this needs to prefaced by this...the coaches poll is a joke and doesn't really matter at all. the AP poll doesn't matter, in theory, but, our society is SOOOOO media driven that if the AP gets BYU into the top 10 by the end of october, when the committee comes out with their first rankings, and then the committee proceeds to sell BYU short and rank them lower...there could be significant backlash. while the committee will not use the AP poll as a measure it will be, even if subconsciously, part of the discussion and determine "talking points". (i.e. "is BYU a top 10 team" etc)

it should be noted that the committee will release their first rankings on october 28, right after week 9 (BYU plays @BSU on friday that week). BYU is currently ranked #18 and within striking distance of 16 and 17. they need to average moving up two slots per week for the next 4 AP polls...they've moved up at least two spots three times already so it's not unprecedented.

this week's slate of games is impressive and, most importantly, pair A LOT of ranked teams against each other.

#6 TAMU vs #12 Miss St - i think we should be rooting for TAMU to blow out Miss State (don't think it will happen though)
#3 Bama vs #11 Ole Miss - root for Bama to blow out Ole Miss...i think this will happen (ole miss, and LSU, are grossly over-rated)
#4 OU vs #25 TCU - sneaky matchup in DFW area. OU's looked impressive so i see them winning big...but you never know. might be OU's only chance at a loss this season.
#14 Stan vs #9 ND - unless an epic one-point classic, i think BYU jumps Stanford if they lose (which i think they will)
#15 LSU vs #5 Auburn - auburn's gonna crush these guys and BYU jumps them.
#19 Neb vs #10 MSU - should be a great game...i think Sparty gets it done and at least creates separation between us and Nebraska (they currently are only 5 votes behind us)

a couple other games to watch:

utah at #8 UCLA - last week makes this game seem impossible for utes...they looked awful and bruins looked like world-beaters...but maybe ASU is that bad. KW is always good for one big upset every year and bruins could be over-looking them.
ASU vs #16 USC - the trojans haven't looked great all year and yet they are somehow still ranked above us...ASU looked awful but maybe they can seek revenge for last week's performance and take down USC.

everyone's gonna get primed for this huge slate of saturday games by watching the ONLY game on that night that matters: BYU vs USU. (2 other insignificant games scheduled that night). it's a huge night that will bring a LOT of eyeballs...royal blue, jim mcmahon, taysom hill, etc.

IF BYU can come out and throttle the aggies (like i think they will) that will set an impression that will hopefully not be forgotten during crazy saturday where i think BYU jumps at least 3 and maybe 4 teams directly above them that will lose (Miss St, Ole Miss, Stan, LSU). given a random upset or two (see ucla/usc games) they could move up more.

make a statement on friday night and enjoy the carnage on saturday then revel in the top-15 ranking on sunday...which will leave only 4-5 more spots in 3 weeks to get into NY6 territory...before our awful nov slate hits.