Gene Stallings says Alabama is still the best team in the SEC.

The Crimson Tide fell to South Carolina over the weekend, but Stallings says even good teams can lose games. On Monday’s conference call, Stallings said Alabama will bounce back. Listen to the full segment below:

Gene Stallings on Alabama-South Carolina

The Lott Shots features the Top 5 bone-crushing hits from Week 6. The Legends Channel rated Texas Tech DB Desmond Martin No. 1 this week.

What do you think?

There’s a new team atop the Legends Poll rankings.

Alabama held the title of No. 1 for most of 2009 and all of 2010 but surrendered the top spot to Ohio State after seeing its 19-game winning streak snapped against South Carolina.

“I thought Alabama was the best team I’d seen all year long,” said former Crimson Tide head coach Gene Stallings. “You’ve got to tip your cap to Steve Spurrier and South Carolina…It ain’t easy in the SEC.”

(Click here to view Gene Stallings’ Top 25 ballot)

Ohio State regained the No. 1 ranking in the Legends Poll for the first time since 2007. Oregon made its highest showing ever at No. 2, receiving four first-place votes. Boise State moved up a spot to No. 3.

Nebraska jumped two spots to make its first showing in the top 5 this season. TCU remained at No. 5.

Alabama fell to No. 6, its lowest ranking since 2008. Auburn was one spot behind its in-state rival at No. 7 after Wes Byrum came up with a game-winning field goal against Kentucky.

Idle Oklahoma fell a spot to No. 8.

Les Miles and ninth-ranked LSU continued their wild ride through 2010 with a dramatic 33-29 win at Florida. Fellow SEC foe South Carolina moved into the top 10 after its upset over the nation’s No. 1 team.

Florida State made the second-biggest leap in the poll this week, moving to No. 17 after being unranked a week ago. The Seminoles defeated Miami in convincing fashion, 45-17.

Unbeaten Missouri moved into the Legends Poll top 25 at No. 24 for the first time this season and was joined by No. 25 Air Force.

Click here to view the Legends Poll Top 25

Ohio State has shown signs of vulnerability this season, the latest coming from their 24-13 act of survival against Illinois. With less than two minutes left in the game, Ohio State found itself up only by four when running back Dan Herron finally darted past the Fighting Illini defense and in for the score that sealed the game.

But while Ohio State may have gotten the win, Legend John Cooper isn’t convinced that they are second best team in the nation.

“I did not put Ohio State No. 2,” said Cooper. “I don’t know how you can put them up there. I clearly think they’re the best team in the Big Ten, and I think Iowa is probably the second best.”

See Coach Cooper’s ballot here.

Despite their struggles against Illinois, the second-ranked Buckeyes are off to an undefeated start (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten).

According to Cooper, Ohio State will be the team to beat in the Big Ten.

“I was disappointed in Wisconsin; the way they played,” Cooper said. “I don’t think they have enough team speed, particularly on defense, to beat Ohio State or Iowa.

“You’ve got to beat [Ohio State]. They don’t beat themselves. And Jim Tressel does a great job of managing the game.”

According to Indiana legend Bill Mallory, quarterback Terrelle Pryor plays a critical role in the team’s success.

“When I look at Ohio State,” Mallory said, “Pryor is so important on the offensive side of the ball.”

Cooper agrees.

“Pryor is a great athlete — not a great quarterback, but he is a great athlete,” he said. “And if he’s hurt, and they don’t rely on him to run the football, someone might slip up and beat them.”

When it comes to the defensive side of the ball, the Legends Coaches are in consensus.

“Ohio State is really solid on defense,” said Cooper.

“Their defense is a good defense, a good physical defense,” added Mallory.

The stats back up the Legends. Ohio State is home to a defensive squad that ranks fifth in total defense and fifth in rush defense nationally.

But whether it’s the offense or the defense, the bottom line is that Ohio State is still undefeated on the year.

“All they do is win,” said Cooper. “They don’t look good, but they win games.”

The Lott Shots features the Top 5 bone-crushing hits from Week 5. The Legends Channel rated Florida State LB Mister Alexander No. 1 this week.

What do you think?

Alabama coaching legend Gene Stallings was honored at halftime of the Alabama-Florida game.

Stallings will enter the College Football Hall of Fame this year, and the Tide thanked Stallings in a big way, rolling over Florida, 31-6. Alabama Athletics Director Mal Moore spoke about Stallings on TideSports.com.

“From his years as a young assistant coach under Coach Bryant through his head coaching days here at Alabama, Coach Stallings produced a career that is richly deserving of this recognition,” UA Director of Athletics Mal Moore said. “Coach Stallings was more than just a head coach at Alabama – his manner of doing things, his leadership and his passion took our entire program to another level.”

Listen to the clip below from Monday’s conference call to hear Stallings thoughts on the game, the atmosphere in Tuscaloosa and being honored for entering the Hall of Fame.

Gene Stallings on Alabama-Florida

Oregon made its move in the Legends Poll on Sunday, jumping Boise State to take over the No. 3 spot.

The Ducks’ leap in the poll comes after their 52-31 victory over Stanford.

“Oregon has so much speed,” said former USC head coach John Robinson. “It’s going to be tough to outscore them. We saw it against Stanford. They can score in bunches.”

(Click here to view John Robinson’s Top 25 ballot)

Alabama kept its spot atop the rankings, followed by No. 2 Ohio State. No. 4 Boise State and No. 5 TCU round out the top 5.

Nebraska remained at No. 6.

No. 7 Oklahoma moved up three spots after defeating Texas, 28-20, in the annual Red River Rivalry game. The loss left Texas unranked for the first time in the six-year history of the Legends Poll.

As in the AP and Coaches’ Polls, USC and Penn State also fell out of the Legends Poll top 25.

“It has been an interesting year,” Robinson said. “We’ve seen some new teams playing championship caliber football like Oregon. And some of the more traditional powers have been struggling.”

No. 8 Auburn made its first top 10 appearance of the season, moving up five spots this week. Led by quarterback Cameron Newton, the Tigers have started 5-0 for the second straight season and for the fourth time in seven years.

Auburn was followed by Utah and LSU, rounding out the top 10.

Arizona was No. 11 in the latest poll.

No. 12 Michigan State made the biggest jump in the rankings. The Spartans made their debut at No. 23 a week ago and moved up 11 spots this week after defeating Wisconsin, 34-24. Wisconsin fell 12 spots to No. 20.

One-loss teams filled out the top 15: Florida, Iowa, Arkansas.

Stanford was No. 16 followed by Miami, Michigan and South Carolina.

Oklahoma State made its season debut at No. 21 in the poll and Nevada made its highest showing at No. 22.

West Virginia moved up a spot to No. 23.

The final two spots belonged to teams making 2010 debuts in the poll. No. 24 was undefeated Northwestern followed by Oregon State.

Click here to view the Legends Poll Top 25

Texas and Oklahoma face off in the annual Red River Rivalry this weekend. Air Force legend Fisher DeBerry has seen Oklahoma up close a few times this year and says that the difference in the game lies in the running game. Former UCLA head coach Terry Donahue was at the Oklahoma-Cincinnati game and thinks that Oklahoma is lucky to be undefeated.

DeBerry and Donahue and Texas-Oklahoma

It’s not often that a Saturday in early October has Pac-10 title implications.

But that’s the case when No. 12 Stanford travels to Eugene to face the fourth-ranked Oregon Ducks.

“I think Oregon has so much speed,” said former USC head coach John Robinson. “They are just faster than the teams they’re playing. Can you neutralize it? Does a strong team neutralize that spread offense? I’m not sure.”

Oregon’s high-powered offense — led by running back LaMichael James — ranks second nationally in total offense to Michigan. The Ducks, however, average nearly 58 points per game, which is 17 points more than the Wolverines.

“Oregon is not a great defensive team,” Robinson said. “So, if they’re going to play a big time opponent, if you matched them with a team like Ohio State like they were 9 months ago, I don’t think they’re a good enough defensive team to stand up to a top-level team like that. But they can be a pain if you’re trying to defend that speed.”

Stanford may be physical enough to impose their will on Oregon. The Cardinal defense has allowed just under 14 points per game. Stanford also shut out UCLA on the road — the same team that put up 34 points on Texas.

“I think Stanford is a really good team,” UCLA legend Terry Donahue said. “They’re very physical on both sides of the ball. This is not a typical Stanford team defensively. It’s much stronger, faster, tougher. They knocked UCLA sideways.”

Stanford’s offense is no slouch either. Quarterback Andrew Luck has risen in most expert’s ranks as the top player for next year’s NFL Draft. According to the Legends, the game will come down to Stanford’s ability to keep Oregon’s offense off the field.

“I think Stanford can hang,” Robinson said. “Stanford is a pretty serious team. It’s that typical, ‘Can we control the ball and keep them off the field?’ They’re physical and they have a quarterback who is really a big time player.”

The teams may have a different look than they did a year ago.

But when No. 9 Florida takes on top-ranked Alabama for the first time since the SEC championship game, there is just as much on the line.

Alabama puts its 18-game winning streak to the test against a Florida team that is hungry to prove it belongs in the top 10. The Crimson Tide came back against Arkansas in Fayetteville last week, prevailing 24-20. Florida routed Kentucky, 48-14.

“I’m impressed because Alabama came from behind,” said Arkansas legend Frank Broyles. “They scored two touchdowns to beat Arkansas in the fourth quarter. They stopped Arkansas’ game in the fourth quarter, which is what championship teams have to do.”

Auburn legend Pat Dye says Florida will have to outplay Alabama to win.

“Alabama made some mistakes against Arkansas, but they just don’t beat themselves,” Dye said. “They don’t throw interceptions, they don’t turn it over, they don’t get stupid penalties, and on top of that, they’ve got good players.”

Quarterback Greg McElroy has never lost as a starting quarterback for the Tide. Running back Mark Ingram is the reigning Heisman Trophy winner. And his back up, Trent Richardson, has rushed for 356 yards in Alabama’s first four games (Ingram was out in the first two games with a knee injury). That’s just their offense.

“I think that Alabama is just too strong for Florida,” said Dye. “Florida has got great speed on defense. They have made a lot of big plays on defense that have kind of made their season for them until they played Kentucky when they came alive on offense.”

Freshman Trey Burton provided a spark for the Gator offense against Kentucky. He became the fourth player in SEC history to score six or more touchdowns in a single game.

Burton broke Tim Tebow’s school record for most touchdowns in a single game, topping Tebow’s five touchdowns against South Carolina in 2007.

“That kid can help them a little bit offensively,” said Dye. “I just don’t think Florida can beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa.”