Rank This, Sept. 22.

New rankings are out, with little movement at the top. A few things to note.

How in the world has Clemson rebounded so quickly? A little more than three weeks since getting blown out by Alabama on national television, the Tigers are back to No. 20 in the AP poll and No. 19 in the coaches poll. I swear, somebody somewhere in some position of power must really like Clemson. Since losing to Alabama, the Tigers have beaten a very mediocre NC State team and creampuffs The Citadel and South Carolina State. Puleese. Let's put them in the Chick fil a Bowl and be done with it.

Kudos to voters for ranking Boise State, Vanderbilt and TCU --- all deserving teams. I'm not saying they're all going to stay ranked, but they deserve to be right now. I'm also glad that Auburn was not penalized too harshly for losing at home to a very tough LSU team. Auburn dropped to No. 15 from No. 10.

I'd say watch out for Oklahoma State. The Cowboys are 3-0 and have cultivated a potent offensive attack. What's more, with Troy and Texas A&M up next, Okie State could be 5-0 by the time they travel to Columbia for a showdown with Missouri on Oct. 11.

Connecticut is 4-0 and receiving votes in both polls. But I fear they may have won their last game for a while. Upcoming are games against Louisville, North Carolina, West Virginia and Cincinnati.

Woe be to Georgia and that gulag of a schedule. Who knows how long their No. 3 ranking will hold? Games loom against Alabama, Tennessee, LSU, Florida and Auburn. Even the supposed "creampuffs" in that stretch, Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Georgia Tech, all are solid.

Rankings Review, Sept. 15 / Crystal Ball, in retrospect...

Ohio State plummets and USC consolidates first-place votes in the new polls. I'm surprised at how impressive voters thought South Florida's win over Kansas was. The Bulls are now at No. 12 (and clearly overrated). Good news? Kansas is roughly where it should be: No. 19ish.

Most overrated in the polls: Missouri at No. 6. The offense is potent, yes. But who have they played? This is a team that gave up six touchdowns to Illinois. On Saturday, Louisiana-Lafayette held Illinois to 20 points and almost pitched the upset.

Most underrated in the polls: Vanderbilt at unranked (They've only beaten three solid teams: Miami (Oh), South Carolina and Rice.)

Why are these teams getting votes? Ball State, Northwestern.

A review of how The Crystal Ball did:

The Crystal Ball has a sixth sense:

"Tulane is better than people think. They held Alabama to 20 points last week --- something the vaunted Clemson Tigers could not do. I still think East Carolina wins this game because they have the better offense, but it's a close one."

"The pro-Huskie crowd will scream its lungs out, but to no avail. Oklahoma does a woodshed job on Washington. I predict an ugly score, and even uglier sports columns calling for Ty Will's firing on Sunday."

"Fresno State has been pointing to this home game with Wisconsin for some time, but Wisconsin has heart and is well conditioned. My prediction: The game goes into the 4th quarter close. Ultimately, I think Wisconsin pulls it out because they have a slightly better offense. But I would not be surprised to see the Bulldogs snatch one here."

"Ohio State at USC...I think the Ohio State defense keeps it close early on. I also think coach Jim Tressel will have some tricks up his sleeve involving freshman sensation QB Terelle Pryor. But USC is just too talented to be stopped. The Trojans win comfortably."

The Crystal Ball was kind of right:

"Vandy jumps out early on Rice and withstands a furious late rally from the Owls, who are well conditioned and tend to play their best football in the 4th quarter."

"Texas Tech puts up a big number on SMU in Lubbock. The spread is 36.5, but given how poor SMU's defense is, I think Tech will cover."

"Missouri beats Nevada in Columbia. It's close in the first half, but Mizzou turns it on in the second half and adds a couple of TDs late to make the final score pretty for the newspapers."

The Crystal Ball was sniffing glue:

"Cal at Maryland... This one is not even close. Cal unleashes an offensive storm on the Terps and puts up a big, big number."

NFL Quick Notes: The Cleveland Browns are a mess. Unless they get it together in a hurry, I predict an ugly season this year.... I think RB LaDanian Tomlinson of San Diego is running out of gas. His body has taken such punishment over the years and it's starting to show.... Minnesota's stellar young RB Adrian Peterson is going to get hurt this year. He runs with abandon. But his greatest strength also could be his undoing.... Aaron Rodgers is playing out of his mind. The Green Bay QB is accurate and making all the right decisions. But will it last? .... Patriot QB Matt Cassel is no substitute for His Holiness, Tom Brady. The Pats will win some games this year because of defense and sheer will. But they are kidding themselves if they can compete with the elite with Cassel calling the signals.