The Times’ top 25 college football teams

The Southeastern Conference, taken out of the national title hunt for as long as three non-SEC teams keep winning, mostly takes the week off as it openly cheers for upsets of Oregon, Kansas State and Notre Dame. SEC schools bully up to play seven 1-AA schools this week, which is seven more than Notre Dame, USC and UCLA have ever scheduled. The SEC is believed to be the first league to stage an exhibition season inside a regular season, but the scary part is Alabama A&M; might beat Auburn. And if Florida thought Louisiana Lafayette was tough last week, well, watch out for Jacksonville State. In keeping with the SEC’s time-honored November tradition, Rankman has scheduled mostly 1-AA level comments this week.

1; Oregon 10-0; Chip Kelly doesn’t acknowledge any injuries but is accepting Red Cross donations. (2)

2; Kansas State 10-0; Ryan Leaf (9-4-2000) says SI cover jinx is just a myth concocted by media to sell magazines. (3)

3; Notre Dame 10-0; Coach admits voting own team No. 1 because there wasn’t any ranking higher. (4)

4; Ohio State 10-0; Local parlor offering entire team free “12-0” tattoos if Buckeyes can win last two. (5)

5; Alabama 9-1; School boasts it is still undefeated against all SEC schools not in Big 12 last year. (1)

6; Georgia 9-1; School rewards Coach Richt with 10-minute contract extension for clinching SEC East. (6)

7; Florida State 9-1; Breaking news: Jimbo discovers something called “BCS” may not be a fair way to determine champion. (7)

8; Florida 9-1; Defense wins championships but offense sometimes only outscores Missouri and Louisiana Lafayette, 41-27. (8)

9; LSU 8-2; Passing attack finally rounds into form just in time for the off-season conditioning championships. (9)

10; Texas A&M; 8-2; Sports Illustrated promises cover to Manziel if he ever does something noteworthy. (15)

11; Clemson 9-1; Can still win ACC if Maryland pulls off upset over Florida State … ah, never mind. (10)

12; South Carolina 8-2; Warning: Wofford recently defeated Lincoln (Pa.), starring Daniel Day-Lewis, 82-0. (13)

13; Oklahoma 7-2; “Un-circle” your calendars this week as Sooners make at-one-time anticipated trip to West Virginia. (14)

14; Stanford 8-2; This not-so-funny Farm front has allowed average of 12 rushing yards in last four games. (16)

15 Oregon State 7-2; “Civil war” reenactment with Nicholls State (La.) still on Dec. 1 unless Beavers reach Pac-12 title. (12)

16; UCLA 8-2; Heated Mora (Washington) vs. Kiffin (Fresno State) rivalry dates to the Apple Raisin Cup. (17)

17; Nebraska 8-2; Bo Pelini doesn’t scream at his players 24 hours a day; it just seems that way. (18)

18; Louisiana Tech 9-1; Big game against Utah State this week could shape WAC football for days to come. (19)

19; USC 7-3; Wide receiver Lee also named semifinalist in Russia for the coveted Fred Baryshnikov Award. (20)

20; Louisville 9-1; Rankman blew giant bubble with Bridgewater’s Heisman gum and then watched it pop. (11)

21; Rutgers 8-1; The year 1997 (0-11) is cracking up over the idea Rutgers could win this year’s Big East title. (21)

22; Texas 8-2; Last sunset comes as Willie Nelson sings “Healing Hands of Time” at Darrell Royal’s memorial. (23)

23; Michigan 7-3; Someone spiked my preseason punch and replaced Denard Robinson at QB with Devin Gardner. (NR)

24; San Diego State 8-3; Paired with Temple next year in Big East’s new Philly Phish Taco Division. (24)

25; Kent State 9-1; Golden Flashes might be in BCS hunt if not for that one ugly loss at Kent-yucky. (25)

Dropped out: Northwestern (22).

Moved in: Michigan.

chris.dufresne@latimes.com