Rounding Into Form

Now that most teams have played three or four games, we have a much better idea of what's what and who's who. East Carolina's big wins have lost a little luster, thanks to two-loss West Virginia. Alabama has kept on rolling. Tennessee? Terrible.

At this point, Homerism still has questions about three highly regarded teams. First, the jury is still out on a Penn State team that has rolled up some big wins in Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions have put together a resume consisting of four wins by an average margin of roughly 40 points. However, that group includes Coastal Carolina, Temple and Oregon State. The only road win came at Syracuse, a picture of ineptitude under coach Greg Robinson. PSU has a home date with Illinois next week. Deliver a similar beatdown to the Illini, then we can talk.

Likewise, I think the Sooners still need to prove it before I can put them ahead of Missouri or Florida or LSU. TCU rolls into Norman next week, and we all know how that story played out last time. In Homerism's opinion, OU needs a strong showing against the Horned Frogs to merit a higher ranking.

Finally, Homerism submits for your consideration that we don't know nearly as much about USC as we think. So far, the Trojans are hanging their hats on a winning a road game against arguably the worst team in the ACC by 45. Then, Southern Cal beat up on Ohio State at the Coliseum. The Buckeyes, however, have yet to impress and were playing without an ex-Heisman Trophy candidate. Sure, USC has looked awesome in both games, but let's not crown them national champs just yet. Unfortunately, the Pac-10's struggles suggest the Trojans may not be tested until the BCS championship game.

Blatant Homerism Power Poll Week Four

1. USC

2. Georgia

3. LSU

4. Missouri

5. Alabama

6. South Florida

7. Wisconsin

8. Oklahoma

9. Texas

10. Penn State