College Football Report

1. Why rank 'em?
Four weeks into the season, we've already seen our fourth top-5 team go down to defeat. First Oklahoma, then Oklahoma State and Southern California, and now Mississippi, it makes one wonder why we rank teams so early in the season. You really think the Rebels were the fourth-best team in the country? And is Penn State the fifth-best? Yes, the rankings do generate buzz and debate, but why don't we do the sensible thing and wait until, say, the first Saturday of October before the first poll?

2. Poll sense
An interesting view comes from Doug Lesmerises of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, a voter in the Associated Press poll. Lesmerises told ESPN.com that preseason polls are based too much on college football preview magazines, which compile their lists in April. "A multi-gazillion-dollar industry based on people putting 15 minutes into a poll that is based on a magazine that did its rankings in April is not a good system," he said. Lesmerises has Alabama and Miami 1-2 this week. And Penn State? Fifteenth. (E-mail him, not me.)

3. Rising Heisman guy
There are two major reasons Miami posted the nation's best back-to-back wins (Florida State, Georgia Tech) to start the season. One is sophomore quarterback Jacory Harris, who has passed for 656 yards and five touchdowns to vault into early Heisman consideration. The other is first-year offensive coordinator Mark Whipple, who won a Super Bowl ring as a Pittsburgh Steelers assistant and spent last season with the Eagles. The ninth-ranked Hurricanes (2-0) are at No. 11 Virginia Tech (2-1).

4. The annual fall
For the fourth consecutive year, 12th-ranked USC (2-1) is trying to rebound from a loss to an unranked Pacific Ten Conference opponent. Freshman quarterback Matt Barkley sat out last week against Washington because of a bone bruise in his shoulder, but is expected to start tonight against Washington State (1-2). Although he still has some pain in the shoulder, Barkley said this week, "I'm playing no matter what."

5. The dwindling ranks ...
... of schools trying to sneak into a BCS bowl game that don't belong to a big conference include Mountain West members BYU and Utah, both losers last week. Two Conference USA unbeatens trying to move up have big matchups - No. 17 Houston hosting Texas Tech (2-1), and Southern Mississippi traveling to 20th-ranked Kansas (3-0). No. 8 Boise State (3-0), still the non-BCS frontrunner, won't have a cakewalk at Bowling Green (1-2).

6. Cougar town
College football is big again in Houston, where the Cougars are expecting their first sellout crowd in three years. Lovers of offensive football should be thoroughly entertained. Texas Tech, piloted by Taylor Potts, and Houston, with Case Keenum at the control, are first and fourth, respectively, in total offense, combining for more than 850 yards per game. Together, the two teams average 152 plays a game, 102 of them passes.

7. Reduced bite for Gators
Some commentators thought Florida would put up 100 points on Tennessee last week, but the Gators didn't score 50, or even 25. (They won, 23-13.) Coach Urban Meyer blamed the flu and the fact he felt the Volunteers preferred to shorten the game instead of win it. While the Vols are gone, the flu remains. Six starters were hit by flu-like symptoms this week, and Meyer estimates more than 35 cases in the last three or four. The top-ranked Gators (3-0) play at Kentucky (2-0).

8. Ducks make noise
California (3-0) may have the advantage in the Pac-10 following last week's loss by USC, but the sixth-ranked Bears will get all they can handle at Oregon (2-1). Autzen Stadium in Eugene is one of the loudest venues in college football, and Cal running back Jahvid Best remembers his visit two years ago. "It feels like it was 10 feet between the sideline and the crowd," he said. "No crowd usually gets to me. Oregon is the only place where it really gets on my nerves."

9. Buckeyes and Bearcats
The AP poll (oh, not that again!) finds 14th-ranked Cincinnati ranked just one rung below mighty Ohio State. That leads to the question - all right, maybe more by Bearcat fans than Buckeyes faithful - which is the best team in Ohio? Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly said his team plays with a chip on its shoulder because it's often overlooked when compared with Ohio State. Both teams are home: the Buckeyes (2-1) playing Illinois (1-1) and the Bearcats (3-0) taking on Fresno State (1-2).

10. Big East focus
Two intriguing Big East matchups find South Florida traveling to No. 18 Florida State and Pittsburgh at North Carolina State. The Bulls (3-0) have lost quarterback Matt Grothe, the conference's career total offense leader, for the season with a knee injury, meaning redshirt freshman B.J. Daniels will get his first start - in his hometown of Tallahassee. The Panthers (3-0) go head-to-head with the Wolfpack's Russell Wilson, who last week broke the NCAA record for most passes without an interception, a total now up to 329.

Games to Watch

Buffalo at Temple, noon, MYPHL17; WHAT-AM (1340): Owls begin Mid-American Conference schedule seeking to erase the bad memories of last year against the Bulls.

No. 9 Miami at No. 11 Virginia Tech, 3:30 p.m., 6ABC: One more good performance and Hurricanes quarterback Jacory Harris is a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate.

No. 6 California at Oregon, 3:30 p.m. (no local TV): The Bears get their national championship credentials checked at one of college football's loudest, most intimidating venues.

Arkansas at No. 3 Alabama, 3:30 p.m., CBS3: The Crimson Tide defense has to stop Ryan Mallett, the nation's top passer, who is averaging 358.5 yards through the air.

Northeastern at Villanova, 3:30 p.m., TCN, ESPN-AM (950): The highly touted Wildcats open Colonial Athletic Association play and try not to look ahead to a brutal October schedule.

Vanderbilt at Rice, 7 p.m., TCN: Biff Barf, the late George Carlin's sportscaster character, might call the final score "2 to the fourth power-the square root of 156.3."

Iowa at No. 5 Penn State, 8 p.m., 6ABC, WNTP-AM (990): Finally, we get to see if the Nittany Lions belong in the early national championship conversation.

Notre Dame at Purdue, 8 p.m., ESPN, ESPN-AM (950): The Fighting Irish have more worries than Jimmy Clausen's turf toe; their lackluster defense must stop elite rusher Ralph Bolden.

Texas Tech at Houston, 9:15 p.m., ESPN2: With Taylor Potts and Case Keenum throwing and throwing, this game could extend beyond last call at your favorite watering hole.

The Real Top 10

Here is staff writer Joe Juliano's rankings for Week 4:

1. Florida

2. Texas

3. Alabama

4. California

5. Miami

6. Penn State

7. Boise St.

8. LSU

9. Cincinnati

10. Houston

Contact staff writer Joe Juliano at 215-854-4494 or jjuliano@phillynews.com.