Texas Tech Surges, But Florida and Texas Remain 1-2 in OCGR

Though Texas Tech has showcased its last two wins on ABC Primetime Saturday Night, Florida and Texas remained atop the OCGR for the second straight week. 

However, the Red Raiders continue to surge towards the top.  Utah is the surprise of the week by holding down the third spot.

(Ratings as of Nov. 9)

Rank	Team	Record	OCGR	PvWk
1	Florida	8-1	78.54	1
2	Texas	9-1	76.53	2
3	Utah	10-0	66.47	7
4	USC	8-1	65.70	6
5	Texas Tech	10-0	64.60	8
6	Oklahoma	9-1	63.75	4
7	Penn State	9-1	63.52	3
8	Alabama	10-0	61.54	5
9	Georgia	8-2	60.11	9
10	Boise State	9-0	58.59	12
11	Ohio State	8-2	57.02	14
12	Missouri	8-2	56.20	13
13	Oklahoma State	8-2	54.59	11
14	Michigan State	9-2	47.27	NR
15	Ball State	9-0	47.00	16
16	BYU	9-1	45.80	15
17	Tulsa	8-1	38.91	NR

(Dropped from ratings: No. 15 TCU & No. 17 LSU)

From this list, there are eight contenders to fight for those top two spots.  The question will be are they really contenders?

Florida: CONTENDER

Despite the Ole Miss loss, the Gators have everything in front of them and basically control their destiny.  Toughest test remaining: SEC Championship Game vs. Alabama

Texas: CONTENDER

They may not control their own destiny for the Big 12 Championship, they have more control to finish in the top two.  However, their supreme strength of schedule will take a slight hit.  Toughest test remaining: Getting in to the Big 12 Championship Game

Utah: PRETENDER

Utah does not quite have enough of a schedule left to earn a spot of the top two.  However, they would need both Texas and Florida to lose another regular season game to have a much better shot.  Toughest test remaining: Focusing on boosting their stats against San Diego State to get as many points as possible

USC: PRETENDER

They have pretty much maxed out their rating.  They need two of the top three to lose to have any shot.  Toughest test remaining: Keeping enough batteries for their TV remotes for their scoreboard watching

Texas Tech: CONTENDER

Even though they show up in the fifth position, the Red Raiders control their own destiny.  With their future match-up at Oklahoma and a possible match-up against Missouri, Tech has a lot of room to grow in the strength of schedule department.  Toughest test remaining: Winning away from Lubbock

Oklahoma: PRETENDER

Yes, that says pretender.  Even with a win against Texas Tech, I do not see them obtaining a big enough rating to reach the top two with out the top two losing.  Toughest test remaining: Limiting points by the next two opponents to improve their stats

Penn State: PRETENDER

The loss to Iowa killed any chance at the top two.  Penn State must now put their energy to keeping their Rose Bowl spot.  Toughest test remaining: Keeping the Big Ten crown from Ohio State/Michigan State

Alabama: CONTENDER

Mississippi State and Auburn do not really improve the SOS, but playing in the SEC Championship Game will.  If Alabama wins out, they will jump Penn State, USC, Utah, Oklahoma/TT loser, and Florida.  Playing the 13th game may give them an advantage over the odd man out of the Big 12 South.  Toughest test remaining: Not overlooking their next two opponents and beating them soundly

In conference strength standings, the Big 12 has finally jumped the SEC.  The jump was allowed by the Volunteers voluntarily giving up this season after the Wyoming loss.  The SEC can still jump the Big 12 back with out of conference rivalry games.

(Conference strength through games played on Nov. 8)

Rank	Conference	OOC Record	Rating
1	Big 12	38-10	0.6498
2	SEC	32-8	0.6448
3	ACC	34-10	0.6299
4	Big East	26-12	0.6009
5	MWC	27-11	0.5963
6	Big Ten	31-12	0.5912
7	Pac-10	13-16	0.5129
8	WAC	17-18	0.4912
9	MAC	22-29	0.4749
10	Independents	16-21	0.4711
11	Conference USA	19-30	0.4505
12	Sun Belt	11-25	0.4134

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