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The SportsRatings Weekly Top 25 is a subjective ranking of the top 25 college football teams in the style of the AP or USA/Coaches poll. Our rankings properly reflect head-to-head results and give additional consideration to teams who have victories over other top 25 teams.
Not much to say this week, except that fromer #3 Arkansas lost as expected and tumbles from #3 to #8 while #1 LSU and #2 Alabama remain in place. The Razorbacks have losses to the top two teams, by identical 24 point margins. So we know they're pretty far from the top, but their single impressive win—beating South Carolina 44-28—doesn't give much of a clue to how good they are. That's what bowl games are for.
The other top teams—all with one loss—slide up a notch. The relative merits of Boise State, Stanford, Oklahoma State, and Virginia Tech can be debated but in terms of résumés they're all pretty equal. Again, bring on the bowl games—though the Cowboys and Hokies have tests coming up this weekend.
Houston follows, undefeated and untested. They face #25 Southern Miss this weekend in a game that can only bring them down, as the Golden Eagles are a borderline top 25 teams to be sure.
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SportsRatings Top 25 - week 13 (thru 11/26/2011)
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Team
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Rec
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Losses/important wins
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| 1 | 1 | Louisiana State | 12-0 | w@Alabama 9-6ot, Ark 41-17, Oregon 40-27, @WVA 47-21 |
| 2 | 2 | Alabama | 11-1 | L LSU 9-6ot; wArk 38-14, @PennSt 27-11 |
| 4 | 3 | Boise State | 10-1 | L TCU 36-35; w@Georgia 35-21 |
| 5 | 4 | Stanford | 11-1 | L Oregon 53-30; w@USC 54-46ot |
| 6 | 5 | Oklahoma State | 10-1 | L@IowaSt 37-31ot; wKState 52-45, Baylor 59-24 |
| 7 | 6 | Virginia Tech | 11-1 | L Clemson 23-3; wArkSt 26-7 |
| 8 | 7 | Houston | 12-0 | |
| 3 | 8 | Arkansas | 10-2 | L@LSU 41-17, @Alabama 38-14; wSCar 44-28 |
| 9 | 9 | Michigan St | 10-2 | L@NDame 31-13, @Neb 24-3; wWisc 37-31, Mich 28-14 |
| 10 | 10 | Wisconsin | 10-2 | L@OhioSt 33-29, @MichSt 37-31; wNeb 48-17, PennSt 45-7 |
| 11 | 11 | Southern Cal | 10-2 | L@ArizSt 43-22, Stan 54-46ot; w@Oregon 38-35 |
| 12 | 12 | Oregon | 10-2 | L USC 38-35, @LSU 40-27; w@Stanford 53-30 |
| 13 | 13 | South Carolina | 10-2 | L Aub 16-13, @Ark 44-28; w@Georgia 45-42, Clem 34-13 |
| 14 | 14 | Michigan | 10-2 | L@Iowa 24-16, @MichSt 28-14; wNebraska 45-17 |
| 15 | 15 | TCU | 9-2 | L SMU 40-33ot, @Baylor 50-48; w@Boise 36-35 |
| 16 | 16 | Oklahoma | 9-2 | L TxTech 41-38, @Baylor 45-38; w@KSt 58-17 |
| 17 | 17 | Georgia | 10-2 | L SCar 45-42, BoiseSt 35-21 |
| 20 | 18 | Kansas State | 9-2 | L Oklahoma 58-17, @OKst 52-45; wBaylor 36-35 |
| 21 | 19 | Baylor | 8-3 | L@TexAM 55-28, @Kst 36-35, @OKst 59-24; wOK 45-38, TCU 50-48 |
| 22 | 20 | Nebraska | 9-3 | L Nwest 28-25, @Wisc 48-17, @Mich 45-17; wMichSt 24-3, @PennSt 17-14 |
| 19 | 21 | Clemson | 9-3 | L@NCst 37-13, @GTech 31-17, @SCar 34-13; w@VTech 23-3 |
| 18 | 22 | Penn State | 9-3 | L@Wisc 45-7, Nebraska 17-14, Alabama 27-11 |
| 23 | 23 | Arkansas State | 9-2 | L@Illinois 33-15, @VTech 26-7 |
| 24 | 24 | West Virginia | 8-3 | L@Syr 49-23, Lou 38-35, LSU 47-21 |
| 25 | 25 | Southern Miss | 10-2 | L@UAB 34-31, @Marshall 26-20 |
The raft of 2-loss teams follows in pretty much the same order as last week, along with the favored 3-loss teams. The population of quality 3-loss teams is already getting in short supply with the losses by five of them last week, all against ranked opponents: Boise State beat Wyoming 36-14, Stanford topped Notre Dame 28-14, Virginia Tech blanked Virginia 38-0, Houston beat Tulsa 48-16, and Georgia beat Georgia Tech 31-17. Our fears of an overcrowded Top 25 were for naught as no team leaves or enters the rankings this week.
Next weekend: It's a pretty busy final weekend (not counting December 10's Army-Navy game of course) as an amazing 17 of the top 25 are in action, 10 of them against each other:
- #1 LSU vs. #17 Georgia for the SEC crown
- #5 Oklahoma State vs. #16 Oklahoma for the Big 12 title
- #6 Virginia Tech vs. #21 Clemson for the ACC championship
- #7 Houston vs. #25 Southern Miss for C-USA bragging rights
- #9 Michigan State vs. #10 Wisconsin for the Big Ten title and Rose Bowl trip
Also, #12 Oregon faces UCLA for the other side of the Rose Bowl berth; #18 Kansas State plays Iowa State; #19 Baylor takes on Texas; #23 Arkansas State faces Troy; #24 West Virginia tackles South Florida; and in the games of the week, #15 TCU hosts UNLV (a 38 point underdog) and #3 Boise State hosts New Mexico (a 48.5 point underdog).
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