THE TIMES’ TOP 25

*--* Rk. Team (Rec.) Comment (last week’s rank) 1 FLORIDA (9-1) Moving Gators to No. 1 was tough decision, but that’s what Rankman gets paid for. (2) 2 TEXAS TECH (10-0) It’ll be a great weekend in Lubbock if Mike can beat Bob in Norman. (1) 3 TEXAS (10-1) Texas announces eventual successor to Muschamp has not been born yet. (3) 4 ALABAMA (11-0) Iron Bowl against Auburn should not be taken for granted or for granite. (4) 5 OKLAHOMA (9-1) Memo to Texas Tech: Oklahoma loses at home about as often as Rome did. (5) 6 UTAH (11-0) Cops worry that victory over BYU could incite a pizza party in Salt Lake City. (6) 7 USC (9-1) Carroll to help change BCS by becoming Obama’s secretary of Defense. (7). 8 PENN STATE (10-1) Injury may force Paterno to watch Rose Bowl from atop the Sierra Madre float. (8) 9 BOISE STATE (10-0) Trying to qualify as last school in President- elect’s exciting new eight-team playoff. (9) 10 OHIO STATE (9-2) Michigan game just won’t be the same with only one school fielding a team. (10) 11 MISSOURI (9-2) Tigers unsure which Big 12 South team they’d rather lose to in championship game. (11) 12 GEORGIA (9-2) Not the season Uga hoped for but nor is it a kick in the canines. (12) 13 BALL STATE (11-0) School working feverishly trying to schedule a Saturday game for 2009 season. (13) 14 BRIGHAM YOUNG (10-1) Loser of Utah game in Salt Lake City has to run six laps around the temple. (14) 15 OKLAHOMA STATE (9-2) Cowboys will spend weekend off thinking about how much they hate Oklahoma. (15) 16 MICHIGAN STATE (9-2) Spartans wouldn’t dare beat Penn State in possibly Paterno’s last home game. (16) 17 NORTH CAROLINA (7-3) Faces N.C. State in Tobacco Road classic: “Battle of the Ash Tray.” (17) 18 TEXAS CHRISTIAN (9-2) Making first public appearance this week since Nov. 6 loss at Utah. (18) 19 LOUISIANA STATE (7-3) Would have been a better story had big home comeback not come against Troy. (19) 20 OREGON STATE (7-3) Two wins from going to “that bowl” they don’t talk about but it rhymes with “nose.” (21) 21 OREGON (8-3) George Lucas asks to borrow uniforms for new sci-fi film about giant black insects. (NR) 22 BOSTON COLLEGE (7-3) Odds are Eagles will get cheated out of a better bowl game by Notre Dame. (NR) 23 FLORIDA STATE (7-3) Bowden will name starting lineup as soon as he talks to chief of police. (20) 24 MIAMI (7-3) Welcome back to the poll, stranger, now act like you’ve been here before. (NR) 25 CINCINNATI (8-2) Game against Pittsburgh apparently important in something called the Big East. (NR) *--*