The College Football Blog: 2010 Season Résumé Rankings (After Week 10)

Season Résumé Rankings after Week 10

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

Out: Utah (4th); Alabama (8th); Oklahoma (9th).

Explanation: We’re down to just 4 undefeated teams, and in my opinion we’re likely to still have 4 undefeated teams heading into the bowl season. At the very least, I think we’ll have 3 undefeated teams going into the bowl season. So, these rankings could end up being a good way of determining which teams have “earned” a chance to play in the big game. If all 4 teams do stay unbeaten, there’s no question that Auburn and Oregon will stay ahead of the two non-BCS teams.

I have Auburn ahead of Oregon because they’ve got 1 more win (both teams have played an FCS opponent), and furthermore because they have more quality wins than the Ducks. Even though TCU has 1 more win than Oregon, and 1 more win against FBS opponents, I still have the Ducks ranked higher because they have played 7 teams from BCS conferences, while the Horned Frogs have played only 2 BCS teams. Boise State has 2 fewer total wins than the Horned Frogs and 1 fewer win against FBS opponents, so the Broncos are ranked 4th, though they did move up a spot with Utah leaving the ranks of the unbeaten.

Obviously it gets a lot more complicated from that point on, as there are still 9 teams with only 1 loss on the season. There’s only 1 team that is 9-1, however, so since everything else is close to equal, I ranked Michigan State ahead of the other 1-loss teams. The Spartans moved up 2 spots in these rankings this week, climbing from 7th to 5th.

Oklahoma State moved up 4 spots this week from 10th to 6th after their big win over Baylor. Okie State and Ohio State are both 8-1 against FBS teams and 5-1 against BCS teams, but at this point the Cowboys have more quality wins in my opinion. I mean, Oklahoma State doesn’t have a super win, but they have more decent wins than Ohio State. The Buckeyes were off last week and they fell a spot in these rankings from 6th to 7th.

LSU catapulted back into the rankings this week at #8 with their enormous win over Saban and the Tide. The Tigers are one of three new teams in the rankings this week, along with Stanford at #9 and Wisconsin at #10. All 3 teams are 8-1 overall and 7-1 against the FBS. I have LSU and Stanford ranked ahead of the Badgers because they are both 7-1 against BCS teams, while Wisconsin is just 5-1 against BCS teams. I have LSU ahead of the Indians because the Tigers have a bigger win and because they have more solid wins.

Three teams fell out of these rankings this week. Utah lost at home by 40 to TCU, losing for the first time this season, and falling from 4th all the out of the rankings. Bama and Oklahoma each lost for the second time on the year, falling out of the rankings from 8th and 9th respectively.