J. Darin Darst

I'm guilty. I was one of the pundits to pick Kansas State toward the bottom of the Big 12 North.
 
Boy, was I wrong!
 
Bill Snyder's team is sitting in first place of the Big 12 North at 4-2 and 6-4 overall and this week moved up to No. 43 in the latest CBSSports.com 120 rankings.

K-State needs just one more victory to become bowl-eligible (The Wildcats played two FCS teams, so they must win seven games, instead of the usual six) and controls its own destiny to reach the Big 12 Championship game against Texas.

"At the beginning of the season, everyone expected us to not do so much, to have a losing season or whatever," cornerback Josh Moore said to The Manhattan Mercury, "but all the players on the team and the coaches have a lot of faith in what we're doing. We're number one in the North right now - you have to take us seriously."

After Bill Snyder retired in 2005, the Wildcats didn't have much success under former assistant Ron Prince. They made just one bowl game (Texas Bowl in 2006) and had two consecutive losing seasons. The school decided a change needed to be made and brought Snyder back.

Not much was expected heading into this season, in what was supposed to be a competitive Big 12, with one of the worst defensives in the nation. Kansas state gave up 36.8 points per game (110th in the nation) and was 117th in the nation overall. This year, the defense is 43rd in the nation overall and 45th in points allowed.

The biggest telling statistics is the Wildcats are plus-11 in turnover margin. Safties Emmanuel Lamur, who leads the team in tackles and recorded two INTs against Colorado, and Tysyn Hartman, who has four INTS, are the driving force behind the turnaround on defense.

We're playing at a very high level," Hartman said to The Kansas City Star a few weeks ago. "We don't make a lot of mistakes, and when we do we try to correct them as soon as possible. That's what leads to our performance."

Another nice surprise has been running back Daniel Thomas. After rushing for 185 yards in the victory over Kansas, he now has 1,087 yards on the season with 11 touchdowns.

Thomas was a star at Northwest Mississippi Community College before signing with Kansas State, but wasn't expected to contribute much with the return of three running backs.

"Here is a guy that did not know where Kansas was a few months ago and still does not know anything about Kansas, but he gives it everything he has got, and he played hard," said Snyder after the game. "Sometimes he plays like he is a linebacker, and I just appreciate his approach to the game. He is not an easy guy to get down, and that is for one reason and one reason alone. It does not have anything to do with speed or size or anything else, it is just tenacity and a desire to get that extra inch or foot."

Oregon ranking talk, Part II

Last week, we had the debate about which team should be ranked higher -- one-loss Oregon or an undefeated Boise State team? This week we have the Oregon/USC debate.

Both teams are 7-2, but Oregon destroyed USC two weeks ago 47-20. In all four polls (AP, Coaches, Harris and BCS), the Trojans are ranked ahead of the Ducks. Did the voters forget about the thrashing the Trojans took?

One poll that didn't follow the rest of the nation was the CBSSports.com 120, where Oregon is ranked No. 11, USC is No. 12 and Ohio State is No. 13. The Trojans beat the Buckeyes 18-15 earlier in the season.

Notes

... The highest-ranked team with a losing record is Washington at No. 71. Despite being only 3-6, the Huskies beat USC, Idaho and Arizona. It also barely lost to LSU, Notre Dame and UCLA.

... The lowest-ranked team with a winning record is Louisiana-Lafayette at No. 101. The Rajin' Cajuns are 5-4, but their strength of schedule is ranked No. 116 out of 120 teams. They did beat Kansas State, but the rest of their wins are against Southern (FCS team) and three Sun Belt schools with a combined record of 4-22.

... One of the biggest games between non-Top 25 teams is this weekend when No. 40 Fresno State (6-3, 5-1) takes on No. 53 Nevada (6-3, 5-0). Both teams still have a shot to win the WAC, especially Nevada, which hasn't faced the Broncos yet.

It didn't take long for Brady Hoke to make an impact at his new job.

The former Ball State coach has guided San Diego State to a 4-4 record after beating New Mexico 23-20 over the weekend. With the victory, the Aztecs move up to No. 82 in the latest CBSSports.com 120 rankings.

The Aztecs now have a legit shot to finish 6-6 and make a bowl game, something they haven't done since 1998 when the team went 7-5 and played in the Las Vegas Bowl.

"Obviously you want to win more than you lose," said Hoke. "These kids have worked hard. Our seniors have done a tremendous job. For them, that's why we get excited as coaches to sing our fight song in the locker room. Guys know how we played and what we need to do to get better. It's great to be at that point right now."

A three-point win over a winless team might not seem like a big deal to most schools, but not only did the Aztecs snap an eight-game losing skid to the Lobos, but got revenge for last year's 70-7 beating.

San Diego State still has to play two of the biggest teams in the conference, beginning with TCU on Saturday and then at Utah on Nov. 21. But win or lose, things are starting to look up in San Diego.

This is a program that was supposed to turn things around with Tom Craft and Chuck Long, but neither could get the program going. Long was 9-27 in three seasons, including 2-10 last season.

"It's always good," said quarterback Ryan Lindley on what it means to win. "I think getting to .500 is something that, this late in the season, this program hasn't done in awhile and it's always good to get a victory."

Things just got tougher for the Aztecs as Vincent Brown will likely miss the rest of the regular season. The San Diego Union Tribune is reporting that Brown, who leads the team with 45 catches and 778 yards, suffered a thumb injury against Colorado State. He underwent several tests last week that revealed ligament damage.

Boise State/Oregon

The voters had to do some switching in the Top 10 after Oregon dismantled USC 47-20. Oregon moved up from No. 11 to No. 7, but a majority of the voters felt Boise State should still be ranked ahead of the Ducks based on the head-to-head meeting. So Boise State moved from No. 8 to No. 6.

Boise State is ranked ahead of Oregon in every major poll, including the BCS.

Key games

There are some key games in the non top 25 this weekend. One of the biggest is between No. 41 Kansas and No. 56 Kansas State.

The Wildcats actually lead the Big 12 North with a 3-2 conference record and 5-4 overall. Kansas is 5-3 overall, but just 1-3 in conference. Kansas State can take another step closer to winning the division with a win over the Jayhawks.

Not bad for a program many thought would be in shambles this season, but Bill Snyder has done a good job getting this team into position to make a bowl game.

Meanwhile, Kansas' Todd Reesing was benched against Texas Tech, but coach Mark Mangino said Reesing will be back as the starter against the Wildcats.

The other big game to keep an eye on is No. 43 Fresno State at No. 44 Idaho. Even though Boise State steals most of the headlines in the conference, Fresno State is 4-1 in WAC play, while Idaho is also 4-1. Don't forget about Nevada either, they are 4-0 in conference play.

Notes

... Miami (Ohio) won its first game of the season, beating Toledo 31-24. It might be the last win of the season because the Redhawks still have to play at Temple, Bowling Green and Buffalo.

... No. 120 ranked Western Kentucky was in a wild game, losing to North Texas 68-49. Riley Dodge accounted for seven touchdowns, four passing and three rushing, as North Texas matched its school record of 68 points set against Youngstown State in 1957.

... After being ranked for the first time last week, Central Michigan fell out of the Top 25. It lost 31-10 to Boston College to drop from No. 22 to No. 35.

We are down to five.

Five winless teams.

And it should be no surprise that all five are ranked No. 116 - No. 120 in this week's CBSSports.com 120. The bigger question is ... can any of them win a game over the final six weeks of the season?

It's been a rough couple of seasons for the team ranked No. 120 ... Western Kentucky.

The Hilltoppers have lost 15 consecutive games and this season rank 112th in the nation in scoring offense and 119th in scoring defense. This past weekend they lost 62-24 to Middle Tennessee.

"Today is an absolute miserable day for WKU football, there's no two ways about it," Western Kentucky coach David Elson said after the game. "How you respond goes back to our core principles and values. It's all about how you respond to these type of things. All year we've played bad one week and gotten a little better the next week.

"We played bad today, so we've got to look forward to playing better next week and try and get this thing on track."

In Western Kentucky's defense, it is finally a full-fledged member of FBS after having years of success in the former I-AA.

The Hilltoppers have three road games left on the schedule, but might finally end that losing streak this weekend at North Texas. The Mean Green are just 1-6, beating lowly Ball State in the first game of the season.

Two teams that don't have the excuse of moving up divisions are MAC bottom-feeders Miami (Ohio) and Eastern Michigan.

Both had chances to get their first victory of the season, but were edged. Miami (Ohio) lost to Northern Illinois 27-22 and Eastern Michigan lost 29-27 to Ball State.

The RedHawks have never been the same since Ben Roethlisberger left after the 2003 season. After going 11-1 that season, Miami (Ohio) is 25-43 with just one bowl appearance. It did go 8-4 in 2004, but had has two 2-10 seasons and this year is 0-8.

With a remaining schedule of Toledo, at Temple, Bowling Green and Buffalo, a victory might not be in the cards for the winless RedHawks, especially since they are averaging 11.6 points per game, worst in the nation.

"I didn't think we improved last week versus Ohio. However, I think we improved this week with the physicality of our team. I think we improved with the teamwork and togetherness," said Miami coach Michael Haywood. "I think guys fought well in the third and fourth together and started bonding together."

As for Eastern Michigan ... It will have the toughest time finding a win as it has four road games in the last five, including a meeting at Arkansas this weekend.

Rice (0-8) and New Mexico (0-7) are the two other winless teams.

Big 12 North

Nebraska? Kansas? How about Iowa State!

The Cyclones moved up to No. 42 from No. 65 this week after beating Nebraska 9-7. At 5-3 and 2-2 in the conference, the Cyclones are close to being bowl-eligible and are just one game back of Kansas State for the division lead. Kansas State is No. 51, mostly because of its strength of schedule, which ranks 68th. (Iowa State's is 40th).

Iowa State, which hasn't played in a bowl since 2005, meets Texas A&M this weekend in a key conference game.

"That's our goal definitely," said senior defensive tackle Nate Frere to the GazetteOnline. "One game away. We are just going to keep doing what we've been doing and that will hopefully turn into a bowl game."

Notes

... Nevada is making a move back up. After starting the season at 0-3, the Wolf Pack are now 4-3 and 3-0 in the WAC. After blasting Idaho 70-45, Nevada jumped from No. 75 to No. 55.

... Colorado State took a big tumble, falling from No. 71 to No. 94 after losing to San Diego State. The Rams are now 0-4 in conference play.

... UTEP jumped from No. 91 to No. 79 after beating Tulsa 28-24. UTEP is now 3-4 and 2-1 in Conference USA.

... New Mexico State is the lowest-ranked team with at least three wins. Despite being 3-5, the Aggies are ranked No. 109. The biggest reason is because their schedule ranks 119th in the nation with wins over Prairie View A&M, New Mexico and Utah State.

The nation can't decide on which team is the best in the country, but with the help of the latest CBSSports.com 120 rankings, we can decide who has the best conference in the nation.

With Alabama and Florida ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the nation, it's no surprise the SEC is still king in the conference debate, but what about the second-best conference?

Only one league has five teams ranked in the Top 30 -- the Pac-10.

USC and Oregon are both ranked in the Top 25, but it's the other teams that help make the conference so strong. Arizona is No. 27, California is No. 28 and Oregon State is No. 29.

Arizona has been to only one bowl game in the decade, finally going to the Las Vegas Bowl last season under Mike Stoops. This season the Wildcats are 4-2, 2-1 in the conference, with victories over Stanford and Oregon State.

In the 37-32 win over Oregon State, the Wildcats held on while the Beavers were driving for the game-winning score. This past weekend against Stanford, Nic Grigsby raced 57 yards for a touchdown with 2:57 to go, rallying from a 15-point deficit to win 43-38.

"The bottom line is that we won. Each win is special and very hard to come by," said Stoops. "Each week, we have to play our very best, I'd rather play bad and win than play well and lose. It's not easy to play in a conference like ours. We go up against nine very good teams, and it's not easy to do that week in and week out."

With home games against UCLA and Washington State up next, the Wildcats could find themselves at 6-2, their best start since going 12-1 in 1998.

Another big factor for the Pac-10 is it has just one team ranked outside the Top 60 -- Washington State at No. 108. The Big 12 has five teams ranked 60 or lower, while the Big Ten has four teams.

The ACC is the lowest-ranked BCS conference with a rating of 48.58. While the conference has three teams ranked in the Top 25, its next best team is Boston College at No. 40. N.C. State (No. 81) and Maryland (No. 90) are dragging it down.

Based on an average ranking, here are the overall conference ratings:

1. SEC -- 34.00
2. Pac-10 -- 40.40
3. Big 12 -- 42.58
4. Big Ten -- 44.36
5. Big East -- 44.63
6. ACC -- 48.58
7. Mountain West -- 62.67
8. WAC -- 74.89
9. C-USA -- 81.42
10. MAC -- 90.53
11. Sun Belt 101.00

The independents (Notre Dame, Navy and Army) have an average of 54.33.

Biggest first-half surprises:

Cincinnati is undefeated and ranked No. 5. This was a team that was picked to finish fifth in the conference by most publications. Now it has a real chance of playing for the national championship.

Miami (Fla.) is ranked No. 8 at the halfway point. This is a team that featured four of the toughest games of the year to start the season and came out of it at 3-1. Now the Hurricanes are in line to possibly win the ACC and play in the Orange Bowl for the first time since 2004.

Oklahoma is 3-3 and ranked No. 32. The Sooners were in everybody's top 5 at the beginning of the year, but with an average offensive line and Sam Bradford getting hurt, the Sooners are struggling.

Idaho is 6-1 and ranked No. 38. If Boise State ends up going undefeated and playing in a BCS bowl, imagine Idaho playing in the Humanitarian Bowl in front of the home-state fans. Amazing.

Biggest first-half disappointments:

The Ron Zook era might be coming to a close. The Illini are 1-5, ranked No. 101, and their only victory is a 45-17 win over Illinois State. They still have to play Michigan, at Minnesota, at Cincinnati and Fresno State.

N.C. State was supposed to be one of the favorites in the ACC Atlantic, but has lost three straight, dropping games to Wake Forest, Duke and Boston College. At 3-4 and ranked No. 81, it is on the verge of not making a bowl game.

Wasn't Ball State 12-2 last season? What a difference a year makes because the Cardinals are 0-7 and ranked No. 117.

Loveable losers are losers no more.

Two historically bad programs -- Army and Duke -- both earned big victories this weekend to improve to 3-3 and get their schools and fan bases to start thinking about the unthinkable ... a bowl game.

Army knocked off Vanderbilt 16-13 in overtime to move up to No. 86 in the latest CBSSports.com 120 . It was the first time Army beat a SEC team since 1988, ironically, when it beat the Commodores.

First-year coach Rich Ellerson already has the team with the same number of wins as they finished with the last three seasons at 3-9 and is eyeing more.

The Black Knights haven't been to a bowl since going 10-2 and playing Auburn in the Independence Bowl in 1996. It was the last time they had a winning record, but with a remaining schedule featuring Temple, VMI and North Texas, the Black Knights hope to get to 6-6 and earn an EagleBank Bowl invite.

The EagleBank Bowl  signed a deal with the Black Knights that if they become bowl-eligible, they will play in Washington D.C. against an ACC team.

The defense has been playing fantastic and ranks 28th in the nation in total yards allowed and is 41st in the nation in points allowed.

Linebacker Stephen Anderson leads the team with 51 tackles, including 31 solo, while safety Donovan Travis is tied for second in the NCAA with four interceptions. Defensive lineman Josh McNary is fourth in the nation in tackles for a loss with 11.5.

"If our defense will play like they have been playing, we'll have a chance every week. We played well and have done a good job of building a fence around our opponents' offense," added Ellerson. "We have some play-makers and some guys that do a beautiful job of clearing because the other team makes plays and gets themselves in scoring position, but we don't freak out. We just reload and play the next play."

One of the team's Army actually lost to earlier in the year is also making waves in the ACC.

Duke scored a huge upset on the road against N.C. State, ending a 20-game conference road losing streak. Many thought the Wolfpack would be one of the favorites in the Atlantic Division, but the Blue Devils racked up 49 points and Thad Lewis threw for a career-high 459 yards and five touchdowns.

The Blue Devils moved up to No. 67 in the CBSSports.com 120 rankings this week.

"It's kind of surreal," head coach David Cutcliffe said to the Winston-Salem Journal. "We haven't felt this way in a long time at Duke."

The last time Duke had a winning record was in 1994 when it went 8-4 and lost to Wisconsin in the Hall of Fame Bowl.

Things start to get much tougher for the Blue Devils with North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Miami (Fla.) and Wake Forest on the horizon.

"All you got to do is look at what happened last year in the ACC. The ball can bounce a lot of ways. There is a lot of football left to be played. Anybody can beat anybody in this league."

Notes

... Speaking of losing teams, there are now seven winless teams remaining. Three of the teams are in the MAC -- Ball State, Miami (Ohio) and Eastern Michigan. Two are Sun Belt squads (Florida Atlantic and Western Kentucky).

... SMU made a big jump in the rankings this week, leaping from No. 104 to No. 68 after beating East Carolina. June Jones has his team on the right track and at 2-0 in Conference USA, the Mustangs might be headed to their first bowl since the 1984 Aloha Bowl.

... Georgia took a big drop, falling to No. 47 after getting smoked against Tennessee. The Bulldogs are 3-3 and still have to play Florida, Auburn and Georgia Tech.

... Middle of the road: With 120 teams, Marshall checks in at No. 60 at 4-2. There are about as close as you can get to being the most average team in the nation as their strength of schedule is 65th.

... Of all the teams in the Top 25, Virginia Tech's strength of schedule still ranks No. 1. Having played Alabama, Nebraska and Miami (Fla.) pushed its schedule to No. 1. It should start to get weaker with games vs. Maryland, N.C. State and Virginia to close out the season.

Before the season started, things didn't look too promising for Boston College.

First-year coach Frank Spaziani was taking over a program that had just lost another ACC Championship and the Music City Bowl to Vanderbilt.

Things got worse in a hurry. The Eagles got news in May that All-American linebacker Mark Herzlich was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. Then in June, Dominique Davis, who was expected to be the starter at quarterback, was placed on academic probation and ended up transferring to Fort Scott Community College.

But after one month into the season, the Eagles are a surprising 4-1, including victories over Wake Forest and Florida State. They are inching closer to the Top 25, moving up to No. 35 in this week's CBSSports.com 120 rankings.

One of the biggest surprises is the new man under center, freshman Dave Shinskie.

Before you can say "Who?" … that would be 25-year-old freshman Dave Shinskie, the same guy who was recruited by Indiana, Iowa and Michigan State ... in 2003.

Shinskie decided to play pro baseball out of high school after being drafted by the Minnesota Twins. He never made it past Double-A, with his best season coming with the Class A Beloit Snappers in 2006. He went 6-7 with a 2.13 ERA and 11 saves.

After being released by the Blue Jays, Shinskie was ready to give college football a shot.

After Justin Tuggle's 4-for-20, three interception performance against Clemson, Shinskie got his chance to start against Wake Forest. He ended up throwing for 228 yards and three touchdowns in the victory.

Boston College had found their new quarterback.

"He confirmed a lot of the stuff we knew about him. We knew he had athletic ability. We knew he could make plays. We knew when we got into trouble he could get us out of it because of his athletic skills," said Spaziani after the game. "He didn't look like he was away from football for seven years."

Shinskie did it again against Florida State, throwing for 203 yards and two touchdowns in the 28-21 victory.

"He's progressing just like a freshman would. He's making some progress, but in no means is he a polished, accomplished signal caller and field general. There's just not enough experience," said head coach Frank Spaziani to the Boston Herald. "But once again, he's getting better every week, he's learning and we see improvement there. We need to see a lot more."

Shinskie will need to follow coach's orders quickly as the Eagles face Virginia Tech this weekend. This might end up being a preview of the potential ACC Championship game in December.

One player that has high regards for his new inexperienced quarterback is wide receiver Justin Jarvis.

"In the huddle I can feel a different presence," said Jarvis. "It's a little similar to what I felt with Matt Ryan and Chris Crane. It's leadership. ... He's demanding a lot out of us and demanding a lot out of himself too."

Idaho, Part II

With another upset victory, the Idaho Vandals find themselves at No. 50 in this week's rankings. Idaho, who was ranked No. 105 two weeks ago, is sitting at 4-1.

The IdahoStatesman.com had a Q/A with head coach Robb Akey after the team's hot start. Could Idaho fans be thinking bowl game?

"I could see the room when we were at the WAC (media) meetings and I started throwing out the word 'bowl,' it was like 'what the hell is he talking about?' But we started talking about that a long time ago with this team and encouraged them to pay attention to us," said Akey. "We kind of hammered it home 'this is where we're headed guys and the sooner you believe in it, we can make it happen.' I do believe it's attainable, and compete for a WAC championship? That's our job. Every team in the conference should be feeling that way right now. My concern is that our guys feel that way. We're getting closer."

Arizona

The Wildcats might not be making alot of noise, but they sit at 3-1, ranked No. 37 in this week's rankings. Arizona is also No. 35 in both AP and Coaches poll, while checking it at No. 37 in the Harris Poll.

Arizona's strength of schedule is No. 2, mostly because it hasn't played a team with a losing record yet (minus FCS team Northern Arizona). It beat Central Michigan, Oregon State and lost to Iowa. The Wildcats get their first team under .500 this week as they play at Washington.

Fresno State's SOS is No. 1. Not counting FCS team UC-Davis, the Bulldogs have lost to Wisconsin, Boise State and Cincinnati. All three teams are undefeated.

Notes

... Michigan State jumped up from No. 61 to No. 44 after beating Michigan. The Spartans are 2-3 and play at Illinois this week.

... North Carolina took a tumble to No. 55 after being ranked No. 33 the previous week. The Tar Heels lost to Virginia 16-3 and are 0-2 in the ACC.

... Somebody will get a W: No. 114 Florida International (0-4) takes on No. 120 Western Kentucky (0-4) this week. The Golden Panthers won last year 27-3.

... Good news for the blog lead feature? Auburn and Wisconsin were both featured in the blog the two previous weeks and soon after jumped into the Top 25.

The folks in Madison are getting excited.

That's because Wisconsin is one of three Big Ten teams off to a 4-0 start (Iowa and Michigan being the other) after beating Michigan State 38-30 on Saturday.

The Badgers moved up from No. 41 to No. 31 in the latest CBSSports.com 120, one of the largest jumps of the week.

For a team that was projected to finish fifth or sixth in the conference, the Badgers are enjoying their early season success.

"I'm not worried about rankings," coach Bret Bielema said to the Milwaukee-Journal Sentinel. "I'm just worried about getting better ... If it gets us ranked, it gets us ranked. If not, we'll just go on and do our business."

And doing business is exactly what they are doing.

One of the biggest reasons for the team's early success is quarterback Scott Tolzien.

The junior, who never started a game before this season and threw only eight passes in college, is ranked 13th in the nation in passing efficiency. To put it in perspective, Kansas' Todd Reesing is 27th, Texas' Colt McCoy is 29th, Penn State's Daryll Clark is 54th and Ohio State's Terrelle Pryor is 57th.

Tolzien is 66-of-99 for 884 yards with eight touchdowns and only two interceptions. He has spread the ball around too as three players have at least 200 yards receiving.

"I love how smart he is, he's making the right decisions, the right looks and knows when to throw it away when he has too," said offensive lineman Peter Konz. "It's really comforting knowing as an offensive lineman that you're not going to have to go chase anybody down for an interception or he's going to scramble, and you might let up a sack."

Wisconsin is playing close games, but this season is winning them. Three of their four wins have been decided by eight points or less. It opened the season beating Northern Illinois 28-20 and beat Fresno State 34-31 in overtime.

Last year the Badgers lost three key conference games by three points or less.

"This is not the same team from a year ago," Bielema said. "There's more accountability among the players. They've done things differently."

Things get real tough for Wisconsin the next three games as it plays at Minnesota (Oct. 3); at Ohio State (Oct. 10); and Iowa (Oct. 17).

Idaho

The Vandals usually find themselves down in the 100-rankings, but have started the season at 3-1. Idaho jumped up from No. 105 to No. 83 this week after beating Northern Illinois.

Idaho has also beaten New Mexico State and San Diego State. Its only loss was to Washington. If the Vandals can keep it going, it might make grab one of the WAC's bowl bids. Idaho hasn't played in a bowl since 1998, when it beat Southern Miss in the Humanitarian Bowl.

Notes

Four non-BCS teams are ranked in the Top 25 with Boise State leading the way at No. 4. TCU is No. 9, Houston is No. 11 and BYU is No. 23. Utah just missed at No. 29. Central Michigan is 3-1 and at No. 46.

Nevada remains the highest-ranked team without a win, checking in at No. 89. The Wolf Pack has had a tough schedule, losing to Notre Dame, Colorado State and Missouri. Those three teams are combined for a 10-2 record.

Washington fell nine spots after jumping up to No. 36. After beating USC, the Huskies moved from No. 80 to No. 36, but fell back to No. 45 after losing to Stanford.

The lowest-ranked undefeated team is Texas A&M at No. 59. Despite going 3-0, the Aggies have the 118th-rated strength of schedule. They have beaten New Mexico (No. 106 and 0-4), Utah State (No. 114, 1-2) and UAB (No. 112, 1-3).

While Miami (Fla.) and Michigan are grabbing headlines with their return to the Top 25 another team is quietly moving up the ranks.

With its 41-30 victory over West Virginia, Auburn improved to 3-0 and vaulted up the CBSSports.com 120 rankings from No. 44 to No. 23.

"I think it is huge. No. 1 this was a really, really good football team," said Auburn coach Gene Chizik after the West Virginia game. "I wasn't sure exactly where we were at to be honest with you."

The biggest reason for Auburn's success has been on offense.

The offense is ranked eighth in the nation in total yards and 11th in the nation, averaging 42.3 points per game. Quite a turnaround for a team that was 105th in total offense in 2008.

For the diehard fans of college football it should come as no surprise as offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn is calling the plays. At Tulsa last year, Malzahn's offense was No. 1 in the NCAA. Even during his one-year stint at Arkansas, the Razorbacks won the SEC West, finishing at 10-4.

Quarterback Chris Todd has seen an immediate change under Malzahn. He has already thrown six touchdown passes in three games. Last year, he had five touchdowns and six interceptions while sharing time with Kodi Burns.

"When everyone buys in, it makes a huge difference," said running back Ben Tate. "We didn't have that last year. If you sit back and look at it, it's pretty much the same team from last year. We just have a different philosophy this year. Everybody believes in what we're doing. The coaches believe in us, and they're pushing us a lot harder."

It's still unsure how Auburn's new offense will work against the rest of the conference, but the Tigers will get their first test at Tennessee on Oct. 3.

But for now, sit back and enjoy the Malzahn show.

Colorado State

The Rams have also stormed up the rankings, sitting at No. 42 right now after being ranked No. 72 last week. The Rams are 3-0 for the first time in 15 years, beating Colorado, Weber State and Nevada.

A big reason is the defense. Last season the team was last in the nation in sacks and had just 22 turnovers. So far this season, Colorado State has seven sacks and 10 turnovers. Against Nevada, the Rams forced five.

"When you have confidence, you can go play fast and hard," defensive coordinator Larry Kerr said after the game. "What we added today was we played smart. We didn’t make dumb mistakes. We kept ourselves in the right position against a very talented offense."

Things do start to get tougher for Colorado State as the Rams play at BYU this weekend.

SEC

Six SEC teams are ranked in the Top 25, including four in the Top 8 (No. 1 -- Florida; No. 3 -- Alabama; No. 6 -- Mississippi; No. 8 -- LSU). The second-most is the ACC -- (No. 11 Miami; No. 14 Virginia Tech; No. 22 North Carolina and No. 25 Florida State).

Notes

... Washington had the biggest leap, moving from No. 80 to No. 36 after beating Southern California.

... Nevada had the biggest fall, falling to 0-2 after losing to Colorado State. The Wolf Pack fell from No. 50 to No. 74. Northwestern had the second-biggest fall, dropping from No. 52 to No. 71 after losing to Syracuse.

... First win of the season? Three winless teams get to play FCS teams this week. No. 115 Utah State faces Southern Utah; No. 114 Tulane plays McNeese State and No. 107 San Jose State takes on Cal-Poly. If any of those teams lose, they will be on "going winless" watch for the rest of the season. Speaking of playing FCS teams, No. 120 Western Kentucky lost to Central Arkansas 28-7.

... Miami's strength of schedule is ranked No. 1 according to CBSSports.com. It shouldn't come as any surprise as the Hurricanes have played Florida State and Georgia Tech the first two games. It also has Virginia Tech this weekend and Oklahoma next weekend.

... South Florida's SOS is ranked No. 120. The Bulls have played FCS teams Wofford, Charleston Southern and Sun Belt member Western Kentucky, which is easily the worst schedule in the nation. Things to get tougher as the Bulls play at Florida State this weekend.

"10 wins and no excuses."

That was the prediction from Colorado head coach Dan Hawkins at the beginning of the season.

My how things have changed in just two games.

Colorado, which lost to Toledo this week to drop to 0-2, has fallen all the way down to No. 101 in the CBSSports.com 120 rankings.

"It's great people want us to win. All I can do is what I can do. We're going to have supporters. We're going to have detractors," said Hawkins, who is in his fourth season at Colorado. "I can't control what people think, nor am I willing. I know this: Inside our program we're doing things right."

Can things get any worse?

You bet.

The Buffaloes host Wyoming this week, but then have back-to-back road trips at West Virginia and Texas. They still have to play Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma State this year too.

"We're frustrated, Dan's frustrated and our fans our frustrated as well," Colorado Athletic Director Mike Bohn said to the New York Times on Saturday. "Again, I think that's why the competitive resolve of our entire constituency base is going to be important for us to battle through this."

Hawkins owns a 13-26 record now at Colorado and only one bowl appearance. His best season was in 2007 when the Buffaloes went 6-7, losing to Alabama in the Independence Bowl.

But Hawkins might not be going anywhere. Buffzone.com reported the school's total liability could approach $3 million under the terms of the deal if any partial year was prorated in a buyout.

And the athletic department remains in debt with the majority of an $8 million loan from the campus in 2006 still to be paid off. Part of that debt was caused when Gary Barnett was fired at the end of the 2005 season and the school hired Hawkins.

"It's after the second game of the season and right now we're focused on creating an environment to get this turned around, and it starts with Wyoming," Bohn told the website following the Toledo game.

Colorado isn't the only big-name program struggling. Virginia is also 0-2 and ranked No. 102 in the CBSSports.com 120. Syracuse is ranked No. 105 after losing to Minnesota and Penn State to start the year.

Virginia opened the season with a loss to William & Mary and then fell to TCU 30-14. The Horned Frogs sacked Virginia QB Jameel Sewell eight times, the most sacks the Cavaliers have given up since 1997.

"What do you think my thoughts are? It's disappointing. I definitely expected our offense to be further along than this," said senior offensive tackle Will Barker. "We've gotten off to a pretty slow start."

Jumping Up

While some teams were dropping down the rankings, some are moving up. Houston jumped 10 spots from No. 27 to No. 17 after beating Oklahoma State. The Cougars are 2-0, while Oklahoma State is 1-1, but for some reason, the Cougars are still behind the Cowboys in the AP and Coaches Polls. Houston isn't even ranked in the Coaches Poll.

Michigan also took a big leap, moving up from No. 50 to No. 22 after beating Notre Dame to improve to 2-0.

Notes

... The MAC has three schools ranked in the bottom four. Ball State is No. 117, Miami (Ohio) is No. 118 and Eastern Michigan is No. 119.

... The lowest-ranked undefeated team is SMU at No. 100. The Mustangs two wins are against Stephen F. Austin and UAB. The highest-ranked winless team is Nevada at No. 50. The Wolf Pack lost to Notre Dame in the opener, but was off this week. They play at Colorado State this weekend.

So long Motor City Bowl, hello Pizza Bowl!

Bowl officials announced what had been a rumor for a few weeks now -- the Motor City Bowl will now be known as the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl.

The bowl was looking for a new sponsor, considering old sponsors General Motors and Chrysler have reorganized under bankruptcy protection. So with Little Caesars' headquarters being in Detroit and the fourth-largest pizza chain marking their 50th anniversary, it was a natural fit.

"I’m a life-long sports fan," said Michael Ilitch, co-founder and chairman, Little Caesar Enterprises, Inc. "This bowl is a great opportunity to provide a fun experience for families and college football fans, while supporting college athletics. And what food goes better with football than Little Caesars pizza?”

Everything else remains the same, the game is on Dec. 26 at 1 p.m. at Ford Field and will feature the MAC Champion vs. a team from the Big Ten.


 

The Davey O'Brien Foundation released its preseason list of 33 quarterbacks and it's no surprise that Oklahoma's Sam Bradford, Texas' Colt McCoy and Florida's Tim Tebow were among the nominees.

What I did find shocking though was the names of a few quarterbacks who are here based on potential. USC's Aaron Corp was 2 for 4 for 14 yards last season but is a nominee. Being the quarterbacks of the USC Trojans definitely has its privileges. So does being the Texas Tech quarterback. Taylor Potts finished last season 23-of-36, but the fact that he could end up throwing for 5,000 yards, he lands on this list.

According to the press release, the list focuses on a select group of quarterbacks who have demonstrated what members of the Selection Committee have recognized as tremendous preseason talent. The award focuses on accomplishments both on and off the field.

Where's East Carolina's Patrick Pinkney? He had a pretty good year last season and the Pirates are a favorite in C-USA. How about Arkansas State's Corey Leonard? He was preseason Sun Belt quarterback.
 
Semifinalists will be announced Oct. 26, finalist will be named Nov. 23 and the winner on Dec. 10. The O'Brien Selection Committee is asked to evaluate each candidate on the criteria of quarterback skills and athletic ability, academics, reputation as a team player, character, leadership and sportsmanship.
 
Here is the list:

Sam Bradford, Oklahoma, Jr.; Jarrett Brown, West Virginia, Sr.; Daryll Clark, Penn State, Sr.; Jimmy Clausen, Notre Dame, Jr.; Aaron Corp, USC, Soph.; Robert Griffin, Baylor, Soph.; Matt Grothe, South Florida, Sr.; Max Hall, BYU., Sr.; Tim Hiller, Western Michigan, Sr.; Jordan Jefferson, LSU, Soph.; Colin Kaepernick, Nevada, Jr.; Case Keenum, Houston, Jr.; Dan LeFevour, Central Michigan, Sr.; Jake Locker, Washington, Jr.; Ryan Mallett, Arkansas, Soph.; Jeremiah Masoli, Oregon, Jr..

Colt McCoy, Texas, Sr.; Kellen Moore, Boise State, Soph.; Josh Nesbitt, Georgia Tech, Jr.; Tony Pike, Cincinnati, Sr.; Taylor Potts, Texas Tech, Jr.; Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State, Soph.; Todd Reesing, Kansas, Sr.; Kevin Riley, California, Jr.; Zac Robinson, Oklahoma State, Sr.; Riley Skinner, Wake Forest, Sr.; Rusty Smith, Florida Atlantic, Sr.; Jevan Snead, Ole Miss, Jr.; Tyrod Taylor, Virginia Tech, Jr.; Tim Tebow, Florida, Sr.; Adam Weber, Minnesota, Jr.; Juice Williams, Illinois, Sr.; Russell Wilson, North Carolina State, Soph.

Last week, I wrote about a golf challenge my friend and I were going to do for fun.

Since he is a much better golfer than I am, he was going to play an entire round with a 7-iron, while I was allowed to use my entire bag of clubs.

Saturday was a success and we both learned an important lesson.

My good friend Troy Cilio learned about risk vs. reward and that you can be successful by taking the risk out of the equation with a conservative club like a 7-iron. He might only be able to hit it 150-160 yards, but knows he can keep it straight down the fairway.

I learned the next time your friend challenges you, playing with only one club ... decline the offer.

On a serious note, Cilio's one-club day actually made me play better. I'll explain later.

Cilio, who is a 16 handicap, ended up shooting 93 with 11 bogeys, five double-bogeys and two pars. He shot 47 on the front nine, with a 46 on the back. He had just one 7, scoring a double-bogey on the Par 5, 493-yard, No. 14 hole.

I shot 102, which is exactly what I was expected to shoot, being a 31 handicap. I did much better on the back nine (50) despite putting up a quadruple-bogey 8 on the Par 4 No. 10. I closed out the day with par, bogey, bogey.

Using stroke play, he won by three strokes after giving me three strokes per nine (six total). He also won match play -- 4 and 3, clinching the match on the 15th hole.

"It was a lot of fun," said Cilio. "I was more concerned with ball placement than shot length, which is something that will help my game. I found myself thinking about the green first and how I should approach the pin, and then working backward to my current shot. That is something I will try and do from now on when playing a regular round."

When Cilio and I usually play a round, we always play some sort of game, usually with me getting 15 strokes (based on our hadicaps). He hits much farther than I do off the tee, so the pressure is on me to try and keep up by no more than one stroke.

But that changed Saturday. With Cilio hitting no more than 160 yards on each shot, I was able to play much more conservatively and also not take as many risks. I really feel it made me play better and if it weren't for a few holes, I could have easily shot under 100.

"I think every golfer should do it at least once," added Cilio. "It will teach you a few things about your game and it's a fun way to handicap a match rather than just giving someone strokes."

Our match was close most of the day and after eight holes, he only had a four-stroke lead -- 41 to 45. But my game fell apart on Holes 9, 10 and 11. I don't know if I started to feel pressure to keep up or just got lost in some tough holes.

It took me three shots to get out of the sand on No. 10 (ended up with 8) and had trouble on a dog-leg left on No. 11 (scored 7).

The fact that Cilio had one club the entire day, he mentioned it was like being at the driving range, getting stronger and stronger with it instead of changing clubs all day.

"There is something to that, swinging the same club all day makes things easier," added Cilio. "I also started gaining confidence that I could actually shoot a good score, and was getting better at putting with the iron which I had never done before."

So what's next in our one-club challenge? Maybe a two-man, one-club scramble? Adding a professional into the mix? Trying a different club?

Ever wondered what kind of score Tiger Woods would put up playing an entire round with just one club? Or if he could somehow beat another player in match play by using only a 7-iron?

I'm about to find out ... minus the Tiger Woods, of course.

A few of my friends were thinking about it the other night and we are going to give it a try in our own version of the One-Club Challenge.

The hardest part was figuring out how to make it an even match between two players with different handicaps, but we are going to try our best.

My friend Troy Cilio, who is a 16 handicap, is going to attempt to play an entire round with a 7-iron and a putter. Before you flood the message board saying this is TWO clubs, not one, let me explain. Since he's never putted with an iron and we don't want to make this a day of 4 putts, we are going to try it this way first.  

I get the luxury of playing with an entire bag of clubs, but not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. As a 31 handicap, maybe part of the problem is I have too many options in the bag. Ahhh, who am I kidding, it's not my club choice, it's my freaking swing!

We will be playing the Palms Course at Palm Aire Country Club from the white tees. Par 72, 6,363 yards.

We will keep track of our overall score with and without handicaps and also participate in match play. Based on our handicaps, I argued I need strokes (at least a few can't hurt).

In a regular game, Troy is expected to shoot around 85-92, while I usually fall in the 102-108 range. Since he is being handicapped with just one club, we figure that will add anywhere from 10-15 strokes to his game. So based on a low-end projection, he's giving me three strokes per 9 holes.

The longer par 5s are where I will most likely use them because I feel a hole like the No. 11, 497-yard, Par 5 is going to even out the playing field. It's going to take both of us three shots, maybe four, to reach the green and having a stroke can really work in my favor in match play. 

It should be a fun afternoon, not sure what I expect. I will come back on Sunday and update the blog with the results.

Has anybody else tried this? Or do you have any predictions?

P.S. I found one other person who tried this on a golf message board. The guy claimed he was a 12-15 handicap and ended up shooting 104 on a 6,500-yard course with a 6-iron and no putter.