The top 5 in the Legends Poll remained unchanged after a weekend filled with tough road tests for the nation’s top teams.

No. 1 Oregon and No. 2 Auburn passed with flying colors, holding their spots atop the Legends Poll. Top-ranked Oregon outlasted USC, 53-32, in the Coliseum while Cam Newton and second-ranked Auburn rolled past Mississippi, 51-31.

No. 3 Boise State defeated Louisiana Tech, 49-20, at home on Tuesday night on a national stage.

No. 4 TCU pounded UNLV on the road and No. 7 Utah survived at Air Force, 28-23, setting up a top 10 showdown next week.

“Even though TCU is in our top 5, I don’t think that they are playing with the same intensity as they did a year ago,” said former BYU coach LaVell Edwards. “And the more I watch Utah, I think they might be pretty darn good. They’ve got a really good defense, and they are really strong up front. It really won’t surprise me if they beat TCU when they play out here in Salt Lake City.”

(Click for LaVell Edwards’ full top 25 ballot)

Idle Alabama rounded out the top 5.

Michigan State and Missouri were unable to survive the weekend, suffering their first losses of the season. No. 16 Michigan State fell 37-6 at No. 14 Iowa, dropping ten spots. 15th-ranked Mizzou dropped seven spots after a 31-17 loss at Nebraska.

No. 6 Wisconsin continued its climb up the Legends Poll rankings, making its highest showing of the season.

The rest of the top 10 is Ohio State, Nebraska and LSU.

No. 22 Baylor made its first ever appearance in the Legends Poll top 25 after defeating Texas in Austin, 28-20. The Bears are tied for the lead in the Big 12 South.

No. 24 N.C. State joined Baylor in the top 25 for the first time this season — one spot ahead of No. 25 Florida State — after knocking off the Seminoles, 28-24, on Thursday night.

Click here to view the Legends Poll Top 25

Like the rest of the country, the Legends Poll coaches have been captivated by Auburn quarterback Cameron Newton. Already the SEC single-season rushing leader for a quarterback with 1,006 yards through just eight games, the Legends agreed that Newton’s emergence in his first year on The Plains has been the main reason for the Tigers 8-0 start.

Newton — the clear Heisman Trophy frontrunner — has led Auburn to a No. 2 ranking in the Legends Poll.

“Any one of us could come out of retirement and win a couple games with that guy,” joked former UCLA head coach Terry Donahue during Monday’s conference call. “He is absolutely phenomenal and off the charts. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a more dominant athlete than that guy. He’s a big Vince Young.”

“He’s a more fluid athlete than Vince Young,” said Auburn legend Pat Dye about the 6-foot-6, 250-pound signal caller.

Newton served as Tim Tebow’s understudy at Florida for two years before transferring in 2009 to Blinn College, where he won a junior college national title. On December 31 of last year, Newton officially committed to Auburn and enrolled the next month.

Newton has led the Tigers to close wins over Mississippi State, Clemson, South Carolina, Kentucky and LSU — all by one score or less — using his dominant running and steady passing in Auburn’s spread offense. He surpassed Auburn great Jimmy Sydle in the SEC season-rushing yards category with his 217 on the ground against LSU in a 24-17 victory.

“He’s a guy that sets up his blocks when he runs and he kind of glides and then he hits it,” Donahue said. “And he seems to be tough. He’s a tremendous emotional leader.

“I’m not so sure there wouldn’t be almost a lot of teams in the country that wouldn’t be undefeated with that guy at quarterback running the spread offense.”

Auburn’s road to an undefeated regular season has several potential stumbling blocks. The schedule includes a road game at Ole Miss and home dates against Georgia and rival Alabama. But Newton’s performance so far this season has inspired many to compare him to the SEC greats of the past — including his former Gator teammate.

“You get guys like Herschel Walker and Tebow and all the great guys that they’ve had throughout the Southeastern Conference, but I just believe this guy’s one of them,” Donahue said. “I mean, Bo Jackson … he’s in that category.”

Pat Dye doesn’t have Auburn at No. 1 in his ballot for the Legends Poll.

In fact, Dye has his former team ranked at No. 5.

“I don’t see where Auburn is dominant anywhere other than quarterback,” Dye said on Monday’s Legends Poll conference call. “They have a good offensive line, good receivers. They’re playing well on special teams. Defensively, they’ve stopped the run year all long, but they’ve given up a lot of yards in the passing game.”

(Click here to see Pat Dye’s ballot)

Auburn (8-0, 5-0 SEC) debuted at No. 16 in the Legends Poll in the third week of the season and has steadily climbed up the rankings to No. 2 this past week. But Dye says the Tigers still have a lot to prove.

“Auburn still has to play Georgia and Alabama,” said Dye. “Georgia has four losses, but right now, they’re playing as well as anybody in our conference. I’m not going to pass judgment on Auburn until they play Georgia and Alabama.”

Much of Auburn’s success has come from a newcomer at the quarterback position, Cameron Newton. Newton has taken the nation by storm and appears to be the Heisman frontrunner at this point in the season. Against LSU, Newton carried Auburn on his back, rushing for 217 yards and two scores — passing Tim Tebow on his way to eclipsing the single season SEC rushing yards record.

“They have got a hell of a lot going for this football team that championship teams have,” said Dye. “Of course, the quarterback is the catalyst for all of it.”

If the Tigers move past Mississippi this weekend, Dye says that Auburn should be ready to take on Georgia in a few weeks. The Bulldogs have won four straight in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, and Dye says Auburn should be hungry.

“Auburn’s got one advantage,” Dye added. “They do play Georgia in Auburn. They still have to travel to Tuscaloosa, which is hard in itself. But I don’t think Alabama is playing with the same mojo as last year, particularly defensively. I’m not saying it’s impossible but it’s going to be tough.”

Dye firmly believes that the SEC championship still goes through Alabama. Even though Bama was knocked off earlier in the season by South Carolina, it still controls its own destiny in the conference. But Dye isn’t counting Auburn out.

“If they go through this thing and finish out undefeated, then I’ll say they’re as good as anybody in the country,” he said.

Legends Poll voter Don James may have had something to do with Missouri’s win over then-No. 5 Oklahoma.

He may not have had direct influence, but Missouri coach Gary Pinkel played and coached for James before taking over at Mizzou.

“Gary’s got an excellent kicking game right now,” James said on Monday’s Legends Poll conference call.  “It’s not flawless, but it’s better than most. He can throw the ball. He’s got excellent receivers and a good quarterback. And last year, they were one of the younger teams in the nation, so they’ve got a lot of guys back.”

Pinkel’s eighth-ranked Mizzou team is off to a 7-0 start and jumped nine spots in this week’s Legends Poll. James says that Missouri’s defense is as sound as the offense, but he sees one potential chink in the armor.

“Gary’s biggest problem is the running game,” said James. “It’s not a problem in the red zone, but at the other end of the field. It scares me coming out of the red zone on their own end because he has to throw down there a lot. That’s what hurt him against Nebraska last year.”

Arkansas legend Frank Broyles says that Missouri’s schedule may be the biggest reason for their 7-0 start.

“The Big 12 plays four games before going into their conference schedule,” Broyles said. “They’ve played three conference games and Alabama has played six. Because of the SEC’s television package, they have to play conference games earlier in the season. That’s not the way we used to schedule — we used to schedule more like the Big 12. I think that definitely helps (Big 12 teams’) rankings.”

James agreed.

“There’s no question he’s had a really good schedule, and he’s got a better team than he probably ever has,” said James. “Oklahoma was a marquee win for him, but it’s going to get tougher in the next couple of weeks.”

Oregon kept its place atop the Legends Poll rankings this week after demolishing UCLA 60-13 on Thursday night.

The Ducks’ offense was a subject of discussion on Monday’s Legends Poll conference call. Listen to Don James, George Welsh and Bill Mallory’s comments about Oregon.

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• James says LaMichael James is one of the best running backs in the country.
• Welsh says Oregon is the best team at faking hand-offs in the spread.
• Mallory says Oregon’s tempo is what makes the offense tick.
• Welsh likens the Ducks’ offense to the ole Florida State no-huddle offense.

Auburn has taken over the No. 2 spot in the Legends Poll, dropping Boise State to No. 3.

Quarterback Cameron Newton and Auburn ran past LSU, 24-17, on Saturday. Auburn rushed for 440 yards in the game — 217 of which belonged to Newton.

“That kid (Newton) has energized this whole program,” said former Auburn coach Pat Dye. “He is an absolute load to tackle, but he’s faster than almost anybody on the field.”

(Click for Pat Dye’s full top 25 ballot)

The Tigers received two first place votes.

Oregon held its spot at No. 1 in the poll — receiving 17 first-place votes — after a 60-13 thrashing of UCLA Thursday night.

TCU dropped a spot to No. 4 and one-loss Alabama moved up to No. 5.

No. 6 Michigan State and No. 7 Utah received their highest rankings of the season.

Oklahoma fell seven spots to No. 12, following a loss to Missouri. Mizzou moved up nine spots to No. 8.

Wisconsin and Ohio State round out the top 10.

No. 24 Mississippi State moved into the Legends Poll top 25 for the first time this season.

Click here to view the Legends Poll Top 25

For the second straight week, there is a new No. 1 team in college football’s Legends Poll.

Oregon has taken over the top spot for the first time in the Legends Poll’s six-year history. In fact, Oregon finds itself No. 1 for the first time in any college football poll. The Associated Press reported on Twitter that Oregon is the 43rd school to be ranked No. 1 in its poll.

“Oregon’s offense is difficult to stop,” said former Washington coach Don James. “It’s hard to find the ball and they spread you all over. Their quarterback (Darron Thomas) has a couple weeks to get healthy. That’s good because they need him.”

(Click for Don James’ full top 25 ballot)

Former USC coach John Robinson says it’s difficult to know how good Oregon’s defense actually is. But he says the top-ranked Ducks will still be tough to beat.

“I think in the Pac-10 you automatically get 35 points, you get a bonus,” Robinson joked. “There are almost no games where both teams score in the 30’s.”

(Click for John Robinson’s full top 25 ballot)

Boise State continued its climb up the Legends Poll, reaching its highest ever ranking at No. 2. The Broncos will need continued support from teams in the AQ conferences in order to reach and maintain the top spot in the rankings. Former Georgia Tech coach Bobby Ross says that the Broncos would present a challenge to any team in the country.

Another non-AQ team, TCU, jumped two spots to No. 3 this week. The Horned Frogs made their highest showing of this season, and second highest ever since a No. 2 ranking last year.

Auburn followed TCU at No. 4 — its highest ranking in any poll. The Tigers came in at No. 5 in both the USA Today Coaches’ and AP polls. The Legends Poll voters say Auburn quarterback Cameron Newton is one of the best players in the country and gives the Tigers a chance to beat any team in the nation.

Oklahoma rounded out the top 5 after a 52-0 victory over Iowa State.

Alabama remained at No. 6 followed by LSU at No. 7. LSU travels to the Plains to take on fourth-ranked Auburn next weekend in an SEC West showdown.

No. 8 Michigan State is the only remaining undefeated team in the Big Ten and moved into the Legends Poll top 10 for the first time this season.

Utah was ranked No. 9 and Wisconsin vaulted back into the top 10 after knocking off top-ranked Ohio State. The Buckeyes fell to No. 11.

No. 22 Texas and No. 23 USC moved back into the top 25 after short stints outside of the Legends Poll.

No. 24 Virginia Tech made its first appearance in the Legends Poll this season, coming off five straight wins.

Florida fell out of the Legends Poll top 25 for the first time ever after suffering its third-straight loss — a home loss to Mississippi State.

Click here to view the Legends Poll Top 25

For the second straight weekend, there will be a new No. 1 in college football.

Ohio State — the nation’s newest No. 1 team — was knocked from the unbeaten ranks by Wisconsin, 31-18. No. 4 Nebraska saw their title hopes dashed by Texas. The Cornhuskers offense was anemic, gaining just 77 yards on the ground and 202 total.

Now the big question is: Who is No. 1?

Second-ranked Oregon (6-0, 3-0 Pac-10) has made a case for the top spot all season long. The Ducks offense is in the top 10 in most statistical categories and is No. 6 in total offense. Their defense has been good enough to garner a No. 1 ranking for Oregon.

Skeptics would say that Oregon should not be ranked ahead of No. 3 Boise State. The Broncos have beaten the Ducks twice over the past few seasons and essentially have the same team in place. Chris Petersen’s squad has passed every test this season, including beating perennial ACC-power Virginia Tech and a stingy Oregon State team. However, Virginia Tech didn’t help Boise’s cause by losing to an FCS team, James Madison, and Oregon State fell for the third time last night, 35-34 in double overtime to Washington.

No. 7 Auburn put 65 points on the board against No. 13 Arkansas. But their defense allowed 43. The seventh-ranked Tigers may have faced the toughest schedule of the top teams so far, but the schedule gets tougher for them, as No. 9 LSU comes to town next weekend.

ESPN’s Brad Edwards is reporting that Oklahoma will be No. 1 in the season’s first BCS standings tonight. The Legends have not been high on the Sooners. Oklahoma (6-0, 2-0 Big 12) has been up-and-down all year, squeaking out wins over Utah State and Air Force while thumping Florida State, Texas and Iowa State. The remaining schedule favors the Sooners, and they may not face a real test until the Big 12 championship game.

No matter what teams comes in at No. 1 this afternoon, the rankings are sure to change again in the coming weeks. That’s what makes this sport so exciting.

Amidst the turmoil and the upsets, one thing remains constant: The Legends Poll voters continue to watch and discuss the top teams week after week, making them the most informed pollsters in the country.

Nebraska turned heads with its 48-13 dismantling of Kansas State last Thursday on a national stage.

Following the win, Nebraska achieved its all-time best ranking in the Legends Poll, moving up two spots to No. 4 in the top 25 for week six. With Ohio State, Oregon and Boise State maintaining the top three spots, the Cornhuskers have seemingly risen to the next tier of national contenders.

But one Legends Poll voter, former UCLA head coach Terry Donahue, thinks the Huskers have been the most impressive team thus far. Donahue voted them No. 1 in his latest ballot.

Donahue, who called last Thursday’s Nebraska-Kansas State game for Westwood One radio, was impressed with Nebraska’s size, power and talented young quarterback, Taylor Martinez.

“On both sides of the ball, I just thought they were very, very good,” said Donahue during Monday’s Legends Poll conference call. “They’ve got a redshirt (freshman) quarterback named Taylor Martinez that is one of the fastest players (in college football). He kind of reminds you of Denard Robinson from Michigan in terms of his speed. He’s just faster than anybody on the field.”

Last season, Nebraska returned to the days of the vaunted “Black Shirt” defense with one of the best units in the country. The defense remains a strength, but the difference-maker is the improved offense. The Huskers have jumped from 99th in total offense last year to seventh so far this season.

“They’ve got all the offensive ingredients and the offensive line is very physical and very big,” Donahue added. “Every guy across the board appears to be well over 300 pounds.”

Martinez has come out of nowhere to catapult himself into the Heisman race as leader of Nebraska’s run-dominated offense. Through five games, the 6-foot-1, 205-pounder is the nation’s fourth-leading rusher at 147 yards per game (averaging a staggering 10.8 yards per carry) and is second in scoring with 12 rushing touchdowns. Along with productive backs Roy Helu Jr. and Rex Burkhead, Martinez has elevated the Husker running game to second in the nation with 337.6 yards per contest.

The improved offensive production has helped Nebraska become the highest ranked team in the Big 12, but in Donahue’s view it is the defense that makes the Huskers a national title threat.

“What really made me vote them No. 1 was their defensive team,” he added. “They’ve got six or seven defensive backs, and they play a lot of nickel and dime stuff. They’ve got the two best cover corners on the same team that I’ve seen this year. I think their two defensive tackles are very disruptive and very good players.”

Led by cornerbacks Prince Amukamara and Alfonzo Dennard and defensive tackles Jared Crick and Baker Steinkuhler, Nebraska is fourth nationally in scoring defense, giving up just 12.8 points a game. The run defense held K-State star running back Daniel Thomas to just 63 yards on the ground — he was averaging 157 a game coming in to the matchup. The Huskers are also leading the nation in pass efficiency defense for the second year in a row, as Donahue noted during Monday’s weekly call.

The Huskers will be tested in the next three weeks, hosting Texas, traveling to No. 18 Oklahoma State, and wrapping up their tough stretch with No. 24 Missouri at home. But Big Red should be favored in all of its remaining games.

“I’m not sure anybody on Nebraska’s schedule is going to beat them,” Donahue said. “They’ve got a very advantageous schedule, so I think they have a great chance to go undefeated.”

Boise State can’t seem to catch a break.

The Broncos are constantly being ruled out of the National Championship conversation because of the conference they’re in, but the Broncos have all the qualities of a big time school that, in a traditional power conference, could compete for a title. At least that’s what Legend Bobby Ross thinks.

“They have the same type of speed, the same type of physicality and the same type of toughness that any other big time college football program has,” said Ross on Monday’s conference call. “They have skill people who are equivalent to anybody in the entire country.

“The big thing that stood out with me about Boise State, is the way they played Virginia Tech. People of this section of the country have always had a lot of respect for Virginia Tech because of their toughness, their physicality, the way they play the game. Boise state was every bit as physical, if not more.”

The Broncos’ are getting it done both offensively and defensively this year; ranking fifth in total offense and second in total defense nationally, both ahead of No. 1 Ohio State.

The offense is potent at all positions, especially at quarterback.

“In Kellen Moore, they have one of the more accurate passers in the country,” Coach Ross said. “He’s a lot like [Sam] Bradford in Oklahoma. He’s not as big, has about the same type of mobility, but his accuracy is pretty much the same.

“He can throw the football very accurately in any type of pass—it wouldn’t matter if it was the deep out, the come back, the long throw—he can do it all.”

Moore leads the nation in passing efficiency, but he isn’t exactly carrying the team on his shoulders; he gets a lot of help from his teammates.

“In my opinion, they have one of the best wide receivers in the country in Pettis. He’s a big kid. He’s about 6 feet four inches tall. He’s about 210-215 pounds, and he can do it all. He can catch the ball—I’ve even seen him throw one for a touchdown off of a reverse. He’s just an outstanding athlete who gets very little attention, quite honestly,” said Ross.

The offense isn’t exclusively aerial, though.

“They had three backs that could run the football,” added Ross.
A kid named Martin, the tough kid, they had Avery, the speed-type guy, and a bigger type back that they used just some of the time.”

The Boise State running backs are averaging around 225 rushing yards per game, 15th in the NCAA.

“Offensively, I thought there might be a weakness up front, but that wasn’t the case,” Ross said. “They weren’t as big as some football teams might be, and I thought that would probably be the difference-maker in terms of separating. But believe me, they play very well. They’re very well coached, they execute extremely well.”

On the other side of the ball, the Boise State defense is just as dominant as its offense.

“That was as quick of a defensive line that I have seen all year long,” Ross said. “They’re very quick, they’re very physical they have good size, and they get after it. The secondary is the same.”

But at the national level, the doubts about the Broncos persist, despite their unblemished record and their impressive stats.

The coaches and players in the Boise State organization march on towards a second straight season undefeated and stake their claim for the national championship.

“They never seem to have a letdown in the way they play a football game, which I think is another real credit to their coaching staff,” added Ross.

“I think they’re doing everything that they have to do. They don’t have control of [their schedule] right now, and it is a weak one, but they’re doing in that schedule what they are supposed to do.

“They played two teams that have been ranked in the top 10 to top 20, and they’ve beaten them both. One was on a neutral field, which was really a home field for Virginia Tech and the other one was at home against Oregon State. So they’ve done everything that they have to do, and things haven’t changed.”

But every college football season has surprises, and the recent Alabama loss has opened up the national title race. Ross says if the Broncos are able to “do what they’re supposed to do,” then the nation will have to include them in the conversation.