College Football Polls 2012: Grading Week 10 AP and Coaches' Polls
The Week 10 Coaches’ and AP polls have been released following another upset filled college football weekend.
The college football season continues to surprise with a number of teams making dramatic rises only to have major falls on the national stage. Oregon State has finally lost a game, and USC was upset for the second time this season.
Alabama separated from the pack with a huge win over Mississippi State, and Kansas State made a case for the No. 2 ranking with a blasting of Texas Tech.
Here are the grades for the most recent releases of the Coaches’ and AP Polls.
25-21
1 of 5| AP Poll | Coaches Poll | |
| UCLA Bruins (6-2) | 25 | Rutgers Scarlet Knights (7-1) |
| Arizona Wildcats (5-3) | 24 | Oklahoma State Cowboys (5-2) |
| West Virginia Mountaineers (5-2) | 23 | Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (7-1) |
| Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (7-1) | 22 | Texas Longhorns (6-2) |
| Nebraska Cornhuskers (6-2) | 21 | Nebraska Cornhuskers (6-2) |
AP: The AP has a very dicey bottom fifth to the latest release of the college football Top 25. Having West Virginia ranked No. 23 is a big surprise despite its two losses, but having Arizona in after a win over USC may be the most surprising name on the list. At 5-3 there is no reason the Wildcats belong.
Grade: D
Coaches': The coaches solidified their Top 25 from the bottom up this week. Keeping Rutgers in the poll was a good move with the Scarlet Knights being a solid one-loss Big East team. Oklahoma State is also a rising team that has played solid football through seven games.
Grade: A
20-16
2 of 5| AP Poll | Coaches' Poll | |
| Texas Tech Red Raiders (6-2) | 20 | Texas Tech Red Raiders (6-2) |
| Boise State Broncos (7-1) | 19 | West Virginia Mountaineers (5-2) |
| USC Trojans (6-2) | 18 | Mississippi State Bulldogs (7-1) |
| Mississippi State Bulldogs (7-1) | 17 | USC Trojans (6-2) |
| Texas A&M Aggies (6-2) | 16 | Texas A&M Aggies (6-2) |
AP: The AP pulled itself together for this fifth of the poll ranking a solid set of five with Texas A&M leading the way into the Top 20. Mississippi State fell dramatically, but after a big loss to Alabama it was expected. Boise State is bringing up the bottom of the Top 20, steadily steaming toward the Top 15 before season's end.
Grade: B
Coaches': The coaches mimic the AP with A&M standing at the No. 16 spot, but the coaches flip Mississippi State and USC at the No. 17 and No. 18 positions. West Virginia lands in the Top 20 with a No. 19 ranking, and Texas Tech finishes out the Top 20.
West Virginia is the key to this fifth of the poll and earns the coaches a favorable nod. The Mountaineers are a very good football team despite their two losses. Geno Smith is one of the best quarterbacks in the country, and that hasn't changed because of a few down games.
Grade: A
15-11
3 of 5| AP Poll | Coaches' Poll | |
| Stanford Cardinal (6-2) | 15 | Stanford Cardinal (6-2) |
| Oklahoma Sooners (5-2) | 14 | Boise State Broncos (7-1) |
| Oregon State Beavers (6-1) | 13 | Oregon State Beavers (6-1) |
| Louisville Cardinals (8-0) | 12 | Oklahoma Sooners (5-2) |
| South Carolina Gamecocks (7-2) | 11 | South Carolina Gamecocks (7-2) |
AP: The AP drops another solid fifth of the poll with the 11-15 rankings. South Carolina leads the pack after a tough win against Tennessee that saw star running back Marcus Lattimore fall to a season-ending injury.
Louisville was able to stay undefeated and has steadily climbed the polls, and Oregon State settled at No. 13 after facing the first loss of the season. Oklahoma falls to No. 14 after the loss to Notre Dame and Stanford rounds out the Top 15 selections.
Grade: A
Coaches': The Coaches' Poll hits a bit of a skip with this fifth of the poll. The Gamecocks lead at No. 11 with good reason, but Oklahoma stays high with a No. 12 ranking after losing big to Notre Dame at home. The Sooners are receiving a bit too much respect from the coaches.
Another team that is a surprise Top 15 selection by the coaches' is Boise State. The Broncos have consistently been BCS busters, but after a season-opening loss to Michigan State, Boise has been buried in the bottom of the Top 25.
The schedule has continued to get easier, and a win over Wyoming isn't impressive for the Broncos. This was a bad vote for the coaches.
Grade: C
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10-6
4 of 5| AP Poll | Coaches' Poll | |
| Clemson Tigers (7-1) | 10 | Louisville Cardinals (8-0) |
| Florida State Seminoles (8-1) | 9 | Clemson Tigers (7-1) |
| Florida Gators (7-1) | 8 | Florida Gators (7-1) |
| Georgia Bulldogs (7-1) | 7 | Florida State Seminoles (8-1) |
| Clemson Tigers (7-1) | 6 | Louisville Cardinals (8-0) |
AP: The AP is not restricted from voting on teams during a postseason ban, so the Buckeyes lead the charge at No. 6. The remaining bottom half of the Top 10 is solid with Clemson rounding it out.
Georgia and Florida played in a sloppy game that ended the Gators' undefeated run this Saturday. It resulted in a dive from No. 2 to No. 8 for the Gators and a small climb for the Bulldogs.
Florida State continued to blast the competition, but falling in at No. 9 is a little low for the explosive Seminoles.
Grade: B
Coaches': The coaches got this lineup right with Georgia leading at No. 6 and Florida State following at No.7. The Seminoles throttled Duke in an attempt to regain ground lost after a devastating loss to N.C. State earlier in the year.
The Louisville Cardinals get their first show of respect landing in the Top 10 for the first time this season. The undefeated Cardinals are leading the Big East and are set to take on a BCS game this winter if they can hold on to the conference.
Overall the Coaches' Poll was solid in the bottom half of the Top 10 with no surprises and solid selections.
Grade: A
5-1
5 of 5| AP Poll | Coaches' Poll | |
| LSU Tigers ( 7-1) | 5 | LSU Tigers (7-1) |
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8-0) | 4 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8-0) |
| Kansas State Wildcats (8-0) | 3 | Kansas State Wildcats (8-0) |
| Oregon Ducks (8-0) | 2 | Oregon Ducks (8-0) |
| Alabama Crimson Tide (8-0) | 1 | Alabama Crimson Tide (8-0) |
The Rundown: Both the AP and Coaches' polls are interchangeable when it comes to the Top Five. The Crimson Tide lead the country as the consensus No. 1 after a blasting of Mississippi State at home.
The Oregon Ducks continue to impress with a 70-14 win over Colorado, leaving the country to wonder if there is a defense that can stop the Ducks enough to beat them.
Kansas State was able to take on an upset-minded Texas Tech Red Raiders team and win big in a game that was expected to be close. Collin Klein solidified his Heisman candidacy with the big win on Saturday.
Notre Dame played a tight game with Oklahoma this Saturday, finally running away with the game in the second half. The Irish proved that they are here to stay with the 30-13 win over the Sooners. Questions surrounded the Irish offense, but a day that led to 403 total yards of offense extinguished most concerns.
Grades: A
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
