WHAT WEEK WILL THE TOP 25 RANKINGS BECOME LEGIT?

I am trying to figure out at what week the Top 25 becomes a measuring stick to know how good a team is and if a game is really an upset, because so far, the rankings appear to be a madman's compilation of his favorite mascots instead of a legitimate collection of the best teams in the country.

How was UCLA ever in the Top 25 and how are they still the in the top 2 "others receiving votes" category? The Bruins have played one game, on national TV (mind you no other games were even on, so the audience had to be huge), at home, and they won in overtime. Sure they played a big time SEC program in Tennessee who was ranked #18 entering the game, but I think every person who saw that game quickly realized that a Top 20 spot for the Volunteers was as ludicrous as Venus William's hair at the U.S. Open Finals last week. The Bruins had 4 first half interceptions, horrendous QB play (mainly in the 1st half), 29 total rushing yards and Tennessee still couldn't win. I don't think that Rocky Mountain choking means UCLA is for real. Lets wait a few more weeks, because despite the fact that on paper they are playing another Top 20 team this week, I don't how legitimate the Cougars are yet.


Using that transition, how is a mid-major team like BYU Top 20 2 weeks into the season with the wins they have thus far? Sure BYU has a gunner behind center in Max Hall and a beast running back who probably should be playing linebacker, but the Cougars have beaten Northern Iowa (I don't even know their mascot and it takes more than three computer clicks to figure it out). Couple that with last week, where with the help of the zebras, the Cougars eked out a win against a bottom tier Pac-10 team. In my book, that doesn't make you the #18 (or #15 depending on the poll) team in the country.

Not to toot the horn of the train I ride, but the Cal Golden Bears beat a mid to top level major conference team (Michigan State) and went on the rode a destroyed a poor Pac-10 team. That resume alone (lined up simply against the Cougar's list of wins) should mean that Cal is a lock in the Top 25 poll, however, they just crawled in last week and currently are sitting on the doorstep of not being ranked (#23 and #25).

The rankings this year are more premature than in recent years. Obviously this weekend will tell us a lot, but I am not even certain the Buckeyes are a Top 10 tam, let alone a Top 5. Their resume looks like a joke...beating Youngstown state (once again, what is their mascot and by the way, their is no State named Youngstown, so a name change might be in order) and barley sneaking out of the horseshoe with a win over the mid-major Ohio Bobcats. That's about as impressive as Tyson Gay's performance in Beijing.

So lets erase the Top 25 rankings for another week or two and then begin to build them from scratch, based on THIS SEASONS performances and resumes.