I just don't get this. You watch weeks of teams playing and you think you have everybody basically figured out, then you get this crap. It's why expanded playoffs are such a bad idea: Every CFB game is a potential outlier . . .
Anyway, here we go. There are only twenty-four undefeated, one- or two-loss teams remaining, which means that every top twenty-five must now include at least one team that won't reach ten wins in the regular season, and that my list now includes two-loss teams. I've found it incredibly easy to rate the best undefeated teams, or one loss teams, or two loss teams. But when I start merging the lists things get pretty wacky. Blah . . :
1. FSU -- could have a rapist at QB, but they're playing the best FB in the country atm . . .
2. Alabama -- 7-0 after the first quarter? Really . . ?
3. Ohio State -- See, that's much better. Though their rise to three has more to do with everyone else sucking it up today . . .
4. Oklahoma State -- Aha! My preseason Big XII pick isn't looking so crazy now, is it
5. Auburn -- Winning the off week, near as I can tell. Plus, they're the
TEAM OF DESTINY
. . .
6. Wisconsin -- One officiating botch way back in week three is keeping this team from a lot of postseason attention . . .
7. Arizona State -- Really should have lost that Wisconsin game, but that wouldn't have changed the fact that they've won the South . . .
8. South Carolina -- I've seen so much bad football from these guys this year, yet they still have a decent chance to win the SEC. I'm very interested in the Clemson game this weekend . . .
9. Oklahoma -- A week off to prepare for Okie State . . .
10. Stanford -- Not really sure what to do with these Pac-12 teams anymore. I guess Stanford should still be ahead of Oregon . . .
11. Oregon -- It's amazing how quickly a good team can fall apart when its goals are taken away from it. Reminds me of Alabama vs. Utah in the Sugar . . .
12. Missouri -- Decisive win over Ole Miss was probably their best of the year. A&M this week decides whether they get to move on to Atlanta . . .
13. Michigan State -- Locked in the title game spot opposite Ohio State by beating Northwestern today. Can't afford to look past Minnesota this week . . .
14. Clemson -- The SCAR matchup should be a highlight of next week. It will be interesting to gauge how those teams have developed through the season . . .
15. Baylor -- Wow. All those high-octane offenses seem to meet their kryptonite sooner or later. This is why I like defense . . .
16. UCF -- Appears to have come out of its funk with the solid win over Rutgers this week. Still two to go . . .
17. NIU -- Clinched the division with the win over Toledo. They deserve another BCS bowl this year . . .
18. Fresno State -- Clinched a MWC title game spot by beating New Mexico today, so I don't know when or if they are going to have time to reschedule that Colorado game . . .
19. ECU -- And East Carolina wins the state title!
Marshall Friday will decide the division. Maybe they'll face Duke in a bowl game . . .
20. Cincinnati -- The Fighting Tubervilles probably need UCF to drop both of their remaining games to win the AAC. Beating Houston as they did today isn't as impressive as it would have seemed earlier in the year. They also have to survive vs. Louisville a week from Thanksgiving to stay alive in the conference race . . .
21. Louisville -- Memphis? Really? The Cincinnati game should be quite the adventure . . .
22. Duke -- All they have to do is beat North Carolina. Then maybe if Winston gets arrested . . .
23. Ball State -- Not good enough to win the West in the MAC or CUSA . . .
24. La-Lafayette -- Undefeated in conference play, they're still locked in a battle for the Sunbelt title with a team that barely got past 0-11 Georgia State today. Lost badly to both AQ teams they played OOC; barely beat Akron . . .
Games of the Week for week 14 . . :
TT/Texas on
Thursday -- could go a long way towards eliminating Texas from the Big XII race
Ole Miss/Miss State on
Thursday -- Miss State's last chance for a bowl game, and the SEC's only real chance to get to ten bowl eligible teams. Though we really needed eleven to get an SEC team to Birmingham
ECU/Marshall on
Friday -- Decides the CUSA East . . .
Bowling Green/Buffalo on
Friday -- Decides the MAC East . . .
Oregon State/Oregon on
Friday -- As badly as Oregon is playing right now, this is at least worth a glance . . .
Michigan State/Minnesota -- MSU could get caught looking past . . .
Duke/UNC -- Historic opportunity for Duke. Win and they're in . . .
Southern Miss/UAB -- Okay, nobody but me cares, but nobody but me has read this far. UAB's chance to end on a win, if not exactly a high note; USM's chance to win their first game in two years. Maybe they can get Favre to come back . . .
Alabama/Auburn -- The Iron Bowl for the Ages. The first ever winner take all matchup . . .
Clemson/South Carolina -- No outcome or margin of victory would surprise me . . .
A&M/Mizzou -- Mizzou's play-in game . . .
UCLA/USC -- Means nothing, but it's USC/UCLA . . .
Resumes:
Unbeaten
FSU --
beat Clemson (10-1, 7-1 ACC),
Miami (8-3, 4-3 ACC),
Boston College (7-4, 4-3 ACC),
Pitt (6-5, 3-4 ACC) and
Maryland (6-5, 2-5 ACC)
Ohio State --
beat Wisconsin (9-2, 6-1 Big Ten),
Buffalo (8-3, 6-1 MAC),
SDSU (7-4, 6-1 MWC),
Iowa (7-4, 4-3 Big Ten) and
Penn State (6-5, 3-4 Big Ten)
Northern Illinois --
beat Ball State (9-2, 6-1 MAC),
Toledo (7-4, 5-2 MAC) and
Iowa (7-4, 4-3 Big Ten)
Alabama --
beat LSU (8-3, 4-3 SEC),
A&M (8-3, 4-3 SEC),
VT (7-4, 4-3 ACC) and
Ole Miss (7-4, 3-4 SEC)
Fresno State --
beat SDSU (7-4, 6-1 MWC),
Boise (7-4, 5-2 MWC), and
UNLV (6-5, 4-3 MWC)
One-loss
Clemson --
lost to FSU (11-0, 8-0 ACC),
beat Georgia Tech (7-4, 5-3 ACC),
Georgia (7-4, 5-3 SEC),
Boston College (7-4, 4-3 ACC) and
Maryland (6-5, 2-5 ACC)
Baylor --
lost to Okie State (10-1, 7-1 Big XII),
beat Oklahoma (9-2, 6-2 Big XII),
Buffalo (8-3, 6-1 MAC),
Texas Tech (7-4, 4-4 Big XII) and
KState (6-4, 4-4 Big XII)
Louisville --
lost to UCF (9-1, 6-0 AAC),
beat Houston (7-4, 4-3 AAC) and
Ohio (6-5, 3-4 MAC)
UCF --
lost to SCAR (9-2, 6-2 SEC),
beat Louisville (10-1, 6-1 AAC),
Houston (7-4, 4-3 AAC) and
Penn State (6-5, 3-4 Big Ten)
Missouri --
lost to SCAR (9-2, 6-2 SEC),
beat Arkansas State (7-4, 5-1 Sunbelt,
Toledo (7-4, 5-2 MAC),
Georgia (7-4, 5-3 SEC),
Vanderbilt (7-4, 4-4 SEC) and
Ole Miss (7-4, 3-4 SEC)
Oregon --
lost to Stanford (8-2, 6-2 Pac-12),
beat UCLA (8-2, 5-2 Pac-12) and
Washington (6-4, 3-4 Pac-12)
Auburn --
lost to LSU (8-3, 4-3 SEC),
beat A&M (8-3, 4-3 SEC),
Arkansas State (7-4, 5-1 Sunbelt),
Georgia (7-4, 5-3 SEC),
Ole Miss (7-4, 3-4 SEC), and
Washington State (6-5, 4-4 Pac-12)
Michigan State --
lost to Notre Dame (8-3),
beat Nebraska (8-3, 5-2),
Iowa (7-4, 4-3 Big Ten) and
Michigan (7-4, 3-4 Big Ten)
Oklahoma State --
lost to WVU (4-7, 2-6 Big XII),
beat Baylor (9-1, 6-1 Big XII),
Texas (7-3, 6-1 Big XII),
TT (7-4, 4-4 Big XII),
UTSA (6-5, 5-2 CUSA) and
KState (6-5, 4-4 Big XII)
Two-loss
Wisconsin --
lost to Arizona State (9-2, 7-1 Pac-12) and
Ohio State (11-0, 7-0 Big Ten),
beat Minnesota (8-3, 4-3 Big Ten), BYU[/b] (7-4) and
Iowa (7-4, 4-3 Big Ten)
Arizona State --
lost to Notre Dame (8-3) and
Stanford (9-2, 7-2 Pac-12),
beat Wisconsin (9-2, 6-1 Big Ten),
USC (9-3, 6-2 Pac-12),
UCLA (8-3, 5-3 Pac-12),
Washington (7-4, 4-4 Pac-12),
Oregon State (6-5, 4-4 Pac-12) and
Washington State (6-5, 4-4 Pac-12)
Oklahoma --
lost to Texas (7-3, 6-1 Big XII) and
Baylor (9-1, 6-1 Big XII),
beat Notre Dame (8-3),
TT (7-4, 4-4 Big XII) and
KState (6-5, 4-4 Big XII)
Ball State --
lost to North Texas (7-4, 5-2 CUSA) and
NIU (11-0, 7-0 MAC),
beat Toledo (7-4, 5-2 MAC)
East Carolina --
lost to VaTech (7-4, 4-3 ACC) and
Tulane (7-4, 5-2 CUSA), beat
MTSU (7-4, 5-2 CUSA) and
UNC (6-5, 4-3 ACC)
Oregon --
lost to Arizona (7-4, 4-4 Pac-12) and
Stanford (9-2, 7-2 Pac-12),
beat UCLA (8-3, 5-3),
Washington (7-4, 4-4 Pac-12) and
Washington State (6-5, 4-4 Pac-12)
Duke --
lost to Pitt (6-5, 3-4 ACC) and
Georgia Tech (7-4, 5-3 ACC),
beat Miami (8-3, 4-3 ACC),
VaTech (7-4, 4-3 ACC),
Navy (7-4)
Stanford --
lost to Utah (4-7, 1-7 Pac-12) and
USC (9-3, 6-2 Pac-12),
beat Arizona State (9-2, 7-1 Pac-12),
Oregon (9-2, 6-2 Pac-12),
UCLA (8-3, 5-3 Pac-12),
Washington (7-4, 4-4 Pac-12),
Oregon State (6-5, 4-4 Pac-12) and
Washington State (6-5, 4-4 Pac-12)
SCAR --
lost to Tennessee (4-7, 1-6 SEC) and
Georgia (7-4, 5-3 SEC),
beat Missouri (10-1, 6-1 SEC),
UCF (9-1, 6-0 AAC),
Vanderbilt (7-4, 4-4 SEC) and
North Carolina (6-5, 4-3 ACC)
La-Lafayette --
lost to Arkansas (3-8, 0-7 SEC) and
KState (6-5, 4-4 Big XII),
beat Arkansas State (7-4, 5-1),
WKU (7-4, 3-3 Sunbelt) and
Texas State (6-5, 2-4 Sunbelt)
Cincinnati --
lost to USF (2-8, 2-4 AAC) and
Illinois (4-7, 4-6 Big Ten),
beat Houston (7-4, 4-3 AAC)
The conferences races are clearing up, for the most part . . :
AAC
Still lots of possibilities. Basically, UCF needs to win one of USF and SMU and finish higher in the BCS than Cincinnati if Cincinnati beats Louisville . . .
ACC Atlantic
FSU
ACC Coastal
Duke needs to beat UNC. If UNC wins there are a lot of possibilities, but basically VaTech is looking pretty good . . .
Big XII
Okie State needs to beat Oklahoma. If Oklahoma wins, then the Texas/Baylor winner is the most likely beneficiary . . .
Big Ten
Michigan State/Ohio State
CUSA East
ECU/Marshall winner
CUSA West
Rice needs to beat Tulane. If Rice loses, it becomes a four-way cluster . . .
MAC East
BG/Buffalo winner
MAC West
NIU
MWC West
Fresno
MWC East
Utah State needs to beat Wyoming. If they lose, Boise gets the tiebreaker via head-to-head . . .
Pac-12
Stanford/ASU . . .
SEC East
If Missouri beats A&M, they’re in; if they lose it’s SCAR . . .
SEC West
Winner take all in Alabama/Auburn . . .
Sunbelt
La-Lafayette needs to win one of two vs. La-Monroe and South Alabama. If they drop both, Arkansas State needs to beat WKU to secure the title . . .
.
Like rats from a sinking ship! It's all over ! ! ! (We lost another recruit, this time to Auburn . . )
