Oregon, Boise State Are 1-2 in the Final Top 25 Before the Playoffs

Oregon and Boise State have plowed through their schedules undefeated except for #2 Boise State's 37-34 loss to #1 Oregon as a field goal sailed through the uprights as time expired to give the Ducks the win on their home field.  That instant classic is what a football aficionado would expect in a battle between the nation's top two teams.  But the battle for #2 tightened this week with Texas's win over Georgia, avenging a loss earlier in the season to the Bulldogs.

There were some exciting games in the conference championships, with Boise State's defense putting on its best show of the year in stopping a potent UNLV offense, 21-7.  Oregon had a solid 28-10 lead in the second quarter and double-digit leads several times in the second half only to see Penn State storm back to make it interesting before the Ducks took it, 45-37.

Georgia's starting quarterback suffered a bad injury to his elbow when he was sacked and had to go to the sidelines in the second half as his relatively inexperienced backup sparked his team to a comeback.  Texas was able to tie the game 16-16 on a field goal in the final seconds, sending it into overtime, and took a 19-16 lead on another field goal in the extra period.  On the ensuing possession, the substitute Bulldog quarterback had to leave the field for one play when his helmet came off, and who should enter the game but the banged-up starter.  He approached the line of scrimmage with a noticeably-limp left arm and even when handing it off, had to do it ever so slowly because of the injury.  But his running back grabbed the ball and went into the end zone for the win.

But the most exciting of the championship games was in the ACC, as Clemson controlled the first half and owned a 31-14 lead in the fourth quarter only to see SMU storm back to tie it at 31 with just 16 seconds left.  But Clemson got an excellent kickoff return and then hit a pass over the middle to the SMU 38 with 3 seconds left.  Their best chance was to let their kicker try a 55-yard field goal, and he nailed it with room to spare for the dramatic win.

Here is the Blue Football Through and Through Top 25 heading into the playoffs!

1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.  Oregon 13-0, prevailed over #6 Penn State 45-37, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #2 Boise State, #6 Penn State, #7 Ohio State and #25 Illinois, Losses:  None, Bad Losses:  None) 

7-7-7-7-4-4-3-2-2.  Boise State 12-1, throttled #14 UNLV 21-7, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #14 UNLV (2), Lost to #1 Oregon, Bad Losses:  None)

23-12-11-11-20-15-7-6-3.  Georgia 10-2, defeated #4 Texas 22-19 in overtime, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #4 Texas (2), #11 Tennessee and #19 Clemson, Lost to #16 Alabama and #17 Mississippi, Bad Losses:  None)

6-18-17-14-10-8-6-3-4.  Texas 11-2, lost to #3 Georgia 22-19 in overtime, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #23 Texas A&M 17-7, Lost to #3 Georgia (2), Bad Losses:  None)

4-5-4-4-5-3-5-5-5.  Indiana 11-1, did not play (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat Nebraska, Lost to #7 Ohio State, Bad Losses:  None)

3-3-3-9-7-5-4-4-6.  Penn State 11-2, lost to #1 Oregon 45-37,  (Impressive Wins: #25 Illinois, Lost to #1 Oregon and #7 Ohio State, Bad Losses:  None)

10-13-9-6-3-2-2-8-7.  Ohio State 10-2, did not play, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #3 Penn State and #5 Indiana, Lost to #1 Oregon and Michigan, Bad Losses:  Michigan)

32-25-19-16-14-12-10-9-8.  Notre Dame 11-1, was idle, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #9 Army, #23 Texas A&M, #28 Louisville and #30 Navy, Lost to Northern Illinois, Bad Losses:  Lost to Northern Illinois)

17-19-16-13-8-6-11-10-9.  Army 11-1, annihilated #26 Tulane 35-14, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #26 Tulane, Lost to #8 Notre Dame, Bad Losses:  None)

11-14-12-5-6-10-8-7-10.  SMU 11-2, lost a heartbreaker to #19 Clemson 34-31 on a 55-yard field goal as time expired, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #28 Louisville, Lost to #13 BYU and #19 Clemson, Bad Losses:  None)

21-17-14-12-11-17-13-11-11.  Tennessee 10-2, did not play, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #16 Alabama, Lost to #3 Georgia and Arkansas, Bad Losses:  Arkansas)

19-35-32-27-32-24-16-13-12.  Arizona State 11-2, clipped #22 Iowa State 35-19, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #14 BYU, #22 Iowa State and #27 Kansas State, Lost to Cincinnati and Texas Tech, Bad Losses:  Cincinnati and Texas Tech)

2-2-2-2-2-9-17-14-13.  BYU 10-2, was idle this week, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #6 SMU and #27 Kansas State, Lost to #12 Arizona State and Kansas, Bad Losses:  Kansas)

31-28-30-26-18-19-14-12-14.  UNLV 10-3, fell to #2 Boise State 21-7  (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:   San Jose State, Lost to #2 Boise State (2) and Syracuse, Bad Losses:  Syracuse)

14-6-6-3-13-11-9-15-15.  Miami of Florida 10-2, did not play,  (Impressive Wins:  Beat #28 Louisville, Losses:  Lost to Syracuse and Georgia Tech, Bad Losses:  Syracuse and Georgia Tech)

22-32-21-17-12-7-19-17-16.  Alabama 9-3, did not play, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #3 Georgia, #18 South Carolina, #19 Missouri and #29 LSU, Lost to #11 Tennessee,  Oklahoma and Vanderbilt, Bad Losses:  Oklahoma and Vanderbilt)

37-36-33-28-19-14-18-18-17.  Mississippi 8-3, was idle, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #3 Georgia 28-10 and #18 South Carolina, Lost to #29 LSU, Florida and Kentucky, Bad Losses:  Florida and Kentucky)

_-37-34-29-29-18-20-19-18. South Carolina 9-3, did not play, (Impressive Wins: Beat #19 Missouri, #19 Clemson and #23 Texas A&M, Lost to #16 Alabama, #17 Mississippi and #29 LSU,  Bad Losses:  None)

24-21-18-19-21-16-12-21-19.  Clemson 10-3, Stole a 34-31 win from #11 SMU in the final seconds, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #11 SMU, Lost to #3 Georgia, #18 South Carolina and #28 Louisville, Bad Losses:  None)

34-29-26-21-26-25-22-20-19. Missouri 9-3, did not play, (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat Arkansas, Lost to #16 Alabama, #18 South Carolina and #23 Texas A&M, Bad Losses:  None)

24-28-_-_-_-_-24-22-21.  Duke (8-3) was idle, (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Connecticut, Lost to #6 SMU, #15 Miami of Florida and Georgia Tech, Bad Losses:  Georgia Tech)

11-8-15-_-_-_-27-16-22.  Iowa State (10-3), lost to #12 Arizona State 45-19,  (Impressive Wins:  Beat #27 Kansas State, Lost to #12 Arizona State, Texas Tech and Kansas,  Bad Losses:  Texas Tech and Kansas)

33-26-20-18-16-13-21-23-23.  Texas A&M 8-4, did not play,  (Impressive Wins:  Beat #19 Missouri and #29 LSU, Lost to #4 Texas, #9 Notre Dame, #18 South Carolina and Auburn, Bad Losses:  Auburn)

_-16-23-_-31-_-24-24.  Memphis (10-2), was idle, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #26 Tulane, Lost to #30 Navy and Texas-San Antonio, Bad Losses:  Texas-San Antonio)

12-8-15-34-30-27-25-26-25.  Illinois 9-3, did not play,  (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Wins:   Beat Nebraska, Lost to #1 Oregon, #3 Penn State and Minnesota, Bad Losses:  Minnesota)

Dropped Out of Top 25: 

Louisiana

Also Considered:

_-_-_-32-26-20-15-27-26. Tulane (9-3), lost to #10 Army,  (Impressive Wins:  Beat #30 Navy, Lost to #10 Army, #24 Memphis, #27 Kansas State and Oklahoma, Bad Losses:  Oklahoma

18-15-13-23-24-28-28-27.  Kansas State 8-4, did not play, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #26 Tulane, Lost to #12 Arizona State, #13 BYU, #22 Iowa State and Houston, Bad Losses:  Houston)

35-38-31-22-22-_-29-28.  Louisville (8-4), was idle, (Impressive Wins: Beat #19 Clemson, Lost to #6 SMU, #9 Notre Dame, #15 Miami of Florida and Stanford, Bad Losses:  Stanford)

25-22-24-20-28-_-_-30-29.  LSU (8-4), did not play, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #17 Mississippi and #18 South Carolina, Lost to #16 Alabama, #23 Texas A&M, USC and Florida, Bad Losses:  USC and Florida) 

13-4-22-30-27-_-31-30.  Navy (9-3), was idle, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #24 Memphis, Lost to #9 Notre Dame, #27 Tulane and Rice, Bad Losses:  Rice)

Dropped Out of Consideration:

Louisiana

The Scramble for the Playoffs as Teams Jockey For Position in the Top 25

The Oregon Ducks have gone wire-to-wire as the #1 team, taking care of every team on their schedule--they'll play #4 Penn State for the Big 10 Championship next week.

Boise State has scored the biggest win of the one-loss teams that have no bad losses with a narrow victory over #12 UNLV.  The Broncos will need to repeat that win in the Mountain West Championship Friday night if they are to hold their position.

Texas finally scored a win over a ranked team when they outpointed #23 Texas A&M.  Since that win tops Penn State's win over #26 Illinois, Texas's loss (to #6 Georgia) is not as bad as Penn State's loss to #8 Ohio State and neither team has a bad loss, the Longhorns vaulted to #3 over the Nittany Lions.

Miami of Florida and Ohio State each suffered losses to unranked teams, with the Hurricanes going down to Syracuse and the Buckeyes losing to Michigan.  Syracuse couldn't crack the Being Considered list because of three bad losses--Stanford, Boston College and Pittsburgh.  Michigan is 7-5, with one of those losses being to unranked Washington.

Iowa State was the biggest climber, as the Cyclones finally got the big win (over #28 Kansas State) they've been lacking.

Alabama is tied for the most wins over ranked teams (4) with Notre Dame, even more than #1 Oregon (3), but the Tide have two bad losses (to Oklahoma and Vanderbilt) and thus are yet unable to pass teams ranked ahead of them which have better records.  

Notre Dame has the worst loss of teams in the Top 10 (to Northern Illinois) and as bad losses are the most important factor, has a low ceiling.  The Fighting Irish are ahead of Army, which has no impressive wins on its resume.

Mississippi and South Carolina benefitted from LSU's return to Teams Considered (at #30), taking away a bad loss from each.  LSU also gave Alabama and Texas A&M another impressive win.

Note that #19 South Carolina, #20 Missouri and #21 Clemson each have no bad losses as compared to three-loss Alabama ahead of them.  South Carolina, with three impressive wins, would be ahead of even two-loss Miami of Florida and Iowa State with that resume, but are limited in their position because of losses to #17 Alabama and #18 Mississippi and thus must be ranked behind both, each of which have two bad losses and thus have to be behind both Miami and Iowa State.  Missouri and Clemson both lost to South Carolina on the field and by logic have to be ranked behind the Gamecocks.

Memphis re-entered the Top 25 by virtue of their upset win over #27 Tulane, even though they have a very bad loss to Texas-San Antonio.  #29 Louisville, #30 LSU and #31 Navy squeaked into the Being Considered list because of their impressive wins.

The humans made a big mistake last week by ranking Colorado, completely forgetting that the Buffaloes have no wins over ranked teams and have bad losses to 6-6 Nebraska and 5-7 Kansas.  Note that even this week, all the teams Being Considered ahead of Colorado have impressive wins over ranked teams and Colorado's losses to Nebraska and Kansas are worse than all of them, including LSU's losses to 6-6 Florida and 7-5 USC.

Here is the Blue Football Through and Through Top 25 heading into Championship Week!

1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1.  Oregon 12-0, walloped Washington 49-21, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #2 Boise State, #8 Ohio State and #26 Illinois, Losses:  None, Bad Losses:  None) 

7-7-7-7-4-4-3-2.  Boise State 11-1, turned back Oregon State 34-18, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #12 UNLV, Lost to #1 Oregon, Bad Losses:  None)

6-18-17-14-10-8-6-3.  Texas 11-1, tumbled #23 Texas A&M 17-7, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #23 Texas A&M 17-7, Lost to #6 Georgia, Bad Losses:  None)

3-3-3-9-7-5-4-4.  Penn State 11-1, mashed Maryland 41-7,  (Impressive Wins: #26 Illinois, Lost to #8 Ohio State, Bad Losses:  None)

4-5-4-4-5-3-5-5.  Indiana 11-1, ran it up on Purdue 66-0, (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat Nebraska, Lost to #8 Ohio State, Bad Losses:  None)

23-12-11-11-20-15-7-6.  Georgia 10-2, outlasted Georgia Tech 44-42 in 8 overtimes, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #3 Texas, #11 Tennessee and #21 Clemson, Lost to #17 Alabama and #18 Mississippi, Bad Losses:  None)

11-14-12-5-6-10-8-7.  SMU 11-1, smothered California 38-6, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #29 Louisville, Lost to #14 BYU, Bad Losses:  None)

10-13-9-6-3-2-2-8.  Ohio State 10-2, Lost to Michigan 13-10, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #3 Penn State and #5 Indiana, Lost to #1 Oregon and Michigan, Bad Losses:  Michigan)

32-25-19-16-14-12-10-9.  Notre Dame 11-1, put away USC 49-35, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #10 Army, #23 Texas A&M, #29 Louisville and #31 Navy, Lost to Northern Illinois, Bad Losses:  Lost to Northern Illinois)

17-19-16-13-8-6-11-10.  Army 11-1, prevailed over UTSA 29-24, (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat North Texas, Lost to #9 Notre Dame, Bad Losses:  None)

21-17-14-12-11-17-13-11.  Tennessee 10-2, ran by Vanderbilt 36-23, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #17 Alabama, Lost to #6 Georgia and Arkansas, Bad Losses:  Arkansas)

31-28-30-26-18-19-14-12.  UNLV 10-2, humiliated Nevada 38-14  (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:   San Jose State, Lost to #2 Boise State and Syracuse, Bad Losses:  Syracuse)

19-35-32-27-32-24-16-13.  Arizona State 10-2, blitzed Arizona 49-7, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #14 BYU and #28 Kansas State, Lost to Cincinnati and Texas Tech, Bad Losses:  Cincinnati and Texas Tech)

2-2-2-2-2-9-17-14.  BYU 10-2, humbled Houston 30-14, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #7 SMU and #28 Kansas State, Lost to #13 Arizona State and Kansas, Bad Losses:  Kansas)

14-6-6-3-13-11-9-15.  Miami of Florida 10-2, fell to Syracuse 42-38,  (Impressive Wins:  Beat #29 Louisville, Losses:  Lost to Syracuse and Georgia Tech, Bad Losses:  Syracuse and Georgia Tech)

11-8-15-_-_-_-27-16.  Iowa State (10-2), scored a 29-21 win over #28 Kansas State,  (Impressive Wins:  Beat #28 Kansas State, Biggest Win:  Iowa,  Bad Losses:  Texas Tech and Kansas)

22-32-21-17-12-7-19-17.  Alabama 9-3, squeaked by Auburn 28-24, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #6 Georgia, #17 South Carolina, #20 Missouri and #30 LSU, Lost to #11 Tennessee,  Oklahoma and Vanderbilt, Bad Losses:  Oklahoma and Vanderbilt)

37-36-33-28-19-14-18-18.  Mississippi 8-3, downed Mississippi State 26-14, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #6 Georgia 28-10 and #19 South Carolina, Lost to #30 LSU, Florida and Kentucky, Bad Losses:  Florida and Kentucky)

_-37-34-29-29-18-20-19. South Carolina 9-3, edged #21 Clemson 17-14, (Impressive Wins: Beat #20 Missouri, #21 Clemson and #23 Texas A&M, Lost to #17 Alabama, #18 Mississippi and #30 LSU,  Bad Losses:  None)

34-29-26-21-26-25-22-20. Missouri 9-3, outpointed Arkansas 28-21, (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat Arkansas, Lost to #17 Alabama, #19 South Carolina and #23 Texas A&M, Bad Losses:  None)

24-21-18-19-21-16-12-21.  Clemson 9-3, Lost to #19 South Carolina 17-14, (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat Pittsburgh, Lost to #6 Georgia, #19 South Carolina and #29 Louisville, Bad Losses:  None)

24-28-_-_-_-_-24-22.  Duke (8-3) nudged Virginia Tech 31-28, (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Connecticut, Lost to #7 SMU, #15 Miami of Florida and Georgia Tech, Bad Losses:  Georgia Tech)

33-26-20-18-16-13-21-23.  Texas A&M 8-4, lost to #3 Texas,  (Impressive Wins:  Beat #20 Missouri and #30 LSU, Lost to #3 Texas, #9 Notre Dame, #19 South Carolina and Auburn, Bad Losses:  Auburn)

_-16-23-_-31-_-24.  Memphis (10-2) upset #27 Tulane 34-24, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #27 Tulane, Lost to #31 Navy and Texas-San Antonio, Bad Losses:  Texas-San Antonio)

_-_-_-31-15-26-23-25. Louisiana (10-2), took care of Louisiana-Monroe 37-23, (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Wake Forest, Lost to #28 Tulane and South Alabama, Bad Losses:  South Alabama)

Dropped Out of Top 25: 

Illinois and Tulane

Also Considered:

12-8-15-34-30-27-25-26.  Illinois 9-3, turned back Northwestern 38-26,  (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Wins:   Beat Nebraska, Lost to #1 Oregon, #4 Penn State and Minnesota, Bad Losses:  Minnesota)

_-_-_-32-26-20-15-27. Tulane (9-3) lost to #26 Memphis 34-24,  (Impressive Wins:  Beat #25 Louisiana and #31 Navy, Lost to #25 Memphis, #28 Kansas State and Oklahoma, Bad Losses:  Oklahoma

18-15-13-23-24-28-28.  Kansas State 8-4, lost to #16 Iowa State, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #27 Tulane, Lost to #13 Arizona State, #14 BYU, #16 Iowa State and Houston, Bad Losses:  Houston)

35-38-31-22-22-_-29.  Louisville (8-4) clipped Kentucky 41-14, (Impressive Wins: Beat #21 Clemson, Lost to #7 SMU, #9 Notre Dame, #15 Miami of Florida and Stanford, Bad Losses:  Stanford)

25-22-24-20-28-_-_-30.  LSU (8-4) pasted Oklahoma 37-17 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #18 Mississippi and #19 South Carolina, Lost to #17 Alabama, #23 Texas A&M, USC and Florida, Bad Losses:  USC and Florida) 

13-4-22-30-27-_-31.  Navy (9-3) got by East Carolina 34-20, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #24 Memphis, Lost to #9 Notre Dame, #28 Tulane and Rice, Bad Losses:  Rice)

Dropped Out of Consideration:

None

The Cream of the Crop Heading Into The Last Week of the Regular Season

 If ratings were based purely on show, Boise State would be ranked way down in the Top 25.  That is never a proper justification of rankings, so the Broncos' third consecutive less-than-impressive victory enabled them to stay in the upper echelon, though Washington State's second straight loss diminished the luster of that win.  Boise State was able to advance to #3 since their win over #14 UNLV tops Penn State's biggest win (#25 Illinois).  Also, the Broncos' loss was to the #1 team while Penn State's loss was to the #2 team.

Georgia scored the biggest climb of the week.  The Bulldogs show no bad losses and three impressive wins, and benefitted by many teams that were ranked above them losing.

With its third bad loss of the season, Mississippi tumbled after falling to Florida.  By virtue of its loss to Mississippi, South Carolina had to fall as well, with that loss looking worse now.

Even though Missouri won, they had to be ranked behind both Texas A&M and South Carolina, each of which the Tigers lost to, because all three teams now have the same record.

They aren't under consideration, but Kansas became the first team in history with a losing record to defeat three Top 25 teams in a row, as they've bounced Iowa State, BYU and Colorado out of the Big 12 title race.

1-1-1-1-1-1-1.  Oregon 11-0, did not play, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #2 Ohio State, #3 Boise State and #25 Illinois, Losses:  None, Bad Losses:  None) 

10-13-9-6-3-2-2.  Ohio State 10-1, throttled previously unbeaten Indiana 38-15, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #4 Penn State and #5 Indiana, Lost to #1 Oregon, Bad Losses:  None)

7-7-7-7-4-4-3.  Boise State 10-1, held off Wyoming 17-13, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #14 UNLV, Lost to #1 Oregon, Bad Losses:  None)

3-3-3-9-7-5-4.  Penn State 10-1, outlasted Minnesota 26-25,  (Impressive Wins: #25 Illinois, Lost to #2 Ohio State, Bad Losses:  None)

4-5-4-4-5-3-5.  Indiana 10-1, fell to #2 Ohio State 38-15, (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat Nebraska, Lost to #2 Ohio State, Bad Losses:  None)

6-18-17-14-10-8-6.  Texas 10-1, topped Kentucky 31-14, (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat Oklahoma, Lost to #7 Georgia, Bad Losses:  None)

23-12-11-11-20-15-7.  Georgia 9-2, ran the score up on Massachusetts 59-28, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #6 Texas, #12 Clemson and #13 Tennessee, Lost to #18 Mississippi and #19 Alabama, Bad Losses:  None)

11-14-12-5-6-10-8.  SMU 10-1, blasted Virginia 33-7, (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Wins:  Pittsburgh and Louisville, Lost to #17 BYU, Bad Losses:  None)

14-6-6-3-13-11-9.  Miami of Florida 10-1, mashed Wake Forest 42-14,  (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat Louisville, Losses:  Lost to Georgia Tech, Bad Losses:  Georgia Tech)

32-25-19-16-14-12-10.  Notre Dame 10-1, ran over Army 49-14 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #11 Army and Beat #21 Texas A&M, Lost to Northern Illinois, Bad Losses:  Lost to Northern Illinois)

17-19-16-13-8-6-11.  Army 10-1, lost 49-14 to #10 Notre Dame, (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat North Texas, Lost to #10 Notre Dame, Bad Losses:  None)

24-21-18-19-21-16-12.  Clemson 9-2, clobbered The Citadel 51-14, (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat Pittsburgh, Lost to #7 Georgia and Louisville, Bad Losses:  Louisville)

21-17-14-12-11-17-13.  Tennessee 9-2, blanked UTEP 59-0, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #19 Alabama, Lost to #7 Georgia and Arkansas, Bad Losses:  Arkansas)

31-28-30-26-18-19-14.  UNLV 9-2, downed San Jose State 27-16,  (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:   San Jose State, Lost to #3 Boise State and Syracuse, Bad Losses:  Syracuse)

_-_-_-32-26-20-15. Tulane (9-2) blanked Navy 35-0,  (Impressive Wins:  #23 Louisiana, Lost to #26 Kansas State and Oklahoma, Bad Losses:  Oklahoma

19-35-32-27-32-24-16.  Arizona State 9-2, knocked off #17 BYU 28-23, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #17 BYU and #26 Kansas State, Lost to Cincinnati and Texas Tech, Bad Losses:  Cincinnati and Texas Tech)

2-2-2-2-2-9-17.  BYU 9-2, lost to #16 Arizona State 28-23, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #8 SMU and #26 Kansas State, Lost to #16 Arizona State and Kansas, Bad Losses:  Kansas)

37-36-33-28-19-14-18.  Mississippi 8-3, lost to Florida 24-17, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #7 Georgia 28-10 and #20 South Carolina, Lost to LSU, Florida and Kentucky, Bad Losses:  LSU, Florida and Kentucky)

22-32-21-17-12-7-19.  Alabama 8-3, was shocked by Oklahoma 24-3, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #7 Georgia, #20 South Carolina and #22 Missouri, Lost to #13 Tennessee,  Oklahoma and Vanderbilt, Bad Losses:  Oklahoma and Vanderbilt)

_-37-34-29-29-18-20. South Carolina 8-3, whipped Wofford 56-12, (Impressive Wins: #21 Texas A&M and #22 Missouri, Lost to #18 Mississippi, #19 Alabama and LSU,  Bad Losses:  LSU)

33-26-20-18-16-13-21.  Texas A&M 8-3, was defeated 43-41 by Auburn in four overtimes,  (Impressive Wins:  Beat #22 Missouri, Lost to #10 Notre Dame, #20 South Carolina and Auburn, Bad Losses:  Auburn)

34-29-26-21-26-25-22. Missouri 8-3, Downed Mississippi  State 39-20, (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat Vanderbilt, Lost to #19 Alabama, #20 South Carolina and #21 Texas A&M, Bad Losses:  None)

_-_-_-31-15-26-23. Louisiana (9-2), blitzed Troy 51-30, (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Wake Forest, Lost to #15 Tulane and South Alabama, Bad Losses:  South Alabama)

24-28-_-_-_-_-24.  Duke (8-3) nudged Virginia Tech 31-28, (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Connecticut, Lost to #7 SMU, #8 Miami of Florida and Georgia Tech, Bad Losses:  Georgia Tech)

12-8-15-34-30-27-25.  Illinois 8-3, survived Rutgers 38-31,  (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Wins:   Beat Nebraska, Lost to #1 Oregon, #4 Penn State and Minnesota, Bad Losses:  Minnesota)

Dropped Out of Top 25: 

Colorado

Also Considered:

18-15-13-23-24-28-26.  Kansas State 8-3, clipped Cincinnati 41-15, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #15 Tulane, Lost to #16 Arizona State, #17 BYU and Houston, Bad Losses:  Houston)

11-8-15-_-_-_-27.  Iowa State (9-2), held on for a 31-28 win over Utah,  (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Iowa,  Bad Losses:  Texas Tech and Kansas)

Dropped Out of Consideration:

Colorado and Washington State

Blue Through and Through is the only rating service that has had Oregon ranked #1 in each of our released Top 25's.  The Ducks weathered a storm on the road at Wisconsin, pulling out a 16-13 victory.

BYU dropped from the list of the unbeatens with a stinging 17-13 loss at the hands of Kansas.  That bad loss forces the Cougars to take a pretty harsh tumble in the rankings.  That loss is as bad as any one-loss team except for Notre Dame, which lost to Northern Illinois.  SMU, because they lost to BYU, must also fall with the Cougars' loss and be ranked behind them (SMU's loss was worse than originally factored in.)

Washington State found out something Boise State has known for a long time, that the Mountain West is a pretty good conference, one in which any team can beat you in any given week.  The Cougars tumbled from #10 to #22 with their loss to New Mexico and Boise State would have fallen as a result if not for the BYU loss.  Logic tells us that the Broncos should not be ranked as high now that their biggest win lost some of its luster.  Still, Boise State owns two wins over Top 25 teams without any bad losses.

Georgia's victory over Tennessee also did something very interesting in the rankings, requiring us as well as any person voting in a national poll to take another look at which order they rank the teams.  You remember that logically, teams with the same record have to be ranked below any team they lost to.  However, sometimes the results show mixed results within a triangle--in other words, Team A beat Team B and Team B beat Team C, but Team C beat Team A.

Logic would tell us that Team A should be ahead of Team B and Team B should be ahead of Team C, however Team C threw a monkey wrench into making things too easy with it's win over Team A.  That is what we have with Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia.  Tennessee beat Alabama and Alabama beat Georgia.  But Georgia beat Tennessee.

The head-to-head results don't resolve the tie among those three teams.  So logic would tell us that in ranking those three teams, one has to evaluate them the way one would any other three teams with the same record--not their head-to-head results but the quality of their overall resumes.  Namely, that means looking at how good their impressive wins are and how bad their bad losses are, if any.  Georgia's win over Clemson does require ranking the Bulldogs ahead of the Tigers, however.

The regular tie-breaker of head-to-head results applies to all others except Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia.

Alabama is the team that benefits most from this, as their loss to Tennessee necessitated being ranked below the Volunteers, who are kept down by their loss to Arkansas.  The circular reasoning of the three teams' results now frees up Alabama to be ranked much higher, as the Tide has two impressive wins and no bad losses, even allowing them to pass up one-loss teams Texas (without any impressive wins) and Miami of Florida (with a bad loss).

LSU's fourth loss drops them out of consideration and thus takes away impressive wins from anyone who beat them and penalizes anyone who lost to them.

The nation's coaches and media were surprised that Kansas State lost to Arizona State, not realizing that the Wildcats had a bad loss to Houston this year and should not have been ranked all the way up at #16.We had them at the more logical #21.

It's a sign of accurate rankings when #26 Missouri loses and yet moves up to #25 as six teams around them lost as well and no one behind the Tigers was strong enough to pass them.

Pittsburgh, LSU, Navy and Louisville all dropped out of consideration--wise pollsters will now go back and diminish wins over all four and penalize teams that lost to them.  Affected teams in the rankings are Alabama, Miami of Florida, SMU, Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tulane and Memphis.

1-1-1-1-1-1.  Oregon 10-0, held off Wisconsin 16-13, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #2 Ohio State, #4 Boise State, and #27 Illinois, Losses:  None, Bad Losses:  None) 

10-13-9-6-3-2.  Ohio State 9-1, pounded Northwestern 31-7, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #5 Penn State, Lost to #1 Oregon, Bad Losses:  None)

4-5-4-4-5-3.  Indiana 10-0, was idle this week, (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat Nebraska, Losses:  None, Bad Losses:  None)

7-7-7-7-4-4.  Boise State 9-1, impressively came from behind for a 42-21 win over San Jose State, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #19 UNLV and #22 Washington State, Lost to #1 Oregon, Bad Losses:  None)

3-3-3-9-7-5.  Penn State 9-1, ripped Purdie 49-10,  (Impressive Wins: #27 Illinois, Lost to #3 Ohio State, Bad Losses:  None)

17-19-16-13-8-6.  Army 9-0, did not play, (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat North Texas, Losses:  None, Bad Losses:  None)

22-32-21-17-12-7.  Alabama 8-2, beat up on Mercer 52-7, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #15 Georgia and #25 Missouri, Lost to #17 Tennessee and #18 South Carolina, Bad Losses:  None)

6-18-17-14-10-8.  Texas 9-1,downed Arkansas 20-10, (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat Oklahoma, Lost to #15 Georgia, Bad Losses:  None)

2-2-2-2-2-9.  BYU 9-1, lost a heartbreaker to Kansas, 17-13, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #10 SMU and #28 Kansas State, Lost to Kansas, Bad Losses:  Kansas)

11-14-12-5-6-10.  SMU 9-1, prevailed over Boston College 38-28, (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Wins:  Pittsburgh and Louisville, Lost to #9 BYU, Bad Losses:  None)

14-6-6-3-13-11.  Miami of Florida 8-1, did not play,,  (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat Louisville, Losses:  Lost to Georgia Tech, Bad Losses:  Georgia Tech)

32-25-19-16-14-12.  Notre Dame 9-1, took care of Virginia 35-14 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #13 Texas A&M, Lost to Northern Illinois, Bad Losses:  Lost to Northern Illinois)

33-26-20-18-16-13.  Texas A&M 8-2, throttled New Mexico State 38-3,  (Impressive Wins:  Beat #25 Missouri, Lost to #12 Notre Dame and #18 South Carolina, Bad Losses:  None)

37-36-33-28-19-14.  Mississippi 8-2, did not play, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #15 Georgia 28-10 and #18 South Carolina, Lost to LSU and Kentucky, Bad Losses:  LSU and Kentucky)

23-12-11-11-20-15.  Georgia 7-2, beat #17 Tennessee, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #8 Texas, #16 Clemson and #18 Tennessee, Lost to #7 Alabama and #14 Mississippi, Bad Losses:  None)

24-21-18-19-21-16.  Clemson 8-2, beat Pittsburgh 24-20, (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat #31 Pittsburgh, Lost to #15 Georgia and Louisville, Bad Losses:  Louisville)

21-17-14-12-11-17.  Tennessee 8-2, lost to #15 Georgia, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #7 Alabama, Lost to Arkansas, Bad Losses:  Arkansas)

_-37-34-29-29-18. South Carolina 7-3, outlasted #25 Missouri 34-30, (Impressive Wins:  #13 Texas A&M and #25 Missouri, Lost to #7 Alabama, #14 Mississippi and LSU,  Bad Losses:  LSU)

31-28-30-26-18-19.  UNLV 7-2, ripped San Diego State 41-20,  (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:   Kansas, Lost to #4 Boise State and Syracuse, Bad Losses:  Syracuse)

_-_-_-32-26-20. Tulane (9-2) blanked Navy 35-0,  (Impressive Wins:  #26 Louisiana, Lost to #28 Kansas State and Oklahoma, Bad Losses:  Oklahoma

_-31-25-24-25-21 Colorado 8-2, blasted Utah 49-24, (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Wins:  Beat Cincinnati and Texas Tech, Lost to #28 Kansas State and Nebraska, Bad Losses:  Nebraska)

8-10-10-10-9-22.  Washington State 8-2, was shocked by New Mexico 38-35, (Impressive Wins:  None:  Biggest Win:  Beat Texas Tech, Lost to #4 Boise State and New Mexico, Bad Losses:  New Mexico)

19-35-32-27-32-24.  Arizona State 8-2, surprised #28 Kansas State 24-14, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #28 Kansas State, Lost to Cincinnati and Texas Tech, Bad Losses:  Cincinnati and Texas Tech)

34-29-26-21-26-25. Missouri 7-3, fell to #19 South Carolina 34-30 (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat Vanderbilt, Lost to #7 Alabama, #13 Texas A&M and #18 South Carolina, Bad Losses:  None)

Dropped Out of Top 25: 

Louisiana, Kansas State, Pittsburgh, Louisville

Also Considered:

_-_-_-31-15-26. Louisiana (8-2) lost to South Alabama 24-22 (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Wake Forest, Lost to #20 Tulane and South Alabama, Bad Losses:  South Alabama)

12-8-15-34-30-27.  Illinois 7-3, beat Michigan State 38-16,  (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Wins:   Beat Nebraska, Lost to #1 Oregon, #5 Penn State and Minnesota, Bad Losses:  Minnesota)

18-15-13-23-24-28.  Kansas State 7-3, lost to #24 Arizona State 24-14,   (Impressive Wins:  Beat #20 Tulane and #21 Colorado, Lost to #10 BYU, #24 Arizona State and Houston, Bad Losses:  Houston)

Dropped Out of Consideration:

Pittsburgh, LSU, Navy and Louisville

The Nation's Best Are Beginning To Take Shape

The upsets which characterized last week crept up again as # 3 Miami of Florida and #16 Texas A&M fell.  #2 BYU had to rally in the last seconds to defeat Utah and #4 Boise State had to recover an onside kick to defeat hapless Nevada.

There are now just four unbeatens, and #1 Oregon and #2 BYU continue to have the most impressive resumes among them.  #5 Indiana slipped because #18 UNLV is now in the Top 25, giving Boise State two wins over Top 25 teams, while the Hoosiers have none.  Indiana is ranked ahead of the final unbeaten, Army, by virtue of Indiana's biggest win (Texas Tech) while the Cadets' biggest win is over North Texas.  One-loss teams #6 SMU and #7 Penn State are ranked ahead of Army because they own impressive wins (marked in bold). 

Georgia had to take a tumble after losing to Mississippi.  The Rebels are prevented from rising too much because of their loss to Kentucky, one of the worst losses in that range.  Clemson had to fall right with Georgia even though the Tigers beat Virginia Tech yesterday.  Georgia owns a win over Clemson and must be ranked ahead of them.

Pittsburgh's dream season has fallen on tough times.  The Panthers reached as high as #5 two weeks ago before consecutive losses to #6 SMU and Virginia.  

Of the two-loss teams, #12 Alabama has the best resume with three impressive wins (#17 Missouri, #20 Georgia and #28 LSU) and no bad losses.  Note that the Crimson Tide are ahead of #13 Miami of Florida and #14 Notre Dame because the latter two have bad losses.  Logic demands it.

Texas A&M is the next-best two-loss team.  They are ranked behind Notre Dame because they lost on the field to them, and as a result must always be ranked behind the Fighting Irish as long as Notre Dame has the same or better record.  A&M gained ground despite a loss as several teams ahead of them also lost and they have a very impressive resume with no bad losses.  The Aggies have always been held back because of the loss to Notre Dame.  

Georgia and Clemson also do not have any bad losses, but must always be ranked in the order of Mississippi-Georgia-Clemson as long as they have the same records, because Mississippi beat Georgia and Georgia beat Clemson.  Georgia and Clemson will be held back by Mississippi unless or until the Rebels lose another game.  The Rebels had a bad loss to Kentucky.

Missouri and UNLV are thus ranked ahead of that trio, and ranked by their bad losses.  Missouri has neither no bad losses nor any impressive wins, while UNLV has a bad loss to Syracuse and no impressive wins.  Colorado has a bad loss to Nebraska and no impressive wins.  Nebraska is a slightly-worse loss than Syracuse, and a better loss than Mississippi's loss to Kentucky.  Pittsburgh, Kansas State are the next-best two-loss teams, with losses to Virginia and Houston, respectively.  Colorado has a bad loss to Nebraska and no impressive wins, and would be ranked ahead of both Pitt and K-State, but because of a loss to Kansas State must logically be ranked behind them.

As you can see, other than Georgia and Clemson, which have to logically fall behind Mississippi, and Colorado, which logically must be behind Kansas State, the two-loss teams are appropriately ranked.  Alabama (no bad losses)-Texas A&M (no bad losses)-Missouri (no bad losses)-UNLV (loss to Syracuse, which is better than), -Mississippi (loss to Kentucky, which is better than)-Pittsburgh (loss to Virginia, which is better than-Kansas State (Houston).

One-loss Louisiana has to be ranked where it is because they have no impressive wins and a loss to #28 Tulane.  Even though it isn't a bad loss in retrospect, it still is an anchor on them which is not offset by impressive wins.

Arizona State had to fall despite a win because Cincinnati (because they fell out of consideration) is now a second bad loss for the Sun Devils.

Here is the new Top 25!

1-1-1-1-1.  Oregon 10-0, mashed Maryland 39-18 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #3 Ohio State, #4 Boise State, and #30 Illinois, Losses:  None, Bad Losses:  None) 

2-2-2-2-2  BYU 10-0, came from behind in the final seconds to beat rival Utah 22-21 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #6 SMU and #19 Kansas State, Losses:  None, Bad Losses:  None)

10-13-9-6-3.  Ohio State 8-1, blanked Purdue 45-0 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #7 Penn State, Lost to #1 Oregon, Bad Losses:  None)

7-7-7-7-4  Boise State 8-1, prevailed over Nevada 28-21, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #9 Washington State & #18 UNLV, Lost to #1 Oregon, Bad Losses:  None)

4-5-4-4-5.  Indiana 10-0, squeezed by Michigan 20-15 (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat Nebraska, Losses:  None, Bad Losses:  None)

11-14-12-5-6.  SMU 8-1, did not play (Impressive Wins:  Beat #22 Louisville and #23 Pittsburgh, Lost to #2 BYU, Bad Losses:  None)

3-3-3-9-7.  Penn State 8-1, whipped Washington 35-6  (Impressive Wins: #30 Illinois, Lost to #3 Ohio State, Bad Losses:  None)

17-19-16-13-8.  Army 9-0, grounded out a 14-3 win over North Texas (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat North Texas, Losses:  None, Bad Losses:  None)

8-10-10-10-9.  Washington State 8-1, waltzed past Utah State 49-28 (Impressive Wins:  None:  Biggest Win:  Beat Texas Tech, Lost to #4 Boise State, Bad Losses:  None)

6-18-17-14-10  Texas 8-1, throttled Florida 49-17 (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat Oklahoma, Lost to #21 Georgia, Bad Losses:  None)

21-17-14-12-11.  Tennessee 8-1, put away Mississippi State 33-14 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #12 Alabama, Lost to Arkansas, Bad Losses:  Arkansas)

22-32-21-17-12.  Alabama 7-2, scored a lopsided 42-13 win over #30 LSU (Impressive Wins:  Beat #17 Missouri, #20 Georgia and #28 LSU, Lost to #11 Tennessee and #28 South Carolina, Bad Losses:  None)

14-6-6-3-13.  Miami of Florida 8-1, lost to Georgia Tech 28-23 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #22 Louisville, Losses:  Lost to Georgia Tech, Bad Losses:  Georgia Tech)

32-25-19-16-14.  Notre Dame 8-1, ran it up on Florida State 52-3 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #16 Texas A&M, #22 Louisville and #27 Navy, Lost to Northern Illinois, Bad Losses:  Lost to Northern Illinois)

_-_-_-31-15. Louisiana (8-1) walloped Arkansas State 55-19 (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Wake Forest, Lost to #28 Tulane, Bad Losses:  None)

33-26-20-18-16.  Texas A&M 7-2, lost to #28 South Carolina 44-20 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #17 Missouri and #28 LSU, Lost to #14 Notre Dame and #29 South Carolina, Bad Losses:  None)

34-29-26-21-17 Missouri 7-2, topped Oklahoma 30-23 (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat Vanderbilt, Lost to #12 Alabama and #16 Texas A&M , Bad Losses:  None)

31-28-30-26-18.  UNLV 7-2, prevailed over Hawai'i 29-27  (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:   Oregon State, Lost to #4 Boise State and Syracuse, Bad Losses:  Syracuse)

37-36-33-28-19.  Mississippi 8-2, humbled #20 Georgia 28-10 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #20 Georgia 28-10 and #29 South Carolina, Lost to #28 LSU and Kentucky, Bad Losses:  Kentucky)

23-12-11-11-20.  Georgia 7-2, lost to #19 Mississippi 28-10  (Impressive Wins:  Beat #10 Texas and #21 Clemson, Lost to #12 Alabama and #20 Mississippi, Bad Losses:  None)

24-21-18-19-21.  Clemson 7-2, got by Virginia Tech 24-14 (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat North Carolina State, Lost to #20 Georgia and #22 Louisville, Bad Losses:  None)

35-38-31-22-22.  Louisville 6-3, shocked #27 Clemson 33-21 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #22 Clemson, Lost to #6 SMU, #13 Miami of Florida, and #14 Notre Dame, Bad Losses:  None)

15-9-5-8-23.  Pittsburgh 7-2, lost to Virginia 24-19 (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Wins:  Beat Syracuse and Cincinnati, Lost to #6 SMU, Bad Losses:  Virginia)

18-15-13-23-24.  Kansas State 7-2, was upset by Houston 24-19  (Impressive Wins:  Beat #21 Colorado and #26 Tulane, Lost to #2 BYU and Houston, Bad Losses:  Houston)

_-31-25-24-25 Colorado 7-2, came from behind to beat Texas Tech 41-27 (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Wins:  Beat Cincinnati and Texas Tech, Lost to #24 Kansas State and Nebraska, Bad Losses:  Nebraska)

Dropped Out of Top 25: 

Iowa State, LSU and Syracuse

Also Considered:

_-_-_-32-26 Tulane (8-2) ripped Temple 52-6  (Impressive Wins:  #15 Louisiana, Lost to #24 Kansas State and Oklahoma, Bad Losses:  Oklahoma

13-4-22-30-27.  Navy 7-2, turned back South Florida 28-7 (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat Memphis, Losses:  Lost to #14 Notre Dame, Bad Losses:  Rice)

25-22-24-20-28.  LSU 6-3, lost at home to #12 Alabama 42-13  (Impressive Wins:  Beat #19 Mississippi and #29 South Carolina, Lost to #12 Alabama,  #16 Texas A&M, and USC Bad Losses:  Lost to USC)

_-37-34-29-29. South Carolina 6-3, took care of Vanderbilt 28-7, (Impressive Wins:  #16 Texas A&M, Lost to #12 Alabama, #19 Mississippi and  #28 LSU,  Bad Losses:  None)

12-8-15-34-30.  Illinois 6-3, lost to Minnesota 25-17 (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Wins:   Beat Nebraska, Lost to #1 Oregon, #7 Penn State and Minnesota, Bad Losses:  Minnesota)

_-16-23-_-31.  Memphis (8-2), beat Rice 27-20 (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  North Texas, Lost to #27 Navy and Texas-San Antonio, Bad Losses:  Texas-San Antonio

19-35-32-27-32.  Arizona State 7-2, eked out a 35-31 win over UCF (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat Utah, Lost to Cincinnati and Texas Tech, Bad Losses:  Cincinnati and Texas Tech)

Dropped Out of Consideration:  Iowa State and Syracuse

Those That Survived Upset Saturday!

There's always at least one week like this in every college football season--it's known as "Upset Saturday".  This week, there were nine--count 'em--nine losses by Top 25 teams!

Oregon and BYU continue to be 1-2 in the Blue Through and Through rankings.  Look at their resumes of impressive wins and no bad losses and you can see why they are the top two teams.

Miami of Florida was against the ropes at the hands of Duke, but used a spectacular second half to escape with a victory,  Duke fell from consideration, but the Hurricanes were boosted when Louisville scored a win over Clemson to give Miami an impressive win over the #22 team in the country.  That win is more impressive now than Indiana's, as Hoosier victim Nebraska fell from consideration.

SMU is looking strong after their surprisingly easy win over Pittsburgh.  The Mustangs now own wins over the #8 and #22 teams in the nation, with their only loss being to the #2 team in the country, BYU. 

Illinois dropping out of consideration also hurt Penn State, as now the Nittany Lions do not possess an impressive win.

Arkansas dropped out of consideration with its fourth loss of the season and as a result, it pulled other SEC teams down with them.  The reality is that this season, the SEC teams do not have a lot of impressive wins and several have some pretty bad losses.  The highest-ranked of the lot is Georgia, which does own two impressive wins and no bad losses but they did lose to #17 Alabama, so their ceiling is limited to how well Alabama does.  With Arkansas out of consideration, Tennessee now has a bad loss because they fell to the Razorbacks.  Texas only has one loss but their biggest win was against Oklahoma, which isn't among the teams considered either.  And LSU has the bad loss to USC.

Here is this week's Top 25!

1-1-1-1.  Oregon 9-0, thumped Michigan 38-17 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #3 Ohio State, #7 Boise State, and #34 Illinois, Losses:  None, Bad Losses:  None) 

2-2-2-2.  BYU 8-0, did not play (Impressive Wins:  Beat #6 SMU and #20 Kansas State, Losses:  None, Bad Losses:  None)

6-6-3.  Miami of Florida 8-0, came from behind to beat Duke 53-31 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #22 Louisville, Losses:  None, Bad Losses:  None)

5-4-4.  Indiana 9-0, blasted Michigan State 47-10 (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat Nebraska, Losses:  None, Bad Losses:  None)

14-12-5.  SMU 8-1, outclassed #8 Pittsburgh (Impressive Wins:  Beat #8 Pittsburgh and #22 Louisville, Lost to #2 BYU, Bad Losses:  None)

13-9-6.  Ohio State 7-1, outlasted #9 Penn State 20-13 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #9 Penn State and #35 Iowa, Lost to #1 Oregon, Bad Losses:  None)

7-7-7  Boise State 7-1, whipped San Diego State 56-17, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #10 Washington State & #26 UNLV, Lost to #1 Oregon, Bad Losses:  None)

9-5-8.  Pittsburgh 7-1, was destroyed by #5 SMU (Impressive Wins:  Beat #26 Syracuse and #33 Cincinnati, Lost to #5 SMU, Bad Losses:  None)

3-3-9.  Penn State 7-1 was upset by #6 Ohio State 20-13 (Impressive Wins:  None,  Biggest Win:  Lost to #6 Ohio State, Bad Losses:  None)

10-10-10.  Washington State 6-1, did not play (Impressive Wins:  None:  Biggest Win:  Beat Texas Tech, Lost to #7 Boise State, Bad Losses:  None)

12-11-11.  Georgia 7-1, outpointed Florida 34-20  (Impressive Wins:  Beat #14 Texas and #19 Clemson, Lost to #17 Alabama, Bad Losses:  None)

17-14-12.  Tennessee 7-1, got by Kentucky 28-18 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #17 Alabama, Lost to Arkansas, Bad Losses:  Arkansas)

19-16-13.  Army 8-0, grounded Air Force 20-3 (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat Temple, Losses:  None, Bad Losses:  None)

18-17-14.  Texas 7-1, was idle  (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat Oklahoma, Lost to #11 Georgia, Bad Losses:  None)

11-8-15.  Iowa State 7-1, lost to Texas Tech 23-22 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #35 Iowa, Losses:  Lost to Texas Tech, Bad Losses:  Texas Tech)

25-19-16.  Notre Dame 7-1, did not play this week (Impressive Wins:  Beat #18 Texas A&M, #22 Louisville and #30 Navy, Lost to Northern Illinois, Bad Losses:  Lost to Northern Illinois)

32-21-17.  Alabama 6-2, did not play (Impressive Wins:  Beat #11 Georgia and #22 Missouri, Lost to #12 Tennessee and #29 South Carolina, Bad Losses:  None)

26-20-18.  Texas A&M 7-2, lost to #29 South Carolina 44-20 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #20 LSU and #22 Missouri, Lost to #16 Notre Dame and #29 South Carolina, Bad Losses:  None)

21-18-19.  Clemson 6-2, lost to #22 Louisville 33-21 (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat North Carolina State, Lost to #11 Georgia and #22 Louisville, Bad Losses:  None)

22-24-20.  LSU 6-2, was idle  (Impressive Wins:  Beat #28 Mississippi and #29 South Carolina, Lost to #18 Texas A&M and USC Bad Losses:  Lost to USC)

29-26-21 Missouri 6-2, was idle (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat Vanderbilt, Lost to #17 Alabama and #18 Texas A&M , Bad Losses:  None)

38-31-22.  Louisville 6-3, shocked #19 Clemson 33-21 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #19 Clemson, Lost to #5 Miami of Florida, #6 SMU, and #16 Notre Dame, Bad Losses:  None)

15-13-23.  Kansas State 7-2, was upset by Houston 24-19  (Impressive Wins:  Beat #24 Colorado and #32 Tulane, Lost to #2 BYU and Houston, Bad Losses:  Houston)

31-25-24 Colorado 6-2, did not play this week (Impressive Wins:  Beat #33 Cincinnati, Lost to #23 Kansas State and Nebraska, Bad Losses:  Nebraska)

27-29-25.  Syracuse 6-2, survived against Virginia Tech 38-31 in overtime (Impressive Wins:  Beat #26 UNLV, Lost to #8 Pittsburgh and Stanford, Bad Losses:  Lost to Stanford)

Dropped Out of Top 25: 

Navy, Illinois, Memphis

Also Considered:

28-30-26.  UNLV 6-2, was idle this week  (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:   Oregon State, Lost to #7 Boise State and #25 Syracuse, Bad Losses:  None)

19-35-32-27.  Arizona State 5-2, beat Oklahoma State 42-21 (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat Utah, Lost to #33 Cincinnati and Texas Tech, Bad Losses:  Texas Tech)

36-33-28.  Mississippi 7-2, beat Arkansas 63-31 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #34 South Carolina, Lost to #20 LSU and Kentucky, Bad Losses:  Kentucky)

37-34-29 South Carolina 5-3, whipped #19 Texas A&M 44-20 , (Impressive Wins:  #18 Texas A&M, Lost to #17 Alabama, #20 LSU, and #28 Mississippi, Bad Losses:  None)

4-22-30.  Navy 6-2, reeled in a 24-10 loss to Rice (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat Memphis, Losses:  Lost to #16 Notre Dame, Bad Losses:  Rice)

--------31 Louisiana (7-1) beat Texas State 23-17 (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Wake Forest, Lost to #32 Tulane, Bad Losses:  None)

-----32 Tulane (7-2) beat Charlotte 34-3 Biggest Win:  North Texas, Lost to #23 Kansas State and Oklahoma, Bad Losses:  Oklahoma

30-35-33 Cincinnati 5-3, did not play (Impressive Wins:  Beat #27 Arizona State, Lost to #8 Pittsburgh, #24 Colorado and Texas Tech, Bad Losses:  Texas Tech)

8-15-34.  Illinois 6-3, lost to Minnesota 25-17 (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Wins:   Beat Nebraska, Lost to #1 Oregon, #8 Penn State and Minnesota, Bad Losses:  Minnesota)

41-38-35.  Iowa 5-3, ripped Wisconsin 42-10  (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Washington, Lost to #6 Ohio State, #15 Iowa State, and Michigan State, Bad Losses:  Michigan State)

Dropped from Consideration:

Arkansas, Duke, Memphis, Nebraska

Oregon Still Atop The Blue Through and Through Top 25

Oregon continues to roll with their third win over a Top 25 team, defeating #15 Illinois, and this one was more decisive than their wins over #7 Boise State and #9 Ohio State.  The Broncos collected their second impressive win with a road victory over #31 UNLV.  

Notre Dame and Texas A&M both own three impressive wins and Alabama two.  The Aggies are held back because they lost to Notre Dame and thus must be ranked behind them, and Notre Dame is going to be ranked low because of their horrible loss to Northern Illinois, which is going to do well to have a winning season.  

The Irish will not advance very far unless the teams ahead of them also suffer a loss similar to Notre Dame's loss to Northern Illinois, as is logical.  The teams ahead of the Irish have all beaten quality teams and/or have only lost to high-ranked teams.  As we've mentioned before, a bad loss is devastating and will hurt a team more than scoring an impressive win will help them.

Navy fell hard after losing to Notre Dame, which used the win to make their first appearance in the Top 25 this year.  Navy had to be ranked behind the Irish with the head-to-head loss and the same record, but Notre Dame has a low ceiling with their loss to Northern Illinois.  Memphis had to drop substantially as a result as they lost to Navy.  The ratings must be constantly be adjusted due to logic.

You will notice that Colorado debuts in the Top 25 after beating Cincinnati and is ahead of #27 Nebraska.  The Cornhuskers did defeat Colorado, but because they have three losses to Colorado's two are now ranked behind them.  The head-to-head matchup only breaks ties if the two teams have the same number of losses.

Missouri was able to advance despite a loss as several teams ranked ahead of them lost and the Tigers' two losses are to Top 25 teams, much more impressive than the losses suffered by the teams ranked below them.

1-1.  Oregon 8-0, ran way from  #15 Illinois 38-9 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #7 Boise State, #9 Ohio State and #15 Illinois, Losses:  None, Bad Losses:  None) 

2-2.  BYU 8-0, ripped UCF 37-18 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #12 SMU and #13 Kansas State, Losses:  None, Bad Losses:  None)

3-3.  Penn State 7-0 raced past Wisconsin 28-13 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #15 Illinois, Losses:  None, Bad Losses:  None)

5-4.  Indiana 8-0, took care of Washington 31-17 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #27 Nebraska, Losses:  None, Bad Losses:  None)

9-5.  Pittsburgh 7-0, blasted #29 Syracuse 41-13 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #29 Syracuse and #33 Cincinnati, Losses:  None, Bad Losses:  None)

6-6.  Miami of Florida 7-0, vs. Florida State (Impressive Wins:  Beat #31 Louisville, Losses:  None, Bad Losses:  None)

7-7.  Boise State 6-1, beat back #31 UNLV 29-24, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #10 Washington State & #31 UNLV, Lost to #1 Oregon, Bad Losses:  None)

11-8.  Iowa State 6-0, was idle this week (Impressive Wins:  Beat #38 Iowa, Losses:  None, Bad Losses:  None)

13-9.  Ohio State 6-1, squeaked by #27 Nebraska 21-17 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #27 Nebraska and #38 Iowa, Lost to #1 Oregon, Bad Losses:  None)

10-10.  Washington State 6-1, survived San Diego State 29-26 (Impressive Wins:  None:  Biggest Win:  Beat Texas Tech, Lost to #7 Boise State, Bad Losses:  None)

12-11.  Georgia 6-1, did not play  (Impressive Wins:  Beat #17 Texas and #18 Clemson, Lost to #32 Alabama, Bad Losses:  None)

14-12.  SMU 7-1, survived #28 Duke 28-27 in overtime (Impressive Wins:  Beat #28 Duke and #31 Louisville, Lost to #2 BYU, Bad Losses:  None)

15-13.  Kansas State 7-1,eeked out a 29-27 win over Kansas  (Impressive Wins:  Beat #25 Colorado, Lost to #2 BYU, Bad Losses:  None)

17-14.  Tennessee 6-1, did not play (Impressive Wins:  Beat #21 Alabama, Lost to #40 Arkansas, Bad Losses:  None)

8-15.  Illinois 6-2, lost to #1 Oregon 38-9 (Impressive Wins:   Beat #27 Nebraska and #36 Michigan, Lost to #1 Oregon and 3 Penn State, Bad Losses:  None)

19-16.  Army 7-0, was idle this week (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat Temple, Losses:  None, Bad Losses:  None)

18-17.  Texas 7-1 turned back Vanderbilt 27-24 (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat Oklahoma, Lost to #11 Georgia, Bad Losses:  None)

21-18.  Clemson 6-1, did not play (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat North Carolina State, Lost to #11 Georgia, Bad Losses:  None)

25-19.  Notre Dame 7-1, whipped #22 Navy 51-14 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #20 Texas A&M, #22 Navy, and #31 Louisville, Lost to Northern Illinois, Bad Losses:  Lost to Northern Illinois)

26-20.  Texas A&M 7-1, took it to #24 LSU 38-23 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #24 LSU, #26 Missouri and #37 Arkansas, Lost to #19 Notre Dame, Bad Losses:  None)

32-21.  Alabama 6-2, blanked #26 Missouri 34-0 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #11 Georgia and #26 Missouri, Lost to #14 Tennessee and #34 South Carolina, Bad Losses:  None)

4-22.  Navy 6-1, fell to #19 Notre Dame 51-14 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #23 Memphis, Losses:  Lost to #19 Notre Dame, Bad Losses:  None)

16-23 Memphis 7-1, prevailed over Charlotte 33-28 (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat North Texas), Lost to #22 Navy, Bad Losses:  None)

22-24.  LSU 6-2, lost to #20 Texas A&M 38-23  (Impressive Wins:  Beat #32 Mississippi, #34 South Carolina and #37 Arkansas, Lost to #20 Texas A&M and USC Bad Losses:  Lost to USC)

31-25 Colorado 6-2, downed #35  Cincinnati 34-23, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #35 Cincinnati, Lost to #13 Kansas State and #27 Nebraska, Bad Losses:  None)

Dropped Out of Top 25:  Liberty, Duke

Also Considered:

29-26 Missouri 6-2, lost to #21 Alabama 34-0 (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat Vanderbilt, Lost to #20 Texas A&M and #21 Alabama, Bad Losses:  None)

23-27.  Nebraska 5-3, lost to #9 Ohio State 21-17 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #25 Colorado, Lost to #4 Indiana, #8 Iowa State and #15 Illinois, Bad Losses:  None)

24-28.  Duke 5-2, lost a 28-27 heartbreaker to #12 SMU in overtime (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win: North Carolina, Lost to #12 SMU and Georgia Tech, Bad Losses:  Lost to Georgia Tech)

27-29.  Syracuse 5-2, lost to #5 Pittsburgh 41-13 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #30 UNLV, Lost to Stanford, Bad Losses:  Lost to Stanford)

28-30.  UNLV 6-2, lost to #7 Boise State 29-24  (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:   Oregon State, Lost to #7 Boise State and #29 Syracuse, Bad Losses:  None)

38-31.  Louisville 5-3, came from behind to beat Boston College 31-27 (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat Virginia, Lost to #6 Miami of Florida, #12 SMU, and #19 Notre Dame, Bad Losses:  None)

35-32.  Arizona State 5-2, was idle (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat Utah, Lost to #34 Cincinnati and Texas Tech, Bad Losses:  Texas Tech)

36-33.  Mississippi 6-2, downed Oklahoma 26-14 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #34 South Carolina, Lost to #24 LSU and Kentucky, Bad Losses:  Kentucky)

37-34 South Carolina 4-3, did not play , (Impressive Wins:  None, Lost to #21 Alabama, #24 LSU, and #33 Mississippi, Bad Losses:  None)

30-35 Cincinnati 5-3, lost to #25 Colorado 34-23, (Impressive Wins:  Beat #32 Arizona State, Lost to #5 Pittsburgh, #25 Colorado and Texas Tech, Bad Losses:  Texas Tech)

40-36.  Michigan 4-3, vs. Michigan State (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Beat USC, Lost To #15 Illinois, #17 Texas and Washington, Bad Losses:  Washington)

42-37.  Arkansas 5-3 blew away Mississippi State 58-25 (Impressive Wins:  Beat #14 Tennessee, Lost to #20 Texas A&M, #24 LSU, and Oklahoma State, Bad Losses:  Oklahoma State)

41-38.  Iowa 5-3, routed Northwestern 40-14  (Impressive Wins:  None, Biggest Win:  Washington, Lost to #8 Iowa State, #9 Ohio State and Michigan State, Bad Losses:  Michigan State)

Dropped from Consideration:

Texas Tech, Liberty, Oklahoma, North Texas