Here’s my ballot for this week’s CBS Sports BlogPoll Top 25 hosted by — as you might imagine — CBS Sports.

Week 7

Through 11 October 2009

Glory be!  Yes, I have succumbed to my inner instincts and have made a change at the very top of my ballot this week.  As for the rest of the changes in the world of college football represented in my BlogPoll Top 25 ballot for this week, hopefully most are fairly obvious.  Either way, here’s my ballot:

My Ballot for the Week

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama	2
2	Florida	1
3	Texas	1
4	Southern Cal	2
5	Boise State	–
6	LSU	2
7	TCU	–
8	Ohio State	–
9	Penn State	–
10	Iowa	–
11	Virginia Tech	–
12	Miami (Florida)	1
13	Cincinnati	1
14	Kansas	2
15	Notre Dame	–
16	Oklahoma	1
17	Oklahoma State	1
18	Nebraska	2
19	South Carolina	NR
20	Mississippi	8
21	Oregon	1
22	Pittsburgh	1
23	Georgia Tech	NR
24	Houston	NR
25	Auburn	6
Last week’s ballot

Explanations after the jump…

Comments, Explanations, and Excuses

Here are the high-points of the week’s changes:

Here comes Alllll-aah-bammy!:

After watching the performance of the Alabama Crimson Tide (1) over the course of the season, I can simply no longer justify them not being at the top.  I know there are going to be some that believe that it is unfair for me to drop both the Florida Gators (2) and the Texas Longhorns (3) without their having lost a game, but the fact is that I believe that Alabama is the best in the country.  Sorry, guys, I gotta call them like I see ‘em.

Alabama has just been too consistent and absolutely embarrassed the Ole Miss Rebels (20) this past weekend.  The Crimson Tide defense is stifling and the offense is efficient.  In my opinion (which I realize means nothing), the Tide is the team to beat.

The SEC Cometh and Goeth:

Aside from the top of the heap, there was a good bit of change for the schools of the SEC this week.  In the wake of my Tennessee Volunteers (NR)  laying a 45-19 whuppin’ on the Georgia Bulldogs (NR), the Dawgs have exited my ballot—probably for good.  Georgia simply looked bad—very bad—against the Vols and likely have a long season ahead of them.

Both the Ole Miss Rebels (20) and the Auburn Tigers (25) saw a substantial drop this week as a result of their losses as well.  The Rebels looked completely hapless on offense against Alabama, and were routed soundly—22-3—in front of the home crowd in Oxford.  I honestly expected a little more from the Rebels, and thus they fall eight places.

One week after my Vols made the Auburn Tigers look spectacular, they were beaten handily by the Arkansas Razorbacks (NR) in a game which apparently featured no defense of any kind.  While Auburn has the ability to score points, until they figure out how to stop their opponent from doing the same, they will be vulnerable.  Still, I imagine that Auburn will still finish strong and will likely remain in my ballot as they head down the home stretch.

On the bright side, after scraping by against the Kentucky Wildcats (NR) on the shoulders of quarterback Stephen Garcia, at 5-1 (2-1 SEC) the South Carolina Gamecocks (19) make their debut in my ballot for the first time this week.  Next week, however, the Thunder Chickens face Alabama in Tuscaloosa, which will be an uphill battle for them no matter how well they play.

Stability in the Middle of the Field:

As for the rest of my ballot, there remains very little movement in the the middle of the pack from positions 7 through 15.  Some of this will change as these teams play one another later in the season, but for now, the lack of change above has led to little change below.

Parting Thoughts

Having taken the time to consider my feeble attempt at ranking the powers in college football, feel free to try and convince me that I am wrong — which is part of the way the BlogPoll is supposed to work.  I promise that I will consider all insults comments.

You can view the final results of this week’s poll over at CBS Sports later this week and check out an analysis of how the collective blogging brain-trust arrived at this week’s result. If you’re craving even more BlogPoll goodness, you can also check out how other bloggers voted and see how your team fared across the Blogosphere.

– So it goes…

About the Author:  "Lawvol" -- I'm just a guy living in North Carolina who has an unnatural fascination with the color orange. Just because I'm a Tennessee alum and die-hard Volunteer fan doesn't mean that I can't poke a little fun at the Big Orange and anybody else for that matter. Feel free to complain all you want. >> Read more from this author

Allegedy Related Posts (Computer Generated):

• 2009 CBS Sports BlogPoll Top 25 Ballot: Week 9 (4)
• 2009 CBS Sports BlogPoll Top 25 Ballot: Week 15: End of the Regular Season (2)
• 2009 CBS Sports BlogPoll Top 25 Ballot: Week 14 (2)

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