Wednesday, September 14, 2011

The College Football Blog: 2011 Season Résumé Rankings (After Week 2)

Season Résumé Rankings after Week 2

1. Alabama 2-0 (NR)

2. South Carolina 2-0 (10th)

3. Auburn 2-0 (NR)

4. South Florida 2-0 (3rd)

5. Michigan 2-0 (NR)

6. Oklahoma State 2-0 (NR)

7. Texas 2-0 (NR)

8. Houston 2-0 (9th)

9. California 2-0 (NR)

10. Florida International 2-0 (NR)

Out: LSU (1st); Boise State (2nd); Oklahoma (4th); Texas A&M (5th); Baylor (6th); BYU (7th); Northwestern (8th).

Explanation: We’re still a few weeks away from these rankings meaning a whole lot. In order to come up with these rankings this week, I started with a process of elimination.

First, I eliminated from consideration all teams who were not 2-0 on the year. Next, I eliminated all teams who had played an FCS team from consideration. Then I eliminated all teams who had played one of the weakest (in my opinion) FBS teams. Finally, I also eliminated teams who had played any opponent who had lost to an FCS team or one of the (in my opinion) weakest teams in the FBS.

Once this process was complete, I was left with 11 teams. I decided to rank Cal and FIU ahead of Florida, leaving the Gators out of the top 10. The reason for this was that Cal had won a game at a neutral site and won a road game, and FIU had beaten a team from the Big East on the road, while Florida had beaten a pair of fairly weak FBS teams at home. I ended up going with quality of opponent/difficulty over margin of victory.

Once I had my 10 teams, I just had to rank them from 1 to 10, using the same criteria as always (quality of opponent; home/road/neutral; margin of victory; etc). 7 teams fell out of my rankings this week, replaced by 7 new teams. South Carolina made the biggest rise of any team remaining in the rankings (9 spots), while South Florida fell 1 spot but stayed in the top 10.

1. Alabama: 2-0 (won at Penn State, 27-11). Bama moves into the rankings at #1, as they got the best win of week 2, winning at Penn State by 16 points. Their first win came at home against Kent State by 41.

2. South Carolina: 2-0 (won at Georgia, 45-42). South Carolina moves up 9 spots to #2, as they got a big road win over UGA. Their first win came on a neutral field against ECU by 19.

3. Auburn: 2-0 (won vs. Mississippi State, 41-34). Auburn moves into the rankings at #3, as they outlasted Mississippi State at home. Their first win was a miraculous 4-point victory over Utah State at home.

4. South Florida: 2-0 (won vs. Ball State, 37-7). South Florida falls a spot to #4, as the Bulls hammered BSU at home. Their first win came on the road at ND.

5. Michigan: 2-0 (won vs. Notre Dame, 35-31). Michigan moves into the rankings at #5, as they won a wild shootout at home over ND. Their first win was an easy victory over WM that was called after 3 quarters.

6. Oklahoma State: 2-0 (won vs. Arizona, 37-14). Oklahoma State moves into the rankings at #6, as they won by 23 over a fellow Pac-12 team. Their first win was over ULL by 27.

7. Texas: 2-0 (won vs. BYU, 17-16). Texas moves into the rankings at #7, as they came from behind to nip BYU at home by a point. Their first win came by 25 over Rice.

8. Houston: 2-0 (won at North Texas, 48-23). Houston moves up a spot to #8, as they won easily on the road at NT. Their first win came at home against UCLA.

9. California: 2-0 (won at Colorado, 36-33 (OT)). California moves into the rankings at #9, as they got by Colorado on the road in overtime. Their first win was over Fresno State on a neutral field, 36-21.

10. Florida International: 2-0 (won at Louisville, 24-17). Florida International moves into the rankings at #10, as they stunned Louisville on the road, 24-17. Their first win was over NT at home, 41-16.

Teams Falling Out of the Rankings

LSU: 1-0 (Idle). LSU falls out of the rankings from #1, as they were idle last week.

Boise State: 1-0 (Idle). Boise State falls out of the rankings from #2, as they were idle last week.

Oklahoma: 1-0 (Idle). Oklahoma falls out of the rankings from #4, as they were idle last week.

Texas A&M: 1-0 (Idle). Texas A&M falls out of the rankings from #5, as they were idle last week.

Baylor: 1-0 (Idle). Baylor falls out of the rankings from #6, as they were idle last week.

BYU: 1-1 (lost at Texas, 16-17). BYU falls out of the rankings from #7, as they lost by a point at Texas last week to fall to 1-1.

Northwestern: 2-0 (won vs. Eastern Illinois, 42-21). Northwestern falls out of the rankings from #8, as they played an FCS opponent last week.

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