Vontaze Burfict celebrates after Missouri missed a field goal near the end of regulation. Photo by Rob Schumacher/The Arizona Republic
Auburn and Arizona State made the two biggest moves on my ballot this week, jumping from unranked to No. 16 and No. 17, respectively.
Auburn won another thriller, defeating 16th-ranked Mississippi State 41-24. Arizona State, too, came up with a nail-biting quality victory, surviving a missed 48-yard field goal by 21st-ranked Missouri and winning 37-30 in overtime.
The Sun Devils might have been a bit lucky to win, but win they did, giving them a better victory than many at the bottom end of the rankings. West Virginia, Michigan State, Ohio State, Arkansas and Florida could very well end up being better teams that ASU, but none of those teams have been tested in the least so far.
ASU is 22nd in this week’s AP poll, its first ranking in the poll since Sept. 7, 2008.
I moved South Carolina up several spots after winning at Georgia — yet another thriller from the weekend. Filling the final spot was difficult. I went with Michigan, which won the thriller of all thrillers this weekend, 35-31 over Notre Dame. The Wolverines have the schedule to now go 5-0, with home games against Eastern Michigan, San Diego State and Minnesota up next.
I reluctantly left off TCU. The Horned Frogs rebounded from a loss at Baylor with a solid win at Air Force. As more results come in, I have little doubt that TCU will climb back into my rankings.
This early in the season, my rankings are very fluid. The scarcity of good matchups means that those teams that do have a quality victory are going to be significantly rewarded.
Here is my ballot:
1. LSU
2. Alabama
3. Boise State
4. Oklahoma
5. Florida State
6. South Carolina
7. Oklahoma State
8. Stanford
9. Wisconsin
10. Texas A&M
11. Oregon
12. Virginia Tech
13. Nebraska
14. Baylor
15. South Florida
16. Auburn
17. Arizona State
18. Texas
19. Maryland
20. West Virginia
21. Michigan State
22. Ohio State
23. Arkansas
24. Florida
25. Michigan