NCAA Football Rankings 2016: Hits and Misses from Week 9 Polls
For the ninth consecutive week, Alabama is ranked No. 1 in both the USA Today Amway Coaches Poll and the Associated Press Top 25.
It has been a decade since any team spent the entire regular season at No. 1 in the polls (Ohio State in 2006), but the Crimson Tide are well on their way to ending that drought after comfortably taking care of business against Tennessee (49-10) and Texas A&M (33-14) in the past two weeks.
Beyond that obvious top spot, though, hits and misses abound in both polls.
The voters hit the mark by giving Arkansas the boot after its 56-3 loss to Auburn, but they're still woefully underrating the surging Tigers.
Louisville rightly jumped to No. 5 in both polls after blowing out North Carolina State, but how in the world is Houston still ranked in the coaches poll after getting blown out by SMU?
Read on for the rest of Week 9's hat tips and head scratchers.
Hit: Adios, Arkansas
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Amway Coaches Poll: Not ranked (previously No. 17)
AP Top 25: Not ranked (previously No. 17)
Week 8 Result: 56-3 loss to Auburn
Oftentimes, when a ranked team goes on the road and loses to another ranked team, it doesn't pay much of a price in the polls. Three weeks ago, Wisconsin and Louisville dropped a combined seven spots in the AP poll for their road losses to Ohio State and Clemson, respectively. The following week, No. 9 Tennessee lost at No. 8 Texas A&M and didn't drop a single spot.
But that only happens when the road team actually shows up to play.
That wasn't the case when No. 17 Arkansas traveled to No. 21 Auburn.
This one was over in an instant. Auburn scored a touchdown on its first play from scrimmage while Arkansas didn't score a single touchdown in the game. The Tigers ran for 543 yards and had five players break off a run of at least 27 yards. Arkansas had 25 rushing yards as a team and did not have a single play—rushing, passing or returning—go for more than 19 yards.
It almost looked like an intramural flag football game between a team comprised of guys who used to play in high school and a team of guys who would rather be playing Settlers of Catan. I was on that latter team in college, and it wasn't much fun. At least those games only lasted about 45 minutes. The Razorbacks had their butts dragged across the field for hours.
Meanwhile, Arkansas' best wins of the season lost even more value as TCU and Ole Miss both got thumped this week, too.
The Razorbacks received 570 votes in last week's coaches poll, but rightfully dropped all the way down to 11 votes this week. If anything, that's still too many.
Miss: Votes for Houston
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Amway Coaches Poll: No. 24 (previously No. 11)
AP Top 25: Not ranked, 2nd among others receiving votes (previously No. 11)
Week 8 Result: 38-16 loss to SMU
The Houston bandwagon was fun while it lasted, but the voters who haven't abandoned ship yet had better be wearing flame-retardant clothing, because that thing went up in flames in a hurry.
Earlier this month, the Cougars were 5-0 with a marquee win over Oklahoma. Given the lackluster schedule to come, some of us were already assuming it would just be a matter of time before 10-0 Houston put its College Football Playoff hopes on the line against Louisville on Nov. 17.
At this point, though, Houston's only hope of having any sort of role in the New Year's Six bowls is by playing spoiler to the Cardinals in that game.
The Cougars lost to Navy two weeks ago, needed a late fumble recovery for a touchdown to win at home against Tulsa last week and were taken to the cleaners this Saturday by SMU—which is now 6-27 in its last 33 games.
Over the previous three seasons, Houston had wiped the floor with SMU, beating the Mustangs thrice by a combined score of 118-37. None of those games were decided by a margin of less than three touchdowns.
Then again, neither was this one, as the Mustangs made the Cougars look nothing like a Top 25 team.
To the voters who saw fit to keep Houston right on the fringe of their ballots, It's time to stop living in the past. This team isn't even showing signs of life right now.
Hit: Louisville Comfortably Tops Among 1-Loss Teams
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Amway Coaches Poll: No. 5 (previously No. 7)
AP Top 25: No. 5 (previously No. 7)
Week 8 Result: 54-13 win over North Carolina State
After a lackluster (for him) week against Duke—181 passing yards, 144 rushing yards, two total touchdowns—Lamar Jackson was back in Heisman form against N.C. State.
He "only" finished with 431 total yards, but Jackson had 304 passing yards, 55 rushing yards and four total touchdowns in the first half. Against the team that was a missed field goal away from ending Clemson's perfect season just one week ago, the Cardinals were up 44-0 at the intermission before letting the Wolfpack escape with a little bit of pride in the second half.
Louisville is leading the nation in scoring at 52.6 points per game. Jackson has scored 34 touchdowns by himself, putting him in a four-way tie with Tulsa, North Carolina and Memphis for the 24th-most touchdowns scored by an entire team.
Yet, for the second straight week, Louisville's defense was starred, holding back-to-back opponents to just two touchdowns. Save for Alabama and Michigan, the Cardinals look like the most unbeatable team in the country right now.
And the voters did them a solid, bumping them up to No. 5 in polls, leapfrogging both Ohio State and Texas A&M to remain the highest-ranked one-loss team in the country.
Though Louisville's only hope of playing in the ACC championship game is for Clemson to suffer multiple losses in the next four weeks, there's still a good chance that this team makes it into the College Football Playoff. The Cardinals may need another statement win or two like they had against N.C. State, but it's hard to complain about their current spot in the polls.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Miss: Auburn Not Tops Among 2-Loss Teams
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Amway Coaches Poll: No. 17 (previously No. 24)
AP Top 25: No. 15 (previously No. 21)
Week 8 Result: 56-3 win over Arkansas
Auburn made a nice leap in both polls, but it wasn't nearly enough. There is not a scarier two-loss team in the country right now.
The Tigers have won their last three games by a combined margin of 152-24. They have rushed for 1,181 yards on offense while allowing just 755 total yards on defense. Granted, blowing out Louisiana-Monroe and Mississippi State is hardly worth writing home about, but Auburn made quite the statement by stomping a mudhole in Arkansas.
The Tigers now own wins over Arkansas and LSU while their only losses have come against currently No. 3 Clemson and No. 11 Texas A&M. And those losses feel like a lifetime ago because this team has been untouchable in October.
And yet, the Tigers are only third among the two-loss teams, still sitting behind No. 11 Wisconsin and No. 12 Florida State and barely ahead of No. 16 Oklahoma and No. 18 Tennessee.
Ranking Auburn behind Wisconsin is understandable. The Badgers have only lost to Big Ten powerhouses Ohio State and Michigan—each by a one-touchdown margin—and have wins away from home against LSU, Iowa and Michigan State.
What's the case for the other three teams, though?
Oklahoma has played much better after an ugly start, but the Sooners don't have a win over a currently ranked team. Moreover, their season-opening loss to Houston has turned sour over the past few weeks. Likewise, Florida State hasn't beaten a currently ranked team and was completely destroyed by Louisville. Tennessee hasn't won since Oct. 1, and the last time we saw the Volunteers, they lost 49-10 to Alabama.
Auburn deserves better. Maybe next week's road game against Ole Miss will help get the Tigers closer to the Top 10 where they belong.
Hit: Michigan Jumps to No. 2 in Both Polls
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Amway Coaches Poll: No. 2 (previously No. 4)
AP Top 25: No. 2 (previously No. 3)
Week 8 Result: 41-8 win over Illinois
At this point, we just feel bad for teams that have to take the field against Michigan.
Alabama is outstanding and deserving of the No. 1 spot in the rankings, but at least the Crimson Tide can be scored against. They've given up at least 30 points twice and have allowed an average of 14.9 points per game.
Colorado was the only team to score more than twice against the Wolverines this season—and one of those touchdowns came on a fumble recovery. They have given up an average of 11.7 points per game this season and have held their last four opponents to just 25 points combined.
Michigan could be undefeated while putting up just two touchdowns per game, but Jim Harbaugh's boys aren't taking any chances, averaging nearly seven TDs at 48.7 points per game. It's scary how much better the Wolverines have been than their opponents, particularly as of late.
Meanwhile, Clemson got a massive scare last week from N.C. State before getting the week off to recover.
Sure, the Tigers have slightly more-impressive wins (vs. Louisville, at Auburn) than Michigan does (vs. Wisconsin, vs. Penn State). And, yes, the only difference between No. 2 and No. 3 at the end of the season is what color jerseys will be worn in the College Football Playoff semifinal. But Michigan is undeniably the better team right now and was most deserving of claiming the No. 2 spot vacated by Ohio State.
Miss: West Virginia Still Behind Baylor
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Amway Coaches Poll: No. 9 (previously No. 13)
AP Top 25: No. 10 (previously No. 12)
Week 8 Result: 34-10 win over TCU
If you had been hesitant to buy stock in West Virginia's hot start, no one could blame you.
The Mountaineers entered the season with a 26-25 record since joining the Big 12 in 2012, failing to win more than eight games in any of those seasons. They spent time in the AP poll in three of those four years, but they were long gone by the time the final ballots were cast.
But after four consecutive wins over teams with a good shot at becoming bowl-eligible (BYU, Kansas State, Texas Tech and TCU), it's time to start taking these guys seriously.
The Mountaineers dismantled TCU yesterday. Though the Horned Frogs aren't nearly as good as we expected in the preseason, they entered Morgantown with a scoring margin of plus-61 and had not been beaten by more than six points. They were averaging better than 40 points per game, but they could not get anything going against a West Virginia defense that has now held five of its six opponents to 21 points or fewer.
Skyler Howard had his best game of the season, torching TCU's secondary for four touchdowns with only seven incompletions and no picks.
Yet, West Virginia remains ranked behind fellow Big 12 team Baylor, which is 6-0 with three wins over 1-6 teams (Rice, Iowa State and Kansas) and one win over an FCS school (Northwestern State). The Bears only have one win over a team likely to play in a bowl game—beating Oklahoma State 35-24—but flawed poll logic has enabled them to climb all the way into a tie for No. 6 in the Coaches Poll.
The Bears have only played once in the past three weeks, winning at home against Kansas. But they have benefited from losses to others, steadily climbing into near-lock-for-a-New-Year's-Six-game range in the polls despite not yet facing any true challenges.
As things currently stand, West Virginia is clearly the best team in the Big 12. It's a shame the polls don't reflect that.
Hit: Much Love for Penn State
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Amway Coaches Poll: Not ranked, 2nd among others receiving votes (previously no votes)
Associated Press Top 25: No. 24 (previously no votes)
Week 8 Result: 24-21 win over Ohio State
Save for the season opener against Kent State, the Nittany Lions have played quite possibly the most difficult schedule in the country.
Each of Penn State's last six opponents—Pitt, Temple, Michigan, Minnesota, Maryland and Ohio State—currently has at least five wins. But James Franklin's bunch has won four of those six games, including last week's blowout win over the Terrapins and last night's massive upset of the Buckeyes.
The Nittany Lions barely accomplished anything on offense. QB Trace McSorley completed just eight passes and they averaged just 3.3 yards per carry as a team. Yet, they were able to outscore the Buckeyes 17-0 in the fourth quarter by turning a blocked punt into a field goal and returning a blocked field goal for a touchdown.
Special teams were a disaster for Penn State in the first three quarters. Tyler Davis had a field goal blocked on the opening drive, John Reid muffed a punt and set Ohio State up with great field position, and a bad snap on a punt trickled into the end zone for an Ohio State safety.
But they made up for lost time in the money quarter.
The Nittany Lions didn't quite sneak into the Coaches Poll, but they make their season debut at No. 24 in the AP Top 25. It's the first time they have been ranked since Dec. 5, 2011.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
