Rank | Team | Delta |
---|---|---|
1 | Ohio State | -- |
2 | Michigan | -- |
3 | Southern Cal | -- |
4 | Florida | 1 |
5 | LSU | 2 |
6 | Arkansas | 2 |
7 | Wisconsin | 3 |
8 | Oklahoma | 7 |
9 | Rutgers | 5 |
10 | Louisville | 2 |
11 | Auburn | 1 |
12 | Notre Dame | 6 |
13 | Virginia Tech | 5 |
14 | West Virginia | 5 |
15 | Wake Forest | 6 |
16 | Tennessee | 3 |
17 | Boise State | 1 |
18 | Texas A&M | 8 |
19 | Texas | 8 |
20 | Nebraska | 2 |
21 | California | 2 |
22 | Georgia Tech | 5 |
23 | Boston College | 3 |
24 | Brigham Young | -- |
25 | Hawaii | -- |
'Splainin'
Yikes. This is a mess. A little help.
Confident that Ohio State is No. 1. After that . . . well, there are issues.
I left Michigan No. 2 despite USC's take down of Notre Dame because the Wolverines beat the Irish by more points than did the Trojans and because Michigan's loss is to No. 1 Ohio State while USC's was to unranked Oregon State.
I really considered moving Florida above both Michigan and USC. Their only loss is to Auburn, who's decent, and they have key wins over LSU and Tennessee, who are good and decent respectively. Except for its win over Notre Dame, Michigan has no marquee victories. USC has a win over the Irish and wins over Nebraska and Cal, which are both decent teams, but again, they lost to unranked Oregon State. Still, I didn't move the Gators up. Like I said, it's a mess.
LSU and Arkansas essentially trade places.
Wisconsin. Oy. I know, I know, they haven't played anybody but Michigan and they lost to them, but one loss at the end of a season has to count for something. Don't remind me of this when I get to Boise State.
Oooooooklahoma. Snuck up on me, quite frankly. They lost Bomar, then Peterson, and lost to a good Texas team. They also get an asterisked L against Oregon, but they've quietly ripped off a string of convincing wins, including a victory over Texas A&M, who just beat Texas. Mess? Yep.
I'm uncomfortable with Rutgers jumping five spots, but couldn't figure out what else to do. They just about have to stay above Louisville, who has to stay above West Virginia, whose loss to South Florida this week taints the entire division, but who should go ahead of them? Auburn? They're not that good. See, e.g., the Georgia game. And yes, I said a few paragraphs ago that they were decent, but I was making another point, then, see? Notre Dame? Their claim to fame this season is two losses to two of the top three teams. If that's the criteria, Tennessee could do them one better -- we lost to three of the top six. Okay, give ND credit for Georgia Tech, but they've since lost to four-loss teams Clemson and Georgia.
After that, the mess morphs into a giant, greasy hairball. That thing lurking just underneath your shower plug. Yeah, that thing. Commence the shudder sequence.