Top 25 analysis (let the emails begin)

Here is the new top 25 followed by my ballot and analysis:

1. USC
2. Oklahoma
3. Georgia
4. Florida
5. Missouri
6. LSU
7. Texas
8. Wisconsin
9. Alabama
10. Auburn
11. Texas Tech
12. South Florida
13. Ohio State
14. BYU
15. East Carolina
16. Penn State
17. Oregon
18. Wake Forest
19. Kansas
20. Utah
21. West Virginia
22. Illinois
23. Clemson
24. Florida State
25. Fresno State

My Ballot

1. Georgia
2. USC
3. Missouri
4. Florida
5. Oklahoma
6. LSU
7. Auburn
8. Texas
9. Wisconsin
10. Alabama
11. Penn State
12. Texas Tech
13. Ohio State
14. East Carolina
15. Oregon
16. South Florida
17. BYU
18. Kansas
19. Wake Forest
20. Illinois
21. Boise State
22. Utah
23. Connecticut
24. Fresno State
25. Vanderbilt

Week 3 analysis:

*I'm expecting my inbox to overload from angry USC voters any minute now. Only three of the 64 voters in the Associated Press poll did not vote USC No. 1. I was one of them. I gave Georgia one of its two first-place votes. I had Georgia No. 1 in the preseason, and I think it is way too soon to be jumping to conclusions about Georgia and USC. Georgia is 3-0 and coming off a 14-7 win at South Carolina. It was not an overly impressive victory, but it did come on the road and I see no reason in dropping the Bulldogs from the top spot this early. Maybe if they continue to sputter and win close games, but not three weeks into the season. USC looked dominant against Ohio State, but it’s becoming apparent that the Buckeyes were way overrated entering the season. They barely beat Ohio at home and then got blitzed, 35-3, at the Coliseum last night. I’m going to wait a few weeks before I start jumping teams over others that won for the No. 1 spot. I’ve jumped teams ahead of others that have won before I’m just not ready to do it yet in this case.

*My big losers this week are Ohio State, Arizona State and UCLA. I dropped the Buckeyes 10 spots on my ballot to No. 13 after their lackluster effort. I didn’t drop them lower because the game was on the road and Beanie Wells did not play. Plus, I want to give credit to a coach that is willing to play opponents such as USC in non-conference games. That being said, USC still wins that game by three touchdowns if it’s played in the Horseshoe and if Wells plays.

*Arizona State fell off my ballot completely after the Sun Devils blew a 10-point lead and lost to UNLV in overtime. Other than USC, it was not a good night for the Pac-10. BYU blasted UCLA, Cal lost to Maryland, Stanford lost to TCU and Washington State lost to Baylor.

*UCLA suffered its worst loss since 1929 (59-0). The Bruins received 150 points in the poll and finished just out of the top 25 based on its win against Tennessee. Kind of makes me wonder how Tennessee will fare in the SEC.

New on my ballot

            Connecticut: The Huskies are 3-0 and are coming off an impressive 45-10 victory against Virginia. They have Baylor this week followed by three consecutive road games against Louisville, North Carolina and Rutgers. By the end of that stretch we’ll have a better idea about Connecticut and its ability to be Big East title contender. For now they’re on the fringe of my ballot.

            Vanderbilt: The Commodores are 3-0 and own an impressive victory over South Carolina, which proved Saturday that it will still be heard from in the SEC after putting a scare into Georgia. The schedule is never easy in the SEC and three of their next four are on the road, including this week’s game at Mississippi.

            On the cusp of my ballot

            West Virginia: I’m sticking to my word that the Mountaineers have to earn their way back onto my ballot after their performance against East Carolina. They’ll have a chance to get back on if the win at Colorado Thursday night.