SportsRatings: College Football

2011 SportsRatings Top 25 - week eight: Finally, the Big Upsets arrive

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.

Finally. We've been waiting for this week for about a month: the week some of the very top teams are upset, shaking up the rankings. Losses by Wisconsin and Oklahoma cause the first meaningful changes in our top 10 since week one when LSU beat Oregon.

The very top spots didn't change. #1 Alabama and #2 Stanford hold steady with blowout wins over Tennessee (37-6) and ex-#14 Washington (65-21). Louisiana State jumps to #3 after blasting Auburn 45-10; contrast this with #4 Boise State's touch-and-go affair with Air Force, whom they defeated 37-26. LSU's résumé is also starting to look undeniably better even as the teams' strength looks about even.

Into the void created by Wisconsin's loss jump Clemson and Oregon, each up two spots. The Tigers keep winning regardless of how many points they give up; they beat North Carolina 59-38. Oregon's defense completely shut down Colorado, 45-2, and their offense worked just fine even without both Darron Thomas and LaMichael James. Kansas State mauled Kansas 59-21 to remain undefeated; they're up to #8 now. Arkansas had to come back from 17 down to beat Mississippi; they move up a spot to #9.

Michigan State (6-1) leaps from #18 to #10 after their upset of Wisconsin; the Badgers are right behind them, as the win was decided literally by inches on the last, crazy play of the game.

SportsRatings Top 25 - week 8 2011 (thru 10/22/2011)
lw	#	Team	Rec	Losses/important wins
1	1	Alabama	8-0	wArk 38-14, @PennSt 27-11
2	2	Stanford	7-0	wWash 65-21
5	3	Louisiana State	8-0	wOregon 40-27, Auburn 45-10
4	4	Boise State	7-0
7	5	Oklahoma State	7-0	w@TexAM 30-29
8	6	Clemson	8-0	w@VTech 23-3, Auburn 38-24
9	7	Oregon	5-1	L@LSU 40-27; wASU 41-27
11	8	Kansas State	7-0	w@TxTech 41-34
10	9	Arkansas	5-1	L@Alabama 38-14; w=TexAM 42-38, Auburn 38-14
18	10	Michigan St	6-1	L@NotreDame 31-13; wWisc 37-31, Mich 28-14
6	11	Wisconsin	6-1	L@MichSt 37-31; wNebraska 48-17
12	12	Virginia Tech	7-1	L Clemson 23-3
13	13	Nebraska	6-1	L@Wisc 48-17; wWash 51-38
3	14	Oklahoma	6-1	L TxTech 41-38
15	15	Southern Cal	6-1	L@ASU 43-22
16	16	South Carolina	6-1	L Auburn 16-13
19	17	Michigan	6-1	L@MichSt 28-14
21	18	Houston	7-0
22	19	Penn State	7-1	L Alabama 27-11
25	20	Texas A&M	5-2	L OKst 30-29, =Ark 42-38; w@TxTech 45-40
--	21	Texas Tech	6-2	L TexAM 45-40, KSt 41-34; w@OK 41-38
17	22	Illinois	6-2	L OhioSt 17-7, @Purdue 21-14; wASU 17-14
23	23	Arizona State	5-2	L@ILL 17-14, @Oregon 41-27; wUSC 43-22
--	24	Cincinnati	6-1	L@Tenn 45-23
--	25	Southern Miss	6-1	L@Marshall 26-20
	out:
14	--	Washington	5-2	L@Neb 51-38, @Stanford 65-21
24	--	Auburn	5-3	L@Ark 38-14, @Clem 38-24, @LSU 45-10;  w@SC 16-13
20	--	Georgia Tech	6-2	L@Virginia 24-21, @Miami 24-7

Virginia Tech and Nebraska remain at #12 and #13. The Hokies knocked off Boston College while the Cornhuskers were idle. Both teams have 1 loss to a team in the top 11. #14 Oklahoma and #15 Southern Cal both have a loss to a lower-ranked opponent. USC beat Notre Dame on the road, 31-17. South Carolina was idle at #16, and with Auburn's exit they have a loss to an unranked team.

Michigan, Houston, and Penn State slide up a few spots each. The Wolverines were idle, while undefeated Houston beat Marshall 63-28 and Penn State (7-1) handled Northwestern 34-24.

The four teams from #20 to #23 all have two losses, but hold a win over a top 25 team. Texas A&M beat Iowa State 33-17 this weekend and offsets its narrow losses to two top ten teams with a previous win at Texas Tech. The Red Raiders, of course, upended Oklahoma in Norman 41-38. They lost close games to Texas A&M and Kansas State. Falling to #22, Illinois has now lost to two unranked teams: Ohio State a week ago, and Purdue 21-14 on Saturday. But they have a win over #23 Arizona State, who beat USC a few weeks ago.

The addition of Cincinnati and Southern Miss, both of whom are 6-1, means that every 1-loss team is in the rankings, along with every 2-loss team that holds a win over another top 25 team. It follows that there is no room for Georgia Tech, who lost to Miami 24-7. Their résumé is similar to Illinois' but without the top 25 win. Washington's résumé is a lot like Texas': a close loss to one top 25 team (Nebraska 51-38, Oklahoma State 38-26) and an absolute blowout loss to another (Stanford 65-21, Oklahoma 55-17). Since the Longhorns aren't ranked, the Huskies must fall out, too. Auburn is out for having three losses, but all are to top ten teams and they have a win over South Carolina, so they aren't looking that bad despite the big loss to LSU.

2011 SportsRatings Top 25 - week seven: Blowouts, upsets, and comebacks for undefeated teams

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.

It was supposed to be a weekend of blowouts and for the top teams it was, just like last week, but for the lower-rung of undefeated teams nothing was easy.

#1 Alabama crushed Mississippi 52-7 while #2 Stanford and #3 Oklahoma overcame slow starts to beat Washington State 44-14 and Kansas 47-17 respectively. #4 Boise State battered Colorado State 63-13, #5 LSU dominated Tennessee 38-7, and #6 Wisconsin dispatched Indiana 59-7.

Three other undefeated teams had a tougher go of it. #7 Oklahoma State beat Texas, 38-26, in a game that was tight through the third quarter where the teams traded back-to-back 100 yard kickoff returns. #8 Clemson was down 35-17 to Maryland in the 2nd half before storming back to win 56-45. And Kansas State won a back-and-forth battle over Texas Tech, 41-34. The Wildcats move up to #11.

#9 Oregon fended off Arizona State 41-27, and idle Arkansas moved up to #10.

SportsRatings Top 25 - week 7 2011 (thru 10/15/2011)
lw	#	Team	Rec	Losses/important wins
1	1	Alabama	7-0	wArk 38-14, @PennSt 27-11
2	2	Stanford	6-0
3	3	Oklahoma	6-0
4	4	Boise State	6-0
5	5	Louisiana State	7-0	wOregon 40-27
6	6	Wisconsin	6-0	wNebraska 48-17
7	7	Oklahoma State	6-0	w@TexAM 30-29
8	8	Clemson	7-0	w@VTech 23-3, Auburn 38-24
9	9	Oregon	4-1	L@LSU 40-27; wASU 41-27
11	10	Arkansas	4-1	L@Alabama 38-14; wAuburn 38-14
15	11	Kansas State	6-0	wBaylor 36-35
16	12	Virginia Tech	6-1	L Clemson 23-3
17	13	Nebraska	5-1	L@Wisc 48-17; wWash 51-38
18	14	Washington	5-1	L@Neb 51-38
19	15	Southern Cal	5-1	L@ASU 43-22
20	16	South Carolina	6-1	L Auburn 16-13
10	17	Illinois	6-1	L OhioSt 17-7; wASU 17-14
--	18	Michigan St	5-1	L@NotreDame 31-13; wMich 28-14
12	19	Michigan	6-1	L@MichSt 28-14
13	20	Georgia Tech	6-1	L@Virginia 24-21; wUNC 35-28
22	21	Houston	6-0
24	22	Penn State	7-1	L Alabama 27-11
14	23	Arizona State	5-2	L@ILL 17-14, @Oregon 41-27; wUSC 43-22
25	24	Auburn	5-2	L@Ark 38-14, @Clem 38-24; w@SC 16-13
--	25	Texas A&M	4-2	L OKst 30-29, =Ark 42-38; wBaylor 55-28
		out:
21	--	Baylor	4-2	L@TexAM 55-28, @KState 36-35
23	--	North Carolina	5-2	L@GTech 35-28, Miami 30-24

Virginia Tech, Nebraska, Washington, USC, and South Carolina each move up four spots. The Hokies beat upstart Wake Forest 38-17. Nebraska was idle but holds a win over Washington, who trounced Colorado 52-24. USC beat Cal convincingly on Thursday, 30-9, and South Carolina edged Mississippi State 14-12.

Most of this upward movement was due to losses by three previously undefeated teams. #17 Illinois had their first loss of the year at home against Ohio State, 17-7; Michigan fell at Michigan State 28-14 and fell to #19, and the Spartans jump in one spot ahead of the Wolverines. Georgia Tech was defeated by Virginia 24-21.

Houston was idle and remains unbeaten, moving up to #21. Penn State slides up to #22 after another close win, this time over Purdue, 18-13. Arizona State drops from #14 to #23 with their 2nd loss; #24 Auburn (beat Florida 17-6) also has two losses and, like ASU, a win over a top 25 team. Texas A&M re-enters the rankings at #25 after beating Baylor, 55-28. North Carolina also falls out after their loss to Miami.

2011 SportsRatings Top 25 - week six: Top Teams Roll

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.

The top five teams all blitzed their opponents this week, leading to no change in the top 10. #1 Alabama shut out a decent Vanderbilt team, 34-0; #2 Stanford crushed Colorado 48-7; #3 Oklahoma, of course, demolished former #25 Texas 55-17; #4 Boise State absolutely dominated Fresno State 57-7; and #5 Louisiana State beat former #13 Florida 41-11. #6 Wisconsin was idle.

With #7 Oklahoma State smacking Kansas 70-28, #8 Clemson downing Boston College 36-14, #9 Oregon handling former #24 California 43-15, and #10 Illinois beating Indiana 41-20, the top ten remained the same.

The closest we came to making a change concerned Clemson, one of only two teams to have two wins over current top 25 squads. But Auburn is only #25 and Oklahoma State was so explosive last week that it's hard to justify; there will be ample time to sort out the exact positions these teams should hold. The same goes for LSU, who beat Florida; the Gators fall out of the rankings, and it's hard to move Boise State down for their performance against Fresno.

SportsRatings Top 25 - week 6 2011 (thru 10/08/2011)
lw	#	Team	Rec	Losses/important wins
1	1	Alabama	6-0	wArk 38-14, @PennSt 27-11, @FLA 38-10
2	2	Stanford	5-0
3	3	Oklahoma	5-0	w=Texas 55-17
4	4	Boise State	5-0
5	5	Louisiana State	6-0	wOregon 40-27, FLA 41-11
6	6	Wisconsin	5-0	wNebraska 48-17
7	7	Oklahoma State	5-0
8	8	Clemson	6-0	w@VTech 23-3, Auburn 38-24
9	9	Oregon	4-1	L@LSU 40-27; wCal 43-15
10	10	Illinois	6-0	wASU 17-14
11	11	Arkansas	4-1	L@Alabama 38-14; wAuburn 38-14
12	12	Michigan	6-0
15	13	Georgia Tech	6-0	wUNC 35-28
14	14	Arizona State	5-1	L@ILL 17-14; wUSC 43-22
16	15	Kansas State	5-0	wBaylor 36-35
17	16	Virginia Tech	5-1	L Clemson 23-3
18	17	Nebraska	5-1	L@Wisc 48-17; wWash 51-38
19	18	Washington	4-1	L@Neb 51-38; wCal 31-23
20	19	Southern Cal	4-1	L@ASU 43-22
22	20	South Carolina	5-1	L Auburn 16-13
23	21	Baylor	4-1	L@KState 36-35
--	22	Houston	6-0
--	23	North Carolina	5-1	L@GTech 35-28
--	24	Penn State	5-1	L Alabama 27-11
21	25	Auburn	4-2	L@Clem 38-24, @Ark 38-14; w@SC 16-13
		out:
13	--	Florida	4-2	L Alabama 38-10, @LSU 41-11
24	--	California	3-2	L@Wash 31-23, @Oregon 43-15
25	--	Texas	4-1	L=Oklahoma 55-17

Arkansas held their spot at #11 by beating Auburn 38-14, and Michigan remained undefeated and held at #12.

Georgia Tech escaped Maryland to stay unbeaten, and jumped past Arizona State at #13. The Sun Devils beat Utah 35-14 but have a loss to Illinois. #15 Kansas State held off Missouri to move to 5-0.

Virginia Tech and  Nebraska each moved up a spot; the Hokies edged Miami 38-35 and the Cornhuskers rallied to beat Ohio State 34-27. Washington  and Southern Cal were idle but each moves up a spot to #18 and #19.

#20 South Carolina ran roughshod over Kentucky, 56-3, despite playing without Stephen Garcia (who was since dismissed). #21 Baylor beat Iowa State 49-26.

The namesake teams of the top football states all exit the rankings this week: Florida, California, and Texas. The Gators and Bears suffered their second losses, and Texas was obliterated by Oklahoma. Still, despite the margins, Florida and Texas have only lost to undefeated teams and are in good position to return promptly as each team plays a ranked team this weekend.

Replacing the three are undefeated Houston; North Carolina, whose only loss is to Georgia Tech; and Penn State who fell only to Alabama. Houston rolled last week, 56-3 over East Carolina, while the Tar Heels and Nittany Lions used defense to top Louisville 14-7 and Iowa 13-3 respectively. Other teams whose only loss is to a top 25 squad including West Virginia (to LSU, 47-21) and, perhaps surprisingly, Louisiana-Lafayette, who lost 61-34 to Oklahoma State. Rutgers can also be counted in this group now that North Carolina is ranked.

We kept Auburn in at #25 due to their win over South Carolina; this keeps the top 25 very solid, as no ranked team has a loss to an unranked team. This week the Tigers play Florida, who have lost only to undefeated teams Alabama and LSU.

2011 SportsRatings Top 25 - week 5: Rankings scrambled, Alabama new #1

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.

There was a considerable shakeup among the ranked teams this week, with eight teams in the top 25 losing games, mostly to other ranked teams. The top seven teams didn't lose but we move Alabama to the top, displacing Stanford to #2. For the second straight week the Tide dominated a top ten opponent, beating former #9 Florida 38-10 on the road, and now hold two top 25 wins while Stanford, Oklahoma, and Boise State have none.

#2 Stanford drubbed UCLA 45-19, comparable to the beating Texas gave the Bruins; Oklahoma actually exceeded expectations in destroying Ball State 62-6; and Boise State got revenge on Nevada for last year's season-destroying upset, 30-10 (for comparison, Oregon beat Nevada 69-20). #5 Louisiana State took it easy on Kentucky, winning just 35-7 (Florida beat Kentucky the previous week 48-10).

The big game of the week was supposed to be #6 Wisconsin vs. #14 Nebraska, but it turned into a 48-17 rout as the Badgers got a win over their first live opponent of the season. #7 Oklahoma State was idle.

The real big game of the week turned out to be Clemson's 23-3 shutdown of Virginia Tech. For the second straight week the Tigers beat the supposed best team in the ACC, and for the third straight week they beat a top 25 foe. With Auburn's re-introduction into the top 25, Clemson now holds two top 25 wins, the only team other than Alabama to do so, and they leap from #16 to #8 in our rankings. Oregon slides up a spot to #9, and Illinois moves into the top ten after their third straight 3-point victory. The Illini have won all 5 of their games at home.

SportsRatings Top 25 - week 5 2011 (thru 10/01/2011)
lw	#	Team	Rec	Losses/important wins
2	1	Alabama	5-0	wArk 38-14, @FLA 38-10
1	2	Stanford	4-0
3	3	Oklahoma	4-0
4	4	Boise State	4-0
5	5	Louisiana State	5-0	wOregon 40-27
6	6	Wisconsin	5-0	wNebraska 48-17
7	7	Oklahoma State	4-0	w@TexAM 30-29
16	8	Clemson	5-0	w@VTech 23-3, Auburn 38-24
10	9	Oregon	3-1	L@LSU 40-27
12	10	Illinois	5-0	wASU 17-14
20	11	Arkansas	3-1	L@Bama 38-14; w=TexAM 42-38
23	12	Michigan	5-0
9	13	Florida	4-1	L Alabama 38-10
17	14	Arizona State	4-1	L@ILL 17-14; wUSC 43-22
25	15	Georgia Tech	5-0
--	16	Kansas State	4-0	wBaylor 36-35
11	17	Virginia Tech	4-1	L Clemson 23-3
14	18	Nebraska	4-1	L@Wisc 48-17; wWash 51-38
19	19	Washington	4-1	L@Neb 51-38; wCal 31-23
22	20	Southern Cal	4-1	L@ASU 43-22
--	21	Auburn	4-1	L@Clem 38-24; w@SC 16-13
8	22	South Carolina	4-1	L Auburn 16-13
13	23	Baylor	3-1	L@KState 36-35; wTCU 50-48
24	24	California	3-1	L@Wash 31-23
--	25	Texas	4-0
		out:
15	--	South Florida	4-1	L@Pitt 44-17
18	--	Texas A&M	2-2	L OKst 30-29, =Ark 42-38
21	--	TCU	3-2	L@Baylor 50-48, SMU 40-33ot

Arkansas bounced back from last week's loss to Alabama with a comeback win over Texas A&M, 42-38. With most of the losing teams in the second ten, the Razorbacks jump back up to #11, followed by 5-0 Michigan who beat Minnesota 58-0—but like Illinois have yet to play a road game. Florida (this week's Alabama victim) dropped to #13 while Arizona State moved up three spots after handling Oregon State 35-20.

Georgia Tech and Kansas State, both undefeated, make big moves. The Yellow Jackets beat North Carolina State and are now 5-0 as they leap past many fallen teams from #25 to #15. Kansas State upset Baylor 36-35 and are 4-0; they debut at #16.

Virginia Tech's loss drops them from #11 to #17, and Nebraska falls to #18, remaining ahead of Washington as they beat they Huskies three weeks ago. Washington beat Utah 31-14 this week and holds at #19. Right behind them is Southern Cal; they outlasted Arizona 48-41.

Auburn re-enters the top 25 at #21 after beating former #8 South Carolina 16-13, knocking the Gamecocks all the way down to #22. Auburn lost earlier in the year to Clemson; this is the third close game they've won this season.

It wasn't a good week for Baylor. They drop ten spots to #23 for their loss to Kansas State; they also lose bragging rights as TCU drops out of the top 25 after being upset by SMU, 40-33, in overtime. Former #15 South Florida drops out after losing to unranked Pittsburgh, 44-17, and Texas A&M's 2nd loss puts them out to pasture as well.

The Texas Longhorns debut in our top 25 this year at #25, right behind idle California. The Longhorns beat up on previously undefeated Iowa State, 37-14, a week after beating up on UCLA, giving them two road victories in a row over teams that beat them at home last year. They've got a tough road ahead of them in the Big Twelve, though, starting next week with #3 Oklahoma.

Two other undefeated Texas teams are still left out: Texas Tech (4-0) and Houston (5-0). Neither has played a tough schedule and both have had close calls. We're not going too far out on a limb by excluding them, as they are also the only undefeated teams absent from the AP and coaches polls this week.

2011 SportsRatings Top 25 - week 4: No big upsets = no big changes

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.

We were looking for a big upset to shake up the rankings this week but it didn't materialize, so instead we have the same top 8 as last week.

Idle Stanford remains #1 with us. Basically, they started at #2, took the top spot when Oregon lost, and haven't done anything to suggest that they aren't the best team in the country. They top our computer power ratings at the moment, too, so we see no reason to go with any other flavor of the day—so far.

The other top teams did, however, give supporting evidence as to why they might instead be the best team in the nation:

• #2 Alabama pulled away from #10 Arkansas, 38-14
• #3 Oklahoma outlasted #23 Missouri 38-28
• #4 Boise State mauled Tulsa 41-21
• #5 LSU beat #24 West Virginia 47-21

LSU is the current popular choice for #1, and they take over that designation in the AP poll. But the West Virginia game was closer than the final score, and we didn't rate the Mountaineers very high going in. It's very possible that the Tigers are the best team in the country, but Oklahoma's win over Missouri was no less impressive despite the difference in score margins: West Virginia had pulled to within 27-21 late in the third quarter, and Oklahoma led 31-14 at the same time.

Alabama's win was probably the best of the weekend, but we don't know how good Arkansas really is. I'd wager they're the equal of West Virginia, at least. One team that does have a lot of comparisons is Tulsa; Boise's win wasn't quite up to the standard of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State but that's nitpicking: they led 34-0 before Kellen Moore was replaced.

Meanwhile the most important game was Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M, and once again A&M built an early lead and dribbled it away to lose 30-29. The Cowboys remain at #7, behind Wisconsin (who beat South Dakota 59-10) and ahead of South Carolina who beat previously undefeated Vanderbilt 21-3.

SportsRatings Top 25 - week four 2011 (thru 9/24/2011)
lw	#	Team	Rec	Losses/important wins
1	1	Stanford	3-0
2	2	Alabama	4-0	wArkansas 38-14
3	3	Oklahoma	3-0	w@FSU 23-13, Mizz 38-28
4	4	Boise State	3-0
5	5	Louisiana State	4-0	wOregon 40-27, @WVA 47-21
6	6	Wisconsin	4-0
7	7	Oklahoma State	4-0	w@TexAM 30-29
8	8	South Carolina	4-0
13	9	Florida	4-0
12	10	Oregon	3-1	L@LSU 40-27
15	11	Virginia Tech	4-0
17	12	Illinois	4-0	wASU 17-14
18	13	Baylor	3-0	wTCU 50-48
19	14	Nebraska	4-0	wWash 51-38
20	15	South Florida	4-0
21	16	Clemson	4-0	wFSU 35-30
22	17	Arizona State	3-1	L@ILL 17-14; wUSC 43-22, Mizz 37-30ot
9	18	Texas A&M	2-1	L OKst 30-29
--	19	Washington	3-1	L@Neb 51-38; wCal 31-23
10	20	Arkansas	3-1	L@Alabama 38-14
25	21	TCU	3-1	L@Baylor 50-48
16	22	Southern Cal	3-1	L@ASU 43-22
--	23	Michigan	4-0
14	24	California	3-1	L@Wash 31-23
--	25	Georgia Tech	4-0
		out:
11	--	Florida State	2-2	L OK 23-13, @Clemson 35-30
23	--	Missouri	2-2	L@ASU 37-30ot, @OK 38-28
24	--	West Virginia	3-1	L LSU 47-21

Florida moves into the top ten after another dominant win, this one over Kentucky 48-10. They jump #10 Oregon, who throttled Arizona 56-31, which showed how great their offense is as well as how suspect their defense could be.

The next seven spots are occupied by teams that won games and shift up in tandem. #11 Virginia Tech beat Marshall 30-10; #12 Illinois outlasted Western Michigan just 23-20 but their win last week over #17 Arizona State still pays dividends due to the Sun Devils' 43-22 defeat of USC. #13 Baylor beat Rice 56-31, the same score Oregon managed this week so the same comments about offense and defense apply. #14 Nebraska handled Wyoming 38-14, but it's last week's Washington win that moves them up. #15 South Florida beat UTEP 52-24, and #16 Clemson beat Florida State 30-25, knocking a team out of the top 25 for the second straight week.

The Fallen: in addition to FSU (now 2-2), Missouri and West Virginia also fell out of the rankings. Staying in despite suffering a loss are Texas A&M (fell 9 spots to #18), Arkansas (10 spots to #20), USC (6 spots to #22), and California (10 spots to #24). Cal lost to Washington, who enters at #19; the Huskies lost last week to Nebraska, 51-38. TCU edged up to #21 amidst the carnage, but again had trouble early with an unheralded opponent, this time Portland State who led 3-0 after 15 minutes. The Horned Frogs got their offense going and won 55-13.

New faces: Michigan (4-0) enters at #23 after beating San Diego State 28-7. This is fitting, since they didn't enter a few weeks ago despite beating then-#25 Notre Dame. There wasn't room for the Wolverines that week, but there are open slots this week and the other one is filled by #25 Georgia Tech, also 4-0. There are several 3-0 teams not represented here, but Houston is the only 4-0 team unranked.

Big games this week: the SEC, Big Ten, and ACC all have good matchups, and there's a very good Big Twelve-SEC clash, too.

• #2 Alabama (4-0) visits #9 Florida (4-0). This will be a great test of Alabama, and it will show whether Florida can keep up with a very top team; they've dominated the also-rans but can their offense work against a defense like Alabama's?
• #14 Nebraska (4-0) at #6 Wisconsin (4-0). A huge game for the Big Ten race, and possibly a preview of the first Big Ten championship game. Wisconsin hasn't been remotely tested yet, are they ready for the Cornhuskers?
• #16 Clemson (4-0) at #11 Virginia Tech (4-0). The Tigers beat Auburn and FSU at home, but now they're on the road against the Hokies. Win this one and they're definitely the ACC favorite.
• #20 Arkansas (3-1) vs. #18 Texas A&M (2-1). If these teams had won their games over the weekend, this would be the marquee matchup of the coming week. Instead, it will function as a conference test. The Big Twelve and SEC look about equal this year, but track record gives the nod to the SEC. If A&M can beat the Razorbacks on a neutral field, I'd go with the Big Twelve.

2011 SportsRatings Top 25 - week 3: Oklahoma up to #3, Stanford holds at #1

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.

Oklahoma moves up to #3 on our list after beating Florida State 23-13 on the road, but Stanford and Alabama stay ahead of the Sooners with convincing wins of their own.

In a late game, #1 Stanford beat Arizona 37-10 in Tucson, a win that ranks a bit better than Oklahoma State's 37-14 home win. Alabama pummelled North Texas 41-0. AP/USA #1 Oklahoma follows at #3.

#4 Boise State showed on Friday night that they're better than Ohio State as they handled Toledo with relative ease, 40-15. A night earlier, LSU got their 2nd top 25 win of the early season, beating former #24 Mississippi State 19-6 on the road; they jump over Wisconsin who had another easy win over overmatched competition, flogging Northern Illinois 49-7. The Badgers hold at #6.

Oklahoma State's game didn't start until after midnight but they beat Tulsa 59-33. By margin of victory and accounting for home field advantage this is comparable to Oklahoma's 47-14 win, though it makes OK State's defense looks questionable. The Cowboys leap from #10 to #7, over South Carolina who struggled to beat Navy 24-21, and next week's opponent Texas A&M who thrashed Idaho 37-7. Arkansas rounds out the top 10 after holding off Troy 38-28.

SportsRatings Top 25 - week three 2011 (thru 9/17/2011)
lw	#	Team	Rec	Losses/important wins
1	1	Stanford	3-0
2	2	Alabama	3-0
4	3	Oklahoma	2-0	w@FSU 23-13
5	4	Boise State	2-0
7	5	Louisiana State	3-0	wOregon 40-27, MissSt 19-6
6	6	Wisconsin	3-0
10	7	Oklahoma State	3-0
8	8	South Carolina	3-0
9	9	Texas A&M	2-0
12	10	Arkansas	3-0
3	11	Florida State	2-1	L Oklahoma 23-13
13	12	Oregon	2-1	L@LSU 40-27
15	13	Florida	3-0
14	14	California	3-0
16	15	Virginia Tech	3-0
17	16	Southern Cal	3-0
--	17	Illinois	3-0	wASU 17-14
21	18	Baylor	2-0	wTCU 50-48
20	19	Nebraska	3-0
22	20	South Florida	3-0
--	21	Clemson	3-0	wAuburn 38-24
18	22	Arizona State	2-1	L@Ill 17-14; wMizzou 37-30ot
23	23	Missouri	1-1	L@ASU 37-30ot
--	24	West Virginia	3-0
25	25	TCU	2-1	L@Baylor 50-48
		out:
11	--	Ohio State	2-1	L@Miami 24-6
19	--	Auburn	2-1	L@Clemson 38-24; wMissSt 41-34
24	--	Mississippi State	1-2	L@Auburn 41-34, LSU 19-6

Florida State falls from #3 to #11, and they could have fallen below Oregon whose loss to LSU was essentially on the road. FSU did shut out ULM who gave TCU a lot of trouble.

Florida took care of business against Tennessee (33-23) and rises to #13, jumping California who hasn't really proven themselves yet. Virginia Tech and Southern Cal move up a spot each to #15 and #16.

Illinois' 17-14 win over Arizona State pops them into the rankings at #17, and the Sun Devils fall to #22 just ahead of Missouri who they beat in overtime. The Illini are followed by Baylor, Nebraska (who beat Washington 51-38), and South Florida. Clemson beat previous #19 Auburn 38-24, replacing the Tigers in the rankings. Mississippi State, who previously lost to Auburn, fell out as well after the LSU defeat put them at 1-2.

Ohio State's loss to Miami shook things up a bit. The Buckeyes were an unconvincing #11 after barely beating Toledo at home last week, and with the 24-6 loss to the Hurricanes they are forced all the way out of the Top 25. The reason is that they must rank below Miami (1-1) due to head-to-head loss, and the Canes rank behind Maryland (1-1) for the same reason. The Terps were defeated by West Virginia 37-31, so it's the Mountaineers that are the king of the hill among the four teams; they debut at #24, one spot ahead of TCU who had too much trouble with Louisiana-Monroe (winning 38-17) to move up from #25.

Next weekend features a good set of games between top 25 teams, including two games where both teams are in the top 10:

• #10 Arkansas (3-0) at #2 Alabama (3-0)
• #7 Oklahoma State (3-0) at #9 Texas A&M (2-0)
• #23 Missouri (1-1) at #3 Oklahoma (2-0)
• #5 LSU (3-0) at #24 West Virginia (3-0)
• #11 Florida State (2-1) at #21 Clemson (3-0)
• #16 Southern Cal (3-0) at #22 Arizona State (2-1)

Additionally, a few play teams that have played multiple teams in the top 10, which should give us even more information about how good they are:

• #4 Boise State (2-0) hosts Tulsa (1-2), who has losses to #3 Oklahoma and #7 Oklahoma State
• #12 Oregon (2-1) travels to Arizona (1-2), who has lost to #1 Stanford and #7 Oklahoma State

2011 SportsRatings Weekly Top 25 - week 2: Top half the same; Auburn justifies ranking

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.

The entire top half of our rankings stays the same as there were no major upsets over the weekend. Probably the biggest upset was #22 Auburn beating #16 Mississippi State, a result even more unexpected than the ranking difference between the teams would make it seem.

But starting at the top: Stanford handled Duke (at Duke) 44-14, not allowing the Blue Devils a point on offense until 1:30 left in the game. #2 Alabama took care of Penn State on the road in much the same manner as they beat them last year at home, 27-11. Florida State mauled I-AA Charleston Southern 62-10, and rounding out the top five Oklahoma and Boise State were idle. Florida State and Oklahoma meet next weekend in a game with potentially huge national championship repercussions.

#6 Wisconsin beat Oregon State 35-0, still an impressive shutout despite the Beavers' loss to Sacramento State last weekend. Louisiana State pounded on I-AA Northwestern State 49-3 with yet another quarterback at the helm most of the game.

South Carolina had the toughest game of any team in the top ten as they faced Georgia in a back-and-forth affair but came out on top 45-42. For comparison's sake, #5 Boise State beat the Bulldogs much more convincingly last week. Side note: Georgia should pretty easily be a 7-5 team and 9-3 isn't unrealistic at all, so those calling for Mark Richt's scalp should wait a while.

#9 Texas A&M was idle and fellow (for now) Big Twelve team Oklahoma State bashed Arizona much like they did in last year's Alamo Bowl, winning 37-14.

SportsRatings Top 25 - week two 2011 (thru 9/10/2011)
lw	#	Team	Rec	Losses/important wins
1	1	Stanford	2-0
2	2	Alabama	2-0
3	3	Florida State	2-0
4	4	Oklahoma	1-0
5	5	Boise State	1-0
6	6	Wisconsin	2-0
7	7	Louisiana State	2-0	wOregon 40-27
8	8	South Carolina	2-0
9	9	Texas A&M	1-0
10	10	Oklahoma State	2-0
11	11	Ohio State	2-0
12	12	Arkansas	2-0
13	13	Oregon	1-1	L@LSU 40-27
14	14	California	2-0
19	15	Florida	2-0
18	16	Virginia Tech	2-0
17	17	Southern Cal	2-0
21	18	Arizona State	2-0	wMizzou 37-30ot
22	19	Auburn	2-0	wMissSt 41-34
20	20	Nebraska	2-0
23	21	Baylor	1-0	wTCU 50-48
24	22	South Florida	2-0	w@NotreDame 23-20
15	23	Missouri	1-1	L@ASU 37-30ot
16	24	Mississippi State	1-1	L@Auburn 41-34
25t	25	TCU	1-1	L@Baylor 50-48
		out:
25t	--	Notre Dame	0-2	L USF 23-20, @Mich 35-31

Ohio State was very lucky that they didn't suffer their first in-state loss since 1921 as they held off Toledo 27-22. The Rockets were driving in the red zone but couldn't convert on 4th down. Toledo has played much better than expected the first two weeks of the season and they host Boise State next Friday which will make for another good secondhand comparison between top teams.

Arkansas had no trouble with, or mercy for, New Mexico, winning 52-3, and Oregon rebounded with a 69-20 beating of Nevada. On the other hand, #14 California once again held their spot—barely—as they edged Colorado 36-33 in overtime. The Bears look increasingly shaky as a ranked team, but then again last week's victim Fresno State gave Nebraska plenty of trouble.

New #15 Florida has defeated their first two opponents 80-3. Even though those opponents were Florida Atlantic and Alabama-Birmingham, it's still 80-3. They move up four spots and will get a better test against Tennessee next weekend. They hop over Virginia Tech who had trouble dispatching East Carolina 17-10, and USC, who holds at #17 again after having their 2nd close call at home against Utah. The Utes were lined up for the tying field goal but the Trojans got a clutch block to win 17-14 (the touchdown run-back didn't count due to 'sideline interference' as the team poured on the field). UPDATE: The call was reversed hours later and now, apparently, the official final score is USC 23, Utah 14.

Just behind the Trojans are the Sun Devils. Arizona State got a huge win over #15 Missouri and move up to #18. It could have gone either way of course—they won 37-30 in overtime—but a win's a win. Likewise, though Auburn beat Mississippi State 41-34 they were at home and needed a goal-line stand to win. The Tigers, so disparaged last week and unceremoniously dropped from the AP rankings for struggling with Utah State, move up to #19 in our rankings as the Bulldogs fall to #24, one spot behind ASU victim Missouri. Mississippi State has their own shot at redemption Thursday when they take on #7 LSU.

Nebraska holds at #20 after surviving a scare from Fresno State, followed by Baylor (idle) and South Florida who beat Ball State 37-7. As Notre Dame falls from the top 25 after starting 0-2 and losing to Michigan 35-31 Saturday, the Bulls lose their bragging points, but unlike the Wolverines they beat the Irish at Notre Dame. TCU now has the #25 spot all to themselves; they beat Air Force pretty impressively, winning 35-19 in a game that wasn't even as close as that score.

2011 SportsRatings Weekly Top 25 - post-week 1: Stanford replaces Oregon at top

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.

The big news is at the top where previous #1 Oregon once again couldn't handle an SEC front four, but mainly couldn't hold onto the ball, losing to #12 LSU 40-27 in week one's marquee matchup. The loss knocks the Ducks out of the top ten and bumps Louisiana State up to #7. The Tigers still have a lot to prove and while they join the top teams, they're last in line as none of the new top six disappointed.

Stanford takes over the top spot; they beat San Jose State 57-3, a better performance on both offense and defense than we expected against an improved Spartan team. Alabama throttled Kent State 48-7; our pre-season prediction for the score was 48-6, so the Tide have a bit of special teams work to do. Florida State shut out Louisiana Monroe 34-0.

Oklahoma is #1 in both the AP and coaches' poll, and in our rankings they move from pre-season #5 to #4. They rolled over Tulsa 47-14, though the Golden Hurricane were without star Damaris Johnson. He wouldn't have changed the outcome but would have tested the Sooner defense a lot more. #5 Boise State scored a big win over Georgia, who was ranked in the other polls and started just outside our top 25 at #26. The Broncos' performance was within range of what we expected, winning 35-21. And on Thursday night, Wisconsin beat UNLV 51-17 behind a strong performance from new quarterback Russell Wilson

After #7 LSU we have another SEC team, South Carolina, making it three SEC squads in the top ten. The Gamecocks had big trouble early against East Carolina but took over, winning 56-37. With defensive issues like that, we now assume LSU is the #2 SEC team until proven otherwise. Another conference, the soon-to-possibly-be-defunct Big Twelve, also has three top 10 teams, and ironically one of those is the team causing so much trouble for the league. Texas A&M rolled over SMU 46-14 and moves up to #9 just ahead of Oklahoma State, 61-34 winners over Louisiana-Lafayette.

SportsRatings Top 25 - week one 2011 (thru 9/4/2011)
lw	#	Team	Rec	Losses/important wins
2	1	Stanford	1-0
3	2	Alabama	1-0
4	3	Florida State	1-0
5	4	Oklahoma	1-0
6	5	Boise State	1-0
7	6	Wisconsin	1-0
12	7	Louisiana State	1-0	wOregon 40-27
9	8	South Carolina	1-0
10	9	Texas A&M	1-0
11	10	Oklahoma State	1-0
14	11	Ohio State	1-0
15	12	Arkansas	1-0
1	13	Oregon	0-1	L@LSU 40-27
16	14	California	1-0
18	15	Missouri	1-0
19	16	Mississippi State	1-0
17	17	Southern Cal	1-0
20	18	Virginia Tech	1-0
21	19	Florida	1-0
23	20	Nebraska	1-0
24	21	Arizona State	1-0
22	22	Auburn	1-0
--	23	Baylor	1-0	wTCU 50-48
--	24	South Florida	1-0	w@NotreDame 23-20
8	25t	TCU	0-1	L@Baylor 50-48
13	25t	Notre Dame	0-1	L USF 23-20
25	--	Oregon State	0-1	L SacSt 29-28ot

The second ten kicks off with Ohio State, who was impressive in scoring a 42-0 shutout over Akron. Arkansas beat Missouri State 51-7—note that they are the highest-ranked team to play an FCS school; it appears that the very best teams don't feel the need to pad their schedule in this manner, at least in the first week.

We drop Oregon to #13, just ahead of Pac-12 brethren California, since the Bears have to prove they even belong in the top 25 (they were our surprise pick this year). So far the evidence is mixed; Cal beat Fresno State 36-21, a result not out of line for our expectations but not a statement. There are still questions on offense as Zach Maynard didn't exactly dazzle, and the Bear defense scored one of their touchdowns.

#15 Missouri also had a strong defensive performance and a questionable one on offense, beating Miami of Ohio 17-6. New quarterback James Franklin had a decent debut despite the low point total. #16 Mississippi State rolled up 59 points to Memphis' 14.

Southern Cal holds at #17 after edging Minnesota 19-17 and failing to put up any points in the second half. They are followed by Virginia Tech (beat Appalachian State 66-13), Florida (41-3 winners over Florida Atlantic) and Nebraska (beat Chattanooga 40-7) rounds out the top 20 as Taylor Martinez looked like his old self against the I-AA Mocs.

#21 Arizona State, who beat UC Davis 48-14, is the last of three teams to jump over Auburn, who holds at #22. The Tigers fell behind by scores of 21-7 and 38-28 before rallying in the final minutes for a 42-38 win. We figured this to be on the order of a 40-14 win despite the Tigers' downgrade from national champs to top-25 also-rans. We'll leave them in for now, as the team will improve over the course of the year but with an SEC schedule coming up their odds of remaining are nil if they keep playing like this.

New faces: Baylor, winners over previous #8 TCU, and South Florida, who beat Notre Dame in a crazy, rain-delayed game, jump into the top 25 at #23 and #24 respectively. The Horned Frogs and Irish hang on as co-#25s and don't have easier tasks next week. TCU travels to Air Force and Notre Dame heads to Michigan, so both could be 0-2 and out of the rankings next week. But TCU has had success shutting down Air Force and Brian Kelly will ride the team all week, so both teams could get lopsided wins as well.

Finally, Oregon State falls out of the top 25 after losing to I-AA (FCS) Sacramento State as the Hornets completed a 2-point extra point in overtime to stun the Beavers. It was not a good weekend for Oregon football.

SportsRatings Final Top 25 for 2010 Season: Auburn #1, TCU, Oregon, Stanford

Welcome to the final SportsRatings College Football Top 25 for the 2010 season. This is a subjective ranking, not a computer power rating. It does attempt to use several rules, some of which include honoring head-to-head results whenever possible, and giving more consideration to teams with wins over other top 25 teams.

 Auburn beat Oregon, yet another win over a top 25 team, making the Tigers 14-0 and an obvious choice for #1 as there are really no other teams that can make an argument. TCU was undefeated at 13-0 with three top 25 wins, but they barely beat Wisconsin. A dominant win might have given them a chance, but Auburn's résumé is just too strong.

In fact, you could argue for keeping Oregon #2; they lost to the top team by a last-second field goal, after all. But despite their gaudy wins all year they don't have enough big-name victims to keep them ahead of a very strong undefeated team.

Stanford's only loss was to Oregon, and they dominated Virginia Tech; this puts them well ahead of #5 Ohio State, who lost to Wisconsin and narrowly beat Arkansas.

#7 Boise State had a better résumé than either of those two, but their loss to Nevada keeps them lower. The Wolf Pack went 13-1 and beat Boise—at home, in overtime, due to a missed field goal, but they won the game and fair is fair; they stay ahead of the Broncos. Not only that, but comparing games against Virginia Tech would put the Cardinal ahead of Boise anyway.

That's all the 1-loss teams in the nation. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State follow at #9 and #10. Both Big 12 teams finished with 2 losses to other ranked teams, and beat two ranked teams, and the Sooners beat the Cowboys head to head.

SportsRatings Top 25 - final rankings for 2010 season
lw	#	Team	Rec	Losses/important wins
1	1	Auburn	14-0	w=Oregon 22-19, @Bama 28-27, LSU 24-17, Ark 65-43, @MissSt 17-14
3	2	TCU	13-0	w=Wisconsin 21-19, @Utah 47-7, San Diego St 40-35
2	3	Oregon	12-1	L=Auburn 22-19 w Stanford 52-31
4	4	Stanford	12-1	L@Oregon 52-31 w=VirginiaTech 40-12
7	5	Ohio State	12-1	L@Wisconsin 31-18 w=Arkansas 31-26
9	6	Nevada	13-1	L@Hawaii 27-21 w BoiseSt 34-31ot
10	7	Boise State	12-1	L@Nevada 34-31ot w=Utah 26-3, @VTech 33-30
11	8	LSU	11-2	L@Auburn 24-17, @Ark 31-23 w Alabama 24-21, MissSt 29-7, @TexAM 41-24
13	9	Oklahoma	12-2	L@Mizzou 36-27, @TexAM 33-19 w@OKst 47-41, =Neb 23-20
14	10	Oklahoma St	11-2	L Nebraska 51-41, OK 47-41 w TexAM 38-35, Tulsa 65-28
15	11	Alabama	10-3	L@SCarolina 35-21, @LSU 24-21, Aub 28-27 w=MSU 49-7, @Ark 24-20, MissSt 30-10
8	12	Arkansas	10-3	L@Aub 65-43, Bama 24-20, =OSU 31-2 w LSU 31-23, =TexAM 21-14, @MissSt38-31ot
5	13	Michigan St	11-2	L@Iowa 37-6, =Alabama 49-7; w Wisconsin 34-24
6	14	Wisconsin	11-2	L@MichSt 34-24, =TCU 21-19 w OhioSt 31-18
12	15	Missouri	10-3	L@TTech 24-17, =Iowa 27-24, @Neb 31-17 w OK 36-27, TexAM 30-9, SDSU 27-24
16	16	Texas A&M	9-4	L Mizzou 30-9, =Ark 21-14, @OKst 38-35, LSU 41-24 w OK 33-19, Neb 9-6
17	17	Nebraska	10-4	L Texas 20-13, =Wash 19-7, =OK 23-20, @TexAM 9-6 w Mizz 31-17, @OKst 51-41
21	18	Mississippi St	9-4	L@LSU 29-7, Aub 17-14, @Bama 30-10, Ark 38-31ot
18	19	Virginia Tech	10-3	L JMadison 21-16, =Stanford 40-12, Boise 33-30 w@NC State 41-30
19	20	Utah	10-3	L@NotreDame 28-3, =BoiseSt 26-3, TCU 47-7 w@SDSU 38-34
24	21	Tulsa	10-3	L @ECU 51-49, @SMU 21-18, @OKst 65-28 w@Hawaii 62-35
25	22	Central Florida	11-3	L@KSU 17-13, SMiss 31-21, NCst 28-21
--	23	San Diego St	9-4	L@BYU 24-21, @Mizz 27-24, @TCU 40-35, Utah 38-34
--	24	Northern Illinois	11-3	L@IowaSt 27-10, @ILL 28-22, =MiamiOH 26-21
--	25	NC State	9-4	L@ECU 33-27ot, @Clem 14-13, @Mary 38-31, VTech 41-30 w@UCF 28-21
		out:
20	--	South Carolina	9-5	L@KY 31-28, =FSU 26-17, Ark 41-20, Aub x 2; wBama 35-21
22	--	Hawaii	10-4	L@Colo 31-13, USC 49-36, Tulsa 62-35, @Boise 42-7; wNev 27-21
23	--	West Virginia	9-4	L Syr 19-14, @UConn 16-13ot, =NCState 23-7, @LSU 20-14

Alabama rocked Michigan State, clearly demonstrating the pecking order between the teams. The Spartans had a better season up to that point and deserved a high ranking, but clearly weren't among the elite teams The Tide jump to #11, followed by Arkansas (whom they beat 24-20), then Michigan State. Wisconsin deserved to be higher (and MSU lower), but the Spartans beat the Badgers head-to-head.

 The rest of the Big 12 follows, with Missouri, Texas A&M, and Nebraska all having lost their bowl games. But the Tigers have three top 25 wins, and A&M and Nebraska have two each. #18 Mississippi State's résumé is almost identical to #16 Texas A&M's, but without any big wins.

#19 Virginia Tech and #20 Utah also have nearly identical profiles: A minor top 25 win, an ugly loss to a non-ranked team, a bad loss to a top five team (Stanford and TCU), and a defeat by Boise State. But the Hokies kept it close against Boise, something Utah couldn't do.

Tulsa and Central Florida represent Conference USA, each having just three losses. Tulsa lost to ECU by 2, SMU by 3, and to Oklahoma State, and destroyed Hawaii in their bowl game. UCF had three competitive losses, won the conference, and beat Georgia in their bowl game.

Three new teams made it in with strong competition from a few that didn't. San Diego State comes in at #23 after wiping out Navy. The Aztecs lost four games by 15 points total, three of those to top 25 teams. Northern Illinois finished 11-3 with a big bowl win. North Carolina State beat former #23 West Virginia in their bowl, holds a win over UCF, and won the #25 spot due to their previous win over Florida State.

Others considered

• The Seminoles nearly made the cut by beating South Carolina.
• The Gamecocks finished 9-5 with two losses to Auburn, which really means they lost to 4 teams.  
• Hawaii holds the only win over Nevada, but their home loss to Tulsa in the Hawaii bowl was too much and they fell out.
• Maryland won big in their bowl game, too, but they had losses to other teams considered (FSU, West Virginia) and were behind them in line.  
• Air Force was 9-4 with losses only to ranked teams, SDSU made it instead due to head-to-head competition.  
• Miami of Ohio went 10-4 and won the MAC but really were not a top 25 caliber team.
• Temple was the only other 4-loss team and they didn't even get to go to a bowl game.

SportsRatings Top 25 Week 14: #1 vs. #2 for National Title

Welcome to the SportsRatings College Football Top 25 for the week ending December 4, 2010. This is a subjective ranking, not a computer power rating. It does attempt to use several rules, some of which include honoring head-to-head results whenever possible, and giving more consideration to teams with wins over other top 25 teams.

Oregon and Auburn are going to meet for the national championship, and that's the way it should be. Whether Auburn is really as great as everyone says is another matter, but their record of wins puts them #1 in any ranking of teams by accomplishment this season. Their 56-17 runover of South Carolina shows that they can play as well as any team in the nation. Oregon's résumé is less impressive, but there performance moreso. The parity in the Pac-10 is what prevents the Ducks from having more top 25 wins, but their 21-point victory over Stanford (who may be the nation's 2nd best team) is enough.

TCU, our pre-season #1 team, is out of luck as far as the national title goes (as we said they would be in our pre-season preview). It's too bad, because they could beat either Oregon or Auburn on a given day. But that's what happens when you play in a weaker conference. The Horned Frogs are moving to the Big East, which will just make their level of competition more consistent, not necessarily better overall. And if they'd gone undefeated in the Big East this year, they'd still be #3.

After that comes the morass of 1-loss teams, all with their pros and cons. I'm going to let the bowl games sort this out. Right now Stanford, bereft of top 25 wins, sits at #4 due to their dominating performances; Michigan State leads the chain of Big Ten teams despite their bad loss to Iowa; following Wisconsin and Ohio State, Arkansas' four top 25 wins puts them ahead of 1-loss Nevada and Boise State.

SportsRatings Top 25 - week 14 2010 (thru 12/04/2010)
lw	#	Team	Rec	Losses/important wins
1	1	Auburn	13-0	w@Bama 28-27, LSU 24-17, =SCar 56-17, SCar 35-27, Ark 65-43, @MissSt 17-14
2	2	Oregon	12-0	wStanford 52-31
3	3	TCU	12-0	w@Utah 47-7
4	4	Stanford	11-1	L@Oregon 52-31
5	5	Michigan St	11-1	L@Iowa 37-6; wWisconsin 34-24
6	6	Wisconsin	11-1	L@MichSt 34-24; wOhioSt 31-18
7	7	Ohio State	11-1	L@Wisc 31-18
8	8	Arkansas	10-2	L@Aub 65-43, Bama 24-20; wLSU 31-23, @SCaro 41-20, =TexAM 21-14, @MissSt38-31ot
9	9	Nevada	12-1	L@Hawaii 27-21; wBoiseSt 34-31ot
10	10	Boise State	11-1	L@Nevada 34-31ot; w@VTech 33-30, wHawaii 42-7
11	11	LSU	10-2	L@Auburn 24-17, @Ark 31-23; wAlabama 24-21, MissSt 29-7, WVA 20-14
13	12	Missouri	10-2	L@TTech 24-17, @Neb 31-17; wOK 36-27, TexAM 30-9
14	13	Oklahoma	11-2	L@Mizzou 36-27, @TexAM 33-19; w@OKst 47-41, =Neb 23-20, FSU 47-17
15	14	Oklahoma St	10-2	L Nebraska 51-41, OK 47-41; wTexAM 38-35, Tulsa 65-28
18	15	Alabama	9-3	L@SC 35-21, @LSU 24-21, Aub 28-27; w@Ark 24-20, MissSt 30-10
16	16	Texas A&M	9-3	L Mizzou 30-9, =Ark 21-14, @OKst 38-35; wOK 33-19, Neb 9-6
12	17	Nebraska	10-3	L Texas 20-13, =OK 23-20, @TexAM 9-6; wMizz 31-17, @OKst 51-41
20	18	Virginia Tech	10-2	L JMadison 21-16, Boise 33-30; w=FSU 44-33
19	19	Utah	10-2	L@NotreDame 28-3, TCU 47-7
17	20	South Carolina	9-4	L@KY 31-28, Ark 41-20, =Aub 56-17, @Aub 35-27; wBama 35-21
22	21	Mississippi St	8-4	L@LSU 29-7, Aub 17-14, @Bama 30-10, Ark 38-31ot
23	22	Hawaii	10-3	L@Colo 31-13, USC 49-36, @Boise 42-7; wNev 27-21
24	23	West Virginia	9-3	L Syr 19-14, @UConn 16-13ot, @LSU 20-14
--	24	Tulsa	9-3	L @ECar 51-49, @SMU 21-18, @OKst 65-28
--	25	Central Florida	10-3	L NCst 28-21, @KSU 17-13, SMiss 31-21
		out:
25	--	Florida St.	9-4	L UNC 37-35, @NCState 28-24, @OK 47-17, =VTech 44-33
21	--	Northern Illinois	10-3	L@IowaSt 27-10, @ILL 28-22, =MiamiOH 26-21

LSU remains #11, then the Big Twelve gets a bit of an adjustment after Oklahoma's win. The chain of 2-loss teams starts with Missouri, who beat Oklahoma, who beat Oklahoma State, who beat 3-loss Texas A&M. That last win was by a field goal at home, but then so was A&M's win over Nebraska. Alabama deserves some credit for nearly beating Auburn, so we move them ahead of the Aggies who end up just ahead of Nebraska.

Virginia Tech moves up to #18 after beating FSU, while Utah stays at #19 and South Carolina slides a few spots to #20. Mississippi State, Hawaii, and West Virginia fill the void left by Northern Illinois' loss, and with Florida State dropping out there are 2 slots to fill. Two Conference USA teams move in: 9-3 Tulsa, and 10-3 Central Florida, who actually won the conference crown and has 10 wins. This leaves only Northern Illinois and Navy as unrepresented 3-loss teams. Navy actually has a game remaining, against Army next Saturday; omitting them is a good way to avoid having to update the Top 25 if the Midshipmen lose.

SportsRatings Top 25 week 13: Auburn Finally #1

Welcome to the SportsRatings College Football Top 25 for the week ending November 27, 2010. This is a subjective ranking, not a computer power rating. It does attempt to use several rules, some of which include honoring head-to-head results whenever possible, and giving more consideration to teams with wins over other top 25 teams.

Oregon and Auburn both won, and while Oregon has been the more impressive team on the whole, Auburn's résumé can't be ignored. They now have five wins over top 25 teams to Oregon's two, and that's counting Arizona whom the Ducks knock out of the top 25 this week. Undefeated TCU moves up to #3.

After that it gets tough. How far does Boise State drop? Their résumé is still very good, and they are clearly still one of the best teams, but they should be ranked behind 11-1 Nevada (even if it was a home win in overtime for the Wolf Pack). The Big Ten teams are problematic because logic dictates they be ranked in the reverse order of how good they actually are. Meanwhile, 1-loss Stanford's résumé is suddenly barren while 2-loss Arkansas and LSU have multiple top 25 wins.

I moved Stanford up to #4 despite the fact that they now have no top 25 wins; they are playing the best football of anyone other than Oregon, their sole victor. Big Ten teams Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Ohio State slide into the #5, #6, and #7 slots; though from a "power" perspective the Spartans and arguably the Badgers are overrated, I figure these rankings will sort themselves out come bowl season. Nevada is one spot ahead of Boise State at #9; neither of these teams will face a worthy bowl opponent so their chances of earning a top 5 spot are slim, but then again they can take advantage of other teams' losses to move up.

Finally, 2-loss Arkansas moves up to #8 after beating LSU, who falls to #11. But pretty much every position from #4 to #11 is arguable based on some combination of résumé or performance.

SportsRatings Top 25 - week 13 2010 (thru 11/27/2010)
lw	#	Team	Rec	Losses/important wins
2	1	Auburn	12-0	w@Bama 28-27, LSU 24-17, SCar 35-27, Ark 65-43, @MissSt 17-14
1	2	Oregon	11-0	wStanford 52-31, Arizona 48-29
4	3	TCU	12-0	w@Utah 47-7
5	4	Stanford	11-1	L@Oregon 52-31; wArizona 42-17
8	5	Michigan St	11-1	L@Iowa 37-6; wWisconsin 34-24
9	6	Wisconsin	11-1	L@MichSt 34-24; wOhioSt 31-18
10	7	Ohio State	11-1	L@Wisc 31-18; wOhio 43-7
12	8	Arkansas	10-2	L@Aub 65-43, Bama 24-20; wLSU 31-23, @SCaro 41-20, =TexAM 21-14, @MissSt38-31ot
15	9	Nevada	11-1	L@Hawaii 27-21; wBoiseSt 34-31ot
3	10	Boise State	10-1	L@Nevada 34-31ot; w@VTech 33-30, wHawaii 42-7
6	11	LSU	10-2	L@Auburn 24-17, @Ark 31-23; wAlabama 24-21, MissSt 29-7, WVA 20-14
13	12	Nebraska	10-2	L Texas 20-13, @TexAM 9-6; wMizz 31-17, @OKst 51-41
14	13	Missouri	10-2	L@TTech 24-17, @Neb 31-17; wOK 36-27, TexAM 30-9
17	14	Oklahoma	10-2	L@Mizzou 36-27, @TexAM 33-19; w@OKst 47-41, FSU 47-17
7	15	Oklahoma St	10-2	L Nebraska 51-41, OK 47-41; wTexAM 38-35
16	16	Texas A&M	9-3	L Mizzou 30-9, =Ark 21-14, @OKst 38-35; wOK 33-19, Neb 9-6
18	17	South Carolina	9-3	L@KY 31-28, @Aub 35-27, Ark 41-20; wBama 35-21
11	18	Alabama	9-3	L@SC 35-21, @LSU 24-21, Aub 28-27; w@Ark 24-20, MissSt 30-10
19	19	Utah	10-2	L@NotreDame 28-3, TCU 47-7
20	20	Virginia Tech	10-2	L JMadison 21-16, Boise 33-30
22	21	Northern Illinois	10-2	L@IowaSt 27-10, @ILL 28-22
23	22	Mississippi St	8-4	L@LSU 29-7, Aub 17-14, @Bama 30-10, Ark 38-31ot
25	23	Hawaii	9-3	L@Colo 31-13, USC 49-36, @Boise 42-7; wNev 27-21
--	24	West Virginia	8-3	L Syr 19-14, @UConn 16-13ot, @LSU 20-14
--	25	Florida St.	9-3	L UNC 37-35, @NCState 28-24, @OK 47-17
		out:
21	--	Arizona	7-4	L OreSt 29-27, USC 24-21, @Stan 42-17, @Ore 48-29
24	--	Ohio	8-4	L@Kent 28-6, @Marsh 24-23  , Tol 20-13, @OSU 43-7

The Big Twelve teams with 2 losses have more flaws than the SEC 2-loss teams. Nebraska lost to Texas and Missouri lost to Texas Tech. But the victory chain goes Nebraska, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and that's how they are ranked here, from #12 to #15. The chain forms a "loop" with Texas A&M beating Nebraska, but that was by a field goal at home and the Aggies have three losses so they sit at #16.

South Carolina moves up a spot to #17 and are once again ahead of Alabama whom they beat earlier in the year. The three remaining 2-loss teams follow: #19 Utah, #20 Virginia Tech, and #21 Northern Illinois; none of the three has a top 25 win.

Mississippi State, the rankings' only 4-loss team, moves to #22 while Hawaii is #23. As Arizona and Ohio both drop out, West Virginia and Florida State reappear in the rankings. Only three 3-loss teams are not represented in the top 25: Tulsa, Central Florida, and Navy.

SportsRatings Top 25 Week 12: Who is Best in the Big Ten?

Welcome to the SportsRatings College Football Top 25 for the week ending November 20, 2010. This is a subjective ranking, not a computer power rating. It does attempt to use several rules, some of which include honoring head-to-head results whenever possible, and giving more consideration to teams with wins over other top 25 teams.

Oregon and Auburn didn't play and remain #1 and #2, while Boise State moves up to #3. They're just playing a bit better than TCU, and now have two top 25 wins as Hawaii enters. Nevada will make it three, or else TCU will regain the #3 spot next week.

A similar switch happens at #5, where Stanford's 48-14 win over Cal, coupled with LSU's struggles against Ole Miss, point out how much better the Cardinal really are. LSU's solid résumé keeps them at #6 but really they're not a top ten team. Still, if they can beat Arkansas I might move them back into the top five.

The Big Ten has three 10-1 teams, and just as many ways to decide who is the top team among them. He they are ranked in the order that head-to-head competition demands: Michigan State, then Wisconsin, then Ohio State. But if we were to rank them purely on who is the best team the order would be clearly reversed: Ohio State is #6 in the Strength Power Rating, Wisconsin far behind at #18, and Michigan State a dismal #35! Yet who is going to the Rose Bowl if they all win out? Probably Wisconsin.

I move Oklahoma State ahead of all three to #7; the Cowboys have an equally strong résumé and are playing much better overall than two of the three Big Ten teams (they rank 10th in Strength). And they'll have to prove it against Oklahoma next week or fall anyway.

SportsRatings Top 25 - week 12 2010 (thru 11/20/2010)
lw	#	Team	Rec	Losses/important wins
1	1	Oregon	10-0	wStanford 52-31, @USC 53-32
2	2	Auburn	11-0	wLSU 24-17, SCar 35-27, Ark 65-43, @MissSt 17-14
4	3	Boise State	10-0	w@VTech 33-30, Hawaii 42-7
3	4	TCU	11-0	w@Utah 47-7
6	5	Stanford	10-1	L@Oregon 52-31; wArizona 42-17, USC 37-35
5	6	LSU	10-1	L@Auburn 24-17; wAlabama 24-21, MissSt 29-7
10	7	Oklahoma St	10-1	L Nebraska 51-41; wTexAM 38-35
8	8	Michigan St	10-1	L@Iowa 37-6; wWisconsin 34-24, @Nwest 35-27
9	9	Wisconsin	10-1	L@MichSt 34-24; wOhioSt 31-18
11	10	Ohio State	10-1	L@Wisc 31-18; wOhio 43-7
12	11	Alabama	9-2	L@SC 35-21, @LSU 24-21; w@Ark 24-20, MissSt 30-10
13	12	Arkansas	9-2	L@Aub 65-43, Bama 24-20; w@SC 41-20, =A&M 21-14, @MissSt38-31ot
7	13	Nebraska	9-2	L Texas 20-13, @TexAM 9-6; wMizz 31-17, @OKst 51-41
14	14	Missouri	9-2	L@TTech 24-17, @Neb 31-17; wOK 36-27, TexAM 30-9
15	15	Nevada	9-1	L@Hawaii 27-21
16	16	Texas A&M	8-3	L Mizz 30-9, =Ark 21-14, @OKst 38-35; wOK 33-19, Neb 9-6
17	17	Oklahoma	9-2	L@Mizz 36-27, @TexAM 33-19
18	18	South Carolina	8-3	L@KY 31-28, @Aub 35-27, Ark 41-20; wBama 35-21
20	19	Utah	9-2	L@NotreDame 28-3, TCU 47-7
21	20	Virginia Tech	9-2	L JMadison 21-16, Boise 33-30
23	21	Arizona	7-3	L OregonSt 29-27, USC 24-21, @Stanford 42-17
24	22	Northern Illinois	9-2	L@IowaSt 27-10, @ILL 28-22; wTemple 31-17
19	23	Mississippi St	7-4	L@LSU 29-7, Aub 17-14, @Bama 30-10, Ark 38-31ot
--	24	Ohio	8-3	L@Marsh 24-23, Tol 20-13, @OSU 43-7; w@Temp 31-23
--	25	Hawaii	8-3	L@Colo 31-13, USC 49-36, @Boise 42-7; wNev 27-21
		out:
22	--	USC	7-4	L Wash 32-31, @OreSt 36-7, @Stan 37-35, Ore 53-32; w@Ariz 24-21, @Hawaii 49-36
25t	--	Temple	8-3	L@PennSt 22-13, Ohio 31-23, @NoILL 31-17
25t	--	Northwestern	7-4	L Purdue 20-17, ILL 48-27, @PennSt 35-21, MichSt 35-27

Alabama holds a win over Arkansas and stays head of them at #11; Nebraska lost this weekend but beat Missouri a few weeks ago, so their slide stops at #13. As for Texas A&M, they are surrounded by teams they beat (#13, #17) or lost to (#7, #12, #14), still ahead of Oklahoma (who has no top 25 wins) but behind the Cornhuskers who they beat at home by just a field goal. They also remain behind 1-loss Nevada who will move in one direction or another next week after facing Boise State.

South Carolina holds at #18. Utah and Virginia Tech both move up a spot after decent wins (Utah over San Diego State, the Hokies over Miami). Another 2-loss team, Northern Illinois, is up to #22, but lose their top 25 win as Temple falls out. The Owls lost to Ohio, who debuts at #24.

Arizona slides up to #21 on an idle week as Mississippi State falls to #23 after losing in double overtime to Arkansas. The Bulldogs have four losses, all to top 25 teams, with two of those games very competitive. They are the only 4-loss team ranked here.

USC is dumped after they got blasted by Oregon State 36-7. The Trojans actually have two top 25 wins now as Hawaii enters, so they could get back in fairly soon, but they were beaten too badly to keep this week. Also falling out was Northwestern, who lost to Illinois at Wrigley Field.

SportsRatings Top 25 Week 11: Top 14 teams unchanged

Welcome to the SportsRatings College Football Top 25 for the week ending November 13, 2010. This is a subjective ranking, not a computer power rating. It does attempt to use several rules, some of which include honoring head-to-head results whenever possible, and giving more consideration to teams with wins over other top 25 teams.

No change in the top five, the top ten, even the top 14. But as teams build their résumés some moves are inevitable in the future. 

Oregon had a close call against Cal but remains #1; Auburn will take over the top spot if they can beat Alabama in two weeks, but with USC giving the Ducks a 2nd top 25 win they hold on. #3 TCU also had a close call but it was against a ranked San Diego State team, so they hold off Boise State. The Broncos will have a stronger résumé by the end of the regular season most likely.

The one-loss teams are in the same pack as before. #5 LSU and #6 Stanford each have loss to an undefeated team and two strong wins. #7 Nebraska and #8 Michigan State now each have two top 25 wins, and the Cornhuskers' loss to Texas is looking worse by the week. #9 Wisconsin and #10 Oklahoma State lost to Michigan State and Nebraska respectively and each has a top 25 win.

SportsRatings Top 25 - week 11 2010 (thru 11/13/2010)
lw	#	Team	Rec	Losses/important wins
1	1	Oregon	10-0	wStanford 52-31, @USC 53-32
2	2	Auburn	11-0	wLSU 24-17, SCar 35-27, Ark 65-43, @MissSt 17-14
3	3	TCU	11-0	w@Utah 47-7, SDSU 40-35
4	4	Boise State	9-0	w@VTech 33-30
5	5	LSU	9-1	L@Auburn 24-17; wAlabama 24-21, MissSt 29-7
6	6	Stanford	9-1	L@Oregon 52-31; wArizona 42-17, USC 37-35
7	7	Nebraska	9-1	L Texas 20-13; wMizz 31-17, @OKst 51-41
8	8	Michigan St	9-1	L@Iowa 37-6; wWisconsin 34-24, @Nwest 35-27
9	9	Wisconsin	9-1	L@MichSt 34-24; wOSU 31-18, @Iowa 31-30
10	10	Oklahoma St	9-1	L Nebraska 51-41; wTexAM 38-35
11	11	Ohio State	9-1	L@Wisc 31-18
12	12	Alabama	8-2	L@SC 35-21, @LSU 24-21; w@Ark 24-20, MissSt 30-10
13	13	Arkansas	8-2	L@Aub 65-43, Bama 24-20; w@SCaro 41-20, =TexAM 21-14
14	14	Missouri	8-2	L@TTech 24-17, @Neb 31-17; wOK 36-27, TexAM 30-9, SDSU 27-24
20	15	Nevada	8-1	L@Hawaii 27-21
22	16	Texas A&M	7-3	L Mizzou 30-9, =Ark 21-14, @OKst 38-35; wOK 33-19
17	17	Oklahoma	8-2	L@Mizzou 36-27, @TexAM 33-19
23	18	South Carolina	7-3	L@KY 31-28, @Aub 35-27, Ark 41-20; wBama 35-21
16	19	Mississippi St	7-3	L@LSU 29-7, Aub 17-14, @Bama 30-10
15	20	Utah	8-2	L@NotreDame 28-3, TCU 47-7
21	21	Virginia Tech	8-2	L JMadison 21-16, Boise 33-30
--	22	USC	7-3	L Wash 32-31, @Stan 37-35, Ore 53-32; w@AZ 24-21
18	23	Arizona	7-3	L OreSt 29-27, USC 24-21, @Stan 42-17; wIA 34-27
25	24	Northern Illinois	8-2	L@IowaSt 27-10, @Illinois 28-22; wTemple 31-17
--	25t	Northwestern	7-3	L Pur 20-17, @PSU 35-21, MSU 35-27; wIA 21-17
--	25t	Temple	8-2	L@PennSt 22-13, @NoILL 31-17
		out:
19	--	Iowa	7-3	L@NW21-17,@Ariz 34-27, Wisc 31-30; wMichSt 37-6
24	--	San Diego State	7-3	L@BYU 24-21, @Missouri 27-24, @TCU 40-35

Ohio State still has no top 25 wins and that could be the case at the end of the regular season. Of the Big Ten teams in the top 25, the Buckeyes lost to Wisconsin and don't play Michigan State or Northwestern. Beating Iowa and Michigan would likely keep those teams out of the rankings, and Miami fell out a few weeks ago. After the bowl games, however, it could be very different: Miami, Iowa, Michigan, and Penn State each might be ranked, and Ohio is 8-3 and has a chance to make it in, too. Add a win over their bowl opponent and the Buckeyes could have as many as six top 25 wins come January.

Alabama, Arkansas, and Missouri are the top 2-loss teams, each having two top 25 wins. 1-loss Nevada moves up to #15, while Texas A&M jumps to #16; the Aggies have lost to three teams in the top 14 and beat #17 Oklahoma, so it makes sense that they fit in a slot just above the Sooners.

South Carolina regains some lost ground after beating Florida, perching at #18 just ahead of #19 Mississippi State who lost to Alabama. Utah drops to #20 but their loss to Notre Dame still isn't as bad as #21 Virginia Tech's home loss to James Madison.

The bottom of the rankings is crowded this week; #23 Arizona lost to USC, who enters at #22. Northwestern bumped off Iowa and joins at #25. Northern Illinois moves up a spot and welcomes fellow MAC team Temple in at #25 (tied with Northwestern) meaning all the teams with two or fewer losses are represented. Temple's stay will be short as they already lost Tuesday night to Ohio.

Both Iowa and San Diego State could have remained in the top 25; Iowa has lost only to top 25 teams and holds a win over Michigan State, while SDSU has three close losses and only fell to TCU by 5. Each will have a chance to re-enter next week as the Hawkeyes play #11 Ohio State while the Aztecs host faltering #15 Utah.

SportsRatings Top 25 Week 10: Four Teams Are Good Enough for Top Spot

Welcome to the SportsRatings College Football Top 25 for the week ending November 6, 2010. This is a subjective ranking, not a computer power rating. It does attempt to use several rules, some of which include honoring head-to-head results whenever possible, and giving more consideration to teams with wins over other top 25 teams.

Four teams are left undefeated, and all four have done enough to be ranked #1. Oregon, TCU, and Boise State due to their performance, and Auburn due to their quality wins. The first three don't have a lot to brag about on their schedule; they've each beaten one current top 25 team. But all three have been dominant against the teams on their schedule, unlike Auburn who had several close calls. Though close calls were against many top 25 teams, however.  

Oregon is the most dominant of the top teams and remains #1. By résumé, Auburn is the clear leader, so they move up to #2 this week and if they remain undefeated it will be hard to keep them out of the top slot. TCU and Boise State are neck and neck, but TCU's devastating win over Utah gives them the nod.

LSU is like Auburn—a team that's overachieving, but achieving a lot. They jump to #5 after beating Alabama, followed by Stanford who killed Arizona and has only a loss to Oregon keeping them from being undefeated. Nebraska holds at #7, further hampered by their inexcusable loss to fading Texas. Michigan State and Wisconsin slide up a few spots, while Oklahoma State breaks into the top 10 after crushing Baylor 55-28 .

SportsRatings Top 25 - week ten 2010 (thru 11/06/2010)
lw	#	Team	Rec	Losses/important wins
1	1	Oregon	9-0	wStanford 52-31
3	2	Auburn	10-0	wLSU 24-17, SCar 35-27, Ark 65-43, @MissSt 17-14
4	3	TCU	10-0	w@Utah 47-7, Baylor 45-10
2	4	Boise State	8-0	w@VTech 33-30
9	5	LSU	8-1	L@Auburn 24-17; wAlabama 24-21, MissSt 29-7
12	6	Stanford	8-1	L@Oregon 52-31; wArizona 42-17
7	7	Nebraska	8-1	L Texas 20-13; wMizzou 31-17, @OKst 51-41
10	8	Michigan St	9-1	L@Iowa 37-6; wWisconsin 34-24
11	9	Wisconsin	8-1	L@MichSt 34-24; wOSU 31-18, @Iowa 31-30
15	10	Oklahoma St	8-1	L Nebraska 51-41; wTexAM 38-35, Baylor 55-28
14	11	Ohio State	8-1	L@Wisc 31-18
6	12	Alabama	7-2	L@SC 35-21, @LSU 24-21; w@Ark 24-20
18	13	Arkansas	7-2	L@Aub 65-43, Bama 24-20; w@SCaro 41-20, =TexAM 21-14
8	14	Missouri	7-2	L@TTech 24-17, @Neb 31-17; wOK 36-27, A&M 30-9, SDSU 27-24
5	15	Utah	8-1	L TCU 47-7
20	16	Mississippi St	7-2	L@LSU 29-7, Aub 17-14
13	17	Oklahoma	7-2	L@Missouri 36-27, @TexAM 33-19; wFSU 47-17
17	18	Arizona	7-2	L OregonSt 29-27, @Stanford 42-17; wIowa 34-27
19	19	Iowa	7-2	L@Arizona 34-27, Wisc 31-30; wMichSt 37-6
21	20	Nevada	7-1	L@Hawaii 27-21
23	21	Virginia Tech	7-2	L JMadison 21-16, Boise 33-30; NCst 41-30
--	22	Texas A&M	6-3	L Mizzou 30-9, =Ark 21-14, @OKst 38-35; wOK 33-19
16	23	South Carolina	6-3	L@KY 31-28, @Aub 35-27, Ark 41-20; wBama 35-21
--	24	San Diego State	7-2	L@BYU 24-21, @Missouri 27-24
--	25	Northern Illinois	7-2	L@IowaSt 27-10, @Illinois 28-22
		out:
22	--	Baylor	7-3	L@TTech 45-38, @OKst 55-28, @TCU 45-10
24	--	NC State	6-3	L@ECU 33-27ot, @Clem 14-13, VTech 41-30; wFSU 28-24
25t	--	Florida St	6-3	L UNC 37-35, @NCState 28-24, @OK 47-17
25t	--	Syracuse	6-3	L@Wash 41-20, Pitt 45-14, Lou 28-20

Ohio State moves up to #11 and is one of the few 1-loss teams outside the top ten, but they have no quality wins. Alabama falls to #12, followed by Arkansas at #13; the Tide beat the Razorbacks earlier in the year. Missouri slides to #14, just ahead of Utah. The Utes have just the loss to TCU, but it was a doozy and they have no quality wins on their weak schedule while Missouri now has three, second only to Auburn.

Mississippi State doesn't have any top 25 wins, but they've lost only to undefeated Auburn and 1-loss LSU (whose loss is to Auburn) so you could make the argument they could be ranked as high as #3. We put them at #16 until there's more evidence for that. Oklahoma drops to #17, and Arizona falls only one spot, staying ahead of Iowa whom they beat in September.

Nevada and Virginia Tech move up to #20 and #21, while South Carolina falls to #23 after losing big to Arkansas. Texas A&M reappears at #22 after defeating Oklahoma; the Aggies' losses are all to top 25 teams.

#22 Baylor, #24 North Carolina State, and co-#24 FSU and Syracuse all lost and fall out, leaving two empty positions. Among the five remaining 2-loss teams the best candidates were San Diego State, who lost two games by a total of six points, and Northern Illinois, who is 7-2 with a win over 8-2 Temple.

SportsRatings Top 25 week 9: Glut of 1-loss teams in Big Ten, Big Twelve

Welcome to the SportsRatings College Football Top 25 for the week ending October 30, 2010. This is a subjective ranking, not a computer power rating. It does attempt to use several rules, some of which include honoring head-to-head results whenever possible, and giving more consideration to teams with wins over other top 25 teams.

This week, the top of the rankings is pretty easy. Oregon stays #1 after clobbering USC, Boise State holds onto #2 as Virginia Tech entering the polls helps them stave off #3 Auburn, and TCU remains #4 a week ahead of their showdown with undefeated #5 Utah.

 Then it gets tough. From #6 through #14, the teams can be in just about any order. But with my guidelines there's a big of direction. In the Big Ten, Michigan State has to remain ahead of Wisconsin, who remains ahead of Ohio State. And in the Big Twelve, Nebraska has priority over Missouri who tops Oklahoma.

With that in mind, we move Alabama up to #6 as Nebraska has that nagging home loss to 4-4 Texas. The Cornhuskers still jump a long way from #15 as they have two wins over 1-loss teams. Missouri follows at #8, only dropping a couple of spots, and LSU is at #9 after their idle week. The Tigers face Alabama next week.

Michigan State deserves to drop a lot after losing 37-6 to Iowa, but they must remain ahead of Wisconsin. This means the Badgers have to be downgraded a bit, and they fall to #11. Oklahoma falls from #10 to #13. Wisconsin gets the higher nod since, with two top 25 wins, they should be ahead of #12 Stanford who has none; Oklahoma meanwhile has only a win over FSU who hangs on at #25. Finally, Ohio State stays at #14 as their sole top 25 win—Miami—fades away.

SportsRatings Top 25 - week nine 2010 (thru 10/30/2010)
lw	#	Team	Rec	Losses/important wins
1	1	Oregon	8-0	wStanford 52-31
2	2	Boise State	7-0	w@VTech 33-30
3	3	Auburn	9-0	wLSU 24-17, SCar 35-27, Ark 65-43, @MissSt 17-14
4	4	TCU	9-0	wBaylor 45-10
7	5	Utah	8-0
8	6	Alabama	7-1	L@SC 35-21; w@Ark 24-20
15	7	Nebraska	7-1	L Texas 20-13; wMizz 31-17, @OKst 51-41, @KSt 48-13
5	8	Missouri	7-1	L@Nebraska 31-17; wOklahoma 36-27
11	9	LSU	7-1	L@Auburn 24-17; wMissSt 29-7
6	10	Michigan St	8-1	L@Iowa 37-6; wWisconsin 34-24
9	11	Wisconsin	7-1	L@MichSt 34-24; wOSU 31-18, @Iowa 31-30
12	12	Stanford	7-1	L@Oregon 52-31
10	13	Oklahoma	7-1	L@Missouri 36-27; wFSU 47-17
14	14	Ohio State	8-1	L@Wisc 31-18; wMiami 36-24
17	15	Oklahoma St	7-1	L Nebraska 51-41; w@KState 24-14
16	16	South Carolina	6-2	L@KY 31-28, @Aub 35-27; wBama 35-21
20	17	Arizona	7-1	L OregonSt 29-27; wIowa 34-27
18	18	Arkansas	6-2	L@Aub 65-43, Bama 24-20
24	19	Iowa	6-2	L@Arizona 34-27, Wisc 31-30; wMichSt 37-6
21	20	Mississippi St	7-2	L@LSU 29-7, Aub 17-14
22	21	Nevada	6-1	L@Hawaii 27-21
23	22	Baylor	7-2	L@TTech 45-38, @TCU 45-10; wKState 47-42
--	23	Virginia Tech	6-2	L JMadison 21-16, Boise 33-30; NCst 41-30
--	24	NC State	6-2	L@ECU 33-27ot, VTech 41-30; wFSU 28-24
13	25t	Florida St	6-2	L@NCState 28-24, @OK 47-17; w@Miami 45-17
25t	25t	Syracuse	6-2	L@Wash 41-20, Pitt 45-14
		out:
19	--	Miami FL	5-3	L@Virg 24-19, @OSU 36-24, FSU 45-17
25t	--	Kansas St	5-3	L@Baylor 47-42, Nebraska 48-13, OKst 24-14

Oklahoma State slides up to #15 after beating Kansas State; Arizona moves up to #17; and Iowa jumps from #24 to #19 for toppling Michigan State. SEC teams South Carolina and Arkansas, who play each other next weekend, hold at #16 and #18. Mississippi State, Nevada, and Baylor move up a notch each.

The biggest moves in the rankings happened due to Florida State and Miami losing. The Seminoles fell to North Carolina State, which both moves the 6-2 Wolfpack ahead of them, but also 6-2 Virginia Tech, who beat N.C. State earlier. And because Miami lost to Virginia and fell out, Florida State no longer has a top 25 win and tumbles all the way to a tie at #25 with Syracuse, who against all odds holds on for a 2nd week in the rankings after taking apart Cincinnati 31-7.

Last week's reserve supply of 2-loss teams was whittled down by nine, with Hawaii and San Diego State probably the best of 8 remaining in terms of résumés. There are several 3-loss teams that are probably better picks for the rankings, including Illinois (who has lost only to Missouri, Michigan State, and Ohio State) and Oregon State (a win over Arizona, losses to Boise, TCU, and Washington).

SportsRatings Top 25 Week 8: Missouri Makes Its Move

Welcome to the SportsRatings College Football Top 25 for the week ending October 23, 2010. This is a subjective ranking, not a computer power rating. It does attempt to use several rules, some of which include honoring head-to-head results whenever possible, and giving more consideration to teams with wins over other top 25 teams.

It's time for all the undefeated teams—there are seven remaining—to be ranked above everyone else. There are no pretenders; every one has either proven itself either a very strong team, or has a good résumé, or both.

If we look at pure performance, apart from quality wins, Oregon, Boise State, TCU, and Utah are performing like top 5 teams, while Missouri is at least top ten. Auburn and Michigan State definitely lag behind. For résumés, no one is close to Auburn, which is why they'll be #1 among the BCS computer composite Sunday night; they have four wins over teams in our Top 25. Oregon, Missouri, and Michigan State also have a win over a 1-loss team.

Oregon and Boise State have been the most dominant teams, and Oregon regains the top spot this week. It wasn't so much their 60-13 crushing of UCLA as Boise's lack of a top 25 win, which at this stage prevents a team from being #1. TCU is playing nearly as well, especially on defense, and actually gains a top 25 win as Baylor joins, but it's not enough to stop Auburn from advancing to #3 from #5. The Tigers have a win over 1-loss LSU, and three wins over 2-loss SEC teams. How good are they really? Pretty much all of those wins have been close, and the Tigers could have been 6-2 or even 4-4 right now. They seem to be getting better each week; as long as they win, they'll stay high in the rankings.

#5 Missouri has made rapid leaps up the rankings as they begin to prove they're for real. First they had some strong performances that showed they were a strong team, and now they have a signature win to back it up. Utah has proven itself like Missouri did, and it's hard to determine whether the Utes or the Tigers are the stronger team, but their schedule has been weak so they're #7, behind #6 Michigan State. The Spartans appear to be the weakest of the undefeated teams but their win over Wisconsin legitimizes them. All three of these teams will be tested in the coming weeks: Missouri against Nebraska, Michigan State against Iowa, and Utah against TCU.

SportsRatings Top 25 - week eight 2010 (thru 10/23/2010)
lw	#	Team	Rec	Losses/important wins
2	1	Oregon	7-0	wStanford 52-31
1	2	Boise State	6-0
5	3	Auburn	8-0	wLSU 24-17, SCar 35-27, Ark 65-43, @MissSt 17-14
4	4	TCU	8-0	wBaylor 45-10
11	5	Missouri	7-0	wOklahoma 36-27
7	6	Michigan St	8-0	wWisconsin 34-24, @Nwest 35-27
9	7	Utah	7-0
8	8	Alabama	7-1	L@SC 35-21; w@Ark 24-20
13	9	Wisconsin	7-1	L@MichSt 34-24; wOSU 31-18, @Iowa 31-30
3	10	Oklahoma	6-1	L@Missouri 36-27; wFSU 47-17
6	11	LSU	7-1	L@Auburn 24-17; wMissSt 29-7, WVA 20-14
12	12	Stanford	6-1	L@Oregon 52-31
14	13	Florida St	6-1	L@OK 47-17; w@Miami 45-17
15	14	Ohio State	7-1	L@Wisc 31-18; wMiami 36-24
16	15	Nebraska	6-1	L Texas 20-13; w@OKst 51-41, @KState 48-13
17	16	South Carolina	5-2	L@KY 31-28, @Aub 35-27; wBama 35-21
10	17	Oklahoma St	6-1	L Nebraska 51-41
18	18	Arkansas	5-2	L@Aub 65-43, Bama 24-20
19	19	Miami FL	5-2	L@OSU 36-24, FSU 45-17
21	20	Arizona	6-1	L OregonSt 29-27; wIowa 34-27
22	21	Mississippi St	6-2	L@LSU 29-7, Aub 17-14
25t	22	Nevada	6-1	L@Hawaii 27-21
--	23	Baylor	6-2	L@TTech 45-38, @TCU 45-10; wKState 47-42
24	24	Iowa	5-2	L@Arizona 34-27, Wisc 31-30
20	25t	Kansas St	5-2	L@Baylor 47-42, Nebraska 48-13
--	25t	Syracuse	5-2	L Pitt 45-14, @Wash 41-20; w@WVA 19-14
		out:
23	--	West Virginia	5-2	L Syracuse 19-14, @LSU 20-14
25t	--	Northwestern	5-2	L Purdue 20-17, MSU 35-27

As for the teams with losses, I'm ranking them pretty much by résumé but team strength still holds a bit of sway with the 1-loss teams. Alabama has a win over 2-loss Arkansas and a loss to 2-loss South Carolina, but still gets the nod as the top team with a loss. You could argue that #9 Wisconsin and #10 Oklahoma have better qualifications, as each has lost to an undefeated team and beat a 1-loss team, but Alabama has looked stronger overall. LSU's close loss to Auburn drops them from the top ten, but they remain ahead of Stanford, whose lack of big wins holds them back.

At #13, we put Florida State ahead of Ohio State. This is a good case where pre-season ranking influences the national polls. Each team has a road loss to a top ten team, and the Seminoles' road win over Miami was much more impressive than the Buckeyes' home win. It's true that FSU's loss was more of a beatdown, but the AP, USA, and Harris polls have Ohio State 5-7 spots ahead. The only reason is pre-season ranking; if FSU had started higher, they'd probably still be higher or at least very close.

#15 Nebraska knocked Oklahoma State from the ranks of the unbeaten, but their loss to Texas holds them back. Likewise, South Carolina's loss to Kentucky prevents them from being in the top ten. Arkansas and Miami hold at #18 and #19; both have losses to two teams ranked ahead of them. Arizona slides up to #20, and Mississippi State to #21, with Nevada the lowest-ranked 1-loss team.

It was hard to rank the rest of the 2-loss teams. Baylor gets in by beating Kansas State, but the Wildcats still had one of the better résumés of the 20 or so 2-loss teams, as both losses are to ranked opponents. There aren't many options; nearly all of the 2-loss teams have a poor loss, or a loss to another 2-loss team, and the pecking order leads up to 6-2 Virginia Tech, who lost to I-AA James Madison. So Kansas State remains in for now, as does Iowa, who holds at #24 for their 1-point loss to Wisconsin. And because they beat a ranked team, Syracuse gets to be in the top 25 this week. They earned it, even if their schedule has been a bit laughable. Both Maine and Colgate?

West Virginia falls out for losing to Syracuse, while Northwestern is edged out by their loss to Michigan State. Both are pretty high in the 2-loss-team pecking order and could get back in fairly easily. Other 2-loss teams higher in the "others receiving votes" column include Hawaii (beat Nevada), USC (beat Hawaii, lost to Stanford), Michigan (lost only to Iowa and Michigan State), and San Diego State (lost by 3 to BYU and Missouri). Virginia Tech, too, is on the verge of getting back in, which will help Boise State; with wins over East Carolina and North Carolina State, they could be pushed into the rankings fairly soon.

SportsRatings Top 25 Week 7: Big Changes, But Not At Top

Welcome to the SportsRatings College Football Top 25 for the week ending October 16, 2010. This is a subjective ranking, not a computer power rating. It does attempt to use several rules some of which include honoring head-to-head results whenever possible, and giving more consideration to teams with wins over other top 25 teams.

Ohio State's loss to Wisconsin doesn't shake up the top of our Top 25 the way it will the other polls, as we had the Buckeyes at #6 last week. More self-patting on back: we picked the Wisconsin upset at the beginning of the year and stuck with it last week, coming within a few points of the final score (30-17 vs. 31-18). And finally, we were right about 3 undefeated teams losing last week and picked two of them: Ohio State and Nevada. We chose Missouri to lose rather than Nebraska; the Tigers won easily while the Cornhuskers looked hapless against Texas.

All of that leaves Boise State at #1, but it's tentative: the Broncos won 48-0 Saturday but lost their top 25 win as Oregon State falls out. Oregon was idle and remains #2, but Oklahoma slides up to #3 after beating Iowa State 52-0. The Sooners lose one of their top 25 wins with Air Force's loss, but their résumé is sufficiently better than TCU's. The #4 Horned Frogs are still rolling along, especially on defense where they've given up just three points total in the last three games.

Then come the changes, as teams move up to fill the void from Nebraska and Ohio State. Auburn rallied to crush Arkansas and now has three top 25 wins, albeit over 2-loss teams. They move up to #5, followed by LSU who also has a strong résumé; Auburn and LSU face each other next week in a battle of unbeaten SEC teams. Michigan State leaps from #13 to #7 to ensure that all undefeated teams who have a top 25 win are grouped at the top. Alabama follows as the top-ranked 1-loss team. The three remaining undefeated teams—Utah, Oklahoma State, and Missouri—follow at #9 thru #11, while idle Stanford remains #12.

SportsRatings Top 25 - week seven 2010 (thru 10/16/2010)
lw	#	Team	Rec	Losses/important wins
1	1	Boise State	6-0	w@OregonSt 37-24
2	2	Oregon	6-0	wStanford 52-31
4	3	Oklahoma	6-0	wFSU 47-17, AirForce 27-24
3	4	TCU	7-0	wOregonSt 30-21
7	5	Auburn	7-0	wSCar 35-27, Ark 65-43, @MissSt 17-14
8	6	LSU	7-0	wMissSt 29-7, WVA 20-14, @FLA 33-29
13	7	Michigan St	7-0	wWisconsin 34-24
10	8	Alabama	6-1	L@SC 35-21; w@Ark 24-20, FLA 31-6
14	9	Utah	6-0
15	10	Oklahoma St	6-0
19	11	Missouri	6-0
12	12	Stanford	5-1	L@Oregon 52-31
20	13	Wisconsin	6-1	L@MichSt 34-24; wOSU 31-18
16	14	Florida St	6-1	L@OK 47-17; w@Miami 45-17
6	15	Ohio State	6-1	L@Wisc 31-18; wMiami 36-24
5	16	Nebraska	5-1	L Texas 20-13; w@KState 48-13
9	17	South Carolina	4-2	L@KY 31-28, @Aub 35-27; wBama 35-21
11	18	Arkansas	4-2	L@Aub 65-43, Bama 24-20
22	19	Miami FL	4-2	L@OSU 36-24, FSU 45-17
23	20	Kansas St	5-1	L Nebraska 48-13
25	21	Arizona	5-1	L OregonSt 29-27; wIowa 34-27
--	22	Mississippi St	5-2	L@LSU 29-7, Aub 17-14; w@FLA 10-7
--	23	West Virginia	5-1	L@LSU 20-14
--	24	Iowa	5-1	L@Arizona 34-27
18	25t	Nevada	6-1	L@Hawaii 27-21
--	25t	Northwestern	5-1	L Purdue 20-17
		out:
17	--	Air Force	5-2	L@OK 27-24, @SDSU 27-25
21	--	Florida	4-3	L MissSt 10-7, @Bama 31-6, LSU 33-29
24	--	Oregon St	3-3	L@Wash 35-34ot, @TCU 30-21, Boise 37-24; w@Az 29-2

Wisconsin leaps from #20 to #13 with their big win, moving ahead of Ohio State (naturally; we'll see if the other polls do this or not) who falls 9 spots to #15. Florida State is just ahead at #14, and just behind is Nebraska, who falls 11 spots to #16.

Two  SEC teams, South Carolina and Arkansas, suffer their second losses and drop to #17 and #18. The Gamecocks are cushioned by their win over Alabama, while Arkansas, like #19 Miami, has fallen only to ranked teams. #20 Kansas State beat rival Kansas 59-7 last Thursday.

Arizona moves up to #21; their loss to Oregon State became more of a liability but their win over Iowa is a plus as the Hawkeyes finally move back in at #24. Mississippi State—who has lost only to undefeated LSU and Auburn—enters after knocking off Florida. All of the one-loss teams are now in the top 25 as West Virginia (5-1, only loss to LSU) appears for the first time this year at #23 and 5-1 Northwestern joins freshly-defeated Nevada in a tie at #25.

Dropped out: Air Force's 2nd loss knocked them out, as they'd have to be ranked behind San Diego State. The Aztecs are 4-2 and lost to undefeated Missouri and 2-5 BYU, both by three points; they may find themselves ranked in the next few weeks. Florida's third loss displaced them, and the same fate befell Oregon State who lost at Washington in double overtime.

Other two-loss teams with wins over top 25 teams included Texas, Hawaii, and Purdue. The Longhorns losses are to Oklahoma and UCLA; Hawaii fell to 5-2 USC and 3-3 Colorado; Purdue lost to Notre Dame and Toledo, both 4-3.

The coming week features a lot of great games, as seems par for this year. They include:

• #6 LSU at #5 Auburn
• #3 Oklahoma at #11 Missouri
• #7 Michigan State at #25 Northwestern
• #16 Nebraska at #10 Oklahoma State
• #13 Wisconsin at #24 Iowa

SportsRatings Top 25 Week 6: Boise back on top

Welcome to the SportsRatings College Football Top 25 for the week ending October 9, 2010. This is a subjective ranking, not a computer power rating. It does attempt to use several rules some of which include honoring head-to-head results whenever possible, and giving more consideration to teams with wins over other top 25 teams.

A week after over losing the #1 spot, Boise State takes it back...at least for the time being. It wasn't Boise's 57-14 win over 3-3 Toledo as much as Oregon's unimpressive 43-23 struggle with Washington State, as well as Oregon State's victory at Arizona which gave the Broncos a top 25 win. Either way, we're being fair to the Broncos; they might slip from the top spot but they can also recapture it, unlike most pundits who only allow Boise to maintain their position or drop. After Alabama's loss, some suggested the Tide should only fall to #3 in the AP (behind Ohio State and Oregon) and that it "was time" for the prominent undefeated BCS-conference teams to jump Boise State.

The Beavers' win also helped TCU rise to #3 and the Horned Frogs racked up their 2nd straight shutout for good measure, beating Wyoming at home 45-0. For comparison's sake, Boise State beat Wyoming 51-6 on the road, while Texas beat the Cowboys 34-7; Utah gets their shot next week. Oregon will play at Oregon State on December 4, making the Beavers a common opponent among our current top three.

Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Ohio State each moved up a spot. The Sooners were idle but have two top 25 wins including an upgraded blowout win over Florida State, while Big Twelve cohort Nebraska manhandled previously unbeaten Kansas State 48-13. Ohio State's win over Miami, though downgraded, keeps them edging closer to the top five (meanwhile the Buckeyes are a solid #1 in the AP and coaches' polls).

SportsRatings Top 25 - week six 2010 (thru 10/09/2010)
lw	#	Team	Rec	Losses/important wins
2	1	Boise State	5-0	w@OregonSt 37-24
1	2	Oregon	6-0	wStanford 52-31
4	3	TCU	6-0	w OregonSt 30-21
5	4	Oklahoma	5-0	wFSU 47-17, AF 27-24
6	5	Nebraska	5-0	w@KState 48-13
7	6	Ohio State	6-0	wMiami 36-24
8	7	Auburn	6-0	wSCarolina 35-27
11	8	LSU	6-0	w@Florida 33-29
15	9	South Carolina	4-1	L@Aub 35-27; wAlabama 35-21
3	10	Alabama	5-1	L@SC 35-21; w@Ark 24-20, FLA 31-6
10	11	Arkansas	4-1	L Alabama 24-20; w=TexAM 24-17
9	12	Stanford	5-1	L@Oregon 52-31
16	13	Michigan St	6-0	wWisconsin 34-24
14	14	Utah	5-0
17	15	Oklahoma St	5-0	wTexasA&M 38-35
21	16	Florida St	5-1	L@OK 47-17; w@Miami 45-17
19	17	Air Force	5-1	L@OK 27-24
20	18	Nevada	5-0
25	19	Missouri	5-0
23	20	Wisconsin	5-1	L@MichSt 34-24
13	21	Florida	4-2	L@Alabama 31-6, LSU 33-29
12	22	Miami FL	3-2	L@OSU 36-24, FSU 45-17
18	23	Kansas St	4-1	L Nebraska 48-13
--	24	Oregon St	3-2	L@TCU 30-21, BSU 37-24; w@Az 29-27
22	25	Arizona	4-1	L OregonSt 29-27
		out:
24	--	Texas A&M	3-2	L@OKSt 38-35, =Ark 24-17

Alabama's loss caused a shakeup among the SEC teams in the rankings, largely because of Auburn's previous win over South Carolina. This meant that the Tigers—who narrowly avoided upset against Kentucky—had to be ahead of the Gamecocks, who of course rocket up to #9 ahead of the Tide.

Alabama remains ahead of Arkansas, whom they beat a few weeks ago. The Razorbacks slip a spot despite knocking out Texas A&M. Meanwhile, LSU rises to #8 and Stanford slips to #12 after needing a last-second field goal to beat USC at home; the Cardinal are without a top 25 win and have a weaker résumé than the teams that move ahead of them.

13 undefeated teams left

Michigan State won their showdown with Michigan handily and rises to #13. Utah remains unbeaten but not overly impressive and holds at #14. Oklahoma State follows at #15, with Nevada and Missouri the final remaining unbeaten teams at #18 and #19.

Florida State's 45-17 mauling of Miami leaps them from #21 to #16, just ahead of Air Force who like the Seminoles has lost only to Oklahoma. Wisconsin rounds out the top 20.

Last week it seemed there were too many good teams to fit in the top 25; now it looks like the opposite problem. Despite suffering their second losses, Florida and Miami remain after big falls. Kansas State stays in despite the Nebraska blowout, and even former #22 Arizona hangs on at #25. Only Texas A&M falls out, replaced by a more deserving 2-loss team, Oregon State. As mentioned the Beavers beat Arizona on the road and have lost only to #1 Boise State and #3 TCU. Former unbeatens Michigan and Northwestern both lost and therefore don't get in this week.

SportsRatings Top 25 Week 5: Oregon Ducks are #1

Welcome to the SportsRatings College Football Top 25 for the week ending October 2, 2010. This is a subjective ranking, not a computer power rating. It does attempt to use several rules some of which include honoring head-to-head results whenever possible, and giving more consideration to teams with wins over other top 25 teams.

Oregon takes over the #1 spot on SportsRatings' Top 25 after dismantling Stanford last Saturday. The Ducks have played some of the best football of any team this year so far, and now they have a marquee win over another team that's playing great football, too. This puts them ahead of last week's #1, Boise State, who hasn't faltered—they beat New Mexico State 59-0—but beating the worst team in the FBS on a week that Oregon beats one of the best is unfortunate.

Alabama crushed Florida 31-6, giving them a second big win and putting them within striking distance of the top two as well. TCU beat Colorado State 27-0 and like Boise State is bereft of top 25 victories; the Horned Frogs are also not performing as well as the Broncos, hence their #4 ranking.

At #5 Oklahoma also has two top 25 wins, and garnered at third by beating Texas 28-20 but the Longhorns fall out with their 2nd loss. Though the Sooners' résumé is among the best, they've almost lost four of their five games. They're arguably playing well enough to be a top ten team, but wins over Florida State, Air Force, and Texas boost them into the top five.

SportsRatings Top 25 - week five 2010 (thru 10/02/2010)
lw	#	Team	Rec	Losses/important wins
2	1	Oregon	5-0	wStanford 52-31
1	2	Boise State	4-0
3	3	Alabama	5-0	w@Ark 24-20, FLA 31-6
4	4	TCU	5-0
5	5	Oklahoma	5-0	wFSU47-17,AF27-24,=Tex28-20
8	6	Nebraska	4-0
7	7	Ohio State	5-0	wMiami 36-24
9	8	Auburn	5-0	wSCar 35-27, Clem 27-24ot
6	9	Stanford	4-1	L@Oregon 52-31
11	10	Arkansas	3-1	L Alabama 24-20
12	11	LSU	5-0
14	12	Miami FL	3-1	L@OSU 36-24; w@Clem 30-21
10	13	Florida	4-1	L@Alabama 31-6
15	14	Utah	4-0
17	15	South Carolina	3-1	L@Auburn 35-27
--	16	Michigan St	5-0	wWisconsin 34-24
--	17	Oklahoma St	4-0	wTexasA&M 38-35
18	18	Kansas St	4-0
21	19	Air Force	4-1	L@Oklahoma 27-24
23	20	Nevada	5-0
22	21	Florida St	4-1	L@Oklahoma 47-17
24	22	Arizona	4-0
13	23	Wisconsin	4-1	L@MichSt 34-24
16	24	Texas A&M	3-1	L@OKSt 38-35
--	25	Missouri	4-0
		out:
19	--	Texas	3-2	L UCLA 34-12, =OK 28-20
20	--	Clemson	2-2	L@Aub 27-24ot, Mia 30-21
25	--	USC	4-1	L Washington 32-31

Nebraska was idle but jumps Ohio State who struggled with Illinois. Next week they might flip again, as both have had their good and bad moments. Auburn moves up a spot even as their résumé takes a hit with Clemson's departure from the rankings. Stanford falls only to #9, making them the highest-ranked one-loss team, just ahead of Arkansas who was idle this week.

Florida lost to Alabama in a much worse way than Arkansas and duly falls a few spots behind the Razorbacks to #13, while Miami moves up to #12 after ousting Clemson on the road. Though I'm loathe to reward LSU for a game they should have lost, they are 5-0 now and will have to prove they deserve their #11 ranking against the Gators next weekend. Utah and South Carolina round out the top 15.

  Newcomers: Michigan State and Oklahoma State make grand entrances at #16 and #17, becoming the only teams outside the top ten to have quality wins. They beat Wisconsin and Texas A&M, respectively; those teams fall to #23 and #24. Idle Kansas State awaits Nebraska next weekend.

The next four consist of two undefeated teams and two teams that lost to Oklahoma. The pecking order here is determined by A) Air Force playing the Sooners a lot closer than Florida State did, and B) Nevada beating Cal a lot worse than Arizona did. Nevada moves ahead of FSU to make some separation in both of these comparisons, and eventually the undefeated teams will pass the others if they keep winning. Arizona was idle this week.

With Texas, Clemson, and USC (victim of Washington) leaving the rankings there is one unfilled spot, and Missouri finally makes it in on a bye week. The Tigers started #28 but have been inconsistent at best so moving up the three necessary rungs just didn't happen until now. This leaves only Michigan and Northwestern, both 5-0, as the only undefeated teams not in the rankings. Michigan can take care of that next week against Michigan State, while Northwestern will probably get in if they go 6-0 by beating Purdue.

Next week's matchups

Once again, there are many good ones.

• #3 Alabama at #15 South Carolina
• #6 Nebraska at #18 Kansas State
• #10 Arkansas at #24 Texas A&M
• #11 LSU at #13 Florida
• #12 Miami at #21 Florida State

FCS (Division I-AA) Top 10 after week 5

With James Madison and Villanova losing, the FCS rankings change quite a bit. I didn't post week 4 and am switching to just a top ten.

Jacksonville State once again ascends to the top spot, which they won in week one after beating Mississippi. They haven't lost since. In strictly FCS play, though, #2 Delaware might be the best performing team, having knocked off both Richmond and last week's #1 James Madison.

The SportsRatings FCS Top 10 after week five

                             Record
lw  #   Team                All  FCS  Losses/Big wins
2   1   Jacksonville St     5-0  4-0 w@OleMiss 49-48       
4   2   Delaware            5-0  5-0 w@Richmond 34-13, @JMadison 13-10   
5   3   Massachusetts       4-1  4-0 L@Michigan 42-37, wW&M 27-23    
8   4   William & Mary      4-1  4-1 L@UMass 27-23; wVillanova 31-24     
6   5   Appalachian St      4-0  4-0 wJacksonville 45-14
7   6   Stephen F Austin    3-1  3-0 L@TexAM 48-7   
1   7   James Madison       3-1  2-1 L Delaware 13-10; w@VTech 21-16     
3   8   Villanova           3-2  3-1 L@W&M 31-24, @Temple 31-24       
9   9   Northern Arizona    3-1  3-0 L@ASU 41-20      
10  10  Texas State         3-1  3-0 L@Houston 68-28

Massachusetts, who previously beat #4 William and Mary and narrowly lost to undefeated Michigan, takes the #3 spot. William and Mary knocked off #3 Villanova last weekend.

James Madison and Villanova fall to #7 and #8 respectively, while Appalachian State and Stephen F. Austin move up to #5 and #6. Northern Arizona and Texas State hold down the #9 and #10 spots.

SportsRatings Top 25 Week 4: Boise holds steady, TCU Slips to #4

Welcome to the SportsRatings College Football Top 25 for the week ending September 25, 2010. This is a subjective ranking, not a computer power rating. It does attempt to use several rules some of which include honoring head-to-head results whenever possible, and giving more consideration to teams with wins over other top 25 teams.

Boise State's 37-24 win over Oregon State wasn't pretty or particularly convincing but it was enough to keep the Broncose on top of our subjective rankings. The margin was roughly the same as TCU's earlier win over the Beavers, and now the question is: how good is Oregon State? If the Broncos and Horned Frogs are both top five teams, the Beavers should be a top 25-level team. We'll find out eventually but at 1-2 with a weak win over Louisville we aren't ranking them just yet.

Speaking of TCU, their Thursday evening win over SMU (41-24) was troubling, too. It was enough to drop them behind Oregon, and then Alabama grabbed the #3 spot due to their win over ranked Arkansas. That puts the Horned Frogs at #4 after beginning the season our #1 team. Again, SMU could prove to be a good team, as they've only lost to TCU and Texas Tech, but from a current vantage point TCU had too much trouble with them.

New #2 Oregon had their own troubles putting away Arizona State, but considering that the Sun Devils nearly beat Wisconsin the 42-31 road win doesn't seem so bad. And #3 Alabama might have lost to Arkansas if not for Ryan Mallet's sudden poor passing, but you can't fault the Tide for their play against any other team on the schedule or for beating a tough SEC foe on the road.

#1 Boise State handled Wyoming on the road easily, 51-6. This surpassed Texas' home win over the Cowboys (34-7) and gave us no reason to tinked with the Broncos #1 rating—for now. TCU faces Wyoming at home on October 9th and they'll have to be similarly dominant to stick around the very top slots. Their 45-10 win over Baylor was good enough to hold on to #2. Rounding out the top five is Oklahoma, holding steady after a scare from Cincinnati. The Sooners have had three scares now but still have two wins over top 25 teams which keeps them aloft.

SportsRatings Top 25 - week four 2010 (thru 9/25/2010)
lw	#	Team	Rec	Losses/important wins
1	1	Boise State	3-0
3	2	Oregon	4-0
4	3	Alabama	4-0	w@Arkansas 24-20
2	4	TCU	4-0
5	5	Oklahoma	4-0	wFSU 47-17, AirForce 27-24
9	6	Stanford	4-0
7	7	Ohio State	4-0	wMiami 36-24
6	8	Nebraska	4-0
12	9	Auburn	4-0	wSCar 35-27, Clem 27-24ot
10	10	Florida	4-0
8	11	Arkansas	3-1	L Alabama 24-20
14	12	LSU	4-0
15	13	Wisconsin	4-0
17	14	Miami FL	2-1	L@OhioState 36-24
18	15	Utah	4-0
16	16	Texas A&M	3-0
13	17	South Carolina	3-1	L@Auburn 35-27
--	18	Kansas St	4-0
11	19	Texas	3-1	L UCLA 34-12; w@TTech 24-14
20	20	Clemson	2-1	L@Auburn 27-24ot
21	21	Air Force	3-1	L@Oklahoma 27-24
22	22	Florida St	3-1	L@Oklahoma 47-17
23	23	Nevada	4-0
24	24	Arizona	4-0
25	25	USC	4-0
		out:
19	--	Texas Tech	2-1	L Texas 24-14

Stanford continues their rapid ascent at #6. #19 pre-season, the Cardinal have upset no one but their winning margins have been astounding including Saturday's 37-14 trouncing of Notre Dame, who nearly beat Michigan and Michigan State. Ohio State remains #7 after crushing Eastern Michigan as expected, while Nebraska slumps back to #8 following a lame performance against I-AA South Dakota State.

Auburn leaps to #9 from #12 after beating their 2nd top 25 victim in another close game. The Tigers could easily be 1-3 right now but their résumé is as strong as anyone's so far. They leap Florida, who finally put together a strong game against Kentucky.

Arkansas drops a few spots to #11 after nearly beating Alabama; LSU, Wisconsin, Miami, and Utah make up some ground after wins while Texas A&M holds at #16 following an idle week. South Carolina's loss to Auburn pushes them down just a few spots, as they lost narrowly on the road.

The biggest shift in the rankings occurs due to Texas' 34-12 loss to 2-2 UCLA. The Longhorns had just defeated Texas Tech on the road to prove they were better than we expected, only to lose big and prove that wasn't the case. The difficulty here is, how can you rank 3-1 Texas ahead of 4-0 Kansas State, when the Wildcats beat the Bruins? My answer is, you can't. The Wildcats, who edged Central Florida this weekend, debut one slot ahead of Texas at #18, while the Red Raiders drop out of the rankings on an idle week. Sometimes life isn't fair.

The final six spots in the rankings remain the same: Idle Clemson, Air Force (beat Wyoming 20-14), Florida State (shut out Wake Forest 31-0), Nevada (beat BYU 27-13), Arizona (edged Cal at home, 10-9), and USC (beat up on Washington State 50-16).

Next weekend's intra-top 25 matchups include #6 Stanford at #2 Oregon, #10 Florida at #3 Alabama, #14 Miami at #20 Clemson, and of course #5 Oklahoma vs. #19 Texas in the Red River Rivalry (né Shootout). Six teams (#8 Nebraska, #11 Arkansas, #15 Utah, #17 South Carolina, #18 Kansas State, and #24 Arizona) are idle.

FCS (Division I-AA) Top 25, week 3

The FCS top 25, even by week three, has only a handful of undefeated teams thanks to playing FBS opponents, particularly since the FBS went to a 12-game schedule. To better get a handle on how these teams are doing, I'm going to list both their overall record, and their record against just FCS (or lower division) opponents.

This week the ranked teams were ravaged by losses so there were plenty of teams falling out and a lot of big moves.

The SportsRatings FCS Top 25 after week three

                             Record
lw  #   Team                All  FCS  Losses/Big wins
1   1   James Madison       2-0  1-0 w@VirginiaTech 21-16     
2   2   Jacksonville St     3-0  2-0 w@OleMiss 49-48       
3   3   Villanova           2-1  2-0 L@Temple 31-24       
5   4   Richmond            1-1  1-0 L@Virginia 34-13; wElon 27-21   
9   5   Delaware            3-0  3-0 wSDakotaSt 26-3      
10  6   Appalachian St      3-0  3-0      
8   7   Massachusetts       2-1  2-0 L@Michigan 42-37, wWMary 27-23    
15  8   William & Mary      2-1  2-1 L@UMass 27-23       
23  9   Stephen F Austin    2-1  2-0 L@TexAM 48-7; w@UNI22-20   
20  10  Eastern Washington  2-1  2-0 L@Nevada 49-24; wMontana 36-27    
17  11  Northern Arizona    1-1  1-0 L@ASU 41-20      
18  12  Pennsylvania        1-0  1-0      
--  13  Texas State         2-1  2-0 L@Houston 68-28; wCalPoly 21-12
21  14  South Carolina St   2-1  2-0 L@GTech 41-10      
4   15  Northern Iowa       1-1  1-1 L@SFAustin 22-20; wNDakotaSt 16-9      
24  16  Youngstown St       2-1  2-0 L@PennSt 44-14     
25t 17  North Dakota St     2-1  2-0 L@UNI 16-9; w@Kansas 6-3
25t 18  South Dakota        2-1  1-0 L@UCF 38-7; w@Minnesota 41-38
13  19  Cal Poly            2-1  2-1 L@TexasSt 21-12; wMontana 35-33
--  20  SE Missouri St      2-1  2-0 L@BallSt 27-10; wSoIll 24-21
--  21  Illinois State      2-1  2-0 L@Nwestern 37-3; w@SDakotaSt 24-14
--  22  Sacramento St       2-1  2-0 L@Stanford 52-17; wWeber 24-17
22  23  Furman              1-1  1-0 L@SCarolina 38-19    
7   24  Elon                1-2  1-1 L@Richmond 27-21, @Duke 41-27 
6   25  Southern Illinois   1-2  1-1 L SEMoSt 24-21, @Illinois 35-3
        out:
11  --  Liberty             2-1  1-1 L@RMorris 30-23; w@BallState 27-23      
12  --  New Hampshire       1-2  1-1 L@Pitt 38-16, @RhodeIsland 28-25    
14  --  South Dakota St     0-2  0-2 L@Delaware 26-3, IllSt 24-14 
16  --  Weber St            1-2  1-1 L@BC 38-20, @SacSt 24-17   
19  --  Montana             1-2  1-2 L@Cal-Poly 35-33, @EWash 36-27
25t --  Gardner-Webb        2-1  1-1 L@WCarolina 28-14; w@Akron 38-37ot

James Madison and Jacksonville State hold onto the top spots, as coaches' #2 Villanova holds down third. The Dukes didn't play this week and Jacksonville State beat brand new program Georgia State in overtime. So much for having a breather after the Ole Miss win and edging Chattanooga.

It's interesting to compare our rankings to the coaches' poll. Many of the same teams are there, and they had similar big moves as highly-ranked teams lost. Northern Iowa fell to #15 in their poll, too, but from #10 not #4 as in ours. They dropped Cal Poly from #18 to #22; we dropped them from 13 to 19. The coaches were much kinder to previously-#7-Elon, bumping them down just four spots to #11 while we put them all the way at #24.

We dropped six teams out of the rankings while the coaches kept Liberty, New Hampshire, Weber State, and Montana in. South Dakota State fell out of their poll, and Gardner-Webb was just outside last week's coaches rankings. Due to a three-way tie for 25th place last week only four new teams replace the six we dropped out, bringing us back to a proper 25.

Our rankings stick to the "you beat them, you're ahead of them" philosophy for teams with similar records. But losses to FBS teams don't count when comparing records, so a 2-loss team will be placed ahead of a 1-loss team that they beat, if one of the two losses was to an FBS team.

Tune in next week for more shake-ups.

 

SportsRatings Top 25 Week 3: The Top Ten Impresses

Welcome to the SportsRatings College Football Top 25 for the week ending September 18, 2010. This is a subjective ranking, not a computer power rating. It does attempt to use several rules some of which include honoring head-to-head results whenever possible, and giving more consideration to teams with wins over other top 25 teams.

In week three, every team in the top ten was impressive in one way or another, leading to a difficult and minor reshuffling of teams.

#1 Boise State handled Wyoming on the road easily, 51-6. This surpassed Texas' home win over the Cowboys (34-7) and gave us no reason to tinked with the Broncos #1 rating—for now. TCU faces Wyoming at home on October 9th and they'll have to be similarly dominant to stick around the very top slots. Their 45-10 win over Baylor was good enough to hold on to #2.

#3 Oregon led 69-0 after three quarters and that was the final over I-AA Portland State, who was 2-9 last season. Alabama slaughtered Duke 62-13 and moves up a spot ahead of #5 Oklahoma, who struggled with #21 Air Force at home but prevailed 27-24. One one hand, that's twice that the Sooners have had trouble at home but on the other hand they're the only team with two wins over top 25 teams, so they stay in the top five.

SportsRatings Top 25 - week three 2010 (thru 9/18/2010)
lw	#	Team	Rec	Losses/important wins
1	1	Boise State	2-0
2	2	TCU	3-0
3	3	Oregon	3-0
5	4	Alabama	3-0
4	5	Oklahoma	3-0	wFSU 47-17, AirForce 27-24
8	6	Nebraska	3-0
7	7	Ohio State	3-0	wMiami 36-24
6	8	Arkansas	3-0
10	9	Stanford	3-0
9	10	Florida	3-0
13	11	Texas	3-0	w@TexasTech 24-14
14	12	Auburn	3-0	wClemson 27-24ot
16	13	South Carolina	3-0
17	14	LSU	3-0	w=UNC 30-24
12	15	Wisconsin	3-0
15	16	Texas A&M	3-0
18	17	Miami FL	1-1	L@OhioState 36-24
20	18	Utah	3-0
11	19	Texas Tech	2-1	L Texas 24-14
19	20	Clemson	2-1	L@Auburn 27-24ot
21	21	Air Force	2-1	L@Oklahoma 27-24
22	22	Florida St	2-1	L@Oklahoma 47-17
--	23	Nevada	3-0	wCal 52-31
--	24	Arizona	3-0	wIowa 34-27
--	25	USC	3-0
		out:
23	--	North Carolina	0-2	L=LSU 30-24, GTech 30-24
24	--	California	2-1	L@Nevada 52-31
25	--	Iowa	2-1	L@Arizona 34-27

Nebraska jumps from #8 to #6 after pulling away from Washington 56-21 in Seattle. They jump #7 Ohio State who was very solid against Ohio, leading 34-0 at the half. The Buckeyes have a strong win over Miami, enough to move them ahead of Arkansas. The Razorbacks fall from #6 to #8 after almost losing to Georgia; however, the last-minute road SEC win would be considered a triumph for most teams.

Stanford continued to impress with a 68-24 crushing of Wake Forest, moving them ahead of #10 Florida. The Gators beat Tennessee 31-17, a lot less convincing than Oregon's 48-13 win a week earlier, but still a road SEC victory in a rivalry game.

Texas had the "upset" of the week in our rankings, beating former #11 Texas Tech and replacing them at that spot while the Red Raiders fall to #19 for losing at home. Auburn moves up two spots to #12 after edging Clemson in overtime; the losing Tigers drop just one spot from #19 to #20. In between the two Tiger teams, South Carolina and LSU move up three spots while Wisconsin drops three from #12 to #15. The Badgers needed a blocked extra point to preserve a 20-19 win over Arizona State. Texas A&M falls a spot to #16 after barely beating Florida International 27-20. Miami was idle and slides up to #17, and Utah moves up to #18 after taking their turn at crushing New Mexico, 56-14.

Air Force holds at #21 with the Oklahoma loss; they did a lot better against the Sooners than #22 Florida State. The Seminoles, like the Falcons earlier, defeated BYU easily 34-10.

Two weeks ago the #24 and #25 teams in the rankings lost, and it happened again this week. #24 California was manhandled by Nevada 52-31 and the Wolf Pack debut at #23. #25 Iowa fell behind Arizona 27-7 at the half but managed to tie the game before falling 34-27; the Wildcats enter at #24. A spot opened up with North Carolina suffering their second 30-24 loss and USC makes their 2010 debut. The Trojans were #37 pre-season and probably haven't even lived up to that with three tepid victories, but two of them were on the road and they were the choice among the dozen or so undefeated teams remaining that aren't already ranked. Given the track record of the #25 teams (none are still in the rankings) the Trojans have their work cut out for them.

FCS (Division I-AA) Top 25 for week 2

Since the FCS has decided to make things interesting by beating a total of six FBS teams so far this year, we're producing an FCS Top 25 for the first time. The interesting questions are: how will those six teams do this year? Does beating an FCS team insure a strong season?

Here are the first three rankings of the year, starting with the pre-season poll which is nothing more than a listing of the top 25 FCS teams from the Strength Power Rating of 2009.

2010 SportsRatings FCS pre-season rankings

1.  Villanova                  
2.  William & Mary             
3.  Northern Iowa              
4.  Richmond                   
5.  Southern Illinois          
6.  Elon                       
7.  Montana                    
8.  Jacksonville St            
9.  South Dakota St            
10. Appalachian St            
11. New Hampshire             
12. James Madison             
13. Delaware                  
14. Weber St                  
15. Liberty                   
16. Massachusetts             
17. Eastern Washington        
18. Pennsylvania              
19. Northern Arizona          
20. South Carolina St         
21. Maine                     
22. Furman                    
23. Stephen F. Austin         
24. Youngstown St             
25. Southern Utah             

Most of the teams in the pre-season ranking match up with those in the FCS pre-season coaches' poll. There are a few surprises and some obvious places where one can tell that due dilligence hasn't been done (Northern Iowa lost most of its offense this year and should be downgraded from #3), but that shouldn't matter over the long haul. This is just used as a starting point.

2010 SportsRatings FCS rankings after Week One

lw  rnk Team                rec  important games
8   1.  Jacksonville St     1-0 w@Miss 49-48       
1   2.  Villanova           0-1 L@Temple 31-24       
3   3.  Northern Iowa       0-0       
5   4.  Southern Illinois   1-0       
4   5.  Richmond            0-1 L@Virginia 34-13       
7   6.  Montana             1-0        
6   7.  Elon                0-1 L@Duke 41-27       
16  8.  Massachusetts       1-0 wWMary 27-23    
9   9.  South Dakota St     0-0       
10  10. Appalachian St      1-0      
11  11. New Hampshire       1-0      
12  12. James Madison       1-0      
13  13. Delaware            1-0       
15  14. Liberty             1-0       
14  15. Weber St            0-1 L@BC 38-20      
2   16. William & Mary      0-1 L@UMass 27-23       
19  17. Northern Arizona    1-0       
18  18. Pennsylvania        0-0       
17  19. Eastern Washington  0-1 L@Nevada 49-24      
--  20. North Dakota St     1-0 w@Kansas 6-3
20  21. South Carolina St   0-1 L@GTech 41-10      
22  22. Furman              0-0    
--  23. Albany              1-0 w@Maine 3-0
23  24. Stephen F. Austin   0-1 L@TexAM 48-7      
24  25. Youngstown St       0-1 L@PennSt 44-14     
        out:
25  --  Southern Utah       0-1 L@Wyoming 28-20      
21  --  Maine               0-1 L Albany 3-0      

Villanova nearly beat Temple but fell, while at the same time Jacksonville State famously upset Mississippi. That's enough for us to crown a new #1 early in the season. The other upset winner, North Dakota State, didn't register in the opening poll and Kansas ranked a lot lower pre-season than Ole Miss, but the Bison rumble in at #20. In general teams that lose to an FBS squad fall a notch.

The big intra-top-25 matchup saw Massachusetts beat former #2 William & Mary, vaulting the Minutemen into the top ten and dropping the Tribe to #16.

2010 SportsRatings FCS rankings after Week Two

lw  rnk Team                rec  important games
12  1.  James Madison       2-0 w@VirginiaTech 21-16     
1   2.  Jacksonville St     2-0 w@Miss 49-48       
2   3.  Villanova           1-1 L@Temple 31-24       
3   4.  Northern Iowa       1-0 wNDakotaSt 16-9      
5   5.  Richmond            0-1 L@Virginia 34-13       
4   6.  Southern Illinois   1-1 L@Illinois 35-3      
7   7.  Elon                1-1 L@Duke 41-27       
8   8.  Massachusetts       2-0 wWMary 27-23    
13  9.  Delaware            2-0 wSDakotaSt 26-3      
10  10. Appalachian St      2-0      
14  11. Liberty             2-0 w@BallState 27-23      
11  12. New Hampshire       1-1 L@Pitt 38-16     
--  13. Cal Poly            2-0 wMontana 35-33
9   14. South Dakota St     0-1 L@Delaware 26-3      
16  15. William & Mary      1-1 L@UMass 27-23       
15  16. Weber St            1-1 L@BC 38-20      
17  17. Northern Arizona    1-1 L@ASU 41-20      
18  18. Pennsylvania        0-0       
6   19. Montana             1-1 L@Cal-Poly 35-33        
19  20. Eastern Washington  1-1 L@Nevada 49-24      
21  21. South Carolina St   1-1 L@GTech 41-10      
22  22. Furman              1-0    
24  23. Stephen F. Austin   1-1 L@TexAM 48-7; wAlbany 59-14      
25  24. Youngstown St       1-1 L@PennSt 44-14     
20  25t North Dakota St     1-1 L@UNI 16-9; w@Kansas 6-3
--  25t South Dakota        1-1 L@UCF 38-7; w@Minnesota 41-38
--  25t Gardner-Webb        2-0 w@Akron 38-37ot
        out:
23  --  Albany              1-1 L@SFAustin 59-14

And after week two, we couldn't ignore James Madison's win over a pre-season top ten Hokie squad. Regardless of the conditions (following a huge Hokie loss, playing again in just 5 days) it's a win on par with Appalachian State's victory over Michigan. I have no problem putting the Dukes #1, making them the third different #1 in three weeks.

#2 Jacksonville State struggled with Tennessee-Chattanooga beating them just 21-17. That's not surprising since it follows their huge win over Mississippi. Also, Chattanooga took #10 Appalachian State to the wire in week one, 42-41, as the Mountaineers rallied from a 35-14 fourth-quarter deficit. The Mocs get the designation as the best 0-2 FCS teams and if they continue to play this well they'll be in the rankings at some point.

In play between FCS top 25 teams, Delaware moves into the top 10 after convincingly beating former #9 South Dakota State 26-3, while Cal Poly tripped up former #6 Montana 35-33 and enters at #13. Stephen F. Austin crushed Albany 59-14, sending the Great Danes out of the rankings. They had defeated Maine last week to enter.

Other than James Madison, three other teams beat FBS opponents. Liberty moves up to #11 for edging lowly FBS team Ball State, while South Dakota and Gardner-Webb both enter due to narrow wins over Minnesota and Akron respectively. They create a three-way tie at #25 between teams who won games with the FBS including North Dakota State who beat Kansas last week but were upended by #3 Northern Iowa last Saturday.

 

SportsRatings Top 25 week two: ACC suffers fallout

Welcome to the SportsRatings College Football Top 25 for the week ending September 11, 2010. This is a subjective ranking, not a computer power rating. It does attempt to use several rules some of which include honoring head-to-head results whenever possible, and giving more consideration to teams with wins over other top 25 teams.

Week two saw a total of four FCS (I-AA) teams beat their FBS (I-A) brethren: In addition to James Madison's shocking 21-16 win at former #11 Virginia Tech, South Dakota beat Minnesota 41-38, Gardner-Webb beat Akron 38-37 in overtime, and Liberty beat Ball State 27-23. The first results knocked Virginia Tech (now 0-2) out of the rankings and spoils #1 Boise State's marquee win. The Broncos didn't play this week and remain number one for now, but as the season progresses it will be hard to justify keeping them there as other teams gain important wins. #2 TCU is in the much the same boat, depending on how the Mountain West teams do this year. Both have to win very convincingly, with little or no room for an "off" game.

The rest of the top ten made good cases for belonging there, starting with #3 Oregon and #4 Oklahoma who both jump a few spots after convincing wins over Tennessee (48-13) and Florida State (47-17). They even nudge Alabama down a spot despite the Tide beating Penn State 24-3, a game that could have been a lot closer without several Nittany Lion mistakes. Regardless, Alabama deserves a top five ranking unlike Arkansas who hasn't looked quite as good. They beat Louisiana-Monroe 31-7 but led just 7-0 at halftime and 14-0 starting the 4th quarter, and they fall from #3 to #6. They get tested at Georgia next week then host Alabama so they'll have a chance to prove themselves. Ohio State holds at #7 after beating Miami as expected .

SportsRatings Top 25 - week two 2010 (thru 9/11/2010)
lw	#	Team	Rec	Losses/important wins
1	1	Boise St	1-0	w@VirginiaTech33-30
2	2	TCU	2-0
5	3	Oregon	2-0
6	4	Oklahoma	2-0	wFSU47-17
4	5	Alabama	2-0
3	6	Arkansas	2-0
7	7	Ohio State	2-0	wMiami36-24
9	8	Nebraska	2-0
8	9	Florida	2-0
18	10	Stanford	2-0
13	11	Texas Tech	2-0
12	12	Wisconsin	2-0
16	13	Texas	2-0
14	14	Auburn	2-0
22	15	Texas A&M	2-0
19	16	South Carolina	2-0
20	17	LSU	2-0	w=UNC30-24
10	18	Miami FL	1-1	L@OSU36-24
21	19	Clemson	2-0
24	20	Utah	2-0
--	21	Air Force	2-0	wBYU35-14
17	22	Florida St	1-1	L@OK47-17
25	23	North Carolina	0-1	L=LSU30-24
--	24	California	2-0
--	25	Iowa	2-0
		out:
23	--	BYU	1-1	L@AirForce35-14
15	--	Georgia Tech	1-1	L@Kansas28-25
11	--	Virginia Tech	0-2	L Boise33-30,JMadison21-16

Nebraska and Florida swap places at #8 and #9. I let the rankings be very fluid early on and Nebraska's first two results are more impressive, though Florida put away South Florida handily, 38-14. Stanford rounds out the top ten with a big jump from #18 as they blanked UCLA 35-0 on the road Saturday night.

Texas Tech, Wisconsin, and Texas all took care of business to varying degrees this weekend and rank #11 to #13. They, as well as #14 Auburn who just slipped past Mississippi State 17-14, will have to distinguish themselves with important wins to reach the top ten.

Texas A&M jumps from #22 due to blasting Louisiana Tech 48-16 and to several teams above them falling. All of the falling teams are from the ACC: Virginia Tech falls out along with Georgia Tech, a 28-25 upset victim to Kansas (who themselves were upset by I-AA North Dakota State last weekend). Miami drops eight spots and Florida State falls from 17 to 22. All of this helps South Carolina and LSU climb three notches each. Clemson, the only ranked ACC member to win this weekend (defeating Presbyterian 58-21) inches up to #19.

Air Force suprised BYU with a convincing Mountain West conference win, 35-14, and replaces the Cougars in the rankings at #21. With the pair of ACC teams falling out due to big upsets, two slots open up and I've replaced them based on both pre-season rankings and early results. #24 California started only at #37 but has defeated two opponents by a combined 104-10, including Saturday's 52-7 destruction of Colorado. This is similar to how they started last season, so if they look mediocre at Nevada expect them to get whacked hard by Arizona the next week. At #25 is Iowa, who began at #27 and has won 37-7 and 35-7.

 Next weekend #4 Oklahoma visits #21 Air Force, while #14 Auburn hosts #19 Clemson. But the game of the week might be in the Big Twelve as #13 Texas travels to #11 Texas Tech. Most of the polls have Texas in the top five with Texas Tech not in sight but don't be shocked if the Raiders win or at least give the Longhorns a lot of trouble.