Hlas' AP Top 25 ballot for Week 4: Oregon bumped to No. 2 and Kansas State to No. 5

It wasn't easy for me to drop LSU from No. 2 to No. 3 on my Associated Press Top 25 ballot this week when LSU did what it had to do and left Auburn with a win.

I know Auburn isn't the Auburn of two years ago by any stretch of the imagination, but winning at Auburn is hard, and LSU's 12-10 win was a proverbial gut-check.

But Oregon then tore Arizona asunder in Eugene, 49-zip. Sure, sure, the Ducks may not have that SEC-toughness. But they fly, to the ball and to the end zone. Plus, LSU hasn't beaten anyone else of distinction, while Arizona was the team that hung a 59-38 win on Oklahoma State two weeks ago.

LSU is at Florida in two weeks. If the Bayou Bengals win that, it will be hard for me not to put them back in my No. 2 slot. Until then, it's Oregon.

My ballot:

1. Alabama

2. Oregon

3. LSU

4. Florida State

5. Kansas State. Won at Oklahoma. Any questions?

6. Florida

7. Georgia

8. Notre Dame. Which of the Irish's three wins in succession over Big Ten teams will loom the largest come November? I think it's up for grabs. Purdue is better than people realize, and that was Notre Dame's toughest game of the three.

9. Stanford

10. South Carolina

11. West Virginia

12. Texas

13. USC

14. Oklahoma

15. Clemson

16. Oregon State. The Beavers won at UCLA. It was quite a day for football in the Beaver State.

17. Ohio State

18. TCU. If the Horned Frogs beat SMU Saturday and Iowa State downs Texas Tech, the ISU-TCU game of Oct. 6 will be between 4-0 teams.

19. Michigan State

20. Mississippi State

21. Nebraska. This was my preseason pick to win the Big Ten, and I'm standing by it. It's not like it's going to cost me anything.

22. Baylor

23. Rutgers. Three road wins in September. That has to count for something.

24. Louisiana Tech. Held to a season-low 52 points at Illinois.

25. UCLA

Here is the AP poll itself: