What will the AP Poll look like next week? I’ve got the answer for you. Each week we’ll be predicting what each ranked team will do in the upcoming games and how that will impact their rankings. Then, we’ll compare these predictions against what actually happened as the season progresses.

It saddens me to say this, but we’re almost at the end of the season. We’re already entering “Rivalry Week #1” and maybe the biggest rivalry game of them all means more this time than ever. Before we get into Ohio State-Michigan, let’s discuss the week that was.

Each week I keep making the same point, but these two teams are forcing me to keep them in the storyline. Rutgers and Wake Forest are truly amazing stories. Rutgers is getting all of the national hype and deservedly so. The Scarlet Knights won the biggest game in their history last Thursday by taking down the undefeated Louisville Cardinals. Wake Forest beat down Florida State 30-0 in Tallahassee. Say what you will about the ‘Noles being down this year, but the 9-1 Demon Deacons are almost as impressive to me as the boys from Piscataway.

Let’s see how my picks turned out. Below is a table showing how I had predicted the poll to look last week lined up against how it looks in reality today. I’ve also added this week’s opponent for each team to the table.

This was a bad weekend to be playing if you were a top 10 team. It would’ve been a great time for a bye week. Not only did undefeated Louisville go down, but so did Texas, Auburn, Cal, and Tennessee (not in the top 10, but still a highly rated team to lose). Each one of those teams is now officially out of the national title picture. Of those games, the only one I picked correctly was Arkansas over Tennessee and I didn’t even make that pick with much confidence.

I was wrong about West Virginia being upset by Cincinnati, too. The Bearcats looked impressive early in the season, but I am going to stop picking them to pull upsets. I was also wrong on my Texas A&M pick as the Aggies went down at home against Nebraska. The Huskers will be playing for the Big XII title. With the Longhorns defeat at the hands of Kansas State, the Aggies are still in the race to win the South and get a chance to avenge their loss.

As for this week, no college football fan can miss the game this week in Columbus. ESPN Gameday will be there and I’m sure all Buckeye fans will have their Kirk Herbstreit masks on at the set of the show. The game should be officially dubbed the “National Championship Semi-Final” because after Ohio State wins the game, they will clinch a trip to Glendale to play for all the marbles. Not only that, but we might as well present Troy Smith with the Heisman Trophy during the post-game celebration.

How about the other big games? There are some good ones this week outside of Columbus, folks. After all, this is “Rivalry Week #1”! USC will take care of Cal to clinch the Pac-10. West Virginia will stay in the hunt for a BCS Bowl by beating Pitt in the “Backyard Brawl”. Wake Forest will be tripped up at home by Virginia Tech, but will still remain very much in the hunt for the ACC Atlantic Division. Boston College will beat Maryland at home which will leave those two teams and Wake Forest all with two conference losses and an important Wake-Maryland game yet to play.

Auburn will beat Alabama badly in the Iron Bowl. The Tigers are no longer in the national title hunt and not even in the picture for the SEC West, but Auburn simply has too much talent for an Alabama team on a downward slide even though the game will be played in Tuscaloosa.

Here’s what the entire poll will look like a week from today, but an important note is that I don’t think that USC will jump Florida in this poll. USC will look impressive with their win over Cal but Florida plays Western Carolina. It’s tough to move a team down in a subjective poll after that team wins 63-0, which will be the final score in a statement game for the Gators. Can’t wait for “Rivalry Week #2”!