Unlike the AP and Coaches' polls, we base our rankings on logic. Undefeated teams are ranked by the highest impressive win and number of impressive wins. Generally, a big win places a team over another with a big loss, unless there are other big wins and losses to look at. A bad loss will hurt a team much more than a big win will help it. On the other hand, a loss to a Top 25 team will not hurt a team, other than its comparison to other teams' losses to Top 25 teams and in the number of total losses.
A team that beat another head-to-head will always be ranked ahead of that team as long as they have the same or better record. The mistake that voters in most polls (both AP and Coaches) is that they are swept up in emotion and forget logic. These voters will no doubt be highly impressed by Kansas State's 49-0 win over previously well-thought of Oklahoma State. But K-State cannot be ranked ahead of Tulane, which has a better record and defeated them on the football field.
The principal of head-to-head matchups is well evident this week. Liberty is ranked ahead of Wake Forest, Tulane is ahead of Kansas State, K State is ranked ahead of Oklahoma State because of wins on the field--as would any poll that can be taken seriously. Kentucky is ranked above Mississippi State and Mississippi State is ahead of Arkansas, all by virtue of the same number of losses decided by head-to-head records.
Tennessee gained the top spot not only with another impressive win but largely due to the collapse of ranked ACC teams that were the big feathers in Clemson's cap up to this week. Clemson still has more impressive wins, but two of Tennessee's biggest wins are both more impressive than the top win by the Tigers as of now.
There was an oddity when Penn State, which lost to Ohio State, moved up in the rankings, only because so many teams ahead of the Nittany Lions lost and there are only two teams behind them (LSU and Utah) with the resume to pass them.
The Top 25:
2-1 Tennessee (8-0) Beat Kentucky 44-6; Beat #7 Alabama 52-49, #12 LSU 40-13 and Kentucky 44-6
1-2 Clemson (8-0) had a bye week; Beat #16 Syracuse 27-21, #17 North Carolina State 30-20, #19 Wake Forest 51-45 and Florida State 34-28
5-3 Michigan (8-0) ripped rival Michigan State 29-7; Beat #14 Penn State 41-17 and #25 Maryland 34-27
4-4 TCU (8-0) downed West Virginia 41-31; Beat #22 Kansas State 38-28 and #23 Oklahoma State 43-40
3-5 Georgia (8-0) ran over Florida 42-20; Beat #8 Oregon 49-3 and South Carolina 48-7
7-6 Ohio State (8-0) rallied to top #14 Penn State 44-31; Beat #14 Penn State 44-31
6-7 Alabama (7-1) did not play; Beat Mississippi State 30-6 and Texas 20-19; Lost to #1 Tennessee 52-49
8-8 Oregon (7-1) toppled Cal 42-24; Beat #9 UCLA 45-30; Lost to #5 Georgia 49-3
11-9 UCLA (6-1) whipped Stanford 38-13; Beat #13 Utah 42-32; Lost to #8 Oregon 45-30
13-10 USC (7-1) beat Arizona 45-37; Beat #15 Oregon State 17-14; Lost to #13 Utah 43-42
12-11 Mississippi (7-1) nudged Texas A&M 31-28; beat Kentucky 22-19 and Troy 28-10; Lost to #12 LSU 45-20
17-12 LSU (6-2) did not play; Beat #11 Mississippi 45-20 and Mississippi State 31-14; Lost to #2 Tennessee 40-13 and Florida State 24-23
16-13 Utah (6-2) survived a scare from Washington State 21-17; Beat #10 USC 43-42 and #15 Oregon State 42-16, lost to #9 UCLA 42-32 and Florida 29-26
15-14 Penn State (6-2) lost a lead and the game to #6 Ohio State 44-31; No significant wins; Lost to #3 Michigan 41-17 and #6 Ohio State 44-31
21-15 Oregon State (6-2) was idle this week; Beat Boise State 34-17; Lost to #14 USC 17-14 and #16 Utah 42-16
9-16 Syracuse (6-2) lost to Notre Dame 41-24; Beat #17 North Carolina State 24-9 and Purdue 32-29; Lost to #2 Clemson 27-21 and Notre Dame 41-24
19-17 North Carolina State (6-2) edged Virginia Tech 22-21; Beat Florida State 19-17; Lost to #2 Clemson 30-20 and #16 Syracuse 24-9
22-18 Liberty (7-1) did not play this week; No significant wins; Lost to #19 Wake Forest 37-36
13-19 Wake Forest (6-2) fell victim to Louisville 48-21; Beat #18 Liberty 37-36 and Florida State 31-20; Lost to #2 Clemson 51-45 and Louisville 48-21
#24-20 North Carolina (6-1) destroyed Pittsburgh 42-24; No significant wins; Lost to Notre Dame 45-32
25-21 Tulane (7-1) did not play; Beat #22 Kansas State 17-10; Lost to Southern Mississippi 27-24
----22 Kansas State (6-2) mashed Oklahoma State 48-0; Beat Oklahoma State 48-0 and Oklahoma 41-34; Lost to #4 TCU 38-28 and #21 Tulane 17-10
10-23 Oklahoma State (6-2) was whitewashed by #22 Kansas State 48-0; Beat Texas 41-34; Lost to #4 TCU 43-40 and #24 Kansas State 48-0
---24 Illinois (7-1) turned back Nebraska 26-9; No significant wins; Lost to Indiana 23-20
24-25 Maryland (6-2) was idle; No significant wins; Lost to #5 Michigan 34-27 and Purdue 31-29
Dropped Out: Kentucky
Also Considered:
Washington (6-2) did not play; No significant wins; Lost to #9 UCLA 40-32 and Arizona State 45-30
Coastal Carolina (7-1) beat Marshall 24-13; No significant wins; Lost to Old Dominion 49-21
Troy (6-2) did not play; No significant wins; Lost to #12 Mississippi 28-10 and App State 32-28
Boise State (6-2) motored to a 49-10 win over Colorado State; No significant wins; Lost to #15 Oregon State 34-17 and UTEP 27-10
Florida State (5-3) routed Georgia Tech 41-16; Beat #12 LSU 24-23; Lost to #2 Clemson 34-28, #17 North Carolina State 19-17 and #19 Wake Forest 31-21
20--- Kentucky (5-3) lost to #1 Tennessee 44-6; Beat Mississippi State 27-17; Lost to #1 Tennessee 44-6, #11 Mississippi 22-19 and South Carolina 24-14
Mississippi State (5-3) was idle this week; Beat Arkansas 40-17; Lost to #7 Alabama 30-6, #12 LSU 31-14 and Kentucky 27-17
Purdue (5-3) had the week off; Beat #25 Maryland 31-29; Lost to #14 Penn State 35-31, #16 Syracuse 32-29 and Wisconsin 35-24
Texas (5-3) was idle this week; Beat Texas-San Antonio 41-20; Lost to #7 Alabama 20-19, #25 Oklahoma State 41-34 and Texas Tech 37-34
Oklahoma (6-3) got by Iowa State 27-13; Lost to #4 TCU 55-24, #22 Kansas State 41-34 and Texas 49-0
Notre Dame (5-3) beat #16 Syracuse 41-24; Beat #16 Syracuse 41-24 and #22 North Carolina 45-32; Lost to #6 Ohio State 21-10, Stanford 16-14 and Marshall 26-21
Louisville (5-3) beat #19 Wake Forest 48-21; Beat #19 Wake Forest 48-21 and UCF 20-14; Lost to #15 Syracuse 31-7, Florida State 35-31 and Boston College 34-31
UCF (7-2) beat Cincinnati 25-21; Lost to Louisville 20-14 and East Carolina 34-13
Cincinnati (6-2) fell to UCF 25-21; No significant wins; Lost to Arkansas 31-24 and UCF 25-21
Arkansas (5-3) upended Auburn 41-27; Beat South Carolina 44-30 and Cincinnati 31-24; Lost to #7 Alabama 49-26, Mississippi State 40-17 and Texas A&M 23-21
18--- South Carolina (5-3) fell to Missouri 23-10; Beat Kentucky 24-14; Lost to #5 Georgia 48-7, Missouri 23-10 and Arkansas 44-30
Texas-San Antonio (6-2) did not play; No significant wins; Lost to Houston 37-35 and Texas 41-20
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