I like the fact that I googled “Tim Tebow” and this is the second image that came up. Apparently this is his girlfriend so if he’s truly “saving himself” as he’s said then he’s even weirder than I originally thought. Either way, the young lady makes a nicer intro than Tebow’s and his Bible face.

The Florida Gators reclaimed the top spot in this week’s AP poll and I don’t have a problem with that. One week wonder, Alabama, slipped to the #2 spot after surviving a home game against sub-.500 Tennessee on the strength of 2 blocked field goals. To their credit, ‘Bama won the game 12-10 and while Florida’s road win over Mississippi State wasn’t exactly Georgia Tech-Cumberland circa 1916, it was a more complete effort against a conference foe.

Some thought Texas might get the top spot after being the only top-3 team to win handily against a ranked opponent (Kansas) but you’re not going to jump two undefeated teams while sitting in the 3rd spot. That’s just not going to happen. USC barely won at home against Oregon State and for that they’re sitting in the 4th spot. The Trojans won that game 42-36 which means 4 of their 7 games have been decided by one score (including their loss to Washington). While the top-4 are usual suspect types, there are still others lurking in the top-10 who are undefeated and impressive.

• Iowa won a tough road game at Michigan State to remain undefeated atop the Big Ten as they moved up to the 7 spot in the poll. While the Spartans are now 4-4, they had won 3 straight conference games coming into yesterday’s Iowa game and were playing at home. That’s the kind of win for Iowa that had it happened in the SEC to Florida or Alabama, everyone would be talking about what a great effort it was for them to pull-it-out on the road in conference. After all, Florida just beat a 3-5 MSU team and Alabama beat a 3-4 Tennessee team at home. Just sayin’. Oh wait, Iowa plays in the Big Ten which is so far inferior to the mighty SEC. Excuse me while I get down on knees and face south.
• It’s about time TCU got some serious attention. While the rest of the top 10 was trudging along this weekend, they got the prime time matchup last night on the road at #16 BYU and they smoked ‘em 38-7. Definitely the most impressive win of the week for any ranked team, it was good enough to get the Horned Frogs a #8 ranking. Their schedule isn’t the toughest in the country but it’s no slouch either: they’ve beaten Virginia, Clemson, Air Force and BYU on the road and still have to face #18 Utah. Unfortunately I don’t know where that’ll leave them at season’s end but they deserve some props.
• I’m going negative here but other than Boise State (who at least has a quality win against #10 Oregon), Cincinnati is the only other top-10 team with an unblemished record. The Bearcats are #5 which is, frankly, mindboggling. They have played exactly one ranked team in South Florida (ranked 21st at the time) and have as their other wins Larry, Curly and Moe. The Big East is a conference full of teams that stink and while the Bearcats deserve credit for winning the games on their schedule, I can’t seriously entertain the notion that they’re better than Iowa, TCU, Oregon or even LSU (along with Boise St. the other top-10 teams they’re ahead of). No matter, they still have to play ranked teams in West Virginia and Pitt and they’re likely to drop one of those. Wait, those two teams play in the Big East too. Yuck, Cincinnati might go undefeated.
• In weeks past I’ve ripped Penn State for having lost its only quality game against Iowa. They’re currently ranked 12th with a 7-1 record after an impressive win at the Big House over Michigan. They keep doing what they have to do to stay in the hunt. The big test for the Lions will be on Nov. 7 when they host #19 Ohio State. Circle that date on your calendar as it’ll be for the vaunted #2 spot in the Big Ten. Penn State a paper tiger feeding on minnows as I’ve said in the past? No. But a BCS title contender? Well, they still need to show a little more.
• I also owe a partial apology to LSU. I shredded them in weeks past for having no offense but I have to say they looked pretty good last night at home against Auburn in a 31-10 win. While Auburn looked absolutely inept in the first half last night, credit some of that to LSU. They’re hovering at #9 and are looking forward to a game at Alabama in two weeks. That could very well be the end of their season or (if the Crimson Tide keep playing bocce on offense) the beginning of a 3-team race to win the SEC.

You’ll notice I’m not so angry this week but maybe that’s because I’m choosing to ignore Oklahoma’s continued inclusion in the top-25. At 4-3 they’re ranked 22nd. That is a joke but as I said, I’m going to ignore that and stay positive. Who knows, maybe Sam Bradford’s girlfriend is as hot as Tim Tebow’s.