Time to shake things up in the top seven? Not quite yet, even with Iowa's struggles. But beyond that I've moved things around a bit, dropping some teams that didn't lose.
#1 Florida looked good and #2 Texas looked great. #3 Alabama didn't play and #4 Iowa looked terrible—until the fourth quarter. The Hawks are still arguably the most accomplished team this year; if they fall from #1 in the Success power rating I might consider moving them down amongst all the undefeated teams. #5 Boise State, #6 TCU, and #7 Cincinnati all beat patsies, but beat them well. The Broncos, if you haven't forgetton—and it seems some people have—beat Oregon earlier this year.
Oregon now has three big wins vs. a loss to an undefeated team, really the best 1-loss résumé in the country, and I've moved them up to #9 just behind fellow 1-loss team Georgia Tech. To do this I needed to bump a few teams down. #12 Houston was an easy choice, as they eeked out another win, and I decided to move Penn State a few spots down due to lack of accomplishment. LSU remains in the top ten and will have to prove it or lose it against Alabama this week.
SportsRatings Top 25 - week nine (thru 10/31/2009) |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
lw |
# |
Team |
Rec |
Losses/important wins |
1 |
1 |
Florida | 8-0 |
w@LSU13-3 |
2 |
2 |
Texas | 8-0 |
w@OKst41-14,=OK16-13 |
3 |
3 |
Alabama | 8-0 |
w=VTech34-24 |
4 |
4 |
Iowa | 9-0 |
w@PennSt21-10,Az27-17 |
5 |
5 |
Boise St | 8-0 |
wOregon19-8 |
6 |
6 |
TCU | 8-0 |
w@BYU38-7 |
7 |
7 |
Cincinnati | 8-0 |
w@USF34-17,@Rut47-15 |
8 |
8 |
Georgia Tech | 8-1 |
L@Miami33-16;wVT28-23,UNC24-7 |
12 |
9 |
Oregon | 7-1 |
L@Boise19-8;wUSC47-20,Utah31-24,Cal42-3 |
10 |
10 |
LSU | 7-1 |
L FLA13-3 |
9 |
11 |
Penn State | 8-1 |
L Iowa 21-10 |
11 |
12 |
Houston | 6-1 |
L@UTEP58-41;w@OKst45-35 |
16 |
13 |
Pittsburgh | 7-1 |
L@NCst38-31;wUSF41-14,@Rut24-17 |
17 |
14 |
Miami | 6-2 |
L Clem40-37ot,@VT31-7;wGT33-16,OK21-20 |
18 |
15 |
Utah | 6-1 |
L@Oregon31-24 |
19 |
16 |
BYU | 6-2 |
L FSU54-28,TCU38-7;w=OK14-13 |
13 |
17 |
Oklahoma St | 6-2 |
L Houston45-35,Texas41-14 |
22 |
18 |
South Florida | 6-2 |
L Cincy34-17,@Pitt41-14;wWVa30-19 |
23 |
19 |
Rutgers | 6-2 |
L Cincy47-15,Pitt24-17 |
14 |
20 |
USC | 6-2 |
L@Wash16-13,@Oregon47-20;w@Cal30-3 |
24 |
21 |
Arizona | 5-2 |
L@Wash36-33,@Iowa 27-17;wCMich19-6 |
-- |
22 |
N. Carolina | 5-3 |
L Va16-3,FSU30-27,@GT24-7;w@VT20-17 |
15 |
23 |
Virginia Tech | 5-3 |
L UNC20-17,@GT28-23,=Ala34-24;wMia31-7 |
25 |
24 |
Oklahoma | 5-3 |
L=BYU14-13,@Mia21-20,=Tx16-13 |
-- |
25 |
California | 6-2 |
L@Oregon42-3,USC30-3 |
| |
|
out: | |
|
20 |
-- |
C Michigan | 7-2 |
L@BC31-10,@Arizona19-6 |
21 |
-- |
West Virginia | 6-2 |
L@Auburn41-30,@USF30-19 |
#13 Pitt has a similar résumé to Houston, while Miami, Utah, and BYU all have their good and bad points, not strong enough to be in the top ten but with better arguments for being ranked high than the teams below them.
Oklahoma State , South Florida, and Rutgers have parallel résumés: A loss to an undefeated team and a top-13 team, and no big wins. USF and Rutgers are almost exactly the same, save that the Bulls are coming off a solid win against West Virginia. The two teams face off on November 12th.
#20 USC took a beating last weekend and now they look strikingly like #21 Arizona: A three-point loss at Washington, and a loss to a top 10 team. USC beat Cal, a borderline top 25 team, while the Wildcats beat Central Michigan, who falls out this week after a bad loss to Boston College.
Virginia Tech lost to North Carolina, and the Tar Heels enter one spot ahead of them; like Oklahoma the Hokies have three losses to top 25 teams but also hold a win over Miami, while the Sooners lost to the 'Canes.
The last spot goes to Cal, who hasn't beaten anyone but has only lost to good teams. Those were pretty huge losses, though, keeping them at #25. The teams that fall out—Central Michigan and West Virginia—weren't much worse off, but they each had a loss to an unranked team. The Mountaineers have an easy path back in: beat Cincinnati in two weeks. As for the Chippewas, they might have win out to get back in.
The remaining unranked 2-loss teams and their chances for being ranked are:
- Ohio State: losses to USC and Purdue; plays Penn State this weekend, a win gets them in
- Notre Dame: losses to Michigan and USC; could be in next week, certainly if they beat Pitt in 2 weeks.
- Wisconsin: losses to Iowa and Ohio State; easy schedule left, needs to keep winning
- Troy: losses to Bowling Green and Florida; could sneak in if they beat Arkansas in two weeks
- Temple: losses to Villanova and Penn State; probably has to win the MAC to be ranked
- Idaho: losses to Washington and Nevada; weak résumé, but faces Boise State in two weeks(!)
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