OK, I'm done explaining myself. The system is the system, and it's sufficiently explained on my main page. Go there if you disagree with my rankings. Once you fully understand the criteria we can have an actual conversation.
I think we got a few things settled this weekend. I guess we don't need to have any more OU conversations? Good. Next up: Oregon.
Only a few surprises (to me, anyway) this weekend:
1 (prev 1) Notre Dame 9-1 28
31 (prev 26) Virginia 6-4 3
No real surprise here except maybe the level of dominance? The Irish are being ignored by almost everyone, and I expect the lack of a conference championship is going to keep them out of the playoff.
2 (prev 5) Ok State 9-1 63
39 (prev 47) TCU 4-6 17
The Cowboys are doing everything right, and probably will be ignored by the committee until/unless they win out.
3 (prev 3) Georgia 10-0 41
62 (prev 53) Tennessee 5-5 17
This looks like another UGA stomp, but looks can be deceiving. The Bulldogs allowed 387 yards, 332 through the air. They gave up 22 first downs and let Tenn convert 9/20 on 3rd and 3/5 on 4th. Yes, they only allowed 55 yards rushing, but a team like OSU or Alabama could exploit that pass defense maybe?
4 (prev 7) Michigan 9-1 21
19 (prev 9) Penn State 6-4 17
Another boring win by UM. Boring is what they do. If you’ve ever watched heavyweight folkstyle wrestling, this is what they’re doing (please ignore the freak that is Gable Steveson or when Kyle Snyder moved up for a season): biding their time, stalking, then just wearing the other guy down.
5 (prev 6) Ohio State 9-1 59
15 (prev 8) Purdue 6-4 31
The OSU offense showed up on Saturday, and the Buckeyes basically cloned the Georgia performance against Tennessee. They gave up 481 yards, 390 through the air, and allowed 28 1st downs. Of course, with Stroud and Co firing on all cylinders, the Bucks rolled up 624 yards balanced between 361 passing and 263 rushing.Too. Many. Weapons.
6 (prev 16) Baylor 9-1 27
10 (prev 14) Oklahoma 9-1 14
This is the game I watched most of, and the only thing surprising was that it took this long for someone to show us what we already knew about OU: luck eventually runs out. The score seems close, but Baylor could have easily won this by another 2 scores. OU had a total of 260 yards on offense, and only 78 on the ground.
7 (prev 2) Wisconsin 7-3 35
90 (prev 87) Northwestern 3-7 7
Yes, Wisky dropped 5 spots, but that’s what happens when you play a truly awful Northwestern. This game probably isn’t this close except for the 3 Badger turnovers. Their defense is really playing well, and this is the team no one from the East division wants to face in the conference championship game.
8 (prev 4) Alabama 9-1 59
127 (prev 126) NM State 1-9 3
Yawn. You know, when Saban said they weren’t going to schedule FCS schools late in the season anymore, I expected conference games. This is a joke, and so typical of Alabama it’’s basically cliché. They deserve every spot they dropped.
9 (prev 11) Iowa 8-2 27
28 (prev 21) Minnesota 6-4 22
This was another typical B1G slugfest. Kinda. I can’t for the life of me figure out how the Gophers have more than double the ToP, 1/3 more total yards on offense, a 23-12 1st down advantage, only allow 4/12 3rd down conversions, and still lose. Makes no sense.
11 (prev 18) Wake 9-1 45
33 (prev 34) NC State 7-3 42
Pretty evenly matched teams. The Wolfpack’s 119 yards of penalties is probably the difference here. Still can't take Wake seriously even though they're doing the work, sorry.
12 (prev 12) MSU 9-1 40
54 (prev 41) Maryland 5-5 21
MSU gave up 350 passing yards to lil’ Tag and the Terps. That does not bode well for their chances against OSU. Yardage-wise the game was pretty even, and it makes me wonder if the Buckeye D can slow down Kenneth Walker?
13 (prev 20) Ole Miss 8-2 29
18 (prev 15) Texas A&M 7-3 19
So do we think Kiffin’s inevitable implosion happens next season? I can’t believe he’s got his guys at 8-2. The Rebs took care of business on defense, and that was enough to derail the Aggies.
14 (prev 17) Oregon 9-1 38
49 (prev 40) Wash State 5-5 24
The “other” severely overrated team beat Wazoo straight up, but the Cougs are nothing special this season so this did not help the Ducks’ cause. Problem is I don’t see anyone in their path stopping them unless it’s Utah. They continue to ride the week 2 OSU win because that’s all they have.
16 (prev 13) Cincinnati 10-0 45
115 (prev 109) USF 2-8 28
I watched most of this. Cincy did what it needed to do, but it’s just not enough. G5 school SoS is not tough enough to earn the sand needed to fill enough sandbags to overtake the likes of OSU or OkState.
17 (prev 11) BYU 8-2 DNP
20 (prev 32) K State 7-3 34
47 (prev 42) WVU 4-6 17
OK, this one was weird in that it was not at all on my radar. KState moves up a bunch after beating a 4-win WVU? I’m guessing that the Texas Tech and Kansas wins added enough 1st level points to this one that it made the difference. Crazy season!
21 (prev 25) Arkansas 7-3 16 (OT)
56 (prev 54) LSU 4-6 13
Arkansas is 7-3. It’s been a while since they had 7 wins (2016), so it will be interesting to see how they finish. Regardless, this has to be considered a great season for the Piggies.
22 (prev 29) Miss State 6-4 43
27 (prev 24) Auburn 6-4 34
Q: How do you blow a 25 point lead in CFB?
A: Fail to adjust to what your opponent is doing.
Leach got Will Rogers going and the kid made it happen: 44/55 for 415yds and 6 TDs to 0 INTs, and not a single receiver over 100 yards. Spread the wealth!
34 (prev 64) Texas Tech 6-4 41
23 (prev 27) Iowa St 6-4 38
Tie the game with 1 minute left and lose on a 62-yard field goal. This is Iowa State’s entire football program in a nutshell. And the Cyclones were AP top 10 at the beginning of the season. Silly voters.
26 (prev 31) Pittsburgh 8-2 30
24 (prev 19) UNC 5-5 23
I think UNC gets my Most Inconsistent Team award this season. I kind of thought Howell would be lights out, and he’s not had a bad season, but the Heels just aren’t getting it done. Pitt at 8-2 is another thing entirely.
25 (prev 22) Boise State 6-4 23
72 (prev 68) Wyoming 5-5 13
Love watching my Broncos on the blue field. Wyoming played them tough at the start, but the Boise D stepped up and shut them down.
All in all it was a pretty mild weekend for this season. A whole bunch of teams with important conference games and Alabama on vacation. Situation normal...
Ray's Final Four
Ray's Elite Eight
I had to switch UM and Baylor to remove the OSU-UM rematch. 3 B1G, 2 SEC, 2 Big 12, and the lone independent.
What if we did my old version of the Power 5 conference champs (a bit of guesswork without the championship games being played yet) plus the top G5 and best 2 at large?
- B1G: OSU is 7-0
- SEC: Georgia is 8-0
- ACC: Wake is 6-1
- Big 12: Ok State is 6-1
- Pac 12: Oregon is 6-1
- G5: Cincinnati is 10-0, highest ranked
- At large 1: Notre Dame 9-1, highest ranked non-conf champ
- At large 2: Michigan 9-1, next highest ranked non-conf champ
Interesting possibilities here, yes?
Ray's Sweet Sixteen
I still like 16 as the proper number of teams in a playoff, though I can easily make the case for 24 like in DII. Let's check it out:
Anyway, hope you had a good weekend. Be safe!
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