Hlas' AP Top 25 ballot for Week 9

I spent quite a while late Saturday night considering moving Iowa down from the lofty No. 4 spot I gave it last week.

TCU is unbeaten, has been merciless on defense, and has some good road wins, like Clemson and BYU. But it has no win over another team that I would put in the Top 25.

Cincinnati is unbeaten, has won at Rutgers and Oregon State and South Florida, and has been a model of consistency. But it has beaten no one in the Top 20.

Boise State, after beating Oregon in Week 1, has played no one of note. Oregon, so strong against USC Saturday night, lost to Boise State.

So I keep Iowa fourth for another week, but am holding my nose in doing so. I know the Hawkeyes aren't the fourth-best team in the nation. So do you. But this is about performance, and Iowa has done what no one else has come close to doing. It beat Penn State. And it won at a very good Wisconsin team. And it beat an Arizona squad that is now ranked.

And, it has played better teams week in and week out than TCU or Cincinnati or Boise State.

So there.

1. Florida

2. Texas. The Longhorns don't seem to have a problem game on their way to the BCS title battle vs. the SEC champion. Is there any way Texas A&M could spring one on the 'Horns on Thanksgiving in College Station? Nah.

3. Alabama

4. Iowa

5. Cincinnati

6. TCU. No BCS bowl wants this team. Few fans. No BCS conference team wants this opponent.

7. Boise State. Where would the Broncos play if they miss out on a BCS game? The Humanitarian Bowl?

8. Oregon. If the Ducks had won on Boise in early September, where would they be ranked today?

9. Penn State. We'll see if the Nittany Lions knocked the wind out of Northwestern when the Wildcats come to Iowa this Saturday.

10. Georgia Tech. After losing at Miami early in the season, the Yellow Jackets have been impressive.

11. LSU. Win at Alabama Saturday, Tigers, and you've done something. Right now, their best victory is over Georgia.

12. USC. Do the Trojans get in a BCS bowl if they win out? Probably.

13. Houston. The first 12 were easy. The final 13? Not so much.

14. Pittsburgh

15. Ohio State. On to Penn State this Saturday.

16. Miami. Barely got past Wake Forest at Wake, which is nothing to be ashamed of.

17. Arizona. Nothing like a bye week to move up in the polls.

18. Oklahoma State. Had its moment of truth last night vs. Texas, and came up false.

19. Wisconsin. Routed Purdue.

20. Utah. Not an especially good team, just one that has only lost once.

21. Oklahoma. Sooners applying for admission in the Big 12 North.

22. California. With losses to only Oregon and USC, Bears are in the Holiday Bowl hunt.

23. Notre Dame. Why were the Irish playing Washington State in San Antonio? Does that make any sense?

24. South Florida. Why not?

25. Temple. The Owls, doormats for decades, are 6-2. I want their one point in the AP poll to come from me.