Who’s the best team in college football: Alabama, LSU, or Oklahoma? It’s hard to argue with Alabama’s score ratio, with two shutouts and at least doubling the score of every opponent they’ve played, including Arkansas and Florida. Most people seem to have Oklahoma a bit behind the two SEC schools, and that might be appropriate; they’ve had two ten-point victories and Florida State hasn’t played up to expectations. It helps that the SEC teams haven’t had a bye already. Of course, one thing you can say about the BCS: if these really are the three best teams, the differences between them will be decided on the field.
All full-rating reports will be in PDF form from now on. I waited all week for an opinion on what to do with the extra spots in the table and didn’t really get one. I’m using the polls this week, but I reserve the right to change it later. As you can see by the fact the rankings match the AP Poll in the top five with only LSU and Alabama flipped at the top, the rankings are starting to fall into place. In fact, we only have one unbeaten team outside the Top 25; lineal title or no, there’s no reason to trust a K-State team that eked out a 10-7 win over FCS Eastern Kentucky, blew out godawful Kent State, then eked out wins over good-but-not-great teams with only scandal-ridden #50 Miami (FL) coming on the road. Thus, the colored area to the right of each team is now active, indicating what each team is playing for.
How the C Ratings are tabulated: First, A Ratings are tabulated by multiplying the total score ratio, which is expressed by (points-opponents’ points)/points, by the winning percentage. Score ratio minimizes the effect of running up the score. Next, B Points for each game are tabulated by (margin of victory)/(opponent’s A rating)+/-1 for wins, and -(margin of loss)/(1-opponent’s A Rating)+/-1 for losses. The “+/-” is + for road games and – for home ones. The total number of B Points is multiplied by the A Rating to get the B Rating. Finally, the C Rating is tabulated by taking one-tenth the difference between the team’s B Rating and the average of his opponents’ B Ratings and taking the result off the B Rating. The three ratings go A, B, C across. Click here to see the complete ratings.
| 1 |  Alabama |
SEC #1 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 6-0 | LW: #1 | A Rat: .901 | B Rating: | 43.824 | C Rating: | 38.240 | AP: 2 | Coaches: 3 | |
| Another week, another big win for the Tide. Ole Miss and Tennessee will be their remaining two warm-ups for the huge clash with LSU. | |||||||||
| 2 |  LSU |
SEC #2 | ’06 Boise St. | ||||||
| 6-0 | LW: #2 | A Rat: .836 | B Rating: | 35.396 | C Rating: | 38.240 | AP: 1 | Coaches: 2 | |
| It didn’t matter that the punter got a TD called back for taunting the way LSU handled Florida, and now Tennessee and Auburn will be their tune-ups for the clash with Bama. | |||||||||
| 3 |  Oklahoma |
B12 #1 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 5-0 | LW: #6 | A Rat: .799 | B Rating: | 30.465 | C Rating: | 26.545 | AP: 3 | Coaches: 1 | |
| While people have been forgetting about the preseason favorites as they’re blinded by the SEC’s brilliance, the Sooners have actually been playing closer to expectations recently. The blowout over Texas is their best win yet. | |||||||||
| 4 |  Wisconsin |
B10 #1 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 5-0 | LW: #4 | A Rat: .900 | B Rating: | 25.911 | C Rating: | 21.614 | AP: 4 | Coaches: 4 | |
| Wisconsin moves into conference pole position without even playing (and without Michigan losing), thanks in part to the Huskers finally getting the first Big Ten win the Badgers denied them. | |||||||||
| 5 |  Boise State |
MWC #1 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 5-0 | LW: #10 | A Rat: .806 | B Rating: | 22.526 | C Rating: | 19.320 | AP: 5 | Coaches: 6 | |
| The Broncos shoot up the board after putting the hurt on Fresno and finally start Mountain West play. If they play in that league the way they played in the WAC, they’ll pick up right where they left off busting the BCS. | |||||||||
| 6 |  Michigan |
B10 #2 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 5-0 | LW: #3 | A Rat: .825 | B Rating: | 21.762 | C Rating: | 18.622 | AP: 11 | Coaches: 10 | |
| Northwestern was only the second opponent Michigan had allowed more than 10 points to all year, and they’re no Notre Dame. And while rival Sparty (#53) doesn’t deserve the poll respect they’re getting, neither will they be a pushover. | |||||||||
| 7 |  Stanford |
P12 #1 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 5-0 | LW: #5 | A Rat: .879 | B Rating: | 21.748 | C Rating: | 17.876 | AP: 7 | Coaches: 5 | |
| Welcome to the Pac-12, Buffaloes: Colorado’s A Rating is so unbelievably pathetic that despite blowing them out, the Cardinal might as well have been off this week. | |||||||||
| 8 |  Oklahoma State |
B12 #2 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 5-0 | LW: #8 | A Rat: .714 | B Rating: | 18.365 | C Rating: | 15.375 | AP: 6 | Coaches: 7 | |
| The Cowboys made up for the lost time of their bye week, blowing Kansas out of the water. But when it comes to football, Texas – hungry to bounce back from the Sooner loss – is no Kansas. | |||||||||
| 9 |  Clemson |
ACC #1 | Prncton/Yale | ||||||
| 6-0 | LW: #7 | A Rat: .732 | B Rating: | 13.756 | C Rating: | 11.341 | AP: 8 | Coaches: 8 | |
| Clemson has to blow out a Boston College team as godawful as they are, so after only beating them 36-14, they slip ahead of the clash with Maryland. | |||||||||
| 10 |  Notre Dame |
BCS Bowl | |||||||
| 4-2 | LW: #13 | A Rat: .429 | B Rating: | 11.688 | C Rating: | 10.334 | — | — | |
| Air Force is mediocre and the Domers weren’t THAT dominant, so why the jump? Well, 26 points is 26 points, and Purdue’s blowout of admittedly-horrible Minnesota helps. Now they wait a week before facing rival USC. | |||||||||
| 11 |  Georgia Tech |
ACC #2 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 6-0 | LW: #9 | A Rat: .711 | B Rating: | 11.198 | C Rating: | 8.850 | AP: 12 | Coaches: 12 | |
| Maryland is way too mediocre-to-bad (fashionably and on the field) for G-Tech to keep them that close. Now they have to go on the road to Virginia. | |||||||||
| 12 |  Oregon |
P12 #2 | ’09 Boise St. | ||||||
| 4-1 | LW: #29 | A Rat: .589 | B Rating: | 9.848 | C Rating: | 8.417 | AP: 9 | Coaches: 9 | |
| The Ducks blew out a good Cal team, more than making up for a win by only 15 over an Arizona team that’s now without their coach. But now comes a huge clash with Arizona State. | |||||||||
| 13 |  Arizona State |
P12 #3 | Pac-12 Title | ||||||
| 5-1 | LW: #21 | A Rat: .559 | B Rating: | 7.193 | C Rating: | 6.109 | AP: 18 | Coaches: 20 | |
| Big win over a half-decent Utah team sends the Devils up the rankings, but a road trip to Eugene will be much tougher. | |||||||||
| 14 |  West Virginia |
BST #1 | Big East Title | ||||||
| 5-1 | LW: #14 | A Rat: .587 | B Rating: | 7.558 | C Rating: | 5.801 | AP: 13 | Coaches: 16 | |
| The Mountaineers blew out a not-so-great UConn team to start conference play on the right foot. Now for an off week before a nationally-televised road trip to a Syracuse team that’s better than the Huskies. | |||||||||
| 15 |  Rutgers |
BST #2 | Big East Title | ||||||
| 4-1 | LW: #20 | A Rat: .555 | B Rating: | 6.056 | C Rating: | 5.335 | — | — | |
| A blowout by a good Pitt team sends the Knights up the rankings. Now to host a possible future conference mate in Navy. | |||||||||
| 16 |  Texas A&M |
B12 #3 | Big 12 Title | ||||||
| 3-2 | LW: #18 | A Rat: .389 | B Rating: | 6.683 | C Rating: | 5.122 | AP: 21 | Coaches: 23 | |
| A&M finally finished a game for once, escaping against rival Texas Tech. Now comes a huge clash against Baylor. | |||||||||
| 17 |  Illinois |
B10 #3 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 6-0 | LW: #19 | A Rat: .699 | B Rating: | 5.981 | C Rating: | 4.961 | AP: 16 | Coaches: 15 | |
| Blowout win over Indiana, and now a desperate Ohio State team comes to Champaign. | |||||||||
| 18 |  Nebraska |
B10 #4 | Big 10 Title | ||||||
| 5-1 | LW: #12 | A Rat: .526 | B Rating: | 6.419 | C Rating: | 4.894 | AP: 16 | Coaches: 15 | |
| Nebraska finally gives the realigned teams a conference win against a team once the cream of the conference, but you gotta do better than that against a 3-3 team. Perhaps they will against woeful Minnesota a week from now. | |||||||||
| 19 |  Penn State |
B10 #5 | Big 10 Title | ||||||
| 5-1 | LW: #15 | A Rat: .590 | B Rating: | 5.419 | C Rating: | 4.688 | SBNBlog: 25 | Coaches: 25 | |
| Relatively pedestrian effort, even against a good Iowa team, causes the Nittany Lions to slip. But Purdue should be easier to beat. | |||||||||
| 20 |  Houston |
USA #1 | C-USA Title | ||||||
| 6-0 | LW: #28 | A Rat: .729 | B Rating: | 6.793 | C Rating: | 4.061 | AP: 25 | Coaches: 22 | |
| Blowout win over East Carolina just what the doctor ordered to propel the Cougars into the Top 25 after all their other FBS games other than North Texas were close (and even UNT scored 20 more points than the Pirates). | |||||||||
| 21 |  Baylor |
B12 #4 | Big 12 Title | ||||||
| 4-1 | LW: #35 | A Rat: .554 | B Rating: | 4.694 | C Rating: | 3.336 | AP: 20 | Coaches: 24 | |
| Blowout over a decent Iowa State team bounces the Bears back from the K-State loss and sends them rocketing into the Top 25. But Texas A&M will be dangerous. | |||||||||
| 22 |  Texas |
B12 #5 | Big 12 Title | ||||||
| 4-1 | LW: #11 | A Rat: .505 | B Rating: | 4.669 | C Rating: | 3.297 | AP: 22 | Coaches: 21 | |
| As good as Oklahoma is, that was absolutely embarassing. But it doesn’t get any easier with Oklahoma State coming to Austin. | |||||||||
| 23 |  South Carolina |
SEC #3 | SEC Title | ||||||
| 5-1 | LW: #17 | A Rat: .566 | B Rating: | 5.441 | C Rating: | 3.270 | AP: 15 | Coaches: 13 | |
| Kentucky is godawful, so even blowing them out doesn’t help the Gamecocks resist other teams’ hard charges. But with Tennessee losing, is the way clear for the Fighting Spurriers to repeat in the East? | |||||||||
| 24 |  Arkansas* |
SEC #4 | SEC Title | ||||||
| 5-1 | LW: #40 | A Rat: .567 | B Rating: | 3.803 | C Rating: | 2.849 | AP: 10 | Coaches: 11 | |
| Still don’t trust a team that lets Troy get within ten and whose only impressive win had come over New Mexico, but they proved their bona fides against Auburn. Now they slip for the bye before heading to Mississippi. | |||||||||
| 25 |  TCU |
MWC #2 | MWC Title | ||||||
| 4-2 | LW: #27 | A Rat: .456 | B Rating: | 4.718 | C Rating: | 2.792 | — | — | |
| Bounced back from the SMU loss with a big win over San Diego State. But not only will they slip again for the bye, they’re unlikely to get back on right away no matter how badly they beat woeful New Mexico. | |||||||||
35 teams total with positive C Rating (none with negative B Rating)
2010 TCU title: #34 Kansas State (5-0), .676, 1.804, .603 (only unbeaten team not on Top 25)
Off Top 25: #30 North Carolina (was #25), #31 Tennessee (was #16), #32 Washington (was #24), #37 Pittsburgh (was #22), #45 San Diego State (was #23)
Watch List: #26 Toledo, #27 Southern Miss*, #28 Georgia*, #29 Western Michigan, #30 North Carolina, #31 Tennessee, #32 Washington, #33 Virginia Tech, #34 Kansas State, #35 Wake Forest
Other Positive B Ratings: #36 Utah State*, #37 Pittsburgh, #39 Duke, #40 Ohio, #41 Florida International* (*=Newly Positive)
No Longer Positive: #42 Iowa, #43 Florida, #45 San Diego State, #46 Texas Tech, #61 California
Bottom 10: #111 Kentucky, #112 Louisiana-Monroe, #113 UNLV, #114 New Mexico, #115 Florida Atlantic, #116 Idaho, #117 Tulane, #118 Akron, #119 UAB, #120 Memphis
Best game of week: Arizona State @ Oregon, 7:15pm PT, ESPN