A staggering loss with no visible effect on the rankings, an unimpressive yet tight conference title game, and why Oregon should be thanking the NCAA.
| Rank |
+/- |
Team |
WinPct |
SoS |
Off Pts |
Def Pts |
Pace |
| 001 | -- |
TCU |
0.9400 |
0.4189 |
28.5 |
8.9 |
80.9 |
| 002 | -- |
Boise St. |
0.9343 |
0.4214 |
29.6 |
9.6 |
82.8 |
| 003 | +1 |
Ohio St. |
0.9212 |
0.5192 |
26.1 |
9.2 |
80.0 |
| 004 | -1 |
Alabama |
0.9101 |
0.6447 |
26.7 |
10.0 |
77.9 |
| 005 | -- |
Virginia Tech |
0.8729 |
0.5455 |
27.4 |
12.1 |
79.0 |
| 006 | -- |
Oregon |
0.8696 |
0.5630 |
25.8 |
11.6 |
93.0 |
| 007 | -- |
Oklahoma |
0.8537 |
0.5970 |
23.5 |
11.2 |
91.4 |
| 008 | +3 |
Stanford |
0.8366 |
0.5671 |
28.3 |
14.2 |
81.5 |
| 009 | -1 |
LSU |
0.8296 |
0.6282 |
24.1 |
12.3 |
78.5 |
| 010 | -1 |
Iowa |
0.8130 |
0.5729 |
20.8 |
11.1 |
80.9 |
| 011 | +1 |
Nebraska |
0.8124 |
0.4900 |
23.9 |
12.9 |
79.6 |
| 012 | -2 |
Florida |
0.8068 |
0.6551 |
24.0 |
13.3 |
80.6 |
| 013 | -- |
Auburn |
0.8050 |
0.6476 |
27.7 |
15.3 |
83.5 |
| 014 | -- |
South Carolina |
0.8004 |
0.6500 |
25.2 |
14.0 |
79.3 |
| 015 | -- |
Arkansas |
0.7862 |
0.6223 |
27.4 |
15.8 |
83.3 |
| 016 | -- |
Wisconsin |
0.7852 |
0.5187 |
29.2 |
16.9 |
79.5 |
| 017 | +4 |
Florida St. |
0.7664 |
0.6198 |
24.7 |
15.0 |
81.7 |
| 018 | +1 |
Missouri |
0.7662 |
0.5337 |
20.0 |
12.0 |
85.0 |
| 019 | +5 |
West Virginia |
0.7636 |
0.5326 |
19.4 |
11.8 |
81.8 |
| 020 | -2 |
Utah |
0.7482 |
0.4342 |
23.0 |
14.6 |
81.0 |
| 021 | -1 |
Oklahoma St. |
0.7450 |
0.5280 |
24.3 |
15.6 |
89.7 |
| 022 | -5 |
Miami-FL |
0.7343 |
0.6319 |
19.9 |
12.9 |
85.9 |
| 023 | -- |
Georgia |
0.7201 |
0.6156 |
26.5 |
17.8 |
77.1 |
| 024 | -2 |
Arizona |
0.7180 |
0.6125 |
19.6 |
13.3 |
85.4 |
| 025 | NA |
Notre Dame |
0.7159 |
0.5978 |
19.0 |
12.8 |
84.7 |
New entries: Notre Dame.
Dropped out: Clemson.
For the umpteenth week in a row, Clemson flops around the top 25.
TCU stomps New Mexico, but giving up 17 points to the fifth-worst offense in I-A football means their defensive efficiency takes a hit. Boise State lost a close one to Nevada -- although there's some speculation that
the first field goal was actually good -- but by virtue of losing a close one to a decent team, Boise doesn't drop too much in the eyes of my computer. Ohio State thumped an overmatched Michigan team, and Alabama held a high-powered Auburn team to only 28 points; the downside is that Alabama only scored 27, thanks to some notable turnovers in the red zone, along with some issues punching the ball into the end zone. Auburn was lucky they weren't down 42-7 at the half.
Virginia Tech seems to have recovered from their early-season issues and is the class of the ACC; they'll face Florida State in the ACC title game, but TFG pegs the Hokies as the favorites. Oregon has one last shot to really convince TFG that they've got a respectable defense, but given their possible matchup with Auburn in the title game that won't matter as much; the Ducks will be the favorites.
Further down the rankings we see a block of SEC teams. (13) Auburn and (14) South Carolina will face off in the SEC title game, in a contest TFG expects to be too close to call. A mere 0.0046 points separates the Tigers from the Gamecocks, and Steve Spurrier would love to become the first coach to take two teams to the top of the SEC. Arkansas, however, is pulling for Auburn to win, since the Tigers in the National Championship game means the Razorbacks get the SEC spot in the BCS.
The
Cam Newton decision from the NCAA clears the way for the Auburn quarterback to lead the Tigers against South Carolina this weekend. Without Newton it would be an uphill battle for Auburn, and likely lead to the Gamecocks winning the game. That would place the BCS voters in the position of having to choose between
- an undefeated TCU team;
- a 1-loss Stanford team in a Pac-10 rematch;
- a 1-loss Wisconsin team; or
- a 1-loss Auburn team
to play Oregon in the National Championship game. Auburn would have been a 1-loss team without their star player, and Stanford already had their shot at Oregon. TCU is currently the #3 team in the BCS and likely to jump to the #2 spot if Auburn had lost Newton OR if South Carolina pulls off the upset. If TCU ends up in the title game instead of Auburn, Oregon goes from being a 62% favorite to a 30% underdog. So for all the Ducks (and Arkansas) fans out there, send a thank-you note to the NCAA and cheer for those Tigers!
P.S. Notre Dame? Really? Must be a bug of some sort ....
