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 loss to a ranked team, 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 generally be ranked ahead of that team as long as they have the same or better record. If there are conflicting head-to-head contests (Team A beat Team B and C but lost to D and Team D beat Team A but lost to B), the ties are broken by whether the loss was at home or on the road and quality of losses.
The mistake that voters in most polls (both AP and Coaches) is that they are swept up in emotion and forget logic.
2022 is proving to be a year in which there are not a lot of really good teams but a lot of parity. The SEC, Big 12 and ACC in particular, are down. It is difficult this week to find 25 teams that are truly worthy of that lofty recognition. Three losses is now "good".
As we predicted last week, the coaches and media fell for "the latest thing", Notre Dame, by ranking them, overlooking that the Irish have bad losses to Stanford and Marshall. Has any other Top 25 team lost to teams as bad as those? No.
Washington, meanwhile, which was only ranked 25th in the "playoff committee rankings", proved that the Blue Through and Through rankings (which had UW #19) were more reliable by defeating previously-highly regarded Oregon. The Huskies (8-2) would be ahead of Oregon by virtue of the head-to-head win, were it not for a bad loss to Arizona State. The "polls" won't have Washington high enough because they blew it last week by not ranking them higher.
The Top 25:
1-1 Georgia (10-0) edged closer to an undefeated season with a 45-19 win over Mississippi State; Beat #4 Tennessee 27-13, #12 Oregon 49-3, Mississippi State 45-19 and South Carolina 48-7
2-2 Michigan (10-0) whipped Nebraska 34-3; Beat #10 Penn State 41-17 and Maryland 34-27
3-3 TCU (10-0) prevailed over Texas 17-10; Beat #25 Kansas State 38-28, Texas 17-10 and Oklahoma State 43-40
4-4 Tennessee (9-1) ripped Missouri 66-24; Beat #8 LSU 40-13, #9 Alabama 52-49, Kentucky 44-6 and Pittsburgh 34-27 in overtime; Lost to #1 Georgia 27-13
5-5 Ohio State (10-0) ran up the score on hapless Indiana 56-14; Beat #10 Penn State 44-31
9-6 USC (9-1) thumped Colorado 55-17; Beat #17 Oregon State 17-14 and Washington State 30-14; Lost to #15 Utah 43-42
10-7 Clemson (9-1) beat back Louisville 31-16; Beat #21 Florida State 34-28, North Carolina State 30-20, Wake Forest 51-45 and Syracuse 27-21; Lost to Notre Dame 35-14
11-8 LSU (8-2) squeaked by Arkansas 13-10; Beat #9 Alabama 32-31, #11 Mississippi 45-20 and Mississippi State 31-14; Lost to #4 Tennessee 40-13 and #21 Florida State 24-23
12-9 Alabama (8-2) came from behind to beat #11 Mississippi 30-24; Beat #11 Mississippi, Mississippi State 30-6 and Texas 20-19; Lost to #4 Tennessee 52-49 and #8 LSU 32-31
13-10 Penn State (8-2) blanked Maryland 30-0; Beat Maryland 30-0 and Purdue 35-31; Lost to #2 Michigan 41-17 and #5 Ohio State 44-31
8-11 Mississippi (8-2) fell to #9 Alabama 30-24; beat #20 Troy 28-10 and Kentucky 22-19; Lost to #8 LSU 45-20 and #9 Alabama 30-24
6-12 Oregon (8-2) lost to #13 Washington 37-34 at home; Beat #14 UCLA 45-30 at home and Washington State 44-41; Lost to #1 Georgia 49-3 and #13 Washington 37-34 at home
19-13 Washington (8-2) knocked off #12 Oregon 37-34 on the road; Beat #12 Oregon 37-34 on the road and #17 Oregon State 24-21 at home; Lost to #14 UCLA 40-32 on the road and Arizona State 45-30
7-14 UCLA (8-2) lost to Arizona 34-28; Beat #13 Washington 40-32 at home, #15 Utah 42-32 at home and #24 South Alabama 32-31; Lost to #12 Oregon 45-30 on the road and Arizona 34-28
14-15 Utah (8-2) bombed Stanford 42-7 (which beat Notre Dame this year); Beat #6 USC 43-42 at home, #17 Oregon State 42-16 at home and Washington State 21-7, lost to #14 UCLA 42-32 on the road and Florida 29-26
17-16 North Carolina (9-1) downed Wake Forest 36-34; Beat Wake Forest 36-34 and Pittsburgh 42-24; Lost to Notre Dame 45-32
23-17 Oregon State (7-3) beat up on California 38-10; Beat Washington State 24-10 and Boise State 34-17; Lost to #6 USC 17-14, #13 Washington 24-21 and #15 Utah 42-16
16-18 Liberty (8-2) toppled Arkansas 21-19; No significant wins; Lost to Wake Forest 37-36
21-19 Coastal Carolina (9-1) got by Southern Mississippi 26-23 at home; No significant wins; Lost to Old Dominion 49-21
22-20 Troy (8-2) turned back Army 10-9; Beat #24 South Alabama 10-6; Lost to #11 Mississippi 28-10 and Appalachian State 32-28
25-21 Florida State (7-3) blitzed Syracuse 38-3; Beat #8 LSU 24-23 and Syracuse 38-3; Lost to #7 Clemson 34-28, North Carolina State 19-17 and Wake Forest 31-21
---22 UCF (8-2) upset #23 Tulane 38-31; Beat Tulane 38-31 and Cincinnati 25-21; Lost to Louisville 20-14 and East Carolina 34-13
18-23 Tulane (8-2) lost at home to #22 UCF 38-31; Beat #25 Kansas State 17-10; Lost to #22 UCF 38-31 and Southern Mississippi 27-24
---24 South Alabama (7-2) rallied past Georgia Southern 38-31; No significant wins; Lost to #14 UCLA 32-31 and #20 Troy 10-6
---25 Kansas State (7-3) got back on track by beating Baylor 31-3; Beat Oklahoma State 48-0; Lost to #3 TCU 38-28, #23 Tulane 17-10 and Texas 34-27
Dropped Out: Wake Forest, North Carolina State, Illinois
Also Considered:
Oklahoma State (7-3) survived Iowa State 20-14; Beat Texas 41-34; Lost to #3 TCU 43-40, #25 Kansas State 48-0 and Kansas 37-16
Washington State (6-4) No significant wins; Lost to #6 USC 30-14, #12 Oregon 44-41, #15 Utah 21-17 and #17 Oregon State 24-10
Cincinnati (8-2) edged East Carolina 27-25; No significant wins; Lost to #22 UCF 25-21 and Arkansas 31-24
15---North Carolina State (7-3) lost to lowly Boston College 21-20; Beat #21 Florida State 19-17 and Wake Forest 30-21; Lost to #7 Clemson 30-20, Syracuse 24-9 and Boston College 21-20
Louisville (6-4) lost to #7 Clemson 31-16; Beat #22 UCF 20-14, Wake Forest 48-21 and Pittsburgh 24-10; Lost to #21 Florida State 35-31, Syracuse 31-7 and Boston College 34-31
Notre Dame (7-3) edged 3-7 Navy 35-32; Beat #7 Clemson 35-14, #16 North Carolina 45-32 and Syracuse 41-24; Lost to #5 Ohio State 21-10, Stanford 16-14 and Marshall 26-21
Texas (6-4) lost to #3 TCU 17-10; Beat #25 Kansas State 34-27 and Texas-San Antonio 41-20; Lost to #3 TCU 17-10, #9 Alabama 20-19, Oklahoma State 41-34 and Texas Tech 37-34
20---Illinois (7-3) lost to Purdue 31-24; No significant wins; Beat Minnesota 26-14; Lost to Purdue 31-24, Michigan State 23-15 and Indiana 23-20
Florida (6-4) ran over South Carolina 38-6; Beat #15 Utah 29-26 and South Carolina 38-6; Lost to #1 Georgia 42-20, #4 Tennessee 38-33, #8 LSU 45-35 and Kentucky at home 26-16
South Carolina (6-4) lost to Florida 38-6; Beat Kentucky 24-14 on the road; Lost to #1 Georgia 48-7, Florida 38-6 on the road, Missouri 23-10 and Arkansas 44-30
Kentucky (6-4) lost to Vanderbilt 24-21; Beat Mississippi State 27-17 at home; Lost to #4 Tennessee 44-6, #11 Mississippi 22-19, South Carolina 24-14 at home and Vanderbilt 24-21
Mississippi State (6-4) lost again to #1 Georgia 45-19; No significant wins; Lost to #1 Georgia 45-19, #8 LSU 31-14, #9 Alabama 30-6 and Kentucky 27-17
Minnesota (6-3) beat Nebraska 20-13; No significant wins; Lost to #10 Penn State 45-17, Illinois 26-14 and Purdue 20-10
24--- Wake Forest (6-4) fell apart in losing to #16 North Carolina 36-34; Beat #18 Liberty 37-36 and #21 Florida State 31-20; Lost to #7 Clemson 51-45, #16 North Carolina 36-34, North Carolina State 30-21 and Louisville 48-21
Pittsburgh (6-4) upended Virginia 37-7; Beat Syracuse 19-9; Lost to #4 Tennessee 34-27 in overtime, #16 North Carolina 42-24, Louisville 24-10 and Georgia Tech 26-21
Syracuse (6-4) lost again to #21 Florida State 38-3; Beat North Carolina State 24-9; Lost to #7 Clemson 27-21, #21 Florida State 38-3, Notre Dame 41-24 and Pittsburgh 19-9
Texas-San Antonio (8-2) blasted Louisiana Tech 51-7; No significant wins; Lost to Texas 41-20 and Houston 37-35
Boise State (7-3) rebounded to top Nevada 41-3; No significant wins; Lost to #17 Oregon State 34-17, UTEP 27-10 and BYU 31-28
Purdue (6-4) beat Illinois 31-24 on the road; Beat Illinois 31-24, Minnesota 20-10 and Maryland 31-29; Lost to #10 Penn State 35-31, Syracuse 32-29, Wisconsin 35-24 and Iowa 21-3
Maryland (6-4) was whitewashed by Penn State 30-0; No significant wins; Lost to #5 Michigan 34-27, #10 Penn State 30-0, Purdue 31-29 and Wisconsin 23-10
Baylor (6-4) lost to Kansas State 31-3; No significant wins; Lost to Kansas State 31-3, Oklahoma State 36-25, BYU 26-20 and West Virginia 43-40
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