We’re already nearing the halfway point of the regular season and one thing is pretty set in stone: the Ohio State Buckeyes are currently the best team in the country.

The Buckeyes have blown three ranked teams out (two on the road) by an average of 22 points. They have one the Heisman Trophy frontrunner (but not my winner) and a pair of insane wide receivers in Ginn and Gonzalez. Then there’s the defense. Replacing nine starts, the Bucks haven’t missed a beat and currently have the best scoring defense in the country. I’d say that pretty much clinches their spot on the top of my midseason top five. But who’s the closest team to them?

Florida: The Gators have impressed me with their start but I can’t see them running the table with their schedule. Congrats Gators! You beat Tennessee and LSU. Now beat Auburn. Then beat Georgia. Then beat South Carolina. Then beat Florida State. Then beat another quality team in the SEC Championship game. They have a great QB rotation in Chris Leak and freshman Tim Tebow, who should probably be classified as 1/2 tank, 1/2 quarterback. They’re currently the 2nd best team in the nation in my opinion but I doubt they complete the gauntlet that is their schedule.

Michigan: Besides the dislike I have for Lloyd Carr, I’ve been impressed with Meeechigan this year. Chad Henne decided that trying to improve at quarterback was a better idea than playing in the Alamo Bowl. Then there’s Mario Manningham, who would probably make me look like a good quarterback. Michigan’s offense this year is pretty simple: run the ball with Mike Hart then throw it deep to Manningham. Manningham’s 9 touchdowns and 22 yards per catch are the reason for Michigan’s undefeated record. But he’s expected to be out a couple of weeks after knee surgery. Can Michigan remain undefeated going into the Ohio St. game? We’ll see.

USC: Our boys at the AP Poll and USA Today have the Trojans as the 3rd best team in the country. I don’t see how they’re ranked above Michigan. They’ve had two very close calls versus Washington and Washington St., winning both games by six points. They also struggled vs. Arizona for much of the game. The explosive offense of past USC teams is gone and this one simply isn’t as good. Trojan running backs only have six runs of over 20 yards this season. Last year, Reggie Bush alone had over 25 such runs last year. I’ll be very surprised if the Trojans can win games versus Oregon, Cal, and Notre Dame in consecutive weeks.

West Virginia/Louisville: I’m grouping these two together because they’re very similar. They’re both undefeated but they haven’t really beat anybody worth mentioning. Louisville’s win versus Miami looks less impressive by the week. The November 2nd match-up between these two teams will be huge. The winner will probably finished undefeated but will probably be left out of the National Championship Game.