2009 Week 3 Rankings: Another New No. 1

The ranking are a little tumultuous this early in the season. One bad game can really affect the statistics. Do not worry this will change as teams get deeper into the season. They are not meant to be really taken seriously until much further into the season.

But we are getting to the point where we can see some trends about who is going to stay near the top throughout the season and who really is not as good as we thought.

The first big news is Florida has taken over the No. 1 spot. I have found in previous years that big games, even when they win, tend to hurt teams more than help in the short-term. They help in the long-term though as no one has really gotten any quality wins yet. No. 3 Brigham Young became the first team to pick up a quality win point as Oklahoma rose back into the rankings. The Cougars used that quality win to overcome the weak Mountain West schedule.

No. 11 Oklahoma also bounced back after the loss and is firmly planting itself among the top teams -- even with the loss. Otherwise the favorites are still at the top during the last week before I can say the rankings are official and some of the artificial weighting I use at the beginning of the season -- i.e. the use of more polls in the poll component -- is taken away.

The real surprises this week? Let's go with No. 7 Cincinnati and No. 8 Kansas who both jumped up from the main polls. The Bearcats feature a strong offense that has them flying high and the Jayhawks also have a single-digit offense and a pretty good defense. Those will be two teams to watch.

Two teams that are overrated? No. 17 LSU is still struggling after a bad game in Seattle in Week One. The Tigers' typically strong defense received an abysmal 31 rating. That will need to improve if they are to fight for the SEC West title. Also No. 20 Georgia Tech is rated low. That seemed to be prophetic as they lost tonight at Miami. The Hurricanes remain unranked, but that will change next week I would bet.

Here are this week's rankings:

1. Florida 60.115
2. USC +5.207
3. Brigham Young +11.172
4. Alabama +13.334
5. Texas +14.494
6. California
7. Cincinnati
8. Kansas
9. Penn State
10. Nebraska
11. Oklahoma
12. Mississippi
13. Boise State
14. TCU
15. Auburn
The rest of the top 25: 16. Arkansas; 17. LSU; 18. Utah; 19. North Carolina; 20. Georgia Tech; 21. Boston College; 22. West Virginia; 23. Missouri; 24. Oregon State; 25. Texas A&M

Top Offense: No. 1 Florida
Top Defense: No. 13 Boise State
Toughest Schedule: No. 11 Oklahoma, Georgia (ranked 37th in standings)
Easiest Schedule: No. 13 Boise State

Game of the Week: No. 7 Cincinnati vs. No. 24 Oregon State- this could be an interesting game with two contrasting styles of play. The Bearcats are the type of team that can roll you over with their passing and offensive ability. The Beavers proved last year against the Trojans just what a great running back can do. Oregon State has not played great so far this season, but they are certainly capable of it especially at home. This will be a big test for the Bearcats as I think they don't want to just be in the BCS conversation as the Big East's representative. A win against a pretty good Pac-10 team might make them clamor for more.