Hlas' AP Top 25 ballot for Week 3

This was, I think, the hardest AP Top 25 ballot I've constructed in my three years of doing this.

First, I went back on forth for LSU and Oklahoma for No. 1. The trouble was, I saw both on TV this week. Both looked really good against high-quality competition. No. 1-good, especially on defense.

I kept LSU at the top because it handled Oregon in addition to winning at Mississippi State. Oklahoma's win at Florida State tops both in my mind, but LSU has more of a body of work at this early stage of the season. If the Tigers win at 3-0 West Virginia this week, I won't understand why they aren't No. 1. Oh wait, it's because Oklahoma is hosting Missouri, which is no pushover. Or because Alabama hosts 3-0 Arkansas.

I also really struggled sorting teams after the top nine. No one from No. 10 on has much of a resume yet. Nebraska fans think I'm short-changing the Cornhuskers, but they've beaten Chattanooga, Fresno State (which needed a comeback to beat North Dakota Saturday), and Washington (which had beaten Eastern Washington and Hawaii. Eastern Washington is 0-3. Hawaii lost by 20 points at dreadful UNLV Saturday night.)

We're told to vote on performance, not reputation or preseason ranking. Performance to me means who you've beaten and where you've done it in addition to winning.

My ballot:

1. LSU (3-0)

2. Oklahoma (2-0)

3. Boise State (2-0) Toledo came within a whisker of winning at Ohio State. Boise went to Toledo and ripped the Rockets, 40-15. Toledo is a pretty good team.

4. Alabama (3-0). I'll take winning over Georgia in Atlanta and winning at Toledo over winning at Penn State and beating Kent State and North Texas at home.

5. Stanford (3-0). Back-to-back road wins over Duke and Arizona were surgical. Duke was good enough to win at Boston College Saturday. Which means Duke shares a division lead in the ACC that schools are suddenly leaping over each other to join.

6. Oklahoma State (3-0). Weather wouldn't let these guys play until after midnight in Tulsa, yet they came out and blasted the Hurricanes, a 10-win team last year.

7. Wisconsin (3-0). Hasn't played anyone of note, but has played three FBS teams and pulverized all of them.

8. South Florida (3-0). Ask Michigan State if winning at Notre Dame is an accomplishment.

9. South Carolina (3-0). Edged Navy at home Saturday, but Navy is good. That's on top of a win at Georgia.

10. Baylor (2-0). This is where it got real hard for me. The Bears' home win over TCU, to me, is a better victory than any other team I ranked below can claim, including Miami's win over Ohio State. No, I don't think Baylor is better than Oregon or Florida State or Nebraska or Texas A&M, etc. But until those teams beat someone prominent ...

11. Florida (3-0). I don't know if beating Tennessee at home will stack up as a great win, but the Gators did what they had to do and a little more.

12. Oregon (2-1). Best win was vs. Nevada. That would have been a good one for Boise State last year.

13. Florida State (2-1). Best win was vs. Louisiana-Monroe.

14. Virginia Tech (3-0). Best win is at East Carolina.

15. TCU (2-1). Best win is at Air Force, which is a good win.

16. Nebraska (3-0). Plays at Wyoming Saturday. The Cowboys are 3-0. They may be the worst 3-0 FBS team in the nation, but so what? Nebraska is playing at Wyoming. I like that. I wish Iowa would play at Wyoming sometime.

17. Texas A&M (2-0). Best win is vs. SMU.

18. West Virginia (3-0). Nice win at Maryland Saturday. Here comes LSU.

19. Arkansas (3-0). Best win is vs. Troy.

20. Michigan (3-0). Best win is vs. Notre Dame. Why don't I have Michigan ahead of Arkansas? That's a very good question. Once again, I need to type these things out before I send my ballot to AP, not after.

21. USC (3-0). Best win is vs. Utah. Trojans have played three teams from BCS conferences, and may be the only team in the country from a BCS conference that can say that.

22. Clemson (3-0). Best win is vs. Auburn. Hey Arkansas, I was too kind to you this week.

23. Texas (3-0). There was a time when crushing UCLA in Pasadena would have been a big story. That time isn't now.

24. Miami Fla. (1-1). The 'Canes looked good against Ohio State.

25. Iowa State (3-0). That's right. And maybe ISU should be higher than this. The Cyclones have beaten the No. 2 team in FCS (Northern Iowa), a Big Ten team of repute (Iowa) and the defending Big East champ on the road (Connecticut). Find me a team I haven't ranked that has as good a resume.

Illinois beat Arizona State at home Saturday, but played Arkansas State and South Dakota State before that. Georgia Tech has been running up huge numbers, but has played Western Carolina, Middle Tennessee State and Kansas. North Carolina is 3-0, but by beating James Madison, Rutgers and Virginia.

Who else? Ohio State? Penn State? They've lost games and don't own wins over anyone as good as Iowa, or maybe even UConn.