PJ Poll - Week Four

Take away all the Pretenders. Except those with Chrissie Hynde. Gooodbye nine more losers. Out of sight, out of mind.

The PJ Poll has whittled its way down to 25 teams as the Big East exited the poll quicker than Lindsay Lohan gets out of rehab. With the departure of the Big East and the MAC, seven conferences (five major, two minor) remain alive in the PJ Poll.

With the losses of Fresno State and Temple, the route for gatecrashers to punch a ticket from the minor conferences has simplified tremendously. The TCU-Utah winner from the Mountain West and the Boise State-Nevada winner from the WAC are the contenders to be invited to a BCS Bowl.

Matchups of surviving PJ Poll teams will occur this weekend as conference play gets into full swing. Starting with a Thursday night clash between the Aggies of Texas A+M and the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the weekend will continue to match undefeated teams in tussles such as Florida-Alabama, Wisconsin-Michigan State and Stanford-Oregon.

The picture of the race for the national championship will become even clearer. And the PJ Poll will be here to explain it all.

Here are the rankings for Week Four:

1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Texas Christian
4. Oregon
5. Stanford
6. Wisconsin
7. Nebraska
8. Oklahoma
9. Oklahoma St.
10. Florida
11. Boise St.
12. Nevada
13. Utah
14. Michigan
15. Michigan St.
16. Kansas St.
17. USC
18. North Carolina St.
19. Missouri
20. LSU
21. Arizona
22. Auburn
23. Texas A+M
24. Northwestern
25. Indiana