Power Rankings 10/30

1) LSU Tigers (8-0, 5-0)

2) Alabama Crimson Tide (8-0, 5-0) - There are two reasons why I'm picking Alabama to beat LSU next weekend. The first is homefield advantage. The second is their offensive line. Alabama's O-Line is big enough and deep enough to control the line of scrimmage, and this will allow Trent Richardson to slowly wear down LSU's defenders. Final score: Alabama 24, LSU 20.

3) Oklahoma State Cowboys (8-0, 5-0) - This was the first time that the Cowboys actually made my eyes pop. Intercepting Robert Griffin III twice? Taking a 35-0 lead into halftime? Baylor's not a bad team. On the other hand, they did give up over 600 yards of offense. If they were to play next week, Alabama would destroy this team.

4) Stanford Cardinal (8-0, 6-0)

5) Boise State Broncos (7-0, 2-0) - At one point, it looked like Boise State would get to spend another bye week watching television, and watching more highly touted BCS conference teams pass them in the rankings. Instead, they got to see Clemson, Kansas State, and Wisconsin go down in flames, and Stanford barely escape. If you're a Boise State fan, then you want Oregon to beat Stanford and Oklahoma to beat Oklahoma State. Then the road should be clear for your long awaited national championship debut.

6) Houston Cougars (8-0, 4-0)- Case Keenum's state line in Houston's 73-34 win over Rice: 24 for 37, 534 yards, 9 TDs, 1 INT. Who throws for nine touchdowns in one game? That's more than Penn State has had all season. Keenum now holds the record for most career touchdown passes with 139.

7) Oklahoma Sooners (7-1, 4-1)

8) Oregon Ducks (7-1, 5-0) - Man, that first half against Washington State looked terrible. The Ducks went into half time ahead 15-10, and their special teams had scored one of those touchdowns, and Wazzu's only touchdown had come on a pick-six against Darron Thomas. The good news? The Duck's bend-don't-break defense allowed only 125 rushing yards against the Cougars. That's something to build on as the Ducks hit the road for games at Washington and at Stanford.

9) Arkansas Razorbacks (7-1, 3-1)- For the second week in a row, the Razorbacks needed a big comeback to beat an inferior SEC opponent, this time against Vanderbilt, 31-28. Their competition gets stiffer down the stretch, with home games against South Carolina and Mississippi State, followed by a season ending road trip to Baton Rouge to play LSU.

10) Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-1, 3-1) - Nebraska's win on Saturday sets up a 3-way tie on top of the "Legends" division with Michigan and Michigan State. The Cornhuskers travel to Ann Arbor on Nov. 19th in a game that could decide the division champion.

11) Clemson Tigers (8-1, 5-1) - Maybe I ought to drop Clemson further for their 31-17 loss to Georgia Tech. The Tigers defense gave up 443 yards, 383 of which were rushing, and the offense turned the ball over four times. Beat Wake Forest on Nov. 12, however, and Clemson will punch their ticket to the ACC Championship game. Win that and they're in the Orange Bowl.

12) Kansas State Wildcats (7-1, 4-1)

13) Penn State Nittany Lions (8-1, 5-0) - Ew. Gross. Penn State's 10-7 win over Illinois was maybe the worst football game that I have ever seen, snow or no snow. Congrats to JoePa on win #409, though, and the Nittany Lions now have a 2 1/2 game lead over Wisconsin in the "Leaders" Division. I'm not quite ready to sell on this team and their "incompetent quarterback play" (quote ABC) yet.

14) Virginia Tech (8-1, 4-1, +5)
15) South Carolina (7-1, 5-1, +1)
16) Southern Miss (7-1, 3-1, +2)
17) Michigan (7-1, 3-1, +1)
18) Cincinnati (6-1, 2-0, 0)
19) Michigan State (6-2, 3-1, +6)

20) Texas Longhorns (5-2, 2-2) - Who is the best team in the state of Texas? Honestly, I would have to go with the TCU Horned Frogs right now. I would actually spot them two touchdowns against the Texas A&M Aggies, because I hate Rick P(a)rry. But it's the good ol' Longhorns who have the inside track right now, with the hardest part of their schedule behind them. Losing to an SEC team by 20 in the Cotton Bowl should be their reward.

21) Wisconsin Badgers (6-2, 2-2) - Aristotle once said that, in order to be supremely happy, a man must also be lucky. The Badgers have the talent, but lady luck has not been on their side, as they lost another heartbreaker at Ohio State, 33-29. All is not lost, however; their remaining schedule is Purdue, at Minnesota, at Illinois, Penn State. There could be a lot on the line in that season finale against the Nittany Lions.

22) Washington (6-2, 4-1, +1)
23) Georgia (6-2, 5-1, -1)
24) Arizona State (6-2, 4-1, -1)

25) USC Trojans (6-2, 3-2) - How much should you punish a team for losing to a Top 5 team in quadruple overtime? USC was able to show an interesting weakness in the Cardinal: They rushed for only 146 yards, but averaged 6.6 yards per rush. I only watched the first half of this game, but why didn't Lane Kiffen stick with the run? Cue Barner. Cue Bennet. Cue Thomas. Cue Thomas. Cue James.

Dropped out: Texas Tech, Texas A&M