The SportsRatings Top 25 is our answer to the AP and coaches' polls. This subjective "poll" properly reflects head-to-head results and give additional consideration to teams who have victories over other top 25 teams.
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#1 Alabama rolled along with a 42-10 win over Missouri, the Tigers' worst loss. For comparison, Mizzou lost to Georgia at home and at South Carolina by 21 points each.
The Tide further distanced themselves from the pack as the rest of the top teams didn't raise their stock appreciably. #2 Oregon was idle; new #3 Notre Dame needed a controversial goal-line stand to beat former #14 Stanford; #4 Kansas State edged Iowa State 27-21; #5 Florida turned back Vanderbilt 31-17; #6 Oregon State finally pulled away from BYU to win 42-24; and worst of all, #7 Ohio State rose to 7-0 on the "strength" of a 52-49 win over Big Ten whipping boy Indiana.
The weekend's most impressive performance was #8 Oklahoma's 63-21 drubbing of former #12 Texas. That, along with former victim Texas Tech's huge win over West Virginia, made a strong argument for the Sooners as the nation's top 1-loss team. If not the Sooners, it's #9 LSU, who did just enough to beat South Carolina 23-21; the Gamecocks fall from #3 to #10.
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SportsRatings Top 25 - week seven 2012 (thru 10/13/2012)
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Losses/important wins
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| 1 | 1 | Alabama | 6-0 | wWKentucky 35-0 |
| 2 | 2 | Oregon | 6-0 | |
| 4 | 3 | Notre Dame | 6-0 | wStanford 20-13ot |
| 5 | 4 | Kansas State | 6-0 | w@Oklahoma 24-19 |
| 7 | 5 | Florida | 6-0 | wLSU 14-6, TexAM 20-17 |
| 9 | 6 | Oregon State | 5-0 | |
| 8 | 7 | Ohio State | 7-0 | |
| 10 | 8 | Oklahoma | 4-1 | L KSt 24-19; w@TxTech 41-20,=Tex 63-21 |
| 11 | 9 | LSU | 6-1 | L@Florida 14-6; wSCarolina 23-21 |
| 3 | 10 | South Carolina | 6-1 | L@LSU 23-21; wGeorgia 35-7 |
| 15 | 11 | USC | 5-1 | L@Stanford 21-14 |
| 13 | 12 | Georgia | 5-1 | L@SCar 35-7 |
| 16 | 13 | Rutgers | 6-0 | |
| -- | 14 | Texas Tech | 5-1 | L OK 41-20; wWVa 49-14 |
| 17 | 15 | Florida State | 6-1 | L@NCState 17-16; wClemson 49-37 |
| 6 | 16 | West Virginia | 5-1 | L@TxTech 49-14; w@Texas 48-45 |
| 18 | 17 | Clemson | 5-1 | L@FSU 49-37 |
| 19 | 18 | Mississippi State | 6-0 | |
| 20 | 19 | Cincinnati | 5-0 | |
| 22 | 20 | Louisville | 6-0 | |
| 23 | 21 | Ohio | 7-0 | |
| -- | 22 | Texas A&M | 5-1 | L FLA 20-17; w@LaTech 59-57 |
| 21 | 23 | Louisiana Tech | 5-1 | L TexAM 59-57 |
| 24 | 24 | W. Kentucky | 5-1 | L@Alabama 35-0 |
| 14 | 25 | Stanford | 4-2 | L@Wash 17-13, @ND 20-13ot; wUSC 21-14 |
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| 12 | - | Texas | 4-2 | L WVa 48-45, =OK 63-21 |
| 25 | - | Texas-San Antonio | 5-1 | L@Rice 34-14 |
USC kicks off the 2nd ten with a 24-14 win over Washington, but the Trojans are without a top 25 win, as is 5-1 Georgia who was idle this week.
Rutgers edged Syracuse 23-15 to go to 6-0. An easy schedule is both a boon and hindrance to the Scarlet Knights.
Texas Tech fell out of the rankings last week but rebounded with a huge 49-14 win over West Virginia. The Red Raiders re-enter at #14 and the Mountaineers tumble to #16, as last week's victim Texas got beat by 42, making their 3-point win look pretty weak. Florida State sits between the two at #15 after pounding Boston College 51-7. #16 Clemson was idle.Undefeated and unimpressive: The four other remaining undefeated teams didn't exactly inspire confidence that they'll remain that way for very long. #18 Mississippi State beat Tennessee 41-31; #19 Cincinnati rolled Fordham 49-17; #20 Louisville outlasted Pittsburgh 45-35; and #21 Ohio held on at home to beat 1-6 Akron 34-28. Note that this means the Big East is tied with the SEC, each having three undefeated teams. The Pac-12 has two, the Big Twelve one, and the Big Ten one (with independent Notre Dame the other).
The best game of the weekend had to be Texas A&M vs. Louisiana Tech. It ended with a 59-57 Aggie win, but it wasn't the typical shootout. Texas A&M jumped to a 27-0 2nd quarter lead, and it was still a 39-16 blowout at the half. But the Bulldogs never gave up. Armed with the nation's #1 scoring offense, they cut the lead to 46-44 in the fourth quarter, after which the Aggies padded their lead back to 59-44 with 2:30 left. Louisiana Tech scored, got an onside kick and scored again in just 1 1/2 minutes. Their 2-point conversion attempt failed and they didn't get the ball back. The Bulldogs missed a PAT that was returned for 2 points by the Aggies earlier. Texas A&M (5-1) moves in at #22, and Louisiana Tech falls to #23.
Western Kentucky holds at #24 after edging Troy 31-26 on Thursday.
While two Texas teams entered the top 25, two also fell out. 4-2 Stanford holds the final spot due to their win over USC, and the fact that they nearly beat the Irish. Texas, also 4-2, drops out due to being beaten too brutally. And with Texas-San Antonio's first loss, 34-14 to 2-5 Rice, the Roadrunners lose their spot, too. They're not likely to work their way back in, but at 5-1 they need just two more victories for a winning season in their first FBS campaign.
Next weekend's big games:
- #5 Florida vs. #10 South Carolina in yet another critical SEC matchup
- #9 LSU hosts #22 Texas A&M: Both teams lost to Florida, and one will likely be eliminated from SEC title discussion.
- #4 Kansas State vs. #16 West Virginia: Can the Mountaineers bounce back from a huge defeat?
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