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There’s been a change at the top.

It’s not that I’m punishing USC for not playing anybody in college football’s second week. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. But to not reward LSU for the way they dominated the Hokies on Saturday… That would be a crime.

Speaking of Virginia Tech, this week’s Top 15 is brought to you by the number zero — as in the number of ACC teams contained in the weekly power poll.

And away we go.

No. 1 – LSU Tigers (2-0, def. Virginia Tech 45-7) Last Week: 8
I’m not too proud to admit I may have been wrong about the Tigers. I’ve never seen a team break another team’s will so quickly in a college football game. By the end of the first quarter, the Hokies looked like they just wanted to leave.

No. 2 – USC Trojans (1-0, idle) Last Week: 1
I’m still convinced the Trojans are a great team, but their shaky showing in week 1 combined with LSU’s domination of Virginia Tech drops them out of the top spot. We’ll learn much more about the men of Troy this week as they take on the Cornhuskers.

No. 3 – Oklahoma Sooners (2-0, def. Miami (FL) 51-13) Last Week: 9
Dominating North Texas will only get you so far, but dominating a BCS conference team like the Hurricanes is good enough to get you into the top 3. The Sooners have always been a great defensive team, but the offense they’re showing is downright scary.

No. 4 – Texas Longhorns (2-0, def. TCU 34-13) Last Week: 13
Are they the team that struggled against Arkansas State last week or the team that dominated TCU on Saturday? This year’s shootout with archrival Oklahoma might be one of the best games in the history of the rivalry.

No. 5 – West Virginia Mountaineers (2-0, def. Marshall 48-23) Last Week: 6
The Mountaineer defense still looks shaky, but it’s hard to argue with the Pat White-Steve Slaton backfield. The real beauty of this offense is that they’re not surprising anybody, they’re just unstoppable by opposing defenses.

No. 6 – Louisville Cardinals (2-0, def. Middle Tennessee State 58-42) Last Week: 2
We know Louisville can score, but they drop in the rankings because allowing 42 points to Middle Tennessee State is just unacceptable. At this rate, the Louisville-West Virginia will be a 161-154 game.

No. 7 – Penn State Nittany Lions (2-0, def. Notre Dame 31-10) Last Week: 14
The only Big Ten contender to put together two good games so far, the Nittany Lions look like they may be the team to beat. Senior quarterback Anthony Morelli still needs to improve, but the Lions are looking good.

No. 8 – Cal Golden Bears (2-0, def. Colorado State 34-28) Last Week: 3
Cal blew Tennessee out in week one, so what did they do for an encore? Struggle against Colorado State. They led the entire game, but it was hardly impressive. The good news for Cal is they’re still able to bust off big plays (two touchdowns of 65 plus yards on Saturday).

No. 9 – Florida Gators (2-0, def. Troy 59-31) Last Week: 4
I’m still not sold on the defending champs. Giving up 31 points at home against Troy is a good reason why. Tim Tebow (18-25, 236 yards, 5 total TD) looks good though. Let’s see what happens this weekend against Tennessee.

No. 10 – Ohio State Buckeyes (2-0, def. Akron 20-2) Last Week: 7
Which Todd Boeckman will play in this weekend’s key contest in Seattle? Week 1 (17-23, 225 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT) or Week 2 (14-23, 131 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT)? With that defense, it might not matter.

No. 11 – Arkansas Razorbacks (1-0, idle) Last Week: 11
No game and no movement for Arkansas this week. We’ll see what Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide has waiting for them as the Razorbacks kick off their SEC schedule this weekend in Tuscaloosa.

No. 12 – UCLA Bruins (2-0, def. BYU 27-17) Last Week: 10
Although BYU is one of the better small-conference schools in division 1-A, a UCLA team that expects to contend for the Pac-10 crown needs to put a team like this away, especially at home.

No. 13 – Wisconsin Badgers (2-0, def. UNLV 20-13) Last Week: 5
Wisconsin narrowly avoided an upset at the hands of the Red Raiders. This does not look to be a strong season for Big Ten football.

No. 14 – Rutgers Scarlet Knights (2-0, def. Navy 41-24) Last Week: NR
Rutgers is showing that last year was no fluke. Everybody knows Ray Rice, but receiver Tiquan Underwood (352 yards, 2 TD in two games) is probably the best player you’ve never heard of.

No. 15 – USF Bulls (2-0, def. Auburn 26-23) Last Week: NR
Jim Leavitt’s team is the definition of upward mobility. Despite entering only their 11th year of college football, USF went into Auburn this weekend and escaped with a 26-23 overtime victory.

Dropped from the top:
TCU Horned Frogs (Lost to Texas, 34-13), Virginia Tech Hokies (Lost to LSU, 45-7)

On the Fringe:
Boston College Eagles, Clemson Tigers, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oregon Ducks, South Carolina Gamecocks, Tennessee Volunteers, Washington Huskies

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Heisman Spotlight

A sub-par outing from Cal RB Justin Forcett and another amazing week from Rutgers’ Ray Rice brought about change in this week’s spotlight.

1. Darren McFadden, Arkansas
Despite not playing in week 2, McFadden will be the front-runner until somebody shuts him down.

2. Ray Rice, Rutgers
420 yards from scrimmage go with six touchdowns and boost Rice to #2 in this week’s Heisman Spotlight.

3. Brian Brohm, Louisville
The way that defense is playing, Brohm might have to put up 401 yards and 5 touchdowns every week for the Cardinals to keep winning.

4. Colt Brennan, Hawaii
Brennan and the Warriors barely escaped against Louisiana Tech. Just imagine where they’d be without Brennan’s 548 yards and 4 touchdowns.

5. Pat White, West Virginia
As good as Steve Slaton is, this is clearly White’s show. He’s completing 63% of his passes, forcing defenses to respect his arm (341 yards, 4 TD this season) as well as his legs (222 yards, 3 TD).

Conference Power Rankings

Not much movement in the conference rankings this week. Cincinnati’s mauling of Oregon State and USF’s upset of Auburn highlighted the interconference action last week. As always, only non-conference games are counted towards a conference’s record.

No. 1 – Big East (7-1 last week, 14-2 overall)
The only conference with four schools in the Top 15, the Big East continues to dominate this season. Even UConn is getting in on the act: Syracuse is responsible for both nonconference losses by this league this season.

Up next: Pittsburgh takes on a Michigan State squad that’s looked good this season, and Brian Brohm and Andre Woodson rekindle their rivalry in the battle for Kentucky.

No. 2 – Pac-10 (7-1, 13-3)
Darkhorse Oregon State was beaten soundly by Cincinnati, but Oregon’s 39-7 win over Michigan and Washington’s 24-10 upset of Boise State keep the Pac-10 from dropping too far.

Up next: USC (at Nebraska) and Washington (vs Ohio State) will be looking to make a statement.

No. 3 – SEC (4-2, 13-3)
Auburn is one of the conference’s better teams, but their loss was more about the arrival of USF than the Tigers actually being bad. Ole Miss lost to Missouri in a battle of mediocre BCS conference schools.

Up next: Kentucky and Louisville is the only nonconference game of note here.

No. 4 – Big XII (10-2, 18-6)
Iowa State continues to hurt the Big XII, and Colorado lost to a so-so Arizona State team. Texas A&M and Nebraska both struggled as well, keeping this conference behind the SEC despite Missouri’s win over Ole Miss.

Up next: If Nebraska can defend their home field against USC, the entire conference gains credibility.

No. 5 – Big Ten (10-1, 18-4)
Michigan is looking epic, and not in a good way. Ohio State and Wisconsin’s struggles keep them at No. 5 in the conference rankings despite a 10-1 nonconference record this week. Penn State’s looking good though, and don’t sleep on Michigan State or Purdue.

Up next: Ohio State takes on Washington and Michigan State squares off against Pittsburgh in an effort to move the Big Ten up a few spots. Michigan might have finally found somebody they can beat with a bad Notre Dame team coming to town in this annual rumble.

No. 6 – ACC (4-4, 9-7)
Miami and Virginia Tech are embarrassing themselves right now. Georgia Tech, Boston College and Clemson are the only schools in this conference that I’d even consider betting money on.

Up next: Florida State and Colorado face off in a battle of has-beens, while Miami and Florida International will face off for the first time since last year’s infamous brawl.

Tags: ncaa football, ohio state football