| Harris Poll | Coaches Poll | Computer Avg. |
1. Oregon (8-0) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
2. Auburn (8-0) | 2 | 2 | 1 |
3. TCU (9-0) | 4 | 4 | 3 |
4. Boise State (7-0) | 3 | 3 | 5 |
5. Utah (8-0) | 6 | 6 | 9 |
6. Alabama (7-1) | 5 | 5 | 15 |
7. Nebraska (7-1) | 11 | 10 | 6 |
8. Oklahoma (7-1) | 9 | 9 | 8 |
9. Wisconsin (7-1) | 7 | 7 | 11 |
10. LSU (7-1) | 12 | 11 | 6 |
11. Ohio State (8-1) | 8 | 8 | 16 |
12. Missouri (7-1) | 15 | 14 | 4 |
13. Stanford (7-1) | 10 | 12 | 12 |
14. Michigan State (8-1) | 16 | 15 | 10 |
15. Arizona (7-1) | 13 | 13 | 13 |
16. Iowa (6-2) | 14 | 16 | 17 |
17. Oklahoma St. (7-1) | 18 | 18 | 13 |
18. Arkansas (6-2) | 17 | 19 | 19 |
19. South Carolina (6-2) | 19 | 17 | 21 |
20. Mississippi St. (7-2) | 21 | 21 | 18 |
21. Baylor (7-2) | 22 | 22 | 20 |
22. Virginia Tech (6-2) | 20 | 20 | 28 |
23. Nevada (7-1) | 23 | 23 | 23 |
24. Florida State (6-2) | 24 | 24 | 24 |
25. N.C. State (6-2) | 25 | 25 | 25 |
Fell from poll: Miami (FL)
Voters get it right…? I like the Coaches and Harris poll a lot more than I do the BCS right now. For one major reason too, Boise State remained ahead of TCU. Of the non-AQ teams, I believe Boise is the strongest. TCU will have their chance this week against Utah to move up or down, but to move a week early seems premature. Auburn is a strong No. 2 and they’ll get their chance to prove that against Alabama later in the year. One thing I don’t agree with is Nebraska taking a No. 11 and No. 10 ranking from the human voters. I think the Cornhuskers are a lot stronger team than they’re given credit and I’m willing to go as far as to say they’re the best one loss team in the country. Right now, I feel Arkansas is too highly ranked as far as two loss teams go. There are a few two loss teams I would rank ahead of the Razorbacks, based upon their play as of late.
Computer Malfunctions…? Finally the computers are starting to give the Ducks some recognition. After two straight weeks of No. 8 rankings, the Ducks climbed into the top spot with a No. 2 average in the computer polls. It only took a blowout win over an unranked falling USC team. I’m still trying to figure out the computers obsession with Missouri and LSU. The computers gave the two Tigers No. 6 and No. 4 average rankings in the polls respectively. Missouri managed a No. 4 ranking following a loss. That’s the biggest crock at this point. It’s hard to say where Alabama may move up to if they beat LSU this weekend. The computers average a No. 15 ranking, quite a bit lower than the No. 5 rank the Tide received from the Harris and Coaches polls. Virginia Tech may not move at all, sitting with a No. 28 average for the third straight week.
Biggest Movers…The biggest moves come from a pair of undefeated teams heading into the week, in Michigan State and Missouri, both of whom failed to leave week nine unscarred. Michigan State fell pretty far in the Harris and Coaches, and rightfully so following the 37-6 thumping the Spartans took. Surprisingly, Utah made a move this week. Following their near miss against Air Force, the Utes moved up from No. 8 to No. 5, an unlikely move before the week. A pair of one loss teams made moves back into the top 10 in Nebraska and LSU.
Welcome to the Top 25… North Carolina State moved into the BCS rankings for the first time with their win over Florida State. The Wolfpack still has a chance to walk away with the ACC title and a BCS bowl game appearance. NC State was the only team to move into the rankings this week, with only Miami (FL) moving out of the Top 25.
We were snubbed...! I think only a pair of teams can use the snub card this week, those teams being Boise State and Alabama. Boise is in a bit of a conundrum. They really don’t have any more game left on the schedule that would warrant a higher ranking or any ways of moving up, unless teams above them lose, or if Nevada, who Boise meets later in the year, continues to win. For Alabama, the Tide can’t really complain too much. They’re the highest one loss team at this point, and they’ll have their chance to prove themselves against LSU, Mississippi State and Auburn but a No. 15 ranking in the BCS is a bit of a slap to the face. There was one program, however, that I would have liked to see move into the rankings and end a conference drought. That team is Syracuse. The Orange beat No. 22 ranked West Virginia on the Mountaineers field then turned around and pounded Cincinnati on the road. The Orange did lose to Pittsburgh at home, but at this point look like the best Big East team at 6-2 overall.
There’s always next week…Week 10 offers up a few different intriguing Top 25 matchups. One week after taking down the Longhorns in their own backyard, Baylor heads to Oklahoma State to take on the No. 17 ranked Cowboys. There’s no reason not to expect a whole lot of yards and points put up in that one. Alabama heads to LSU to take on the Tigers and don’t count LSU out of it just yet. Baton Rouge late in the year is not an easy stadium to play in, where close low scoring games are known to take place. The Razorbacks and Gamecocks face off in South Carolina this weekend. This could be the week the Arkansas defense finally gets exposed, most likely by freshman running back Marcus Lattimore. The best matchup of the week, however, lies in Utah. A battle of Top five teams TCU and Utah square off in hopes of a BCS bowl game. The loser is most likely heading to an even higher ranking, while the loser becomes just another non-AQ left out. The only bad part about this matchup is that most of the country won’t be able to see the game. CSB College Sports Network has the rights to the game, so apart from Satellite subscribers; the rest of the country is left in the cold.
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