Which means basically nothing. As long as Texas remains unbeaten, it is going to play in the national-title game. Regardless of where it stands in relation to Florida and/or Alabama, because one of those teams has to lose.

Anyway, Texas won big at Oklahoma State, while Alabama was idle. If Alabama looks good against Louisiana State this week, don't be surprised if they switch positions again. That's kind of how this stuff works from week to week.

Iowa remained fourth. Cincinnati moved from eighth to fifth. Bet you never thought a 21-point win over Syracuse carried so much weight. Texas Christian stayed at No. 6, as did Boise State at seventh.

Not shockingly, Oregon moved up two spots to eighth thanks to its dismantling of Southern California.

Take this for it's worth. People react to each performance, so opinions can shift. How much that impacts the computers is anyone's guess. In the final analysis, nobody is going to overtake any of your big three until they stumble. And everybody understands that. But if they do, that's when the real fun will start.

And if history is any indication, that can happen at virtually any time. It's why America will pay attention all the way through Dec. 6. Because you never really know for sure. *