The Michigan Daily Top 10 returns for its fourth installment in this young season. Each week, Daily Sports staffers will fill out ballots, with first place votes receiving 10 points, second-place votes receiving nine and so on. The results are published with first-place votes in parentheses.
1. Louisiana State (5): Maybe they didn’t get more first-place votes, but a solid showing on nearly every ballot was enough to vault the Tigers to the top. Apparently, it’s easier to top our rankings than to beat Auburn.
2. Ohio State (6): Good news for Jim Walden: He’s no longer the worst voter in America. One of our voters actually voted the Buckeyes 10th. Granted they played a weak schedule to start the season, but this weekend’s win was impressive.
3. Boston College: Coming off a bye week, the Eagles move up a spot in our poll. We’ll see if it lasts. After beating up on powerhouses such as Army, UMass and Bowling Green earlier this season, they has to travel to Blacksburg this week.
4. Oklahoma: After back-to-back wins over Texas and Missouri, the Sooners looked a bit sluggish this weekend, barely escaping a scare from Iowa State. It seems to be the bad teams that give these guys trouble.
5. Oregon: The Ducks’ offense continues to cut through its schedule, making the Michigan defense look a little less bad every week. Oregon will need to keep attacking, though: It plays Southern Cal and Arizona State over the next two weeks.
6. West Virginia: Unranked a week ago, the Mountaineers move back into our polls after a nonconference laugher. Unfortunately for them, they have to travel to the unfriendly confines of Rutgers this week.
7. Arizona State: The Sun Devils have walked through an easy schedule to start the season, but they’re about to find out what they’re really made of. They have games against Oregon, Southern Cal and California in the next month.
8. Florida: So, sophomore quarterback Tim Tebow is good. He beat Kentucky signal caller Andre Woodson this weekend, and he may very well add more impressive games to his Heisman highlight tape by the end of the year.
9. Kansas (1): Kansas? Really? The Jayhawks received a No. 1 vote in the Daily Top 10? Maybe Kansas coach Mark Mangino has turned around one of the perennially worst programs in the nation. Maybe Kansas just hasn’t played anyone yet.
10. Southern Cal: The Trojans absolutely embarrassed Notre Dame 38-0, the biggest margin of defeat in the series’ history, to get their season back on the right track after a few tough games. Huh. Sounds a little familiar.
Also receiving votes: Virginia Tech, South Florida, California, Michigan, Kentucky, Missouri, Auburn, Hawaii