ESPN.com: Feldman

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Time for an update on the list with a look at where we have been and where we might be headed in the great debate for conference supremacy:

Preseason: 1 -- Back-to-back national titles and a stable of contenders established a powerful brand.

Early Returns: Alabama's back (perhaps); Tennessee flopped against a UCLA team that lost by 59 its next time out; and a 3-2 win for Auburn shows the Tigers' new spread isn't all cranked up yet. Still, how can you not be impressed when half the AP Top 10 is made up of SEC teams?

Prediction: Even a big upset at ASU for Georgia and Auburn going down at West Virginia couldn't shake the SEC out of the top spot.

2. Big 12

Preseason: 2 -- A ridiculously deep stash of standout QBs had the league with visions of closing on the SEC.

Early Returns: Those QBs, especially Mizzou's Chase Daniel, OU's Sam Bradford and K-State's Josh Freeman, have been even better than advertised.

Prediction: Expect some of the Big 12 defenses to improve and get closer to the No. 1 spot rather than backslide toward No. 3.

Preseason: 4 -- In many pundits' eyes, Ohio State was due.

Early Returns: The Buckeyes fizzled again -- big-time against USC -- and Michigan has been mistake-prone, but at least Penn State's offense looks sharp and Wisconsin survived a visit to Fresno.

Prediction: The Wolverines should be a lot better by the end of the season and so should OSU, assuming the Buckeyes flip the keys to the offense to Terrelle Pryor.

4. Pac-10

Preseason: 3 -- USC was the one sure thing the league had even if the Trojans had to replace four O-linemen, find a go-to receiver and see if their new QB was ready for the big stage.

Early Returns: The Trojans look great and that unproven QB Mark Sanchez has been superb. Good thing because the rest of the league is coming off a disastrous weekend, going 0-4 against the Mountain West while also seeing Cal get ambushed by a Maryland team that had just lost to Middle Tennessee.

Prediction: With the league's other top teams having to come to the Coliseum, USC should have a very smooth path to the BCS title game. If Oregon can get healthy the Ducks could emerge as a respectable second banana, which might be enough to leapfrog the Big Ten.

5. ACC

Preseason: 6 -- Clemson and its stacked backfield were a trendy flag bearer for a league desperate for a heavyweight.

Early Returns: Wake Forest has been solid, UNC is coming off an impressive romp at Rutgers, and Miami and FSU have flashed signs of contending for the ACC title thanks to a lot of young talent.

Prediction: The Florida schools aren't ready for the top 10 yet, but they're on the way up as is UNC to elevate the league, finally.

6. MWC

Preseason: 7 -- BYU and Utah were trendy picks to be the cute BCS busters, but the bottom half of the conference felt Sun Beltish.

Early Returns: Scratch that Sun Belt crack. Utah's win at Michigan was a good start, but the real headline stuff was a 4-0 head-to-head takedown of the Pac-10 that not only saw BYU thump UCLA 59-0, but also featured middle-tier MWC schools UNLV and New Mexico beating ASU and Arizona.

Prediction: There could actually be three possible BCS-buster threats if -- and this is a huge if -- TCU can again stun Oklahoma in Norman. But don't count on it.

7. Big East:

Preseason: 5 -- A Thursday night home game appeared to be the springboard West Virginia would use to bound into the top five and a possible BCS title shot.

Early Returns: If it weren't for USF rallying to beat Kansas, the league would be completely irrelevant after Pitt got upset at home by Bowling Green, WVU got pounded by ECU and the second-tier teams have come up flat on offense.

Prediction: Even if the Bulls keep winning, they're going to need a few of their league brothers to climb into the top 25 to boost the Bulls' competition stock.

8. Conference USA

Preseason: 9 -- Lots of potent offenses, suspect defenses and no apparent top-20 program.

Early Returns: ECU has the best pair of wins (VT and WVU) in the country and might be a top-10 team and Tulsa might not be far behind.

Prediction: The talk of where ECU coach Skip Holtz is heading to next will get a lot of attention over the next three months.

9. WAC

Preseason: 8 -- Fresno seemed intriguing and Boise has respect, but how far would Hawaii fall?

Early Returns: Fresno fell to Wisconsin, but still looks like a top-25 team. Meanwhile Hawaii might've dropped further than any team in the country since last year.

Prediction: With all of the talk about ECU and the MWC schools, people are overlooking Boise State. They shouldn't.

10. MAC

Preseason: 10 -- Same story as C-USA: Good O, shaky D and no elite teams.

Early Returns: Ball State has been exciting; CMU's defense still gives up a ton of points; and Buffalo is worth getting excited about.

Prediction: Ball State will scare Indiana and Buffalo coach Turner Gill will get a long look from Syracuse as the Orange seek a new direction.

11. Sun Belt

Preseason: 11 -- FAU and Troy had at least distanced themselves from the Bottom 11.

Early Returns: FAU hasn't backed up its big talk against Texas or Michigan State, but Arkansas State did beat Texas A&M and almost knocked off Southern Miss while Middle Tennessee's win over Maryland looks a lot more impressive after the Terps went out and beat Cal.

Prediction: This league is moving closer to the other non-BCS guys but needs to upset a heavyweight BCS school, not just a middle-of-the-pack squad. How about this weekend Troy taking down Ohio State … Nah.

RANDOM STUFF

Some postgame observations from the Ohio State-USC game:

•Ego can get the best of anyone and that apparently was the case Saturday night. Once USC's D-line stopped trying to overpower the Buckeyes' hefty offensive front and just focused on playing its own style, emphasizing quickness and movement, the Trojans' D dominated. The change was stunning: OSU gained 177 yards and had 13 first downs in the first half. In the second half: 30 yards and two first downs.

"In the first half, we got into kind of a boxing match with them," said Trojans DT Fili Moala, conceding that he let his bravado get the best of him early on. "We were talking trash back and forth and I was trying to rag-doll my guy, but they're so big and so strong, you don't want to get into a sumo match with them. But then we just started to play our game and let our natural ability take over."

•Joe McKnight was terrific and had OSU on its heels every time he touched the ball. The latest wrinkle for the versatile RB/WR/PR is to line up in the shotgun formation directly behind the center. The Trojans call it "Q Attack." McKnight actually had been practicing it since the spring and looked very comfortable in it Saturday night with QB Mark Sanchez split out wide.

•The two biggest differences from last year's USC O: the energy and tempo Mark Sanchez brings to the offense and the development of the young receiving corps, which has really been boosted by Arkansas transfer Damian Williams, who is the go-to guy the Trojans lacked last season.

•I'm not ready to say this team is better than or as good as any Pete Carroll has had at USC. It's waaaay too early for that. This is the most impressive group of athletes USC has ever had on D under Carroll, although it should be pointed out that the bunch that hammered Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl featured instinctive guys like Lofa Tatupu, Matt Grootegoed and Mike Patterson. Those guys didn't come across as combine freaks but they were outstanding football players.

I do think this secondary is going to prove much better than its predecessors, but I'm not sure this D-line will be at that level, although it is off to a very promising start.

•I was impressed by what I saw from Pryor. He gives OSU a much-needed added dimension. A few of the runs he attempted Saturday night will yield a lot more yards against other teams. One play that especially stands out is when Pryor tried to get loose around left tackle when the Buckeyes were backed up inside their own 10.

Pryor appeared to have some open space, but he was tracked down for a 2-yard gain by DE Everson Griffen. I doubt there are a dozen other defensive ends in the country who could've made that play, and I suspect only one of those dozen plays in the Big Ten. Many of the Trojans I spoke with after the game were impressed too, although USC wasn't wowed by the Buckeyes' passing game.

"We expected a lot more from them," said CB Shareece Wright. "We expected them to test us downfield and I'm surprised they didn't." Then again, maybe that's because the Buckeyes' QBs didn't have much time to look deep downfield.

A follow-up on Wright, who made headlines on Friday after he was charged with felony resisting a police officer in connection with a party: He admitted he was embarrassed that his name was linked to bad news on the eve of such a big game. After all, Pete Carroll constantly reminds his players to "Protect the Team," meaning keep themselves and their teammates out of bad situations. Asked if he felt like he didn't protect the team, Wright said, "I feel like I wasn't doing anything to not protect the team. Coach Carroll knows what kind of guy I am. It is good to know he supports me and believes in me."

•I know the conditions were messy, but it was still surprising to see FAU QB Rusty Smith going just 3-of-18 for 30 yards in the first half against Michigan State. Making matters worse, FAU went on to have five straight three-and-outs in the second half. Maybe the Spartans' D has taken some strides.

•The conditions weren't great in Missouri this weekend either, which makes Chase Daniel's performance even more eye-popping. In a little more than a half, the plucky Mizzou QB hit on over 82 percent of his passes (23-28) for 405 yards and four TDs. Worth noting: He did that against a Nevada defense that the previous week held Texas Tech's Graham Harrell to under 41 percent completion rate and under 300 yards while picking off two passes.

•Texas Tech has been known for its passing game, but not its pass D since Mike Leach came to Lubbock, but while his offense hasn't been as sharp as expected, the Red Raiders do lead the nation with nine interceptions this season.

•Oregon State, which had been floundering, got well against Hawaii. The Beavers' D totally shut down UH, limiting the Warriors to 211 yards, the program's lowest output in 10 years (174 against SMU).

•Stat that got my attention: 3-30. That's the combined numbers for Auburn and Mississippi State for their third-down conversions.

•Quote of the Day: "They were doing a lot of talking on the field and saying how fast they were and yadda, yadda, ya," Purdue senior running back Kory Sheets, who broke off an 80-yard touchdown run on the second play of the game, told Brian Hedger. "Shoot -- 11 guys let one guy run away from you, so there can't be too much speed out there."