College Football Rankings: Who Got Screwed in the Week 13 Polls?
The college football season is sadly winding down, as there are only a few more weeks of regular-season and conference-championship action to hold us over until the bowls start up.
While it's sad to see the season slipping away, it's also the time of year when the national polls gain even more importance than usual. This week saw some surprising upsets and hard-fought escape jobs by highly ranked teams, and as a result both the AP and Coaches' polls have taken on a different look heading into Week 13.
But the question is, is it the right look? I'm sure each of the Top 25 teams, save for maybe those at the very top of the polls, will have their share of gripes about placement. Here, I'll try to argue cases for 10 teams that I think deserved to have a better ranking in the Week 13 polls.
As always, be sure to chime in with your own take on who got slighted by the human voters this week.
Stanford Cardinal (No. 7 AP, No. 8 Coaches' Poll)
1 of 10
I fully expected Stanford to move up a spot or two in the rankings this week after they handily dispatched Cal, a team only a week removed from almost shocking the world and upsetting the nation's top team, the Oregon Ducks.
Stanford's win, coupled with LSU's nail-biter of an escape against Ole Miss, seemed like enough to move Stanford up to the six or seven spot in both polls.
Instead, their ranking remained unchanged in the Week 13 polls. I assume the argument against them is that they haven't beaten any non-conference powers, but they've beaten USC and Arizona, and their only loss came at the hands of Oregon.
Being this good in the Pac-10 should warrant a bump of at least a spot or two.
Wisconsin Badgers (No. 5 AP and Coaches' Polls)
2 of 10
I thought this would be the week that one of the undefeated non-AQ teams up at the top of the poll, meaning TCU, would slip a spot because of one of the large-conference powers lingering closely below them in the rankings.
TCU lacks a big non-conference win, and the second-best team in their conference (Utah) barely escaped with a win against San Diego State, fresh off back-to-back losses to TCU and Notre Dame.
Wisconsin, on the other hand, has a chance to win the Big Ten title and is coming off a thumping of Michigan on the road, another decent addition to their resume, which I think, at this point, trumps TCU's.
Yes, they have one loss, but their degree of difficulty should put them up at number four in the rankings this week.
Oklahoma State Cowboys (No. 10 AP, No. 9 Coaches' Poll)
3 of 10
My main gripe with Oklahoma State's positioning is that they aren't above Alabama in both polls. Alabama is a great two-loss team that has beaten great teams, but Oklahoma State's run through the Big 12 this year should have them in the single digits in both human polls this week.
The AP finally wised up and moved them up to No. 10 (they were at 12 last week, despite the BCS and Coaches' polls both having them at No. 10). But I think the AP is again behind the curve on this one, keeping them a spot behind the Crimson Tide.
I can justify ranking Alabama higher if they upset Auburn in the Iron Bowl and Oklahoma State loses either in the Oklahoma game or the Big 12 title game (should they get there).
But right now, Oklahoma State belongs a spot higher.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Arkansas Razorbacks (No. 12 AP and Coaches' Polls)
4 of 10
I can understand keeping Arkansas ranked below Alabama in the polls, as they have identical records and similarly impressive conference and non-conference wins but Alabama won the teams' head-to-head meeting earlier this year.
But both SEC teams deserve to be ranked above one-loss Michigan State, thanks to the level of opponent they've knocked off so far in 2010. Michigan State has done an impressive job getting to 10-1, but their biggest win came over Wisconsin. Michigan was ranked at the time of the two teams' meeting, but they have quickly faded from the national picture.
Meanwhile, Arkansas in particular has victories over non-conference power Texas A&M, as well as conference wins at Georgia, South Carolina and Mississippi State, three tough games even in spite of Georgia's down year.
As a result, the Razorbacks should be rewarded with a spot at either 10 or 11, ahead of the Spartans.
Missouri Tigers (No. 15 AP, No. 16 Coaches' Poll)
5 of 10
Apparently Missouri didn't rack up enough style points in their 14-0 quieting of Iowa State this weekend, as they stayed in their same spots in the polls this week, with Oklahoma still ahead of them despite losing the two teams' head-to-head meeting this year.
I figured the fact that Texas A&M upset Nebraska would have helped Missouri's standing in the voters' eyes, considering Missouri posted a resounding win over the Aggies when they met this year. But it appears their loss to Texas Tech continues to hold them back from moving up at all in the polls.
Oklahoma's wins seem less impressive, although they did totally dismantle the same Iowa State team that Missouri struggled against this weekend. I think Missouri is still being undervalued by the pollsters.
Texas A&M Aggies (No. 17 AP, No. 18 Coaches' Poll)
6 of 10
The fact that their three losses were to Arkansas, Oklahoma State and Missouri should be enough to bump them up a few spots in these polls, especially when they are fresh off beating a consensus Top-10 team this weekend.
I understand three losses is a deterrent, but the Aggies have played a tough schedule and posted quality wins over Nebraska, Oklahoma and Baylor.
I think this week, at least, they belong a spot higher than the team they just defeated.
Nevada Wolf Pack (No. 19 AP and Coaches' Polls)
7 of 10
I understand the reasoning behind keeping Nevada planted in the No. 19 spot. They don't play in a tough conference, they aren't even undefeated in their weak conference since they dropped a game to Hawaii on the road, and they haven't notched any real big non-conference wins to pad their resume.
Still, at this juncture they should be above at least one of the three-loss teams they're trailing, particularly South Carolina.
And I understand that South Carolina has lost to big teams in tough SEC play while knocking off a number of ranked opponents, but I think at least for now, Nevada deserves to be a spot or two higher.
North Carolina State Wolfpack (No. 21 AP, No. 23 Coaches' Poll)
8 of 10
NC State has lost some bad games, notably to East Carolina and Clemson. But they have beaten UCF, which is a borderline Top-25 team from Conference USA, as well as Florida State, who has been ranked for much of the season.
Yet the Coaches' Poll has them behind both Florida State and Utah, two teams I think the Wolfpack deserve to be pegged above in the national polls.
They have a chance to further their case by beating Maryland and wrapping up a solid ACC season, but I think, thanks to their win over Florida State, they deserve to be a few spots higher.
Iowa Hawkeyes (No. 24 AP and Coaches' Polls)
9 of 10
Four losses is probably a kiss of death for a team in terms of arguing for a better place in the Top 25, but I think Iowa's four losses warrant a little bit more leeway, given their opponents.
Arizona is a high quality non-conference opponent, and losses in the Big Ten to Wisconsin and Ohio State are not indefensible. The biggest flop on Iowa's part is their loss to Northwestern, but Northwestern has been ranked in the Top 25 at least once this year.
I feel their seven wins are more impressive than the nine that a team like Utah has put together, against mostly non-threatening opponents. Iowa has knocked off Michigan State, Penn State and Michigan, three tough Big Ten teams.
In this instance, the strength of the Big Ten should win out over the softness of Utah's conference, and the Hawkeyes should still be up around No. 22 in the polls.
Northern Illinois Huskies (Unranked in AP and Coaches' Polls)
10 of 10
This seems like the best possible week for Northern Illinois to crack the Top 25 at the bottom of the rankings, yet they still can't muster the votes to overcome power-conference teams like Mississippi State, the team that should have dropped from the poll in NIU's favor.
The MAC is a decent conference, and the Huskies are the top team in it right now, running the table in conference play so far while playing a challenging non-conference schedule. Losses to Iowa State and Illinois, both on the road, are not terrible losses, although a Top-25 team should probably handle Iowa State.
Still, Mississippi State has failed basically every test it's faced in the SEC this year. They've beaten an unranked, transitional Florida team, but have no other standout victory to point to.
I think Northern Illinois deserved a chance to replace them in the polls this week.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
