This might not have been the best week to move Texas to No. 1, but the slow start by Alabama gave me enough justification to move the two teams. Arguments accepted below.
1 Texas
2 Alabama
3 Florida
4 TCU
5 Cincinnati
The other controversial move might be putting TCU ahead of Cincinnati. Those two are pretty much tied in my mind as the fourth- and fifth-best teams for now, with the chance to become No. 3 if one of the other teams loses or after the SEC Championship Game.
6 Georgia Tech
7 Oregon
8 Boise State
9 Iowa
10 Miami
Yes, Boise State still gets no respect from me, particularly after they were in a game with Louisiana Tech this year. Had it been last season, that might not bother me too much. But it's 2009 and Louisiana Tech is not very good. Georgia Tech zooms up as the best one-loss team and Oregon doesn't fall too much despite losing to Stanford. Iowa loses some more ground with its first actual loss.
11 Pittsburgh
12 LSU
13 Clemson
14 Virginia Tech
15 Southern Cal
That might be a bit harsh for LSU, but they haven't really impressed in either of their games against Top 5 opponents. I'm still open to putting them at No. 11 instead of No. 12, so argue away if you think that the Bengals are better than the Panthers. I hate Clemson. Virginia Tech and Southern Cal switch places after the Trojans' underwhelm against Arizona State.
16 Houston
17 Ohio State
18 Arizona
19 Oklahoma State
20 Oregon State
Houston's one-point win against Tulsa weakened their resume quite a bit, but Ohio State's win over Penn State wasn't quite enough for me to move the Buckeyes into the Top 15. Or 16, for that matter. Arizona has started to look pretty impressive, and don't forget Oklahoma State. Oregon State shows up as the Pac-10 looks strong.
21 Stanford
22 Auburn
23 Penn State
24 North Carolina
25 Wisconsin
The Cardinal deserve some respect after putting together a decent season so far. Auburn finds a way back in the poll simply by demolishing Furman. Penn State's loss to Ohio State nearly sends the Nittany Lions out of the Top 25 entirely. North Carolina and Wisconsin round things out.