The eagerly-anticipated Blue Through and Through initial Top 25 college football rankings are out, and by virtue of their heartstopping win over Ohio State, the Oregon Ducks sit atop the throne. Unlike the AP and Coaches polls, this ranking thoroughly examines each team's body of work and never loses track of important wins and bad losses. And also unlike the aforementioned polls, a team will never be ranked behind one they beat on the field if their records are the same. A bad loss is much worse than a team not having an impressive win, though each game is carefully analyzed and tougher schedules are considered.
Oregon has the most impressive wins of the contenders, exciting wins over both #7 Boise State and #10 Ohio State so is the easy choice for #1. Penn State has a nice win over #12 Illinois, but has to take a back seat to #2 BYU, who has defeated both #11 SMU and #18 Kansas State for the second-best body of work among the unbeatens. There is no other way to logically rank the Top Two other than #1 Oregon and #2 BYU.
Several polls have Texas #1, but their biggest win is over #30 Oklahoma--impressive wins will always top wins over non-Top 25 teams among teams with the same record, and as one can plainly see, wins over two Top 25 teams is always going to be more impressive than a single win over the #30 team. On the flip side, several polls have Notre Dame ranked high, but they lost to Northern Illinois, a very damaging loss at this point in the season.
And, pollsters are not using logic when they have Georgia ranked ahead of Alabama. The two have identical 5-1 records and similar losses (Alabama to South Carolina and Georgia to Kentucky) and Alabama defeated Georgia earlier this year.
Logic also tells us that Ohio State and Iowa State should be near each other and that the Cyclones should be ahead. The biggest win for both teams was over Iowa, and Ohio State had the loss to Oregon. Until the Buckeyes own a more-impressive win than Iowa State or until the Cyclones lose, Ohio State is and should always be ranked behind them.
Of the one-loss teams, Boise State and Ohio State logically have to be at the top, since the only loss by either was to the #1 team in the land. The Broncos get the nod this week as their biggest win was over a team also being considered (Washington State) while Ohio State's biggest win is over Iowa. The next-best one-loss team is SMU, whose only loss is to #2 BYU. A loss to a team ranked that high is not going to hurt you, and the Mustangs also own a win over #35 Louisville, another team considered for the Top 25.
Miami of Florida is not ranked higher because, although they are unbeaten, their biggest win is over Florida, a team not even considered. Army, Navy, and Liberty also have the same story--they just haven't beaten anyone of note yet. However, all are ranked ahead of teams like Alabama, Georgia, LSU, and Tennessee, as those four SEC teams all have bad losses, but behind Missouri, Clemson, Kansas State and Texas A&M, who don't have impressive wins either yet, and whose only losses were to ranked teams. Again, a loss to a ranked team doesn't hurt as much as a bad loss. And all of those unbeatens: Army, Navy, and Liberty--will be ranked ahead of those four one-loss teams until they suffer a worse loss, or unless the one-loss teams pile up 2 or 3 wins over ranked teams.
Further, one-loss teams Washington State and Nebraska also have to be ranked ahead of those four mentioned above (Missouri, Clemson, Kansas State and A&M) as their only loss was to a ranked team, not the bad losses of the four behind them.
The overriding problem with today's polls is that they excuse losses by some teams and not others. A loss is a loss and it is never as good as a win. Teams with losses should never be ranked ahead of undefeated teams unless the unbeaten team has no impressive wins, and even then, only after considering each of the games on the respective teams' schedules.
One-loss teams such as Boise State, Washington State and Texas Tech are going to be ranked ahead of unbeaten teams that don't own wins over teams that are considered for the Top 25--that's logic. Of the unbeatens, Oregon, BYU, Penn State, Indiana and Texas all have impressive wins, while Iowa State, Navy, Miami of Florida, Pittsburgh, Army, and Liberty do not and, using logic, should always be ranked ahead of them. And among unbeatens, the teams are going to be ranked based on the quality wins and the number of those quality wins, as you can clearly see.
Iowa and Oklahoma are the best of the two-loss teams--both lost to two Top 25 ranked teams.
Texas A&M has a nice win over Missouri, but the Aggies are held back because they lost to Notre Dame.
Without further ado, here is the Top 25!
1. Oregon 6-0 (Impressive Wins: Beat #7 Boise State and #10 Ohio State, Losses: None, Bad Losses: None)
2. BYU 6-0 (Impressive Wins: Beat #11 SMU and #18 Kansas State, Losses: None, Bad Losses: None)
3. Penn State 6-0 (Impressive Wins: Beat #12 Illinois, Losses: None, Bad Losses: None)
4. Indiana 6-0 (Impressive Wins: Beat #13 Navy, Losses: None, Bad Losses: None)
5. Iowa State 6-0 (Impressive Wins: #29 Iowa, Losses: None, Bad Losses: None)
6. Texas 6-0 (Impressive Wins: Beat #30 Oklahoma, Losses: None, Bad Losses: None)
7. Boise State 5-1 (Impressive Wins: Beat #8 Washington State, Lost to #1 Oregon, Bad Losses: None)
8. Washington State 5-1 (Impressive Wins: Beat #9 Texas Tech, Lost to #7 Boise State, Bad Losses: None)
9. Texas Tech 5-1 (Impressive Wins: Beat #19 Arizona State, Lost to #8 Washington State, Bad Losses: None)
10. Ohio State 5-1 (Impressive Wins: #29 Iowa, Lost to #1 Oregon, Bad Losses: None)
11. SMU 5-1 (Impressive Wins: Beat #35 Louisville, Lost to #2 BYU, Bad Losses: None)
12. Illinois 5-1 (Impressive Wins: Beat #20 Nebraska, Lost to #3 Penn State, Bad Losses: None)
13. Navy 5-0 (Impressive Wins: None, Biggest Win: Beat Memphis, Losses: None, Bad Losses: None)
14. Miami of Florida 6-0 (Impressive Wins: None, Biggest Win: Florida, Losses: None, Bad Losses: None)
15. Pittsburgh 6-0 (Impressive Wins: None, Biggest Win: Cincinnati, Losses: None, Bad Losses: None)
16. Liberty 5-0 (Impressive Wins: None, Biggest Win: East Carolina, Losses: None, Bad Losses: None)
17. Army 6-0 (Impressive Wins: None, Beat Temple, Losses: None, Bad Losses: None)
18.. Kansas State 5-1 (Impressive Wins: None, Biggest Wins: Beat Oklahoma State and Arizona, Lost to #2 BYU, Bad Losses: None)
19. Arizona State 5-1 (Impressive Wins: None, Biggest Win: Beat Utah, Lost to #9 Texas Tech, Bad Losses: None)
20. Nebraska 5-1 (Impressive Wins: None, Biggest Win: Beat Rutgers, Lost to #12 Illinois, Bad Losses: None)
21. Tennessee 5-1 (Impressive Wins: Beat #30 Oklahoma, Lost to #36 Arkansas, Bad Losses: None)
22. Alabama 5-1 (Impressive Wins: Beat #23 Georgia, Lost to South Carolina, Bad Losses: Lost to South Carolina)
23. Georgia 5-1 (Impressive Wins: Beat #24 Clemson, Lost to #22 Alabama, Bad Losses: None)
24. Clemson 5-1 (Impressive Wins: None, Biggest Win: Beat North Carolina State, Lost to #23 Georgia, Bad Losses: None)
25. LSU 5-1 (Impressive Wins: Beat #37 Mississippi, Lost to USC Bad Losses: Lost to USC)
Also Considered:
27. Duke 5-1 (Impressive Wins: None, Biggest Win: North Carolina, Lost to Georgia Tech, Bad Losses: Lost to Georgia Tech)
28. Syracuse 5-1 (Impressive Wins: Beat #31 UNLV, Lost to Stanford, Bad Losses: Lost to Stanford)
29. Iowa 4-2 (Impressive Wins: None, Biggest Win: Washington, Lost to #5 Iowa State and #10 Ohio State, Bad Losses: None)
30. Oklahoma 4-2 (Impressive Wins: None, Biggest Wins: Houston and Auburn, Lost to #6 Texas and #21 Tennessee)
31. UNLV 5-1 Impressive Wins: None, Biggest Win: Kansas, Lost to #28 Syracuse, Bad Losses: None)
32. Notre Dame 5-1 (Impressive Wins: Beat #33 Texas A&M and #35 Louisville, Lost to Northern Illinois, Bad Losses: Lost to Northern Illinois)
33. Texas A&M 5-1 (Beat #34 Missouri, Lost to #32 Notre Dame)
34. Missouri 5-1 (Impressive Wins: None, Biggest Win: Beat Vanderbilt, Lost to #33 Texas A&M, Bad Losses: None)
35. Louisville 4-2 (Impressive Wins: None, Biggest Win: Beat Virginia, Lost to #11 SMU and #32 Notre Dame, Bad Losses: None)
36. Arkansas 4-2 (Impressive Wins: Beat #21 Tennessee, Lost to #33 Texas A&M and Oklahoma State, Bad Losses Oklahoma State)
37. Mississippi 5-2 (Impressive Wins: None, Biggest Win: Beat South Carolina, Lost to #25 LSU and Kentucky, Bad Losses: Kentucky)
38. Michigan 4-2 (Impressive Wins: None, Biggest Win: Beat USC, Lost To #6 Texas and Washington, Bad Losses: Washington)
