This week's top 20:

I don't know if the Notre Dame senior linebacker is the best player in college football, or the best defensive player, or even the best linebacker. I do know he's on every one of those short lists.

I also know that you can't fully explain why a kid from Hawaii, who is a devout member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who isn't crazy about the cold, who couldn't pick out South Bend, Ind., on a U.S. map during his recruitment, still ended up at the nation's most famous Catholic university, Notre Dame (84 percent of the student body is Catholic, less than 1 percent is Mormon). And the truth is, Te'o couldn't fully explain it until recently.

Manti Te'o reason for choosing Notre Dame was tangible during the Michigan game. AP Photo/Darron Cummings

You likely have heard the heartbreaking story by now: Last month, in the span of six hours, Te'o learned that his maternal grandmother, as well as his longtime girlfriend, had died. His grandmother, Annette Santiago, passed away after an extended illness. And his girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, succumbed to leukemia.

"After the loss of two women who I really love, I think that's where my faith grew stronger -- because I understood what life was all about," Te'o said. "I've always spoken about memories and about coming back to school because of memories. But it wasn't until I lost that, that I realized that life [is] just all about experiences. It's all about experiences that you have [with] the people you love. It puts things in perspective."

The response and support from teammates, fellow Notre Dame students, faculty and staff, Notre Dame alums, opposing players, other coaches and perfect strangers has been overwhelming. He has received hundreds of handwritten letters, prayer cards and sympathy cards from all around the country.

At the coin toss before the Michigan game, Wolverines quarterback Denard Robinson offered his condolences. Kansas coach Charlie Weis, who (along with Brian Polian) helped recruit Te'o and then coached him during his freshman season, has regularly texted Manti and his father during this ordeal.

Ask Te'o if he can articulate why he now knows he made the right decision to come to Notre Dame, he says: "I can only show you. If you were here for the Michigan game, you would see why."

That was the game in which almost the entire stadium was filled with people wearing leis in honor of Te'o, his grandmother and his girlfriend. It is a sight Te'o will never forget.

"Just love," he said. "It looked like love. It was love."

19. Te'o -- Part II

Four years ago, USC was considered the recruiting leader for Te'o. Notre Dame? At the time, Te'o couldn't even find it on a U.S. map.

"I probably would have circled the whole U.S. and said, 'Somewhere in there."'

His official recruiting visit came on Nov. 22, 2008, the same weekend that Notre Dame was upset by Syracuse. The low temperature that day was 11 degrees.

"Possibly the coldest day of my life," Te'o said.

That was the game Fighting Irish fans booed and threw snowballs at the Notre Dame bench.

"I left at halftime ... because it was too cold," he said. "Watched the game on TV while another recruit and I were playing video games."

He had a long time to think on the flight back to Hawaii.

"If you would have asked me on the plane if I would go to Notre Dame, I'd probably say no," Te'o said.

But he did eventually sign with Notre Dame, leaving some friends and family in Hawaii stunned by the decision. The operative words were, "You're nuts."

"I think the entire island was telling him that," said Te'o dad, Brian. "I was actually rooting for Notre Dame. My research led me to believe that Notre Dame was the place for him, and so I quietly kept that to myself."

Said Weis: "How a Mormon kid came to a Catholic school, just didn't seem like it would be a normal fit. But who doesn't like Manti?

"Son of a gun, the guy took the challenge, stepped up and he's going to leave there as one of the greatest defensive players who ever played at Notre Dame -- and that's saying a lot."

Can he win the Heisman Trophy? Don't hold your breath. But Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly is right to suggest that Te'o belongs in the conversation, that he's worthy of such consideration. And he's right, of course.

"He's recognized as the rock of our football team," Kelly said.

Te'o reacts to this sort of talk in his usual way, which is to put up the deflector shields.

"Just to be mentioned with the Heisman and to be a defensive player is just humbling," he said. "It shows I'm headed in the right direction. I still have a lot of work to do, but I'm headed in the right direction."

18. Trending up

Louisiana Tech.



The HBC.



USC quarterbacks Matt Barkley and Connor Shaw (it's going to kill Trojans fans that I referred to South Carolina's Shaw that way).



Oregon.



Te'o.



The SEC East.



South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney.



North Carolina State quarterback Mike Glennon.



Florida running back Mike Gillislee.



Iowa State.



Rutgers.



Penn State coach Bill O'Brien.



Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller.



Arkansas coach John L. Smith.



BCS standings (first ones out this Sunday).



Stanford quarterback Josh Nunes.

Army.

17. Trending down

The Red River Rivalry.



Southern Mississippi, Tulane and Eastern Michigan (all winless).



The Wave. (Absolutely loved the home crowd vibe at South Carolina's Williams-Brice Stadium. But please, no more Waves. You're better than that.)



TCU.



LSU's passing game.



Virginia Tech's defense.



The Washington-Oregon series (Oregon has won nine in a row now).



The Northwestern-Penn State series (the Nittany Lions have now won 11 of the past 13 on the field).



Florida State.



Gurshall.



"I Luv Chiz" bumper stickers.



Baylor's defense.



Boston College coach Frank Spaziani.



Me ranking Georgia No. 2 in my weekly top 10.



16. Heisman trophy race

Seated in the front row at Best Buy Theater: