NCAA Football Top 25 Week 7: Texas, UF, and USC Narrowly Avoid Upsets

(Tyler Stimson votes in the ESPNU poll and the bleacher report poll)

Well it was, (in my mind) the most entertaining college football Saturday of the season so far. Eight teams in my top 25 from last week lost.

This poll has some surprising newcomers. There are only seven undefeated teams left in college football now, and they make up my top seven.

Teams ranking from last week is in parentheses, if it has changed.

1. Alabama — Won in a hard fought game 20-6 over a good South Carolina team. Their defense is the best in the country. They have one of the best running attacks in the country and they have a solid QB that doesn't turn the ball over. Mark Ingram ran for over 200 yards, averaging over 10 yards per carry and had a 100 yards after first contact. Ingram is starting to make a case for the Heisman.

2. Florida — Was fortunate to win 23-20 against a feisty Arkansas team that blew some key chances and missed two field goals in the second half. But, they won nonetheless. Next week should be easy against Mississippi State. We will see.

3. Texas (4)— Texas was also fortunate to win 16-13 against a very good Oklahoma team. Oklahoma's defense shut down Colt McCoy for the vast majority of the game, but Landry Jones was unable to move the ball on Texas's defense.

4. Iowa (5)— Had a solid 20-10 win at Wisconsin. Iowa makes a strong case for substance over style. They have the second longest winning streak in the country and have made a habit of winning close games. Their defense is great, and if they can get past Ohio State at Columbus, They look likely to have an undefeated regular season. After barely beating Northern Iowa 17-16 on two blocked field goals, who would've thought?

5. Cincinnati (9) - Defeated South Florida 34-17 after their starting QB got knocked out of the game. They dropped 34 points on a defense that had given up 47 over their previous five games. These guys are for real. They are clearly the team to beat in the Big East.

6. Boise State (3)— Survived a tough road game, winning 28-21 against an underrated Tulsa team. They drop, not because of their close win, but because the quality wins that the teams directly behind them had. This team still has an outside shot at a spot in the title game, but they will need a lot of help. If they don't get a BCS berth with a 12-0 season, it is a travesty.

7. TCU (6) — Destroyed a reeling Colorado State team at home, 44-6. This is definitely one of the best teams in the country, with one of the best defenses in the country. This team fell due to a spectacular performance by Cincinnati. They have a chance to make a statement next week at BYU.

8. Oregon — Had a bye. They play at Washington next week, then host USC in a game that should decide the Pac-10 title.

9. USC (10) - Won against Notre Dame 34-27, stopping Notre Dame three times inside the 10 in the final seconds of the game. USC looked good, but beatable. They failed to put the Fighting Irish away, and it almost cost them. But, it was a quality road win against a good opponent.

10. Miami — Beat UCF 27-7 in a good defensive performance.

11. Georgia Tech (23) - Had the win of the weekend, beating Virginia Tech 28-23. They have four wins in a row against quality opponents. This team is very dangerous.

12. LSU - Took the week off. They host Auburn and Tulane the next two weeks before they play at Alabama.

13. Penn State (21) - With a solid 20-0 victory over Minnesota and five teams in front of them losing, Penn State jumps eight spots to No. 13. They are a very good football team, but have played one of the easiest schedules out of any in college football so far.

14. Oklahoma State (17) - Beat Missouri 33-17. They have done a good job of avoiding upsets without their best player, Dez Bryant. They host Texas in a huge game in two weeks.

15. BYU — (18) - Beat San Diego State 38-28. They still have to have that loss to Florida State in the back of their minds, if they somehow win that game, there team is probably the No. 1 story in college football right now. But, they have to understand that a BCS bowl is still possible, but only if they win out and get a lot of help.

Max Hall has been turnover free for two weeks straight (gasp!) and had an awesome day. He threw for 340 yards, ran for 40 and had 4 total TD's. They have a huge game next week, as they host TCU. This game will probably decide who wins the Mountain West conference.

16. Virginia Tech (7) - Had a very disappointing loss, losing 23-28 on the road against a good Georgia Tech team. This all but dashes the Hokies National Title hopes. But two-loss teams have gotten in to the title game (and won) before. A BCS bowl and ACC championship are still realistic and attainable goals.

17. Houston (23) - Had a solid victory over Tulane, 44-16. They are 3-0 against BCS teams and have to be kicking themselves for losing to UTEP. Case Keenum is on pace for 34 TDs, 8 INTs and 4000 yards this season. He has to be at least a consideration on any one's Heisman ballot.

18. Utah - (22) - Beat UNLV 35-15. Utah did not play great at all in this game, but took advantage of UNLV's mistakes and made some big plays to get a solid 20 point road win.

19. Pittsburgh (Unranked) - Is quietly 6-1, after defeating Rutgers 24-17. Shh. Don't tell anyone. They have to play five quality teams to finish the season, but four of them are at home. Their remaining five games are South Florida (20), Syracuse, Notre Dame, at West Virginia (22) and Cincinnati (5).

20. South Florida (13) - Had a tough loss at home, 17-34, to a very good Cincinnati team. They are a still a very good defensive football team, but made some critical errors against one of the best offenses in the country.

21. Ohio State (11) - Lost to Purdue, 26-18. What an awful loss for the Buckeyes. Purdue was 1-5 heading into this game, but was able to upset the "vaunted" Ohio State Buckeyes. This one was embarrassing. With games left against Iowa and Penn State remaining, Ohio State must make some key adjustments to avoid an unthinkable four loss season. I was convinced I would drop them completely out of the top 25, but so many teams behind them lost, that it did not happen.

22. West Virginia (Unranked)- Beat Marshall, 24-7. This is another team that quietly, only has one loss (5-1). They are 1-0 in Big East play and control their Big East destiny.

23. Arizona (Unranked) - Beat Stanford 43-38. This team has only two losses; at Iowa and at Washington. They are the only team to beat Central Michigan and are 2-1 in the Pac 10. They are my surprise pick for third place in the conference.

24. Central Michigan (Unranked) - Beat Western Michigan 34-23. They have won their last six games (including at Michigan State), after losing to Arizona on opening day.

25. Idaho (Unranked) - Beat Hawaii 35-23. They are 6-1. Their only loss came at Washington in week two. After seven weeks of football in 2009, they have more than doubled their output (three wins) in 2007 and 2008 combined. This might be the story of the year for me in college football, especially if they can keep winning. What a turnaround!

Knocking on the door

Notre Dame, Michigan, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Kansas and many more.

Dropped Out

Nebraska, Kansas, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Notre Dame

Newcomers

Idaho, Central Michigan, Arizona, West Virginia, Pittsburgh

Please post any comments below! Let me know what you think about these rankings.

What do you totally disagree with? Please let me know!

Here is a link to my rankings from last week.

Thanks for reading, everyone!