Thursday, September 22, 2011

The College Football Blog: Season Résumé Rankings (After Week 3)

Season Résumé Rankings after Week 3

1. Alabama 3-0 (1st)

2. Oklahoma State 3-0 (6th)

3. Stanford 3-0 (NR)

4. Florida 3-0 (NR)

5. Wisconsin 3-0 (NR)

6. Florida International 3-0 (10th)

7. Michigan 3-0 (5th)

8. South Carolina 3-0 (2nd)

9. Texas 3-0 (7th)

10. Houston 3-0 (8th)

Out: Auburn (3rd); South Florida (4th); California (9th).

Explanation: I’m in the process of coming up with a point system to determine these rankings. It should make for a much more scientific process and more meaningful rankings. It should be ready for next week’s top 10. For this week, I decided to stick with the same sort of system I’ve used before. It’s still early, so these rankings aren’t that useful yet anyway.

The process of coming up with the rankings this week was similar to last week. First I eliminated all teams that weren’t 3-0. That left 27 teams. Next I eliminated all teams that had played an FCS opponent. That whittled the number of teams down to 11. Finally I ranked the teams based on strength of victory, margin of victory, and location of victory. I left USC out of the top 10, as they have played 3 home games, have won only once by double digits, and their best victory has been over Utah by 9 (and it was much closer than that).

Somewhat to my surprise, there were only 3 new teams in the top 10 this week. Of the 7 teams remaining in the rankings, 5 dropped at least 1 spot, with South Carolina falling 6 spots. Oklahoma State FIU made the biggest jumps of any team remaining in the rankings, climbing 4 spots each.

1. Alabama: 3-0 (won vs. North Texas, 41-0). Bama maintains the #1 spot this week after shutting out NT 41-0. They have won all 3 of their games by at least 16 points, and have outscored opponents by a combined score of 116-18. Their 27-11 win at PSU is one of the better wins of any of the 3-0 teams.

2. Oklahoma State: 3-0 (won at Tulsa, 59-33). Oklahoma State climbs 4 spots to #2 this week, tied with FIU for the biggest rise of any team in this week’s rankings. The Cowboys waited out a weather delay and put 59 points up on Tulsa on the road last week. They’ve won each of their games by at least 23 points; they have a road win over a decent opponent; and they also destroyed a BCS opponent (Arizona).

3. Stanford: 3-0 (won at Arizona, 37-10). Stanford jumps into the rankings at #3 this week. It could be a controversial move to have Stanford this high due to the fact that they don’t really have a win over a good opponent. However, they’ve won each game by at least 27 points; they’ve outscored opponents by a combined margin of 138-27; they’ve won twice on the road already; and they’ve beaten a pair of BCS conference opponents (Duke and Arizona).

4. Florida: 3-0 (won vs. Tennessee, 33-23). Florida moves into the rankings at #4. The Gators have played all 3 games at home, and UAB and FAU are among the worst teams in the FBS. However, the Gators have won all 3 games by double digits, and have outscored opponents by a total of 113-26. They also have a solid 10-point win over Tennessee.

5. Wisconsin: 3-0 (won vs. NIU [Chicago], 49-7). Wisconsin joins the rankings this week at #5. The Badgers have played 3 overmatched opponents, 2 at home, and 1 on a neutral site. However, they’ve won all 3 games by at least 34 points, and have outscored opponents 135-24. They beat a BCS conference team in Oregon State, and while NIU is from the MAC, they are usually one of the better teams from that conference, and the 49-7 beat down occurred on a neutral field.

6. Florida International: 3-0 (won vs. Central Florida, 17-10). FIU jumps up 4 spots in the rankings to #6, tied with Oklahoma State for the biggest rise in the rankings this week. The Golden Panthers have won each game by at least a TD (7 points); they’ve won on the road against a BCS team (Louisville); and they’ve defeated one of the most respected C-USA teams in Central Florida.

7. Michigan: 3-0 (won vs. Eastern Michigan, 31-3). Michigan drops 2 spots in the rankings to #7 this week, despite winning by 28 points to go to 3-0 on the year. The Wolverines have won all 3 games at home, and 2 have come against directional Michigan schools. Still, they’ve beaten the MAC teams by margins of 24 (with the game stopped after 3 quarters) and 28, and they knocked off what is supposed to be a solid ND team.

8. South Carolina: 3-0 (won vs. Navy, 24-21). South Carolina falls 6 spots to #8 this week, the biggest drop of any team in the top 10. This is a controversial ranking, as the Gamecocks have won by 19 over one of the more accomplished C-USA teams (ECU) on a neutral field; defeated a talented UGA team on the road; and outlasted the always competitive Navy squad. However, 2 of 3 wins decided by just 3 points, and last week’s 3-point win over Navy at home wasn’t too impressive.

9. Texas: 3-0 (Won at UCLA, 49-20). Texas falls 2 spots in my rankings to #9 this week. They did get a 29-point road win over a BCS opponent (UCLA), but their 1-point home win over BYU the week before becomes suspect after the way Utah took it to the Cougars in Provo last Saturday.

10. Houston: 3-0 (won at Louisiana Tech, 35-34). Houston falls back 2 spots to #10 this week. The Cougs dodged a serious bullet this week, pulling out a 1-point road victory over LT. Only 1 of Houston’s wins has been by more than 4 points. They do have a home win over an FBS team (UCLA), and a pair of road wins (North Texas and LT).

Teams Falling Out of the Rankings

Auburn: 2-1 (lost at Clemson, 24-38). Auburn falls out of the rankings from #3 this week, as they blew an early 14-0 lead, and went on to lose by 2 TD’s (14 points) to Clemson. They were outscored 38-10 over the last 3 quarters.

South Florida: 3-0 (won vs. FAMU, 70-17). South Florida falls out of the rankings from #4 this week, as they played Florida A&M of the FCS last Saturday.

California: 3-0 (won vs. Presbyterian, 63-12). Cal falls out of the rankings from #9 this week, as they played Presbyterian from the FCS.

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