AP College Football Poll: 3 Teams Who Should Be Out This Week

A litany of top 25 teams lost on Saturday that will undoubtedly transform the college football landscape in the coming weeks.

Ranked matchups will take the lion's share of the blame, but when all the dust settled, the No. 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15 and 20 teams all took losses, some in worse fashion than others did.

It has been a college football philosophy for some time that to lose early is much better than losing late, but as we enter into week 6 of the 2011 season, the time for spotless records is inching closer.

Here are three teams that should be bounced from the top 25.

TCU

Texas Christian dropped an overtime heartbreaker to SMU on Saturday 40-33, putting the formerly 20th ranked Horned Frogs at a 3-2 mark with losses to both of their Texas-based opponents on the schedule.

The good news, TCU can still make noise by running the table, which includes a road conference matchup with No. 4 Boise State. The bad news, TCU will have the run the table to make noise.

Gary Patterson's program reaped the benefits of an undefeated mark and a talented quarterback last season, en route to a Rose Bowl win over a good Wisconsin team.

This season, however, has been a different chapter in Patterson's book.

The Mustangs aren't the worst team in college football, but they aren't the best either. After losing to Texas A&M to open the season, SMU has compiled wins over UTEP, Northwestern State and Memphis.

The Frogs will likely drop out of the top 25, but all is not lost in Ft. Worth.

South Florida

South Florida may have climbed too high in the rankings to get the boot after its 44-17 loss to open Big East play on Thursday night.

Glancing at the Bulls' schedule, their season-opening win over a marginal Notre Dame team looks less impressive in week 6 than it did over a month ago. Subsequent victories over Ball State, Florida A&M and UTEP hardly scream impressive, but perhaps USF was given more credit than it deserved.

The Bulls simply looked overmatched against Pitt, leaving points on the field on multiple occasions. Meanwhile, they were torn to shreds by Doak Walker contender Ray Graham who went for 226 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries.

The voters may give the Bulls a little slack, but all things considered, they might get yanked from the polls.

Illinois

In a perfect world, or perhaps just in mine, Illinois should be penalized for ugly wins.

Despite support for the phrase, "a win is a win is a win," there is something fishy about the Illini being just good enough to win, but bad enough to do it in an ugly fashion.

Illinois has won its last two games by a combined six points over Western Michigan and Northwestern. While the Wildcats are in the Big Ten, they are strong in mediocrity. And barely beating a program from the MAC can hardly signify progress in the right direction.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda aside, the Illini are a jaw-dropping 5-0. On the far side of that drop, Illinois could very well lose four of five of its last seven games.

Let's face it. There are teams with better resumés deserving of a spot in the top 25, but the media hardly ever punishes a winning team.