NCAA Football Rankings 2014: Hits and Misses from Week 11
Another college football weekend is in the books, and another round of carnage has ensued. The anticipated weekend of the season featured six games between Top 25 teams. Five of those games resulted in double-digit wins. Only Alabama's overtime win over LSU was close.
Additionally, Auburn saw its playoff hopes go up in flames after a surprising loss to Texas A&M. So, sure, it was an elimination weekend of sorts.
As is customary every Sunday, The Associated Press and USA Today released their new Top 25 polls. Though neither of these polls are taken into consideration with the playoff-selection committee, they may provide a glimpse into where teams stand.
You can also check out the latest Bleacher Report Top 25 for comparison.
Which teams were appropriately ranked in the latest Top 25 polls? Which ones weren't? The answers are in the following slides.
Hit: Baylor
1 of 7
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 10; AP, No. 10; CFP: No. 12
Current Coaches Poll: No. 6
Current AP Poll: No. 6
Current B/R Poll: No. 7
The knock on Baylor, despite rallying to beat TCU at home last month, was that it hadn't played anyone in nonconference. Sure enough, Northwestern State, SMU and Buffalo leave something to be desired.
As of last week, the Bears were ranked as many as six spots behind the Horned Frogs. Clearly, the committee didn't value Baylor's total body of work. That should change—or, at least, begin to change—following its 48-14 win over Oklahoma.
"Win" doesn't even do it justice, really. Baylor fell behind early but then boat-raced the Sooners with 45 straight points.
Baylor's schedule was always going to be back-loaded, and if it keeps playing like this, it's definitely in the playoff discussion. It should be there now, and it is.
The intriguing moment comes at season's end if—if—the Bears and Frogs finish with one loss apiece. Would the committee value the head-to-head or the whole body of work? Would both get into the playoff? Neither? (There's also a separate discussion, then, about incentive to schedule even remotely difficult out-of-conference games.)
The good news is that we have five more minutes to answer those questions, but the Bears are not dead in the playoff water just yet because of a cruddy early schedule.
Miss: Georgia
2 of 7
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 16; AP, No. 17; CFP: No. 20
Current Coaches Poll: No. 14
Current AP Poll: No. 16
Current B/R Poll: No. 15
What has two losses to South Carolina and Florida and ranks in the top 15? The mighty Georgia Bulldogs, of course.
Yes, Georgia took care of business by beating Kentucky 63-31 without star running back Todd Gurley, but how much credit does that really deserve? Furthermore, the Bulldogs' best win is against a mostly Deshaun Watson-less Clemson.
I guess I'm not seeing where Georgia fits anywhere in the top 15. The playoff selection committee was less forgiving to the Bulldogs a week ago. Will they have the same attitude this time around?
Hit: Ohio State
3 of 7
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 11; AP, No. 13; CFP: No. 14
Current Coaches Poll: No. 7
Current AP Poll: No. 8
Current B/R Poll: No. 8
Is there a more improved team over the past two months than Ohio State? You might be hard-pressed to find one, especially after the Buckeyes knocked off Michigan State 49-37 in East Lansing on Saturday.
Clearly, the Buckeyes offense has come a long way since losing to Virginia Tech in Week 2. The Buckeyes still have that tough loss to the Hokies, but at least now have a solid win to balance things out. The way Ohio State is playing, it could line up across from any team in college football and have a good chance to win.
Deserving of a top-10 ranking on the fringe of the playoff discussion? Absolutely. As Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports tweeted, Ohio State is the team no one wants to face right now.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Hit: Notre Dame
4 of 7
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 8; AP, No. 8; CFP: No. 10
Current Coaches Poll: No. 16
Current AP Poll: No. 15
Current B/R Poll: No. 14
Notre Dame was a team that, heading into Week 11, looked great in its one loss to Florida State but average in wins over lesser opponents.
The good news (maybe?) is that we've at least figured out what the Irish are: a decent team that can't get out of its own way.
A 55-31 loss to Arizona State on Saturday was marked by five turnovers. The Irish defense actually played well enough to win, despite what the scoreboard read. But when you turn the ball over five times, there's never a good chance to win.
Notre Dame still has a couple of tough games against Louisville and USC to end the season, so there's a chance to make an impression down the road. To be clear, the Irish have talent. However, they simply don't have a good win anywhere on their resume.
Miss: Alabama
5 of 7
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 4; AP, No. 4; CFP: No. 5
Current Coaches Poll: No. 3
Current AP Poll: No. 4
Current B/R Poll: No. 4
This is bound to go over well in Finebaum country, but it feels like Alabama is just a couple of spots too high based on what the Tide have done—which, it should be noted, is not the same as what they could do in the final weeks of the season.
Look, there's no doubt it takes guts to beat LSU at Death Valley at night, even if this isn't the usual Tigers team. Alabama quarterback Blake Sims orchestrated a key drive to put the team in a position for a game-tying field goal that sent the game to overtime.
That said, this was not the 9-6 clash of future BCS Championship contenders of 2011. As B/R colleague Barrett Sallee points out, when LSU plays as poorly on offense as it did, the game shouldn't be as close as it was. That's not just one opinion, either. Head coach Nick Saban didn't think Alabama was at its best on Saturday.
"It was a great win, but did we play a great game? Probably not our best," Saban said (h/t Cecil Hurt, TideSports.com).
Is LSU Alabama's best win to date? Probably, given West Virginia's recent slide. That says about all you need to know. Is Alabama in the playoff conversation? Yes. Will it jump up the rankings if the Tide beat Mississippi State and Auburn? Of course. Is Alabama one of the four best teams right now? Probably not.
Hit: Kansas State
6 of 7
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 9; AP, No. 9; CFP: No. 7
Current Coaches Poll: No. 13
Current AP Poll: No. 13
Current B/R Poll: No. 12
Kansas State's best win remains over Oklahoma. Other than that, the Wildcats haven't been able to win their two biggest games of the year against Auburn and TCU. In the latter game, K-State got beat soundly.
To knock K-State out of the top 10 when there are at least a half-dozen teams that have done more is appropriate. It doesn't mean it isn't good, or can't beat Baylor at the end of the year, but you have to go off of what you've done.
What Kansas State couldn't do in both losses was run the ball. The Wildcats are obviously a good, well-coached football team, but the formula to beat them seems simple: stop the run, win the game.
Miss: Nebraska
7 of 7
Ranking Last Week: Coaches, No. 14; AP, No. 15; CFP: No. 13
Current Coaches Poll: No. 11
Current AP Poll: No. 11
Current B/R Poll: No. 11
Nebraska was off this week, but still rose three spots in the coaches' poll and four spots in the AP poll. That would be thanks to losses by Kansas State, Notre Dame, Michigan State and the like.
The Huskers' best win is still against Miami, and they lost the head-to-head game against Michigan State. Since the Spartans have two double-digit losses, the fact that Nebraska is one spot ahead of Michigan State is less bothersome, however.
One of the things the playoff era should eliminate, though it clearly hasn't, is blind rising and falling in the polls. In other words, teams ahead of Nebraska lost, so therefore the Huskers must suddenly be better. That's not how it should work.
We'll find out soon enough if Nebraska is as good as its ranking indicates. The Huskers close the regular season with games against Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
