The College Football Blog: 2010 Season Résumé Rankings (After Week 8)

Season Résumé Rankings after Week 8

1. Auburn 8-0 (1st)
2. Michigan State 8-0 (3rd)
3. TCU 8-0 (4th)
4. Oregon 7-0 (6th)
5. Missouri 7-0 (10th)
6. Utah 7-0 (8th)
7. Boise State 6-0 (7th)
8. Alabama 7-1 (NR)
9. LSU 7-1 (2nd)
10. Wisconsin 7-1 (NR)

Out: Oklahoma (5th); Oklahoma State (9th).

Explanation: Now these rankings are going to get interesting. This was the first week that these rankings included teams that weren’t undefeated. LSU became the first team this season to stay in the rankings despite losing. Another weird aspect of this week’s rankings was that undefeated Boise State had less wins than several 1-loss teams.

I started off this week by taking the 3 teams with records of 8-0 and ranking them 1-3. Auburn stayed at #1 obviously after they beat previously unbeaten LSU. Auburn is the only team in the country that is 8-0 against FBS competition. They are also the only team that is 6-0 against teams from BCS conferences. Michigan State moved up a spot from 3rd to 2nd after they defeated Iowa on the road to get to 8-0. The Spartans are 7-0 against the FBS and 5-0 against BCS teams. TCU also moved up a spot this week from 4th to 3rd. The Horned Frogs crushed Air Force last week to move to 8-0. They are 7-0 against FBS teams but just 2-0 against teams from BCS conferences.

After ranking the top 3, I moved on to ranking the 3 teams with 7-0 records. Oregon moved up 2 spots in the rankings this week from 6th to 4th after running over UCLA at home last Thursday. The Ducks are 6-0 vs. FBS teams and 5-0 against teams from BCS conferences. Missouri made the biggest leap in these rankings this week, vaulting 5 spots from 10th to 5th after their stunning win over previously unbeaten Oklahoma. The Tigers are 6-0 against FBS teams and 4-0 vs. teams from BCS conferences. Utah humiliated Colorado State last Saturday to get to 7-0 and remain the quietest unbeaten team in the country. The Utes moved up 2 spots in these rankings from 8th to 6th. They are 7-0 against FBS teams but just 2-0 vs. BCS teams. Boise State was off last week and they remained 7th in these rankings. They are 6-0 (all wins coming against FBS opponents) but just 2-0 vs. teams from BCS conferences.

After ranking the 7 undefeated teams, I had to come up with the 3 best 1-loss squads. I knew this was going to be difficult. To make things easier, I decided to separate the 7-1 teams from the 6-1 teams. There were 4 teams with 7-1 records (Alabama, Ohio State, Wisconsin, and LSU). Alabama jumped back into the rankings at #8 this week after beating Tennessee on the road to move to 7-1 (all games against FBS competition). Their best win is at Arkansas, and they are 6-1 against BCS teams. Their only loss is at South Carolina. LSU fell 7 spots in these rankings this week from 2nd to 9th, but they remained in the top 10. They are 6-1 against FBS competition and 6-1 against teams from BCS conferences. Their only loss is at undefeated Auburn. Wisconsin jumped into the rankings this week at #10 following their 1-point win over Iowa on the road. The Badgers are 6-1 against FBS teams but just 4-1 against BCS teams. Their only loss is at undefeated Michigan State, and they have wins over Ohio State and at Iowa.

Both of the Oklahoma teams fell out of the rankings this week. Oklahoma dropped out of the rankings from 5th after a 9-point road loss to Missouri that dropped them from the ranks of the unbeaten. Previously #9 Oklahoma State suffered their first loss of the year on Saturday, losing at home to Nebraska by 10, and the Cowboys dropped out of these rankings this week.