to pull away only once Darron Thomas went out.  Bryan Bennett's speed clearly caught the Sun Devils off guard.  We also learned a very important lesson: leave Chip Kelly alone when he's talking to Erin Andrews.
10. Michigan State	Maybe it was the uniforms, but Michigan State had a nasty demeanor about themselves on Saturday against Michigan and physically beat Denard Robinson into submission.  They better bring that same attitude if they want to compete with Wisconsin.
11. SEC	Bobby Petrino got an off week which was probably spent planning one of two things: His next job or how many points to score on Ole Miss, because the Hogs should be able to name their score this week.
12. Kansas State	…and they just keep winning.  This time, it was the offense that stepped up to beat Texas Tech.  With KU up next, it's probably safe to count on 7-0 before Oklahoma comes to town.
13. West Virginia	There doesn't appear to be a lot of competition on the horizon for WVU with Syracuse and Rutgers up next.  West Virginia and Clemson would make for a really entertaining Orange Bowl.
14. Nebraska	Nebraska got a week off to rest after two tough games.  Now they get another week off against Minnesota before another big test against Michigan State.
15. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	Logan Thomas may finally be arriving, and we're looking at that same familiar story.  VPISU starts off slow and is nearly written off until they win out and land in the ACC Championship game.  They're not there yet but are clearly trending up.
16. Texas A&M	A&M took a 10 point lead into halftime against Baylor (sound familiar?), and then they pulled away in the second half (sound familiar?  Didn't think so).  The Aggies will need to build on that momentum the rest of October before a rough November schedule including Oklahoma, Kansas State, and Texas.
17. Michigan	It's easier said than done, but the key to beating Michigan remains to beat up on Denard Robinson.  When he isn't making plays, Michigan is not scoring points.  This is still a solid team that must beat an Ohio State University at all costs.
18. Washington	I'd be lying if I said I've watched even one second of UW this year, but the offense doesn't seem to miss Jake Locker, and on a week when every other team nearing contention stumbled, the Dawgs rolled over Colorado.
19. Penn State	The offensive issues still remain, but Penn State is really solid on defense.  That defense will be wasted yet again, however, if they can't figure out what to do on offense.  JoePa needs to overcome his youthful indecisiveness and choose between Matt McGloin and Rob Bolden.
20. Arizona State	Arizona State was better than Oregon into the 3rd quarter, but at some point the dam broke.  In typical Dennis Erickson fashion, the Sun Devils looked more interested in trash talking than winning at times.
21. Georgia Tech	Virginia has solved the option.  Paul Johnson has been figured out and will never win another game.  After two sloppy games in a row, the Brie Cheese Eating Weenies finally made GT pay and floated them out of town on Mike London's river of tears.  Over under for Lamar Miller rushing yards: 225.
22. Notre Dame	Notre Dame is back on track after the rough start.  Before taking the week off, they ran Air Force out of the building in pretty impressive fashion.  USC is up next, and it's time for Our Lady to prove she isn't just a little girl with potential anymore (don't worry Brady, you will always be our little girl).
23. Houston	The extent of my viewing of the Houston Cougars this year has been maybe two highlights.  They are, however, undefeated with Case Keenum back to his old ways.  Holding ECU to just 3 points is nothing to sneeze at either.
24. Texas	Despite losing, Texas showed pretty well against Oklahoma State.  This team really needs to figure out its quarterback situation, and they have a good chance to do that now with a bye week followed by Kansas.  A poor performance against KU, and it will be fire sale time.
25. SEC	I don't care who the quarterback's brother is, giving up 28 points to Vanderbilt is poor.  That was one of those wins that has to feel like a loss to the dogs, especially given the horrific performance of the normally strong special teams.  Mark Richt just needs to keep Todd Grantham in the booth.