BLOGALICIOUS COLLEGE FOOTBALL TOP TEN-PLUS

1. Florida (def. Tennessee 59-20) - clearly, offense isn't going to be a problem for the Gators. Defense, well, they have until October 6 to sort things out.

Next opponent: at Mississippi

2. LSU (def. Middle Tennessee 44-0) - no problems with offense or defense here, though this wasn't exactly a test of either. Certainly more of a test this week for both sides of the ball; maybe an opponent will actually crack double digits. Not that I'd bet on it.

Next opponent: South Carolina

3. USC (def. Nebraska 49-31) - that takes care of some of the concerns coming out of the Idaho game, but the first half was still a little sluggish, probably understandable given the week off. I think they'll work through things this week, too.

Next opponent: Washington State

4. West Virginia (def. Maryland 31-14) - speaking of sluggish, at some point a team is going to jump out to enough of a lead on the Mountaineers that they can't use the second half to grab the win. There are those back-to-back games against Rutgers and Louisville they may want to think about. Not to mention this week, which appears to be a game they should win easily, but the Pirates have been playing everyone close.

Next opponent: East Carolina

5. Oklahoma (def. Utah State 54-3) - I'd have put the Sooners ahead of West Virginia if they'd gotten to 70 points like I predicted. Thanks for nothing! I am fully expecting 50 points this week against a Golden Hurricane team that BYU lit up like a Christmas tree.

Next opponent: Tulsa (9/21)

6. Appalachian State (def. Northern Arizona 34-21) - what sort of weak-ass performance is this? Normally a 13 point win is fine, but this year? You'd better get north of 20, especially if you want to retain your plush ranking here.

Next opponent: Wofford

7. California (def. Louisiana Tech 42-12) - I didn't think that schedules were supposed to get easier as the season progressed, but that's clearly the case here considering that this week's opponent, Arizona, has only beaten Northern Arizona and lost a squeaker last week to New Mexico. Expect to see Pop Warner teams on the schedule by week 8.

Next opponent: Arizona

8. Ohio State (def. Washington 33-14) - I don't buy that Washington is all that good - yet - but it's still a good road win for the Buckeyes, especially in the wake of a sloppy game against Akron. More purple this week, though after losing to Duke the Wildcats may want to adopt a hue closer to blush.

Next opponent: Northwestern

9. Rutgers (def. Norfolk State 59-0) - with Texas, Wisconsin, and Penn State not playing up to par, the toss-up goes to the team that crushed someone, even if they are a 1-AA team. And as they have the week off, I expect someone will do something to bump the Scarlet Knights out next week.

Next opponent: Maryland (9/29)

10. New Hampshire (def. Marshall 48-35) and Portland State (def. Sacramento State 35-24) - I didn't know who to highlight here - the Wildcats for beating their third divison I opponent in four seasons, or the Vikings for getting their first win under head coach Jerry Glanville. Why not both?

Next opponents: Dartmouth (UNH), at San Diego State (Portland State)

109. Duke (def. Northwestern 20-14) - and here I thought we were going to get set up for Duke to snap its losing streak against Notre Dame. Now the Blue Devils go for two in a row, something they haven't done since the heady days of 2003, when they knocked off Western Carolina and Rice back-to-back en route to a 4-8 season.

Next opponent: at Navy