Each week, State News football reporter Ethan Conley offers his own college football Top 10 rankings.
No. 1 — Ohio State (No. 1 AP)
What is there to say? Ohio State put the hurt on Texas and proved that they're really, really good.
No. 2 — LSU (No. 6 AP)
Bringing out his best villain persona, LSU head coach Les Miles took the low, low road in his post-game press conference after a 45-3 dismantling of Arizona: "I suspect that there were some bumps and bruises on that Arizona team. … We needed to keep that team in hand and choke the life out of our opponent."
Now that's what I like to hear — no B.S., just pure, unadulterated smack talk. He's either the anti-Lou Holtz or college football's answer to Ivan Drago. Don't be surprised if you see a camera catch Miles mouthing the words, "If he dies, he dies," as an Auburn player lies writhing in pain Saturday night.
No. 3 — Notre Dame (No. 2 AP)
I still don't know what to think of the Irish. I think the squad we saw against Penn State will be the one that takes the field against Michigan on Saturday, but teams with this much hype tend to go down hard.
No. 4 — Auburn (No. 3 AP)
LSU and Auburn are among college football's elite programs, and they both compete in the SEC West. But as far as I can tell (me being a Yankee and all), there's no real rivalry there. So here's my suggestion: The team that loses the yearly meeting also loses the right to the "Tigers" nickname and must go by "Pussycats" until it wins again. You're telling me Auburn fans wouldn't take this game just as seriously as the Iron Bowl if stakes like that were involved?
No. 5 — Southern Cal (No. 4 AP)
We'll see if the Trojans are for real when they play Nebraska this weekend. I don't see any players on their roster that can carry the team to victory when nothing else is working, like Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart did the last three years.
Speaking of Leinart, I'm dying for this ad to pop up during a TV timeout: "Hi, I'm Matt Leinart. You know, it only takes one slip-up and you're paying child support for 18 years. So now, when I need to wrap it up, I reach in the drawer for a Trojan Condom." Isn't that a no-brainer? Only Larry Eustachy and Mike Price endorsing Chaser hangover-prevention caplets would come close.
No. 6 — West Virginia (No. 5 AP)
It's official: The Mountaineers have the best video game option offense since the 1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers. And what did those 'Huskers do? They went 12-0, had an average margin of victory of 39 points and won the national championship. Tommy Frazier and Tom Osborne are ready to pass the torch.
No. 7 — Texas (No. 8 AP)
I wanted to keep the Longhorns in the Top 5. I really did. Colt McCoy played about as well as a redshirt freshman could be expected to against Ohio State. But then Mack Brown started making excuses: "They scored with six minutes left, and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything. I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Umm, sorry Mack, but your team was down by 17 at that point and had yet to truly threaten the end zone in the second half. You lost because Ohio State was better — plain and simple.
No. 8 — Louisville (No. 12 AP)
The Cardinals kept on rollin' Saturday, despite losing Heisman Trophy candidate Michael Bush to a broken leg in their first game. Can they keep it up? We'll find out Saturday when they face Miami.
No. 9 — Florida (No. 7 AP)
Chris Leak's line from the Gators' 42-0 win against Central Florida: 19-of-29 passing for 352 yards and four touchdowns. The Gators have to go into Neyland Stadium and face No. 13 Tennessee on Saturday. Some … ahem … "curious" officiating cost Florida a victory the last time they ventured to Knoxville.
No. 10 — Georgia (No. 10 AP)
OK, news broke that Georgia's starting quarterback will be out four to six weeks with a sprained ankle, so the Bulldogs don't really belong in my Top 10 (yet). But next in line is Michigan, and if you think I'd give the Weasels the nod before they actually beat anybody, you obviously don't know me well enough.
No. 32 — MSU
Looking better, guys.
Ethan Conley can be reached at conleyet@msu.edu.
