B/R Top 25 College Football Poll: Week Nine
By on October 22, 2008
1,198 reads
To say that the BCS and I have a love-hate relationship would be a Terrence Cody-sized understatement.
The possibility of college football’s selection process spontaneously combusting is what gets me out of bed every morning.
But ultimately, I know that cockroaches, Velveeta, and the BCS are the only things that will survive the pending nuclear holocaust—and in some ways, I’ve come to embrace that fact.
Not only does the BCS make for great debate fodder, it also enables us to talk scenarios six weeks in advance of bowl selections. It unites archrivals like Oklahoma and Oklahoma State against No. 1 Texas. It unites Big Ten-haters nationwide, as they root for Ohio State this weekend.
And if all goes according to plan, it will successfully separate two teams from the pack on December 7th.
Number of Voters: 54
NCAA Strength of schedule based on overall record of cumulative opposition.
Click on each team for more commentary from our pollsters.
Strength of Schedule: 11
Last Week: Beat Missouri 56-31
This Week: No. 5 Oklahoma State (+13)
The Longhorns are one of two teams—the other being Alabama—that completely control their own national championship destiny. USC can win every game from here on out 69-0, and it won’t matter. If those teams win, they’re in.
But for the third week in a row, Texas has to tangle with the best the Big 12 has to offer, and the Cowboys present a challenge unlike what the Longhorns saw against Oklahoma and Missouri.
Part of the difference is the unstoppable running attack, which ranks fifth in the nation at 283 yards per game. Oklahoma and Missouri hardly offered that kind of rushing threat combined.
There’s also the Pokes' emerging defense, which held Baylor to just six points—one week after smothering Chase Daniel and the Tigers in Columbia.
Even if Texas gets by Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Kansas are still waiting in the wings. Therefore, is it any surprise that if the Longhorns win out, they will be the highest-rated program in BCS history?
Strength of Schedule: 74
Last Week: Beat Michigan 46-17
This Week: No. 10 Ohio State (+2.5)
All right, Big Ten haters, here it is.
If Ohio State beats Penn State on Saturday, we can eliminate the whole conference from national championship contention, because the human element will not allow the Buckeyes to get back in the top two.
That said, even with a Penn State win, the Nittany Lions need help. Because the Big Ten ranks behind the Big 12 and SEC, Happy Valley has to hope that those conferences don’t both produce unbeaten champions. Otherwise, even an undefeated Joe Pa will get a consolation trip to Pasadena.
That said, it may stun some observers that Penn State’s strength of schedule is virtually identical to that of their undefeated SEC counterpart, Alabama. The Nittany Lions’ ace in the hole is the non-conference win over Oregon State. That’s a trump card that one-loss teams like Oklahoma and Florida won’t have to hold off a late-charging USC.
Strength of Schedule: 75
Last Week: Beat Mississippi 24-20
This Week: at Tennessee (+6.5)
More than any other top 10 team, the Crimson Tide is on upset alert this weekend.
At home in their last two outings, ‘Bama has produced lackluster efforts, edging Kentucky and Mississippi by a combined seven points.
Now, the Tide goes on the road, without an injured Terrence Cody at nose tackle, to face a Tennessee program that is dangerously inconsistent. Alabama has lost two in a row in Knoxville, and the Vols have nothing to lose—except their head coach.
Strength of Schedule: 2
Last Week: Beat Kansas 45-31
This Week: at Kansas State (+19)
Contrary to popular belief, the Sooners do not need Texas to lose twice in order to get back in the Big 12 and national championship picture.
However, they absolutely need a South Division rival to get a win in Austin, and the Cowboys might be their best bet.
For more on how the Big 12 tiebreaking procedure could play right into OU’s hands, click here.
Strength of Schedule: 28
Last Week: Beat Baylor 34-6
This Week: at No. 1 Texas (-13)
The all-time record, 20-2 in Texas’ favor, doesn’t fully convey how painful this series has been for Oklahoma State—especially in recent years.
In three of the past four meetings, the Cowboys have jumped out to big leads, only to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Last year in Stillwater, for example, the Pokes led 35-14 after three quarters before Colt McCoy and the Longhorns rattled off 24 unanswered.
Yet the circumstances and the stakes are different this year. These programs have never met as members of the top 10, and even Mack Brown admits this isn’t your typical OSU football team. Plus, with a win at Missouri two weeks ago, the Cowboys have proven to themselves that they can finish games in 2008.
Texas would be well-served not to let Oklahoma State get too far in front this Saturday.
Strength of Schedule: 17
Last Week: BYE
This Week: Kentucky (+24.5)
The Gators’ BCS ranking is four spots lower than their No. 6 position in our poll, which is an indication of what’s expected of them in the coming weeks.
Having already lost at home to Ole Miss, Kentucky is anything but a forgone conclusion. Yet it’s almost impossible not to look ahead to next week’s showdown with Georgia that will determine the SEC East title.
That game, combined with a season finale against ranked Florida State plus an SEC championship win, could be more than enough to propel Florida all the way from 10th in the standings to the BCS Championship.
Strength of Schedule: 52
Last Week: Beat Washington State 69-0
This Week: at Arizona (+16)
If Pete Carroll wasn’t so inundated with 49ers rumors, he’d probably tell you he cringed a little when he saw how far his Trojans are behind Oklahoma in the initial BCS standings (.8319 versus .7751).
Objectively, that’s how it should be given that Oklahoma lost to the top team in the country and USC lost to unranked Oregon State.
But that’s an awfully big gap to close considering that OU will play no fewer than two more games against ranked opponents, while USC doesn’t figure to play any. Then again, Southern California might be better off letting teams with tougher schedules do all the heavy lifting.
Strength of Schedule: 13
Last Week: Beat Texas A&M 43-25
This Week: at No. 22 Kansas (-2)
If the line on this game didn’t catch your eye, take another look.
Undefeated Tech an underdog against two-loss Kansas? Seriously?
Haven’t the Jayhawks been exposed as one-hit wonders after loses at South Florida and Oklahoma, not to mention a narrow escape at Iowa State?
I might have been tempted to give KU the upset nod in Lawrence, especially in light of how the Red Raiders have been dragging the last two weeks.
But if Todd Reesing’s spread offense hasn’t grabbed Tech’s attention, the Vegas spread certainly will.
Strength of Schedule: 1
Last Week: Beat Vanderbilt 24-14
This Week: at No. 12 LSU (-2)
LSU had hopes of defending. Georgia was the preseason favorite. Saturday afternoon, one will be eliminated from contention altogether.
Theoretically, this could be the first of two meetings between the Bulldogs and Tigers, as neither necessarily needs the game to win its division—though it would help LSU especially.
However, any remaining national championship hopes certainly ride on this nationally televised clash.
Strength of Schedule: 12
Last Week: Beat Michigan State 45-7
This Week: No. 2 Penn State (-2.5)
Ohio State is in a lose-lose situation.
Fall to Penn State at home, and the Big Ten stranglehold is broken. Beat the Nittany Lions on Saturday, and what do the Buckeyes stand to gain?
A rematch with USC in Southern California.
Seriously, is this some kind of karmic joke? Is this the price Jim Tressel pays for that phantom pass interference call in 2002?
You know a one-loss Ohio State team isn’t invited to Miami. It’s heading to Pasadena. And at the moment, the Trojans need a lot of help to avoid the Rose Bowl themselves.
I guess we’ll get to see how much of a difference Beanie Wells would have made after all.
Strength of Schedule: 60
Last Week: Beat Colorado State 49-16
This Week: BYE
Strength of Schedule: 47
Last Week: Beat South Carolina 24-17
This Week: No. 9 Georgia (+2)
Strength of Schedule: 90
Last Week: Beat Hawaii 27-7
This Week: at San Jose State (+7.5)
Strength of Schedule: 48
Last Week: Beat BYU 32-7
This Week: Wyoming (+31)
Strength of Schedule: 69
Last Week: Beat Syracuse 45-13
This Week: at Louisville (+4.5)
Strength of Schedule: 22
Last Week: Lost to Texas 56-31
This Week: Colorado (+21.5)
Strength of Schedule: 38
Last Week: Beat Navy 42-21
This Week: Rutgers (+9.5)
Strength of Schedule: 24
Last Week: Beat Clemson 21-17
This Week: Virginia (+12.5)
Strength of Schedule: 110
Last Week: BYE
This Week: Eastern Michigan (+24)
Strength of Schedule: 116
Last Week: Beat UTEP 77-35
This Week: Central Florida (+23.5)
Strength of Schedule: 81
Last Week: Lost to TCU 32-7
This Week: UNLV (+23)
Strength of Schedule: 4
Last Week: Lost to Oklahoma 45-31
This Week: No. 8 Texas Tech (+2)
Strength of Schedule: 15
Last Week: Beat NC State 26-17
This Week: Virginia Tech (+4.5)
Strength of Schedule: 53
Last Week: Beat Virginia Tech 28-23
This Week: at North Carolina (-3)
Strength of Schedule: 72
Last Week: BYE
This Week: at Purdue (-1)
Also receiving votes: Northwestern, Virginia Tech, Cincinnati, Michigan State, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Maryland, North Carolina, Arizona
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