Alabama — If it's possible to do the co-No. 1 thing, I'd put Bama there along with Oklahoma. The Sooners have been flawless so far, but the Tide have shown toughness, both mental and physical, and the lines are destroying everyone. John Parker Wilson has been deadly when given time to throw.

Penn State — Top five. I'm still not sold on Daryll Clark when the pressure is on in a really tight game (and I hate having to look up how to spell Daryll every time I refer to him). However, the offensive line is among the best in America, the receiving corps is playing like the veteran group that it is, and the running game is tremendous. It's unfortunate, but this team might get dragged down in the court of public opinion because of the bad PR problem for the Big Ten.

BYU — Ehhhhhhh, tough call on a lot of levels. Do I think it's one of the 10 best teams in America? No, but it could certainly beat anyone in the county on the right day. I continue to have a problem with the struggles against Washington, and while the blasting of UCLA looks decent now I'm not convinced the team would be more than a No. 3 in any of the BCS leagues outside of the Big East. Put them at 10 and put a ceiling on the top 5 unless they're blowing everyone away by 40 ... and they just might.

USC — Bottom of the top 10. The talent is there, but the question marks at the beginning of the season are still there. The offensive line is still coming together. The receiving corps is average, certainly nothing special. The defense should be a killer, but it didn't play like it against Oregon State. I'm not handing USC a spot in the national title race on name and talent alone. This team has to earn it after the Clunker in Corvallis.

Richard Cirminiello

Alabama — No. 1. The Tide has beaten Clemson, Arkansas and Georgia by an average score of 41-18 . . . and all outside the state of Alabama. Good luck finding a program with a better resume through the first month of the season.

Penn State — No. 5. The only thing I'd alter here is to bump the Lions ahead of Texas, which will wind up getting exposed over the next month, and has yet to beat an opponent that's remotely close to being ranked.

BYU — No. 13. I love what Bronco Mendenhall is doing in Provo, but No. 8? Really? How many programs would be 4-0 if they started the year against Northern Iowa, Washington, UCLA, and Wyoming? Plenty. Even though each lost last week, Georgia, Florida, and USC should all be ahead of the Cougars.

USC — No. 9. I expected the Trojans to be No. 9 or No. 10 after sleeping through the Oregon State game, so no beef from here. Of course they should be dinged hard for the loss, but does anyone really think there are more than 10 programs better than USC? Think again.

Matthew Zemek

Keeping in mind, of course, that polls are bad for college football and that rankings don't mean anything until early November . . .

Alabama should be No. 1. Oklahoma might have more of a reputation under Bob Stoops, and would probably be favored by Vegas against the Tide, but Bama has actually done more to deserve its ranking. Throttling Georgia in Athens says more than any OU win to date.

Penn State should be somewhere around seven or eight. Top 10-worthy for sure, but not yet able to graduate to the head of the class. Beat Wisky and Ohio State, and we can reserve a comfy spot in the top 3 for JoePa.

BYU? Not in the top 10, that's for sure. Let's try 13. What quality scalp have the Cougars claimed? Boise State's win at Oregon is more impressive than anything BYU has done to date. Mind you, the Cougars were this writer's preseason pick as a BCS-buster, and this is a fine football team, but it's not better than the big boys from the power conferences.

USC? Probably just outside the top 10, right around BYU (say, 14). This team should climb back up as the season progresses, but right now, it doesn't warrant a particularly lofty ranking.

Steve Silverman

Alabama — I get the feeling that this team has undergone the full Nick Saban effect and is ready to go for the whole thing. You dominate teams like Clemson and Georgia, and it's time to talk title. I think when all is said and done, Alabama may be playing for the national championship but I am going to continue to let the Crimson Tide earn its way up the ladder. I'll put them fourth right now with LSU and Missouri (along with No. 1 Oklahoma) ahead of them.

Penn State — I would make Penn State No. 7 right now. In addition to how I spelled things out for Alabama, I think Texas and Texas Tech deserve to be ranked higher than the Nittany Lions. I know JoePa bashing has gone out of fashion, but I just think Mike Leach's Red Raiders would be more prepared for a head-to-head meeting than Penn State. Texas Tech would whip them big in Lubbock and would be competitive for 60 minutes in Happy Valley.

BYU — I'll rank the Cougars ninth. You have to love their explosiveness and killer instinct, but I still don't think they could play with the big boys on a consistent basis. They could probably give Missouri or Texas a good game but what if they had to face a gauntlet-type schedule the way they would in the Big 12 or SEC. They would lose at least two regular-season games..

USC — The Trojans are a solid No. 8. They were ill-prepared against Oregon State and I don't remember the last time you could say that about a Pete Carroll team. Maybe it was the last time they went to play at OSU. Nevertheless, I believe this ranks as one of Carroll's most talented teams and they will prove it the rest of the season. Don't be shocked if they end up playing for the national title if they get a break or two along the way.

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