The Nick Saban to Indianapolis Colts rumors continue to swirl
LSU wouldn't complain.
I think the Colts job would be very desirable for alot of reasons. I also think that Bob Kravitz is very knowledgable and likely very accurate on the current situation with the Colts. But does it become a rumer that Saban may be coming to the Colts just because some people sit around and speculate on what-ifs? A rumor would need to have some evidence that an event may happen I'd think.
Harbaugh has been mentioned on a would-be Colts want list.
I'm selfish, I want the best to stay at the college game.
6 games going strong after midnight! Great night for late night football!
New Mexico beat Boise on the blue turf as a 31 pt underdog one week after beating Utah St as a 16 pt dog. Crazy last couple minutes, but Davie's NM team hangs on!
Cal sets offense yardage record and is bowl eligible. Big game for the Axe at Stanford next week.
Oregon at Stanford, wow! Ducks wild, big plays gash the tree. Stanford looses fumbled snap twice in 4th qrt, but refs are there to help Cardinal try and comeback. Oregon D blitzes on game tying 2-pt conv to seal the win. QUACK!
Wazzou just took lead on UCLA with :03 left. QB Falk is one tough tough kid. Knocked around, knocked out, beat up and just keeps throwing dimes. Couple razor thin replay review of Bruin fumbles goes W St's way and UCLA can't cash red zone chances. Wazzou has a chance to finish in a tie for PAC 12 North.
Fun game in Tucson with Arizona beating a top 10 team for 3rd straight year. Questionable OT play calling by Utah I think. Back up Zona QB completes one pass in game (after starter Solomon knocked out in 4th qrt) and it is for the TD win.
The Stoops brothers wanted that Baylor win BAAADDD and they got it. Great game by Baker Mayfield and hey guess what, the Oklahoma D showed up in a big game.
Okie St survives scare at Jack Trice stadium.
Indiana is close again, but close isn't good enough.
Poor Army, losing again on time expiring FG. Tulane scored 37 pts in their last 4 games combined. They scored 34 on Army today.
Navy crushes SMU, move to 8-1, Reynolds breaks NCAA rushing TD record. At Tulsa, at Houston vs Army remain. Can Navy get a January 1st bowl?
TCU's Boykin knocked out in 1st qrt vs lowly Kansas. Frogs have to fight to win a close 1 vs the absolute worst power 5 team you will ever see. Can you say hangover?
Houston leads for about 2 minutes total vs Memphis, trailed by 3 scores for alot of the game. Memphis misses would-be winning FG as time expires.
Vandy just won an SEC game!
South Florida blow Temple out.
Brett Bielema is still getting bigger and Hogs keep winning as underdogs.
Iowa 10-0 for first time ever! Floyd of Rosedale is there's. But Gophers cover.
Connor Cook injured for MSU...Showdown at Ohio State up next.
All time low for Hawaii football? Doormat Fresno hanging 40+ on them in Aloha Stadium. Norm Chow fired 2 weeks ago. Maybe they start up talk of disbanding football again?
Roll Tide. Roll Derek Henry!
If Ohio State played anyone with a pulse on offense they may have lost today.
Texas is 4-6 with games vs T Tech and Baylor left. Back-to-back losing seasons for Charlie?
Texas Tech is going bowling.
Georgia outgained, outrushed, but special teams are the difference.
North Carolina is a machine right now.
Nebraska needs 1 more win for bowl eligibility. Bye week then Iowa comes to town day after Thanksgiving. Huge game for both teams.
It's late, time for bed...
Well the crowd was good, the QB played great, the FG kicker was nails, the senior salute was deserving, and the bald eagle landing at the end of the SPB was a kick. Other than that, the game was miserable. Bruins gave up 14 penalties (probably at least 5 were illegal procedure), poor officiating, WSU converts on numerous 3rd and longs, and it was cold… 
Well so much for UCLA controlling its own destiny. I'd be happy with just controlling the penalties and the LOS…
Doesn't look like the Pac12 is sending anyone to the playoff… oh well...
How bout them Sooners? 
Ohio St. is giving Michigan St. 13 points? Wow, that seems like a lot!
😮
Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.
Well the crowd was good, the QB played great, the FG kicker was nails, the senior salute was deserving, and the bald eagle landing at the end of the SPB was a kick. Other than that, the game was miserable. Bruins gave up 14 penalties (probably at least 5 were illegal procedure), poor officiating, WSU converts on numerous 3rd and longs, and it was cold…
Well so much for UCLA controlling its own destiny. I'd be happy with just controlling the penalties and the LOS…
Doesn't look like the Pac12 is sending anyone to the playoff… oh well...
Thoughts on game at Utah this week? I am leaning UCLA right now. Don't see Utah offense stressing Bruin D like some other teams might and like balance that Bruin O can bring to work on a pretty good, but not scary good Utah D. This game is afternoon start, makes that a little less scary too.
How bout them Sooners?
It was great! What I would really love is OU beating TCU this week as Im waiting to cash a Frog under 10.5 win total ticket. Think there is any trouble refocusing for this week? Wonder how effective Boykin and Doctson will be?
Ohio St. is giving Michigan St. 13 points? Wow, that seems like a lot!
I thought the same thing. GOY line had it at 13 also, so I guess these teams come in just about where the experts figured. One thing we can do from this number and the fact that Michigan was -7 vs State is that tOSU would be -6 on neutral vs Michigan. Michigan has been oh so close to losing perhaps at Minnesota and at Indiana...makes you wonder just how good they are? I really believe that Big Blue can beat this tOSU team in 2 weeks and hope they do.
On the game this week. MSU's pass D is a huge concern, but Bucks haven't been consistent in their pass game. I tend to like the MSU front 7 vs Elliot and the straight ahead run game from OSU. Would think that Barrett can and will do some damage with his legs. Cook has had some really nice passing games this year and the receiving options for him are solid. I don't believe OSU D is elite, so Cook can have some success there you'd figure. But how is the shoulder or whatever the exact injury is for Cook? There isn't a ton to like about either team here, but still +13 seems awfully generous. MSU was -4 at home last year and Bucks won 49-37 in that week 9 game. Not sure that OSU is at the level they were last year at that time, and MSU probably isn't either. I'll be on Sparty.
The thing about the MSU/OSU line is that it is 13 points. This coming from an MSU alum who thinks it is indeed too much. It seems as though Vegas is begging us to take Sparty which scares me.
On a related note, some pundits are saying Michigan has a shot at getting into the final four. Pretty simple actually. MSU beats OSU Saturday. Michigan beats OSU at home in a few weeks. Then Michigan beats an overrated Iowa team in the Big Ten Championship.
Hmm...
Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.
Michigan State hasn't done much to give people/public/oddsmakers much respect in them.
Before the Nebraska loss, Michigan State was dropping in the polls weekly even though they were winning.
Vs Maryland, Cook was out most of the game, but they didn't top the scoring avg Maryland has been giving up in B1G play (34 ppg all'd coming in) - MSU scored 24, but 7 of that was from a pick six.
We saw how awful the rush and pass D was against Nebraska (all'd 499 yards).
Indiana played them even for the good part of the first 3 quarters.
The Michigan win is widely viewed as a fluke, even though that may have been MSU's best defensive game of the year.
Probably not worthwhile to go to far back in the season because teams can and do evolve, but Rutgers was in position for the potential win as time was expiring (MSU won by 7 laying 13). They only outgained Purdue by about 20 yards (won by 3 laying 21). Sparty did beat CMich by 20 (laying 26), but CMich outgained them and had some turnover on downs in MSU territory which explains the yard vs score.
The running game has been a concern. The OL has been through alot of injuries. There are freshman starting on defense.
When it comes down to the Michigan State results, what can we hang our hat on, what have them done to impress us? The game vs Oregon was good, although we all remember they were just 1 play away from winning that one (Adams overthrew wide open receiver in EZ for go-ahead score as time was winding down).
Based on what we've seen to date there just isn't much reason to think Michigan State is all that good.
Had some of their games been more impressive maybe the line would be shaded more towards them?
I tend to be a contrarian, so even though MSU hasn't given me much reason to believe in them, I do. This is the role that Dantonio gets his teams to excel in. When nobody thinks they belong, when they aren't good enough, when they don't have a chance.
We could go on about some of the things to not like about Ohio State as well, but people seem to give them a pass - citing potential and people pretending to know they are better than they've played in their games. I just don't respect the 2015 version of Ohio State, they haven't given me much reason to. What? 49-7 vs Rutgers? Everyone does something similar to Rutgers (well except for MSU - LOL). Illinois hasn't had a pulse on offense vs some other B1G teams so I don't take much away from the 28-3 win there.
Sure Ohio State has the potential to score 40+ every game and beat their opponents by 4 TDs each week, I just don't buy into them.
I think there is a reasonable shot that Michigan St can win this game if Cook plays like he has in alot of the games this year. Certainly I think it could be a 1 possession to maybe a 10 pt game.
Thinking back to last year when MSU played in Eugene, they were getting 13 pts there too and Spartans were the bette team on the field until a late game implosion.
I'm just trusting my gut. I see 13.5 now. I will take it and really feel good about it. Not because I've seen much to make me like Michigan State in this game, but because things happen that nobody can anticipate and that is why we watch. 13.5 is too many. Will likely sprinkle some ML on them.
Michigan better worry about Penn State this week. Would not surprise me one bit to see PSU come away with that win. In fact I'm betting on it! 
But yes, I could see the scenario where Michigan lands in the top 4.
The thing is some people are putting Oklahoma in the top 4 right now, which is utterly ridiculous. Having a loss to a good-to-decent-to-average type team is one thing. Having a horrible loss to a bad team (OU losing to Texas) is completely another thing.
The thing is some people are putting Oklahoma in the top 4 right now, which is utterly ridiculous. Having a loss to a good-to-decent-to-average type team is one thing. Having a horrible loss to a bad team (OU losing to Texas) is completely another thing.
Is Texas really that bad? Haven't they won 4 or 5 straight?
Ohio gets a pass until they lose. once they lose the bottom drops out.
Amazing how long it takes an SEC team to fall from top 25. LSU is again terrible and they still make the top 17. Even though they have played one less game then most. Houston at 10-0 should be higher then 2 loss LSU.
Nebish do you have access to BCS rankings, do they still calculate them?
I read that Bama has the third hardest schedule this year. they have played LSU (2 losses and climbing) and everyone else in the SEC they have played (4 other teams) have at least 3 losses, they lost to Ole Miss and they have 3 losses. If it wasn't for Derrick Henry they would be right in the three loss pack.
I know it all works out in the end but venting helps. DUCKS over USC, you heard it here babies!!!
Can't spell suck without USC. DUCKS!!!
Is Texas really that bad? Haven't they won 4 or 5 straight?
Yeah pretty much they are that bad. When you get shut out 24-0 by Iowa State you are that bad. Texas is 4-6 right now.
Nebish do you have access to BCS rankings, do they still calculate them?
There is nobody putting together a BCS style ranking except for an random fan or media type to see what they'd look like. All the computer rankings they used are still out there as those people (and others) were doing computer rankings of teams well before the BCS came along. After 2003 maybe I think it was, there was an outcry because the humans weren't getting the results they wanted from the computers. So the computer ranking people were told to stop calculating margin of victory in their rankings. Which is stupid because beating a team by 40 is damn sure more impressive than beating them by 3. My point is that I suspect the computer ranking people are doing it their way again, so I could go look them all up and it would be similar to what they BCS used, but not exact. Maybe I will do that tomorrow night. Anyone can run what the BCS would've been if you take the 6 computer rankings and the Coaches and Harris Poll. Not sure if the Harris is still in existence, but it could be replaced by the AP ranking.
I read that Bama has the third hardest schedule this year. they have played LSU (2 losses and climbing) and everyone else in the SEC they have played (4 other teams) have at least 3 losses, they lost to Ole Miss and they have 3 losses. If it wasn't for Derrick Henry they would be right in the three loss pack.
I like Alabama and don't have too much of an issue wherever they get ranked so long as they are in the top 4. Maybe somebody could make a case that they'd be 5 or something, but there is still more football yet and when the dust settles, a 12-1 Alabama may be looking like the best team in the nation. I know, we get tired of it, Alabama fatigue or something, but it is better to just respect it and accept it for what it is. It is so outstanding really what they do year after year.
One thing that no doubt is boosting the Alabama schedule is a win over 8-2 Wisconsin. Now you want to talk about a piss poor schedule and weak resume, look no further than Wisconsin. They have not beat 1 team with a winning record and some of those losers they played they didn't beat all that impressive. But on paper you see a W vs 8-2 Wisconsin and people are going to like that.
I have no issue with Alabama's schedule, I think it compares pretty favorably vs alot of other teams.
Consider they've played 8 teams with a winning record out of 10 games. And one of the two other teams MTSU isn't a bad midmajor (5-5 right now and may finish 7-5). That is a schedule choke full of winning teams and teams that will be playing in bowl games so I'm not surprised to see the schedule strength be at or near the top. At the end of the year in a couple weeks it is possible that 10 of 11 FBS/IA teams Alabama has played will be bowl eligible. ULM is the only really bad team they've played. Well...and maybe Auburn next week 😛
Michigan better worry about Penn State this week. Would not surprise me one bit to see PSU come away with that win. In fact I'm betting on it!
But yes, I could see the scenario where Michigan lands in the top 4.
The thing is some people are putting Oklahoma in the top 4 right now, which is utterly ridiculous. Having a loss to a good-to-decent-to-average type team is one thing. Having a horrible loss to a bad team (OU losing to Texas) is completely another thing.
Yeah I am worried about Michigan in Happy Valley. Tough place to play.
Regarding your Oklahoma comments, I struggle with looking at the resumes of teams. You beat a team when they are ranked high maybe. Nice feather in your cap. Then the team you beat loses a couple games and your win doesn't look so good. Should that affect what the winning team did? Granted Texas isn't that good. I don't know.
Interesting discussion though.
Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.
I've had that discussion with friends on "well this team was ranked #12 when we beat them" and then a few weeks later that team has a couple losses and isn't ranked anymore.
So what is more valid, perhaps an inaccurate ranking of the team when they played? Or the eventual record and ranking (or unranking) that team ends up with?
It isn't always cut and dry because some circumstances could've changed. A key injury. Some coaching turmoil or changes. A rash of turnovers, some tough losses that snowball on a team, etc.
You just have to evaluate the situation and weigh an opinion on it.
Let's use the Tennessee and Oklahoma game. When they played Tennessee was ranked #23 and Oklahoma won that game. Then Tennessee went on to lose 2 of their next 3 and have not made it back into the rankings yet (currently 6-4). I think all of us watching some or all of the Vols games can see that they are a pretty good team that hit a rough stretch of games where they blew multiple 4th qrt leads and actually had a 4th qrt lead on Alabama in week 8 before again fading late.
I would rate Tennessee as a quality win for OU. Not because the Vols were ranked in the top 25 when the Sooners beat them, but because I've seen how the Vols have played vs other decent teams this year and I come away thinking that on balance this Tennessee team is pretty good and were only a couple plays away from having a much better record.
This is why I like to look at teams in terms of who has a winning record, who is .500 and who has a losing record. Rankings come and go, up and down, and so does the W/L record. But looking back at one's schedule and who and how they played and weighing those results produces a better idea of a team's strength.
Alot of people like to use the rankings...'team x hasn't beaten anyone in the top 25' or 'team y has beaten 3 teams in the top 25'. We all complain about teams that get overrated or underrated in terms of rankings. So I don't spend hardly any time at all seeing or following where teams are ranked. I look at the schedules and records of teams and get my opinions from there. Opinions either way is all it is, I just think it is sounder to use my opinion start to finish rather than starting with somebody else's opinion (in terms of a ranking) and forming my point around that.
Sticking with Oklahoma, the Texas loss was never a good or quality loss in any way shape of form. You can look at it like this. If any loss results in embarrassment by the fanbase of that team it is obviously a bad loss. There are a couple plays from that game, not highlights, but lowlights that make OU's play in that game so poor...it is going to be hard to ignore it. But we have to wait and see where the dust settles on the end of the season and see where everyone fits in. Right now, with 3 more weeks left of really meaningful football, that loss I think is a black cloud over OU. Randy Cross (CBS Sports) and Trever Matich (ESPN), both had OU in their top 4. Like I said, at this point, utterly ridiculous. After December 5th, maybe, make that case if you will, but not now.
Bad losses are more damaging to a team than a good win is. That is just me. We're talking about the very best teams in college football. For something like 100 years the national championship was given/voted/awarded to the team deemed the most excellent in the land. Those teams don't have bad losses.
It reminds me back to 2007 when Stanford beat USC as a 41 pt dog. USC finished 10-2 as PAC 10 champs and when they were #2 in the coaches poll and #3 in the AP poll many thought that USC should be in the BCS title game (remember that was the year that 2 loss LSU beat 1 loss Ohio St - when OSU had just lost at home to Illinois as a big favorite in the 2nd to last game of the year). To me, in no way, shape or form could USC ever be granted an opportunity to play for the national title that year, that loss to Stanford as a 41 pt fav (Stanford finished just 4-8) outweighed any bit of good USC might have done that year.
Bad losses hurt teams, as they should.
The Colley site saves anyone the time from doing the BCS style rankings.
See it here:
http://www.colleyrankings.com/curBcsLike.html
Of note:
Bama being #5 in the Wolfe rankings doesn't matter. Out of the 6 computers used , the best and the worst get thrown out and the remaining 4 get averaged.
Same with Iowa who is #1 in the Andersen and Hester and #16 in the Sagarin. So the only computer rankings that matter for Iowa are the ones that rank them 8, 3, 9, 2 (avg 5.5).
I'm hearing alot of crying about where North Carolina is ranked right now (playoff ranking #17). The coaches and AP both have them at #12, which I feel is a better spot. The computers don't love them either. Everyone who is mad about the lack of respect that UNC is getting needs to remember, not only do they have a bad loss to South Carolina (SC was never any good at any point this season), but UNC also played TWO IAA/FCS teams, plus they play in the ACC and don't have a crossover with any of the top 3 in the better ACC division.
Really the strength of schedule part of the discussion is getting worse and worse as conferences get bigger and bigger and teams play a smaller % of the teams in their own conference. Iowa hasn't played any of the top 4 teams in the Big Ten East for instance. We end up with an Iowa team that might actually be the 5th best team in the league, but because they got lucky with the crossover draw and don't have to play the top teams in the opposite division, they parlay that weak conference schedule to a 10-0 record. That isn't to say that everyone in the Big Ten plays a weak schedule, it just depends who your crossovers are. Same with the ACC or any division that only plays 8 conference games when the league is 12 or 14 teams in size. I hate, HATE, these large conferences.
it just depends who your crossovers are. Same with the ACC or any division that only plays 8 conference games when the league is 12 or 14 teams in size. I hate, HATE, these large conferences.
Agreed, When your conference is that big you shouldn't need to play weak teams from Chattanooga and South Central Indiana.
Dantonio shows us again why he is among the best in the nation walking the sidelines!
Go Green...
Dantonio shows us again why he is among the best in the nation walking the sidelines!
Go Green...
Great game. Good day to be a football fan in the mitten. Besides UofM and MSU winning my dad's alma matter Ferris State won there D2 playoff game.
Yeah awesome football day for you!
So many things we could talk about on that MSU - OSU game!
What about next week? I say Michigan -6
And Christian McCaffrey for Heisman!
Big 12 top 3 teams have turned into 2nd and 3rd string players at key spots.
Baylor losing starting QB Russell, Stidham in. Stidham leaves with injury at halftime vs Ok St and 3rd string QB (had been playing WR most of the season) comes in and offense doesn't miss much of a beat. RB Shockwood knocked out for a bit, but returned. Ok St QB Rudolph hobbled with an ankle injury.
TCU loses starting QB and likely Heisman finalist (then) Trevone Boykin, tonight vs OU Frogs play both 2nd and 3rd string QBs - same guys who couldn't hit the broad side of a barn last week lead rally and near upset of Sooners. Ofcourse all-everything WR Doctson is out for them too. Then OU QB Mayfield gets knocked out of game (vicious hit to back of helmet) and in comes 2nd string Trevor Knight.
Certainly makes next week interesting to see who can take the field in those big games, but also wish they were going at full strength. Scheduling the top 4 teams round-robin style the last 3 weeks of the year has it's downsides. Or as the folks in the SEC say, oh that is just every week in our league!
Before anyone screams SEC bias. Let me just explain that last comment and let me use Alabama and Ohio State's schedules.
First, Ohio State plays the first team worth a damn today and they turned in a horrible performance both offense and defensively.
OK, let's see how a typical middle of the season Big Ten schedule compares to an SEC schedule.
Ohio State
Oct 3 at 5-6 Indiana 34-27
Oct 10 vs 2-9 Maryland 49-28
Oct 17 vs 7-4 Penn State 29-7
Oct 24 at 4-7 Rutgers 49-7
Alabama
Oct 3 at 8-3 Georgia 38-10
Oct 10 vs 6-5 Arkansas 27-14
Oct 17 at 8-3 Texas A&M 41-23
Oct 24 vs 7-4 Tennessee 19-14
Four consecutive weeks Alabama is tested and potentially challenged vs winning teams. Not all great teams, of course, but back-to-back-to-back-back games vs teams that have and can do some things well and Alabama must bring their A game or come close to losing or winning closer than expected vs these teams.
By comparison, the Ohio State University has what can be called a cake walk vs losers, well 1 winner in Penn State. But they are not challenged vs winning teams or teams that are very good at any particular thing, teams that aren't capable of testing Ohio State. Buckeyes can show up with their B game and win somewhat comfortably, or bring their A game and win big vs an obviously overmatched opponent.
The SEC takes lots of hits for being overrated and that league is not full of world beating teams. They have their weaklings and some teams have shown to be fairly inconsistent, just like every league. The key thing that makes that league so tough is the quantity of solid to good teams you must face on a weekly basis.
After watching Ohio State today I can't help but think had this underwhelming and underachieving team we've seen all year had to face a schedule full of better competition they'd be lucky to be sniffing the top 10 right now.
I'm just enjoying seeing this Ohio State team take it on the chin today.
I have no problem with teams that are good at what they do and win consistently. That is what Iowa does. They are good at what they do. Alabama obviously and there are others.
But Ohio St, winning ugly, not excelling at anything on offense or defense for more than 1 week...you know Notre Dame is starting to enter my crosshairs. Hopefully nobody had to watch that game vs BC tonight. I felt the exact same thing I did watching Ohio State play Illinois last week 'if ND played a team with a pulse on offense they would've lost tonight'. Win ugly vs Temple, yawn, ok I guess. Now BC? Stanford's got something for you next week Irish!
You should be on ESPN. 
Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.
Dantonio shows us again why he is among the best in the nation walking the sidelines!
Go Green...
Great game. Good day to be a football fan in the mitten. Besides UofM and MSU winning my dad's alma matter Ferris State won there D2 playoff game.
MSU knocking off OSU hurts Michigan's chance of getting into the final four. Even if UM beats OSU it doesn't guarantee a spot there even if they knock off Iowa.
I still think whoever wins the Big Ten gets into the dance. If Iowa wins it, boy will some people be pissed.
Ferris has had a pretty good program for quite a while. Congrats.
Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.
Sounds like Herbstreit will be one of the ones pissed if Iowa makes it. Kirk says on gameday "do these people watch the games?" - Kirk has a lovefest with Oklahoma right now. I would ask him, "do losses to bad teams matter?"
Sure would Iowa be an underdog to all the teams around them in the rankings? Probably. But what does that mean, should we rank on who would beat who when the only way to know who will win the games is to play them. Did Michigan St not beat Ohio St yesterday? Did Northwestern beat Wisconsin? UConn beat Houston. Miss St beat Arkansas.
Upsets happen Kirk and you never know when or where it will happen, so Iowa could possibly beat Clemson. I think Iowa has a good chance of beating Notre Dame right now.
We just don't know.
Both Iowa and Ohio St have played fairly weak schedules, but Iowa plays a brand and style of football, they know exactly what they want to do and they execute it and are good at it. Ohio St on the other hand has no identity, they are up and down, cause Buckeye fans to pull their hair out just about every week. That's the difference. And apparently according to some post game comments out of Columbus the team has too many 'me's' and not enough 'we's'.
Sounds like Coach Urban Meyer needs to play Bo's team speech for that entitled and lazy bunch.
[Edited on 11/22/2015 by nebish]
My evaluation of the resumes and how the teams got where they currently are. Wins vs teams with winning records shown in parenthesis. Some of these teams may have fewer wins vs winning teams going forward since next week some of the now 6-5 teams may be 6-6.
A few notes and some stubborn ranking criteria I have. There are some teams that I want to rank higher, such as Stanford, Oregon, Mississippi. One of my major issues with the other polls in the past is how people have a team ranked ahead of a team that beat them when the w/l records are similar. So I go out of my way to respect the results on the field so long as the records are the same. The fact that Alabama is 10-1 and Ole Miss is 8-3 doesn’t matter so much since Bama has 2 more wins. But Northwestern at 9-2 beating Stanford who is also 9-2 I just have to rank Northwestern ahead of Stanford no matter what else might be in play. And because Utah beat Oregon and because Memphis beat Ole Miss (and then Temple beat Memphis), it got a little awkward in some of the ranking spots, since I wanted to rank Oregon and Ole Miss higher, but I believe there is no better ranking criteria than head-to-head results and those results must be adhered to when most other things are comparable. Oregon and Ole Miss get trapped behind Utah and Memphis. And while Oregon beat Stanford, Ducks are 8-3 and Stanford is 9-2, so the 1 more win/1 less loss fact doesn’t force the requirement to rank Oregon ahead of Stanford. So that is kind of how I have always done it. It can get a little tricky.
Another week will provide some more separation between the Big XII top 3 and a lot of teams ranked in the top 12 or so have huge games this week to impact future positions.
1. Clemson 11-0 (6)
Best wins = Florida State by 10, Notre Dame by 2, NC St by 15, Miami Fl by 58
2. Alabama 10-1 (8), loss to 8-3 Ole Miss by 6.
Best wins = LSU by 14, Miss St by 25, Tennessee by 5, Tex A&M by 18, Wisconsin by 18
3. Iowa 11-0 (3)
Best wins= Northwestern by 30, Pitt by 3, Wisconsin by 4,
4. Notre Dame 10-1 (4), loss to 11-0 Clemson by 2.
Best wins = Navy by 17, Temple by 4, USC by 10, Pitt by 12
5. Michigan State 10-1 (6), loss to 5-6 Nebraska by 1
Best wins = Ohio St by 3, Michigan by 4, Oregon by 3, Air Force by 14
6. Oklahoma 10-1 (5), loss to 4-6 Texas by 7.
Best wins = Baylor by 10, Tennessee by 7, TCU by 1, West Virginia by 20, Texas Tech by 36
7. Baylor 10-1 (3), loss to 10-1 OU by 10.
Best wins = Oklahoma State by 10, West Virginia by 24, Texas Tech by 28
8. Oklahoma St 10-1 (4), loss to 10-1 Baylor by 10.
Best wins = TCU by 20, West Virginia by 7, Texas Tech by 17, Central Michigan by 11
9. Ohio St 10-1 (3), loss to 10-1 Michigan St by 3.
Best wins = Penn St by 28, NIU by 7, Western Michigan by 26
10. North Carolina 10-1 (3), loss to 3-8 S Carolina by 4.
Best wins = Pitt by 7, Duke by 35, Miami Fl by 38
11. Michigan 9-2 (3), losses to 8-3 Utah by 7 and 10-1 MSU by 4.
Best wins = Northwestern by 38, BYU by 31, Penn St by 12
12.Florida 10-1 (3), loss to 7-3 LSU by 7.
Best wins = Ole Miss by 28, Tennessee by 1, Georgia by 24
13. Northwestern 9-2 (4), losses to 9-2 Michigan by 38 and 11-0 Iowa by 30.
Best wins = Stanford by 10, Duke by 9, Wisconsin by 6, Penn St by 2
14. Stanford 9-2 (4), losses to 9-2 NW by 10 and 8-3 Oregon by 2.
Best wins = USC by 10, UCLA by 21, Washington St by 2, Cal by 13
15. Florida St 9-2 (4), losses to 11-0 Clemson by 10 and 3-8 GT by 6.
Best wins = NC St by 17, USF by 20, Louisville by 20, Miami by 5
16. TCU 9-2 (2), losses to 10-1 Ok St by 20 and 10-1 OU by 1.
Best wins = Texas Tech by 3, West Virginia by 30
17. Navy 9-1 (4), loss to 10-1 ND by 17.
Best wins = Memphis by 25, Air Force by 22, USF by 12, UConn by 10
18. Toledo 9-1 (4), loss to 8-3 NIU by 5.
Best wins = Arkansas by 11, Bowling Green by 16, Central Michigan by 5, Arkansas St by 30
19. Utah 8-3 (5)
Best wins = Oregon by 42, Michigan by 7, Arizona St by 16, Cal by 6, Utah St by 10
20. Oregon 8-3 (4)
Best wins = Stanford by 2, USC by 20, Cal by 16, Arizona St by 6
21. Houston 10-1 (3), loss to 6-5 UConn by 3.
Best wins = Louisville by 3, Cincy by 3, Memphis by 1
22. Temple 9-2 (3)
Best wins = Memphis by 19, Penn St by 17, Cincy by 8
23. Memphis 8-3 (4)
Best wins = Ole Miss by 13, Bowling Green by 3, Cincy by 7, USF by 7
24. Mississippi 8-3 (3)
Best wins = Alabama by 6, LSU by 21, Texas A&M by 20
25. USC 7-4 (4)
Best wins = Utah by 18, Cal by 6, Arizona St by 28, Arkansas St by 49
26. LSU 7-3 (3)
Best wins = Miss St by 2, Florida by 7, Western Kentucky by 28
27. Washington St (3)
Best wins = Oregon by 7, UCLA by 4, Arizona St by 14
28. UCLA 7-4 (3)
Best wins = Utah by 8, BYU by 1, Cal by 16
29. Texas A&M 8-3 (4)
Best wins = Arizona St by 21, Arkansas by 7, Miss St by 13, Nevada by 17
30. Pitt 8-3 (2)
Best wins Duke by 18, Louisville by 11
31. Mississippi St 8-3 (3)
Best wins = Arkansas by 1, Louisiana Tech by 25, Southern Miss by 18
32. BYU 8-3 (3)
Best wins = Boise St by 11, Cincy by 14, UConn by 17
33. Tennessee 7-4 (2)
Best wins = Bowling Green by 29, Georgia by 7
34. Georgia 8-3 (1)
Best win = Georgia Southern by 6
35. Air Force 8-3 (2)
Best wins = Utah St by 7, Boise St by 7
36. San Diego St 8-3 (2)
Best wins = Utah St by 34, Colorado St by 24
37. Western Kentucky 9-2 (2)
Best wins = Louisiana Tech by 3, Middle Tennessee St by 30
38. Northern Illinois 8-3 (2)
Best wins = Toledo by 5, Western Michigan by 8
39. Bowling Green 8-3 (2)
Best wins = Ohio by 38, Western Michigan by 14
40. Penn St 7-4 (1)
Best wins = San Diego St by 16
41. Boise St 7-4 (1)
Best wins = Colorado St by 31
42. Marshall 9-2 (1)
Best wins = Southern Miss by 21
43. Wisconsin 8-3 (0)
Best wins = zero
[Edited on 11/23/2015 by nebish]
How come nobody ever holds the annual November cupcake against Alabama? Charleston-Southern? Seriously?
Love your Top-43, Scott. Just one question of curiosity...how about bad wins? 😉
Your Top 5 and their non-con wins:
Clemson:
Wofford
Appalachian State
Louisville
Notre Dame (honoring NDs independent football agreement with the ACC)
Alabama:
Wisconsin
Middle Tennessee State
Louisiana-Monroe
Charleston-Southern
Iowa:
Illinois State
Iowa State
Pitt
North Texas
Notre Dame being the outlier as an independent, no real outright "cupcake," maybe UMass?
Michigan State:
Western Michigan
Oregon
Air Force
Central Michigan
It's no grand soapbox or anything, but it always blows me away how Alabama's cupcakes are never held against them, especially since cupcake bias has become so selective in the college football media...:P
It pleases me to see Tennessee listed as a good win although they blew leads in every one of their losses. The years of irrelevance were real hard to take.
Lane Kiffin can still kiss my hairy ass.
17. Navy 9-1 (4), loss to 10-1 ND by 17.
Best wins = Memphis by 25, Air Force by 22, USF by 12, UConn by 10
18. Toledo 9-1 (4), loss to 8-3 NIU by 5.
Best wins = Arkansas by 11, Bowling Green by 16, Central Michigan by 5, Arkansas St by 30
19. Utah 8-3 (5)
Best wins = Oregon by 42, Michigan by 7, Arizona St by 16, Cal by 6, Utah St by 10
20. Oregon 8-3 (4)
Best wins = Stanford by 2, USC by 20, Cal by 16, Arizona St by 6
I'd bump Oregon and Utah above these two and bring Houston along as well. In at least 4 of the 5 conferences I think Navy and Toledo would be in the 5 or 6 win struggles so many others are. If they we're in Big10 they would be in the 7-8 win area.
2. Alabama 10-1 (8), loss to 8-3 Ole Miss by 6.
Best wins = LSU by 14, Miss St by 25, Tennessee by 5, Tex A&M by 18, Wisconsin by 18
Please enough of this LSU being considered a best win!!!! LSU is terrible. Which is not a good thing for Florida.
Tennessee ain't much better. Bama has an incredible running back in Derrek Henry. He is the difference maker. Without him they are in the hunt for a shot at championship not running away with the conference. Also play somewhere out of your geographical area in the next decade.
Love the rankings and I should put my head into it and come up with my own rankings but I will just bag on yours. LOL
34. Georgia 8-3 (1)
Best win = Georgia Southern by 6
UGA's best win this season was 52-20 over South Carolina. Who had beaten UNC just two weeks prior.
But, more importantly, I'll be able to tell my grandkids that yes, UGA did drop 50+ on Spurrier the year they had the worst offense, and most incompetent OC, they've ever had.
Go Gators!!!! a huge win over a touch team last weekend. That win should propel Florida into the hunt. Hey if Iowa and ND are in the hunt so should UF. LOL Why not Navy?
I wonder who would be in the game if we went back to a 2 team system. Clemson/Bama???
