Hlas' AP Top 25 football ballot for Week 8 - Florida, Texas, Alabama, Iowa

I had Iowa fifth last week, a spot behind USC. Claiming a third Big Ten road win, I pushed the Hawkeyes up to fourth. (They're seventh in the AP poll, eighth in the coaches' rankings. To see those polls, click here.)

Look at the defeated: a very good Penn State team (just one loss), Wisconsin (just two), No. 23 Arizona (just two), Michigan State (as good a 4-4 team as you'll find), and a 5-3 Iowa State team that has either beaten or gone to the very end with every other team it's faced.

If you simply put the names "Team A," Team B," etc. on Alabama, Florida, Texas and Iowa, how would they be ranked given who they've beaten and where they've beaten them?

Really, what has Alabama or Florida or Texas done this season that Iowa hasn't? Has either of those two mentioned SEC teams not had their own scares? Florida staved off Arkansas in Gainesville last week, Alabama was fortunate to escape Tennessee in Tuscaloosa on Saturday. Texas defeated Oklahoma by a field goal on a neutral site, and hasn't played anyone else that's currently ranked.

So why not rank Iowa even higher? Well ... No. 4's pretty high for a team that, let's face it, would be a serious underdog against the top three on a neutral site. This isn't about being the fourth-best team, though. It's about winning, winning against quality opposition, and doing it in some very tough places to prevail.

OK, I also moved unbeaten and impressive Cincinnati up a spot to fifth, and lowered USC to sixth. The Trojans didn't play like a Top Five team at home against Oregon State Saturday, giving up 482 yards and 36 points to those pesky Beavers. It was a win. But two-thirds into the year, I've accepted that Cincinnati is mowing down team after team in a very dynamic way.

From the top:

1. Florida. I think Texas has the best team in the land. But I have held firm to the belief the defending champs should be No. 1 until beaten.

2. Texas. C0mpletely silenced Missouri in Columbia. Will breeze to the BCS title game if it beats Oklahoma State in Stillwater this Saturday, which is far from a given.

3. Alabama. If Iowa is a high-wire act, the Crimson Tide are the SEC's Hawkeyes.

4. Iowa. Don't you wonder if, say, Alabama would have survived Saturday night at Michigan State in that atmosphere and against a team that matched Iowa and then some when it came to raw, brutal, physical play?

5. Cincinnati. A 7-0 record, only a couple games that were very close, and seemingly getting better as the season progresses. Comparative scores are silly, yes, but the Bearcats were better in winning at Oregon State than USC was in beating the Beavers in Los Angeles.

6. USC. If there's a USC-Iowa matchup in Pasadena at a game named for a red flower, bet on the Trojans. But the loss USC has to Washington (3-5) is looking more and more like it will keep the Trojans out of the national-title game.

7. TCU. Mighty impressive in walloping BYU in Provo. That's four solid road wins, including Clemson, which won at Miami Saturday.

8. Boise State. Unbeaten. Hammered a horrible Hawaii team Saturday. Does not face another team that remotely resembles a ranked team. Unfortunate, because the Broncos are a very fine squad.

9. Oregon. Getting stronger every week and hosts USC Saturday.

10. Penn State. Went to Michigan and owned the Wolverines.

11. LSU. Gave Gene Chizik his third-straight loss at Auburn. LSU has no victory over a team that is currently ranked, but it can show what it's got at Alabama a week from this Saturday.

12. Georgia Tech. Playing very well. How's that for analysis?

13. Oklahoma State. Zac Robinson completed 23 of 27 passes in a breeze at Baylor. If it beats Texas Saturday, it can make a run for the Big 12 South's spot in the league-title game against ... someone.

14. Houston. The Cougars are this year's Texas Tech.

15. Virginia Tech. Idle Saturday. Idle is a good way to move up in the rankings a lot of weeks.

16. Pittsburgh. Demolished formerly ranked South Florida.

17. Ohio State. Buckeyes host New Mexico State Saturday. Can someone please explain?

18. Miami.  'Canes fell at home to Clemson in overtime.

19. West Virginia. Survived UConn's 501 yards to edge the Huskies, 28-24.

20. Utah. Not a Top 20 team, and I dropped the Utes four spots for not having beaten anyone of note and needing overtime to elude Air Force Saturday. But I saw no one below the Utes more deserving of No. 2o.

21. Oklahoma. Winning at Kansas with ease is a little salve on a non-BCS season.

22. Arizona. The Wildcats have come a long way since leaving Iowa City. They're 5-2, 3-1 in the Pac-10.

23. Central Michigan. A tout to the little guys. The Chippewas are 7-0 since opening the year with a loss at Arizona. If they could score 29 points at Michigan State (and win), they've got something to recommend themselves.

24. California. A dubious pick with blowout losses to Oregon and USC, but I'm a forgiving soul and, I must shamefully admit, I meant to vote Wisconsin this week and didn't. Get home from East Lansing at 3 a.m. and see how cogent you are.

25. Notre Dame. Beating Michigan State and now Boston College is nice, and so is pushing USC to the last play. But I probably should have put Wisconsin (or Mississippi or South Carolina) here instead.