Finally — we're starting to see some movement in the Power Poll.
With the second week of the 2010 season in the books, we're starting to see the gaps between the large middle class of Texas FBS teams shrink rapidly. Though a near-consensus TCU squad has opened up a comfortable lead on the Longhorns for the top spot, all of that could change if UT waltzes out of Lubbock with a win this weekend. Even TCU's neutral-site win over ranked Oregon State can't top that victory. If UT loses, the second spot is all but gone.
But UH, A&M, Tech, Baylor and even SMU are all battling for the next five positions — and most of those groups have a chance to move up the standings this week. Though UCLA is now powerhouse program anymore, if UH can beat that group on the road, it adds fuel to its already firey case for the third spot it locked up last week. Tech, obviously, hosts Texas. If the Raiders win, third would be the least of its options. First or second would be a safe bet.
BU has the chance to shake everything up — it travels to TCU to start a new multi-game installment in Texas' least-talked rivalry game. If the Bears come out with a win, it would be one of college football top upsets of the year to date ... and it would devastate a Froggie nation that's living up its national No. 4 status. A&M enjoys its third cupcake in a row, but SMU gets Washington State, the team that so narrowly escaped it a year ago. Revenge on their mind, anyone?
DCTF 2010 Texas College Football Week 3 Power Poll
| # | School | Points (1st-place votes) | Previous |
| 1 | TCU Horned Frogs | Points: 49 (4) | 1 |
| Travis Stewart: Froggies everywhere need to root for Oregon State to massacre Boise State in two weeks. Virginia Tech's humiliating loss to an FCS team — at home — hurts TCU through three-degrees-of-seperation. The true crime? What could end up being TCU's best team of the past decade or so could suffer from it in the end. | |||
| 2 | Texas Longhorns | Points: 43 (1) | 2 |
| Rick Epstein: Defense will keep them in every game. Big question: Did John Chiles just lose his starting job to the electrifying freshman sensation Mike Davis? The fab freshman class is the real deal. | |||
| 3 | Houston Cougars | Points: 38 | 3 |
| Travis Stewart: So let me answer your inevitable question — "Could the Coogs survive without Keenum?" with a question: Did you see the way Bryce Beall ran against that UTEP defense? A man amongst boys out there, that one. | |||
| 4 | Texas A&M Aggies | Points: 35 | 4 |
| Brad Hilliard: The Aggies have looked good against two cupcakes so far, and they'll get another this weekend before heading to Stillwater on the 30th. | |||
| 5 | Texas Tech Red Raiders | Points: 28 | 5 |
| Tom Sullivan: Will this weekend's Texas vs. Texas Tech matchup be anywhere close to the '08 Crabtree Classic? The guess here is no ... | |||
| 6 | Baylor Bears | Points: 26 | 7 |
| Adam Hochfelder: If BU beats a top-4 team on the road in TCU, odds are BU fans will petition the administration to re-name Floyd Casey stadium "The House that Griffin (re)Built." | |||
| 7 | SMU Mustangs | Points: 19 | 6 |
| Brad Hilliard: The Mustangs have a chance to avenge 2009's most painful loss this weekend when Washington State travels to Dallas. | |||
| 8 | UTEP Miners | Points: 13 | 8 |
| Travis Stewart: Even though Donald Buckram missed his second-straight start last week, the game against UH looked like Miners of old all over again — great passing game, terrible defense. I guess some things never change. | |||
| 9 | Rice Owls | Points: 12 | 9 |
| Rick Epstein: After a respectable loss against Texas last week, Rice looks less than average against a poor Mean Green team. | |||
| 10 | North Texas Mean Green | Points: 5 | 10 |
| Adam Hochfelder: This week was a tough loss both on the field and in the offensive backfield. Quarterback Nathan Tune's career is likely over at North Texas. | |||
ABOUT THE PANEL:
> Adam Hochfelder is the Executive Director of DCTF and several other IMG College properties
> Dennis Hall is a managing editor with DCTF
> Travis Stewart is a managing editor with DCTF
> Brad Hilliard is the operations coordinator for DCTF and several other IMG College properties
> Tom Sullivan is an account executive for DCTF
> Rick Epstein is an account executive for DCTF
