Reshuffling my Top Five

It is now:

1. Utah
2. Florida
3. USC
4. OU
5. Texas

If you're going to give OU credit for getting better since October, you have to give USC credit, too. And I don't see how you could watch the Rose Bowl and Fiesta Bowl, knowing that Penn State and Ohio State are very comparable opponents, and not move USC up above Texas -- and ipso facto up above anybody Texas has beaten, at least until that anybody proves against a real opponent that they've gotten a lot better since Texas beat 'em. And as we should all see plainly by now, "real opponent" excludes teams in the Big XII. If OU isn't a lot better than Texas is now, then USC is better than Texas. And since OU hasn't proved that to my satisfaction, they sit behind USC.

This does not mean, by the way, that I think Utah and Florida should have played for the national championship. You sort the bowls by the information you have before the bowl season; plus, USC has had their bowl and had their chance to impress, but OU and Florida haven't had their shot yet.

But I think OU had better bring their game Thursday night in a big way.