The New Blue Football Through and Through Top 25!

Our rankings, unlike the AP and Coaches polls, are based on actual results and logic.  A bad loss counts much more than a big win, but other than than, we evaluate the teams based on the number and quality of good wins and the number and quality of their losses.  A bad loss is defined as losing to a team not under consideration, while a quality win is defined as a win over any other team being considered.  

We start with each team being equal, then move them up or down based on their season performance vs. that of the teams around them.  We separate them by record and then evaluate them against each other, starting with undefeated teams and moving down.  When we compare teams with the same record, the ones with any bad losses are always going to be ranked lower, and those with quality wins are going to be ranked ahead of those without.  A team with a worse record can be ranked ahead of another if they have less bad losses and/or more quality wins.  

Often, especially late in the year, we have situations where a trio of teams have 2-1 records against each other, so the head-to-head matchup is essentially tied between those three.  In those cases, we break the tie with the evaluation of their best wins and losses and season records.

The coaches and media were shocked when Utah manhandled Cincinnati.  They shouldn't have been--had they used logic and/or seen the Blue Football Through and Through Top 25* last week, they would have known that Utah was by far the superior team.  By taking a quick check of our Top 25*, they would have seen that Utah was logically the #14 team in the nation and Cincinnati #26.  The 45-14 beating Utah administered was a lot more what one would expect looking at these ratings and not what the coaches or media produced.

Although idle this week, Texas A&M continues to hold on to the #1 spot with the most impressive resume--0 losses and wins over now #8 Utah, #17 Notre Dame and #23 LSU.  Ohio State's biggest win  is over #20 Texas.

"Giant-killer" North Carolina State struck again, making mincemeat of previously unbeaten Georgia Tech.  This had two consequences, calling Tech to fall precipitously and making Louisville's Bad Loss to the Wolfpack just a little more plausible.  With four losses, NC State cannot be ranked or even considered, but it's obvious they have talent and are a pretty good 5-4 team.

Miami of Florida's loss to SMU also affected Notre Dame--since Miami beat Notre Dame and the two have the same losses, there is no logical way Notre Dame can be ahead of Miami.

Miami didn't fall because several teams ahead of them lost, 

Remember from last week, the proper ranking of these teams is (from using head-to-head results):  Virginia (which beat Louisville), Louisville (which beat Miami of Florida), Miami of Florida (which beat Notre Dame), Notre Dame (which beat USC), and USC.  Again, the coaches and media were surprised when Miami lost to SMU--although it was an upset, we're not that surprised as we had Miami far lower than the illogical polls.

Notre Dame and South Florida both lost strength as their wins over Boise State are no longer regarded as Quality Wins.

Vanderbilt had to take a big tumble after losing to Texas.  The two now have the same number of losses and Texas cannot be ranked higher because of their Bad Loss to Florida.  Vandy's loss meant a fall for Missouri, as the Commodores beat the Tigers earlier this year.

UNLV fell out of consideration not only because of its Bad Loss to New Mexico, but the loss to Boise State gives the Rebels two Bad Losses.

At this point in the season, two bad losses disqualifies a team from consideration.  They could get back in later in the year.

Most Important:  If a team beats another, they cannot ever be ranked below them as long as that team has the same or worse record.  In other words, we rank them logically.

Here are the Top 25*:

1-1   Texas A&M (8-0) did not play, (Quality Wins: #7 Utah, #18 Notre Dame and #23 LSU)

2-2   Indiana (9-0) mashed Maryland 55-10,  (Quality Wins:  #5 Oregon, #28 Iowa and #31 Illinois)

3-3   Ohio State (8-0) routed Penn State 38-14,  (Quality Wins:  #22 Texas and #27 Washington)

5-4   BYU (8-0) did not play, (Quality Win:  #8 Utah)

7-5   Oregon (7-1) was idle this week,  (Quality Wins:  None; Best Win:  Northwestern, Lost to #2 Indiana)

12-6 Texas Tech (8-1) trounced Kansas State 43-20, (Quality Wins: #8 Utah and #29 Houston, Lost to #35 Arizona State)

8-7   Alabama (7-1) did not play,  (Quality Wins:  #9 Georgia, #21 Vanderbilt, #22 Missouri and #30 Tennessee, Lost to Florida State), Bad Loss:  Florida State)

14-8 Utah (7-2) creamed #27 Cincinnati 45-14,  Quality Wins: #27 Cincinnati and #35 Arizona State, Lost to  #4 BYU and #6 Texas Tech)

9-9   Georgia (7-1) managed a 24-20 win over Florida,  ( Quality Wins:  #10 Mississippi and #30 Tennessee, Lost to #7 Alabama)

11-10 Mississippi (8-1) sailed past South Carolina 30-14, (Quality Wins:  #23 LSU and #24 Oklahoma, Lost to #9 Georgia)

15-11 Virginia (8-1) took care of California 31-21, (Quality Win:  #12 Louisville, Lost to North Carolina State, Bad Loss:  North Carolina State)

16-12  Louisville (7-1) was victorious at Virginia Tech, 28-16,  (Quality Wins:  #16 Miami of Florida and #19 James Madison, Lost to #11 Virginia)

24-13  North Texas (7-1) upended #14 Navy 31-17, (Quality Wins:  #14 Navy, Lost to #34 South Florida)

6-14    Navy (7-1) was outclassed by #13 North Texas 31-17, (Quality Wins:  None; Best Wins:  Air Force and UAB, Lost to #13 North Texas)

4-15   Georgia Tech (8-1) fell from the unbeaten ranks with a 48-36 loss at North Carolina State,  (Quality Win:  none; Biggest Win:  Wake Forest, Lost to North Carolina State, Bad Loss:  North Carolina State)

17-16  Miami of Florida (6-2) was upset by SMU 23-20 in overtime,  (Quality Wins:  #17 Notre Dame and #34 South Florida, Lost to #12 Louisville and SMU, Bad Loss: SMU)

18-17  Notre Dame (6-2) bounced Boston College 25-10,   (Quality Win:  #18 USC, Lost to #1 Texas A&M and #16 Miami of Florida)

23-18 USC (6-2) nudged Nebraska 21-17,   (Quality Win:  #26 Michigan, Lost to #17 Notre Dame and #31 Illinois)

22-19  James Madison (7-1) downed Texas State 52-20,  (Quality Wins:  None; Biggest Win:  Old Dominion, Lost to #12 Louisville)

29-20 Texas (7-2) held Off #21 Vanderbilt 41-31, (Quality Wins:  #21 Vanderbilt and #24 Oklahoma, Lost to #3 Ohio State and Florida, Bad Loss:  Florida)

10-21 Vanderbilt (7-2) fell to #22 Texas 34-31, (Quality Wins:  #22 Missouri and #23 LSU, Lost to #7 Alabama and #20 Texas)

20-22  Missouri (6-2) was idle, (Quality Wins:  None; Biggest Wins:  Kansas, Auburn and South Carolina, Lost to #7 Alabama and #21 Vanderbilt)

27-23  LSU (5-3) did not play,  (Quality Wins:  None; Biggest Wins, Florida and South Carolina, Lost to #1 Texas A&M, #10 Mississippi and #21 Vanderbilt )

30-24  Oklahoma (7-2) overtook #30 Tennessee 33-27, Lost to #10 Mississippi 34-26,  (Quality Wins: #25 Michigan and #30 Tennessee, Lost to #10 Mississippi and #20 Texas

31-25  Michigan (7-2) prevailed over Purdue 21-16, (Quality Win:  #26 Washington, Lost to #18 USC and #24 Oklahoma)

Dropped out of the Top 25*:  #13 Houston, #19 Tennessee, #21 Tulane and #25 UNLV

Also Considered:

32-26  Washington (6-2) did not play,  (Quality Win:  #31 Illinois, Lost to #3 Ohio State and #25 Michigan)

26-27  Cincinnati (7-2) was annihilated by #8 Utah 45-14, (Quality Wins:  None; Biggest Win:  Iowa State, Lost to #8 Utah and Nebraska, Bad Loss:  Nebraska)

28-28   Iowa (6-2)  was idle this week, (Quality Wins:  None, Biggest Win: Minnesota, Lost to #2 Indiana and Iowa State; Bad Loss:  Iowa State)

13-29 Houston (7-2) lost to West Virginia 45-35, (Quality Win:  #35 Arizona State, Lost to #6 Texas Tech and West Virginia, Bad Loss:  West Virginia)

19-30  Tennessee (6-3) lost to #24 Oklahoma 33-27,  (Quality Wins:  None; Biggest Win:  Mississippi State, Lost to #7 Alabama, #9 Georgia and #24 Oklahoma)

33-31   Illinois (5-3) beat Rutgers 35-13,  (Quality Win:  #18 USC, Lost to #2 Indiana, #3 Ohio State and #26 Washington)

34-32   San Diego State (6-1) smothered Wyoming 30-7,  (Quality Wins:  None; Best Win:  California, Lost to Washington State, Bad Loss:  Washington State)

35-33   Memphis (8-1) blasted Rice 38-14, (Quality Win:  #34 South Florida, Lost to UAB, Bad Loss:  UAB)

36-34   South Florida (6-2) did not play,  (Quality Win: #13 North Texas, Lost to #16 Miami of Florida and #33 Memphis)

----35   Arizona State 6-3  beat Iowa State 24-19 (Quality Win:  Texas Tech, Lost to #8 Utah, #29 Houston and Mississippi State, Bad Loss:  Mississippi State)

-----36  Pittsburgh (7-2) rolled over Stanford 35-20, Lost to #12 Louisville and West Virginia, Bad Loss:  West Virginia

21-37  Tulane (6-2) lost to UTSA 48-26,  (Quality Wins:  None; Biggest Wins:  Duke and East Carolina, Lost to #11 Mississippi and UTSA, Bad Loss:  UTSA)

Dropped Out of Consideration:  

#25 UNLV, #37 Boise State, #38 Wake Forest and #39 Nebraska

Blue Football Through and Through Top 25

Here are our initial college football rankings.  Ranking services should generally wait until the sixth or seventh game--rankings released before that are a crapshoot because no one knows who the best teams are until we see patterns.  Our rankings, unlike the AP and Coaches polls, are based on actual results and logic.  A bad loss counts much more than a big win, but other than than, we evaluate the teams based on the number and quality of good wins and the number and quality of their losses.  A bad loss is defined as losing to a team not under consideration, while a quality win is defined as a win over any other team being considered.  

We start with each team being equal, then move them up or down based on their season performance vs. that of the teams around them.  We separate them by record and then evaluate them against each other, starting with undefeated teams and moving down.  When we compare teams with the same record, the ones with any bad losses are always going to be ranked lower, and those with quality wins are going to be ranked ahead of those without.  A team with a worse record can be ranked ahead of another if they have less bad losses and/or more quality wins.  

Often, especially late in the year, we have situations where a trio of teams have 2-1 records against each other, so the head-to-head matchup is essentially tied between those three.  In those cases, we break the tie with the evaluation of their best wins and losses and season records.

Texas A&M has the most impressive resume, with wins over #14 Utah, #18 Notre Dame and #30 LSU.  Indiana owns wins over #7 Oregon, #28 Iowa and #33 Illinois and is thus second.

The polls mistakenly have several SEC teams ranked high and ahead of Alabama, including Georgia and Vanderbilt.  Both these teams lost to #8 Alabama, and since the Tide had a horrible loss to Florida State and all three have the same record, Georgia and Vanderbilt cannot be ranked ahead of Alabama, nor higher in the rankings given Alabama's bad loss.  Mississippi does not have a bad loss, but they lost to #9 Georgia and thus must be ranked behind the Bulldogs.  All of these are brought down by Alabama's bad loss to an out-of-conference team.

Miami of Florida cannot be ranked high either.  The Hurricanes lost to Louisville, which lost to Virginia and Virginia has that bad loss to North Carolina State.  So the correct order of those three ACC teams is:  Virginia, Louisville and Miami of Florida.  It also follows logically that Notre Dame and USC, two teams that otherwise would be in the Top 10, have to be behind Miami, as Notre Dame lost to Miami and USC lost to Notre Dame.

Michigan suffers a similar fate, as they otherwise would be ranked much higher, but lost to USC, which lost to Notre Dame, which lost to Miami of Florida, which lost to Louisville, which lost to Virginia.  Virginia has to be the highest-ranked of those teams by virtue of head-to-head matchups, but have a bad loss to North Carolina State, one which dooms Louisville to be ranked below them.  Washington also suffers a hit with their loss to Michigan and thus must be ranked below Michigan.

Boise State also suffers from a bad loss by Memphis to UAB.  The Broncos beat #25 UNLV, but must be ranked below Memphis, which beat South Florida, and South Florida, whom the Broncos lost to.  Memphis has the worst loss among these 39 teams and should not be ranked, as the human polls suggest.

At this point in the season, two bad losses disqualifies a team from consideration.  They could get back in later in the year.

Most Important:  If a team beats another, they cannot ever be ranked below them as long as that team has the same or worse record.  In other words, we rank them logically.

Please write in the comments if you have a question why we ranked teams the way we did.

Here are the Top 25:

#1   Texas A&M (8-0) Destroyed #27 LSU 41-25,  (Quality Wins: #14 Utah, #18 Notre Dame and #30 LSU)

#2   Indiana (8-0) Pounded UCLA 56-6,  (Quality Wins:  #7 Oregon, #28 Iowa and #33 Illinois)

#3   Ohio State (7-0) Did not play,  (Quality Wins:  #29 Texas and #33 Washington)

#4   Georgia Tech (8-0) Destroyed Syracuse 41-16,  (Quality Win:  #38 Wake Forest; Biggest Wins:  Clemson and Duke)

#5   BYU (8-0) Staged a wild comeback to beat Iowa State 41-27, (Quality Wins:  None;  Best Win:  Iowa State)

#6   Navy (7-0) Ran over Florida Atlantic 42-32, (Quality Wins:  None; Best Wins:  Air Force and UAB)

#7   Oregon (7-1) Got by Wisconsin 21-7,  (Quality Wins:  None; Best Win:  Northwestern, Lost to #2 Indiana)

#8   Alabama (7-1) Had to struggle from behind to beat South Carolina 29-22,  (Quality Wins:  #9 Georgia, #10 Vanderbilt and #19 Tennessee, Lost to Florida State), Bad Loss:  Florida State)

#9   Georgia (6-1) Did not play,  ( Quality Wins:  #11 Mississippi and #19 Tennessee, Lost to #8 Alabama)

#10 Vanderbilt (7-1) Prevailed over #20 Missouri 17-10, (Quality Wins:  #20 Missouri and #27 LSU, Lost to #8 Alabama)

#11 Mississippi (7-1) Topped #30 Oklahoma 34-26, (Quality Wins:  #27 LSU and #30 Oklahoma, Lost to #9 Georgia)

#12   Texas Tech (7-1) Overwhelmed Oklahoma State 42-0, (Quality Wins: #13 Houston and #14 Utah, Lost to Arizona State, Bad Loss:  Arizona State)

#13   Houston (7-1) Upended Arizona State 24-16, (Quality Wins:  None;  Biggest Win:  Arizona State, Lost to #12 Texas Tech)

#14 Utah (6-2) Creamed Colorado 53-7,  Quality Win: None, Biggest Win:  Arizona State, Lost to  #5 BYU and #12 Texas Tech)

#15 Virginia (7-1) Outlasted North Carolina 17-16, (Quality Win:  #16 Louisville, Lost to North Carolina State, Bad Loss:  North Carolina State)

#16 Louisville (6-1) Bumped Boston College 38-24,  (Quality Wins:  #17 Miami of Florida and #22 James Madison, Lost to #15 Virginia)

#17 Miami of Florida (6-1) Smothered Stanford 42-7,  (Quality Wins:  #18 Notre Dame and #37 South Florida, Lost to #16 Louisville)

#18 Notre Dame (5-2) Did not play,   (Quality Wins:  #23 USC and #37 Boise State, Lost to #1 Texas A&M and #17 Miami of Florida)

#19 Tennessee (6-2) Toppled Kentucky 56-34,  (Quality Wins:  None; Biggest Win:  Mississippi State, Lost to #8 Alabama and #9 Georgia)

#20 Missouri (6-2) Fell to #10 Vanderbilt 17-10, (Quality Wins:  None; Biggest Wins:  Kansas, Auburn and South Carolina, Lost to #8 Alabama and #10 Vanderbilt)

#21 Tulane (6-1) Did not play,  (Quality Wins:  None; Biggest Wins:  Duke and East Carolina, Lost to #11 Mississippi)

#22 James Madison (6-1) Did not play,  (Quality Wins:  None; Biggest Win:  Old Dominion, Lost to #16 Louisville)

#23 USC (5-2) Did not play,   (Quality Win:  #31 Michigan, Lost to #18 Notre Dame and #33 Illinois)

#24 North Texas (7-1) Put away Charlotte 54-20, (Quality Wins:  None; Biggest Win:  Army, Lost to #36 South Florida)

#25 UNLV (6-1) Did not play,  (Quality Wins:  None; Biggest Win:  UCLA, Lost to #37  Boise State)

Also Considered:

#26 Cincinnati (7-1) beat Baylor 41-20, (Quality Wins:  None; Biggest Win:  Iowa State, Lost to #39 Nebraska)

#27 LSU (5-3) Lost to #1 Texas A&M 41-25,  (Quality Wins:  None; Biggest Wins, Florida and South Carolina, Lost to #1 Texas A&M, #10 Vanderbilt and #11 Mississippi )

#28 Iowa (6-2)  Blasted Minnesota 41-3, (Quality Wins:  None, Biggest Win: Minnesota, Lost to #2 Indiana and Iowa State; Bad Loss:  Iowa State)

#29 Texas (5-2) Came from behind to beat Mississippi State 45-38, (Quality Win:  #30 Oklahoma, Lost to #3 Ohio State and Florida, Bad Loss:  Florida)

#30 Oklahoma (6-2) Lost to #11 Mississippi 34-26,  (Quality Win:  #31 Michigan, Lost to #11 Mississippi and #29 Texas

#31 Michigan (6-2)Turned Back Michigan State 31-20 (Quality Wins: #32 Washington and #39 Nebraska, Lost to #23 USC and #30 Oklahoma)

#32 Washington (6-2) Beat #29 Illinois 42-25,  (Quality Win:  #33 Illinois, Lost to #3 Ohio State and #31 Michigan)

#33 Illinois (5-3) lost to #32 Washington 42-25,  (Quality Win:  #23 USC, Lost to #2 Indiana, #3 Ohio State and #32 Washington)

#34 San Diego State (6-1) Blanked Fresno State 23-0,  (Quality Wins:  None; Best Win:  California, Lost to Washington State, Bad Loss:  Washington State)

#35 Memphis (7-1) Beat #36 South Florida 34-31, (Quality Win:  #36 South Florida, Lost to UAB, Bad Loss:  UAB)

#36 South Florida (6-2) Lost to #35 Memphis 34-31, (Quality Wins: #24 North Texas and #37 Boise State, Lost to #17 Miami of Florida and #35 Memphis)

#37 Boise State (6-2) beat Nevada 24-3 (Quality Win:  #25 UNLV, Losses to #18 Notre Dame and #36 South Florida)

#38 Wake Forest (5-2) Nudged SMU 13-12,  (Quality Wins:  None; Biggest Win:  SMU,  Lost to #4 Georgia Tech and North Carolina State, Bad Loss:  North Carolina State)

#39 Nebraska (6-2)  Got by Northwestern 28-21, (Quality Win:  #26 Cincinnati, Lost to #31 Michigan and Minnesota, Bad Loss:  Minnesota)

Only 30 Schools Have More Players in the NFL Wild Card Games Than Boise State

 Only 30 schools in the nation have more NFL players in the 5 Wild Card games this week than Boise State. The Broncos have no players in the Packers-Eagles game nor the Steelers-Ravens matchup, but former Boise State great Kellen Moore is the offensive coordinator of the Eagles. Former great offensive line coach Chris Strausser is now the offensive line coach for the Houston Texans.

Boise State is tied with BYU, North Carolina, UCLA, USC and Virginia in the #31 spot with five players each.

Here is the representation of the top football teams in the country with at least 5 players in the 5 games:

1. Alabama 29
2. Georgia 23
3. Notre Dame 15
3. Ohio State 15
5. Washington 14
6. Penn State 13
7. Florida 12
7. Oklahoma 12
9. Iowa 10
9. LSU 10
9. Mississippi 10
9. Wisconsin 10
9. Texas 10
14. Oregon 9
14. Texas A&M 9
16. Auburn 8
16. Clemson 8
16. Illinois 8
16. Michigan 8
20. Boston College 7
20. Nebraska 7
20. Pittsburgh 7
20. Utah 7
24. Florida State 6
24. Kentucky 6
24. Maryland 6
24. Memphis 6
24. Mississippi State 6
24. Stanford 6
24. TCU 6
31. Boise State 5
31. BYU 5
31. North Carolina 5
31. UCLA 5
31. USC 5
31. Virginia 5