College Football Rankings: The Top 10 Poll, Projections
College football rankings will be announced on October 18. From this juncture on it will only matter how teams are listed under that system.
The best argument in the world will not stop No.1 from playing No. 2 in the BCS National Championship Game. The only item that can change is what schools occupy those positions in the final regular-season poll.
For the final pre-BCS-ranking poll we have listed who we rank as the Top 10 teams in the country and who we project to be the BCS Top 10.
In many instances the rating of teams will be similar, though not always for the same reasons.
The Top 10 for October 17: Final Rankings Prior to The BCS Poll
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Top 10 Rankings For October 17
This Week Last Week
No.1: Boise State (3)
No.2: Oklahoma (5)
No.3: Oregon (6)
No.4: TCU (4)
No.5: Iowa (7)
No.6: Utah (9)
No.7: Auburn (10)
No.8: LSU (8)
No.9: Michigan State N/R
No.10: (Tie) Alabama N/R
No.10: (Tie) Ohio State (2)
No.10: (Tie) Nebraska (1)
Drop Outs: None
The Drifters: Wisconsin, Florida State, Oklahoma State, Missouri
The final pre-BCS poll Top 10 reveals an odd mix of schools from all over the country with the exception of the northeast and eastern seaboard.
The complete domination of Nebraska's interior rushing defense by Texas was a truly shocking sight to behold. For whatever reason, Texas played inspired football and deserves great credit for showing up ready to fight for the win on the Cornhuskers' home field.
Ohio State's lethargic attempt at stopping the Wisconsin ground game left similar shattered dreams on the gridiron at Camp Randall. The Badgers bulldozed the powerful defense of Coach Jim Tressel.
As the Buckeye effort in Madison is reminiscent of Alabama's dreadful defensive performance the week before at South Carolina, it seems only reasonable to shackle the Huskers, Tide and Buckeyes together in a tie for the final position of this week's Top 10.
Oklahoma destroyed Iowa State to make a claim for the top position in the poll while Iowa calmed the furor over Denard Robinson and Michigan. These two schools would make ideal opponents in any bowl.
Utah, TCU and Boise State continued to roll in the virtual league of "the fearsome threesome." An exceptional trio who have played in BCS bowl games and remain undefeated in the current season.
Michigan State continued their unbeaten ways with a victory over Coach Ron Zook's Fighting Illini.
In the SEC, both LSU and Auburn remained undefeated to set up next week's clash on the plains to determine bragging rights in the conference's western division.
Projected BCS Poll For Week 1
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The evening of October 17 will reveal the initial BCS Poll.
An argument exits that because the BCS Poll does not begin until mid-October its bias is minimized.
Contrary to that belief, there are human factors involved in the Coaches' Poll, which is part of the formula for determining the BCS rankings. This can arbitrarily seat a team higher in September, leading to an artificially high launching point for any determination made six weeks later.
In any event, the following is a projection of how the Top 10 BCS rankings will look when announced.
No.1: Boise State
No.2: Oregon
No.3: Texas Christian
No.4: Oklahoma
No.5: Auburn
No.6: LSU
No.7: Michigan State
No.8: Alabama
No.9: Wisconsin
No.10: Ohio State
Regional Rankings After a Weekend of Upsets
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The Midwest:
The Top 3
No. 1: Iowa
No. 2: Michigan State
No. 3: Wisconsin
The undefeated season dreams of Ohio State and Nebraska came to a crashing thud on Saturday as Wisconsin and Texas moved the ball on the ground better than anticipated and put the two storied programs down for the count.
Michigan State continued to surprise as a threat to win the Big 10 but could be drawing an inside straight in the difficult area of obtaining a spot in the BCS National Championship Game.
Iowa defeated Michigan in a convincing manner but not without moments of anxiety.
Kansas State crushed Kansas in their annual matchup, 59-7.
The South:
The Top 3
No. 1: Auburn
No. 2: LSU
No. 3: Alabama
The Crimson Tide bounced back as expected from last week's loss to South Carolina by defeating Mississippi in methodical fashion, 23-10.
South Carolina collapsed on the road and blew an 18-point lead in succumbing to Kentucky, 31-28. The Gamecocks fell apart after star freshman running back Marcus Lattimore had to leave the contest due to a twisted ankle.
Mississippi State went into Gainesville and defeated Florida, 10-7, while LSU was its usual unimpressive self in defeating McNeese State, 32-10.
Auburn proved a good offense can take a team far in college football. The Tigers lit up the scoreboard for 65 points in trimming Arkansas by 22.
Florida State was fortunate to escape ponderous Boston College, 24-19, while East Carolina stunned N.C. State in overtime.
In Sun Belt Conference action, Troy continued to win by holding off Louisiana Lafayette, 31-24.
The West
The Top 3
No. 1: Oregon
No. 2: Stanford
No. 3: Arizona
Nevada put its unbeaten streak on the line in Hawaii but fell to the Warriors, 27-21.
Oregon took the week off while Washington defeated Oregon State in double overtime, 35-34.
Arizona eased past Washington State, and USC annihilated Cal by the final count of 48-14. Now the Trojans take their week off and prepare for a visit from the Oregon Ducks on October 30.
The East
The Top 3
No. 1: West Virginia
No. 2: Pittsburgh
No. 3: Temple
Coach Dave Wannstedt of Pittsburgh finally received the kind of performance from his Panthers he had been expecting all season. When the dust cleared, Syracuse had fallen to Pitt by the score of 45-14.
West Virginia ran over South Florida, 20-6.
The Owls of Temple escaped the Falcons of Bowling Green while the Army Black Knights gave up a two touchdown lead and lost to Rutgers in overtime.
In Ivy League action, Yale edged non-conference foe Fordham by the score of 7-6 while Penn eased past Columbia, 27-13. Cornell went outside the league and received a 44-3 drubbing from Colgate.
The Southwest
The Top 3
No. 1: Oklahoma
No. 2: TCU
No. 3: Oklahoma State
While Texas was laying the wood to Nebraska, the Sooners of Oklahoma took the opportunity to frighten the remainder of the Big 12 by crushing Iowa State, 52-0.
Oklahoma State took care of Texas Tech 34-17, and Baylor improved to 5-2 on the year by taking down Colorado, 31-25.
TCU muddled about and suddenly awoke to smash Brigham Young, 31-3.
Texas A&M did their best impression of a rug and laid down at home for Missouri, 30-9.
The Mountains
The Top 3
No. 1: Boise State
No. 2: Utah
No. 3: Air Force
The Falcons from Colorado Springs continue to have trouble with their defense and San Diego State exploited Air Force's inability to stop the run, producing a 27-25 upset victory.
Boise State destroyed another victim, this time San Jose State, by the final score of 48-0. The Broncos will not play again until an unusual Tuesday night meeting with Louisiana Tech on October 26.
Utah sleepwalked past Wyoming, 30-6.
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