Top 10, Week 9

I guess it's taken me several weeks to get over Alabama's loss to South Carolina. Part of it was being out of town a couple of Sundays ago; part of it was laziness; a lot of it was disappointment in not being able to keep Bama in the top spot. But, their week off has reinvigorated me and hopefully will have been a good time to re-energize the Tide. With that, here's my Top 10.

1. Auburn (9-0) The Tigers from the Plains have been practically impossible to stop offensively. Their talent in unmistakable on that side of the ball. Their defense has quite a bit of talent as well, and though the depth has improved over last season, it's still not what they'd like. But, so far, the offense has been able to cover for them. A match-up against Oregon would be incredible to take-in.
2. Oregon (8-0) They've got crazy balance in their offensive production. They play fast and they don't stop. They should win out and show up in Glendale, but it won't necessarily be easy. Playing in nine conference games is tough and that could prove to be the downfall of the Ducks. 
3. TCU (9-0) I don't know if this is more a shot at Boise State or a reflection of a bit of a tougher schedule for TCU than the Broncos. In keeping with the guideline of undefeated rank ahead of teams who've lost, TCU stays up here. Huge game with Utah coming up.
4. Boise State (7-0) They haven't done anything wrong and while it's tough to fault them for playing their schedule, in the end, the body of work will not be as impressive as the potential zero in the loss column. 
5. Utah (8-0) Their next two games (against TCU and Notre Dame) will bring a lot of attention to them, especially if they keep winning. They could be the surprise non-AQ team that sneaks into the conversation; the Pac-12-to-be has to be excited about their addition.
6. Alabama (7-1) The Tide went into their off week with a lot more momentum than they did last year, finishing with a strong second half against Tennessee on Rocky Top. Hopefully that momentum carries over into their final four games, the first of which is the only road game of that stretch. Saban won at LSU in overtime in his first trip as a visiting coach to Tiger Stadium; LSU also had an extra week to regroup to focus on Bama, so they should be rested and hungry. Should be a great one.
7. Stanford (7-1) Their only loss was to Oregon, so they vault the other 1-loss teams due to that, as well as the way they've played so far. 
8. Wisconsin (7-1) The Badgers are in good shape to take a share of the Big Ten title. 
9. Oklahoma (7-1) I wouldn't want to gameplan to stop DeMarco Murray. I don't know if anyone left on their schedule can, although I hope Baylor will.
10. Ohio State (8-1) They, too, can take a share of the Big Ten title, but will have to go through Iowa on the road to do so.