This is not a power poll. I don't attempt to rank teams based on how good I think they are. I only rank teams based on their resume. What have they done? Not how talented are their payers or how other polls project them to do, but what have they done?The poll is designed to be dynamic. I try to start from scratch every week. I do attempt to reward teams for "quality losses", while punishing them for bad performances. I do not give excessive credit for stomping horrible teams. I reward quality play, win or lose, particularly against other good teams. I am not bumping team A 10 spots and docking team B 10 spots when team A beats team B by a field goal in what was essentially an equally played game.I like to reward playing well against good teams, win or lose, and punish losing to poor teams more harshly than I reward defeating poor teams. To that end, Cincinnati and Boise will probablynot climb higher in my poll for the rest of the year.

I Reward Grinders. I reward those who play difficult schedules. Teams that play a tough team every week don't get to spend extra time preparing for their tough games, and they also don't face the attrition other teams face because they are able to pull their starters in blowouts. Fewer plays for important players reduces the chance those players will get injured.

So, my top 25, after the jump, with explanations.  You have 12 hours to change my mind.  Please do so within the context of my parameters.  

I give a lot of weight to teams who travel cross country and win, as we've seen much better teams attempt the feat and consistently lose to poor teams.  So Cincinnati, Cal, FSU, LSU, and UCLA get credit there.

Rank	Team
1	Alabama
2	Houston
3	Florida
4	Cincinnati
5	Iowa
6	Miami (Florida)
7	Boise State
8	Georgia
9	Texas
10	Michigan
11	California
12	LSU
13	South Carolina
14	UCLA
15	Auburn
16	North Carolina
17	Virginia Tech
18	Oregon
19	Georgia Tech
20	Missouri
21	Wisconsin
22	Southern Cal
23	Ohio State
24	Arizona
25	Nebraska
Last week's ballot

I took your suggestions and came up with this:

Rank	Team
1	Alabama
2	Houston
3	Iowa
4	Cincinnati
5	Florida
6	Boise State
7	Texas
8	Miami (Florida)
9	Georgia
10	Michigan
11	Virginia Tech
12	LSU
13	South Carolina
14	California
15	Auburn
16	Oregon
17	Georgia Tech
18	Oklahoma State
19	Missouri
20	UCLA
21	Wisconsin
22	Southern Cal
23	Ohio State
24	Nebraska
25	Arizona
Last week's ballot