I am astounded at how closely the C Ratings are hewing to the polls this early in the season. Sure, there are a lot of wacky ratings, such as Texas Tech at #3. But take a look at the top two teams: Alabama and Oregon. Bama is especially surprising, as they were considered national championship contenders mostly coming off their championship last year. Yet look at what they’ve done the first five weeks of the season: dominate all comers, including some pretty good teams. The rest of the SEC, and the country, is on notice.
Meanwhile, one week after the unification of the 2010 TCU title with Princeton-Yale, the split claims to the 2009 Boise State title will be unified, thanks to Washington’s upset of Stanford. Expect some clarity near the top of the rankings with the pack of four SEC teams at 7-10 playing each other, as well as Texas taking on aforementioned unified title holders West Virginia, as we enter a big week of games.
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 | ’06 Boise St. | ||||||
| 5-0 | LW: #1 | A Rat: .906 | B Rating: | 30.339 | C Rating: | 26.250 | AP: 1 | Coaches: 1 | |
| The way the Tide has rolled to start the season is incredible. Now they get a week off to catch their breath. | |||||||||
| 2 |  Oregon |
P12 #1 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 5-0 | LW: #3 | A Rat: .808 | B Rating: | 21.988 | C Rating: | 18.856 | AP: 2 | Coaches: 2 | |
| Oregon showed the Cougars who’s the boss. But Washington won’t roll over quite as easily as their little brother. | |||||||||
| 3 |  Texas Tech |
B12 #1 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 4-0 | LW: #4 | A Rat: .858 | B Rating: | 19.571 | C Rating: | 17.005 | Coaches: 24 | — | |
| Iowa State’s defense managed to hold their scoring down for a while, but the Red Raiders pulled it out and are starting to attract attention around the country. Now all eyes are on them against Oklahoma. | |||||||||
| 4 |  Texas |
B12 #2 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 4-0 | LW: #2 | A Rat: .774 | B Rating: | 18.636 | C Rating: | 16.270 | AP: 11 | Coaches: 9 | |
| Texas whiffed on their chance to impress the rest of the country, beating Oklahoma State by only five. Now they have a big test with West Virginia’s high-flying offense coming to Austin. | |||||||||
| 5 |  Florida State |
ACC #1 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 5-0 | LW: #5 | A Rat: .863 | B Rating: | 18.115 | C Rating: | 15.992 | AP: 3 | Coaches: 4 | |
| The Seminoles slip in the raw numbers for scoring the fewest points of the entire season, but with North Carolina the highest-ranked ACC team they haven’t played, Florida might be the only thing standing in the way of 13-0. | |||||||||
| 6 |  Kansas State |
B12 #3 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 4-0 | LW: #7 | A Rat: .773 | B Rating: | 15.977 | C Rating: | 14.024 | AP: 7 | Coaches: 8 | |
| K-State moves up despite not playing, thanks to Stanford’s upset and wins by Miami and North Texas. Now their in-state rivals come to Manhattan. | |||||||||
| 7 |  South Carolina |
SEC #2 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 5-0 | LW: #12 | A Rat: .813 | B Rating: | 14.901 | C Rating: | 12.341 | AP: 6 | Coaches: 6 | |
| The best performance from the SEC’s “next four” was clearly the other USC, which earned their poll ranking with a 38-17 demolition of an underrated Kentucky team. | |||||||||
| 8 |  LSU |
SEC #3 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 5-0 | LW: #9 | A Rat: .795 | B Rating: | 15.159 | C Rating: | 11.895 | AP: 4 | Coaches: 3 | |
| LSU did well for themselves as well, but letting an FCS school get that close to an upset won’t do you any favors. | |||||||||
| 9 |  Georgia |
SEC #4 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 5-0 | LW: #11 | A Rat: .772 | B Rating: | 11.636 | C Rating: | 9.450 | AP: 5 | Coaches: 5 | |
| Neither Georgia nor the Gamecocks have faced anything quite like they’ll face when they play each other this weekend. | |||||||||
| 10 |  Florida |
SEC #5 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 4-0 | LW: #10 | A Rat: .761 | B Rating: | 9.803 | C Rating: | 8.163 | AP: 10 | Coaches: 11 | |
| Stanford’s upset and Notre Dame’s fall down the rankings mean Florida stays put despite idle hands. All the more preparation time they’ll need for the Tigers. | |||||||||
| 11 |  Ohio State |
B10 #1 | Probation | ||||||
| 5-0 | LW: #13 | A Rat: .705 | B Rating: | 10.295 | C Rating: | 8.071 | AP: 12 | BlogPoll: 12 | |
| A good-by-Big-Ten-standards Michigan State team overcomes the one-point margin of victory. But it doesn’t get any easier when Nebraska comes into Columbus. | |||||||||
| 12 |  Stanford |
P12 #2 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 3-1 | LW: #6 | A Rat: .468 | B Rating: | 9.060 | C Rating: | 7.937 | AP: 18 | Coaches: 18 | |
| Defense is Stanford’s calling card this year, never allowing more than 17, but against Washington the offense couldn’t pick up the slack. Expect them to beat Arizona at home; Notre Dame (3rd-fewest points allowed) in South Bend is another story. | |||||||||
| 13 |  Notre Dame |
BCS Title | |||||||
| 4-0 | LW: #8 | A Rat: .792 | B Rating: | 8.814 | C Rating: | 7.195 | AP: 9 | Coaches: 10 | |
| Navy giveth (demolishing VMI) and taketh away (getting shut out by San Jose State). But now they control their own destiny, and Miami’s not as good as their 4-1 record. | |||||||||
| 14 |  West Virginia |
B12 #4 | Prncton/Yale | ||||||
| 4-0 | LW: #15 | A Rat: .706 | B Rating: | 6.660 | C Rating: | 5.619 | AP: 8 | Coaches: 7 | |
| The 63 allowed matters more than the 70 scored, but it was a team ranked in the C Ratings and the polls. But Texas is a far bigger test. | |||||||||
| 15 |  Arizona State |
P12 #3 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 4-1 | LW: #14 | A Rat: .609 | B Rating: | 7.237 | C Rating: | 5.062 | — | — | |
| The Sun Devils ended both of the things we brought up last week against a not-that-great Cal team. They’ll slip further for idle hands before getting a chance to show off against a national audience against 1-4 Colorado. | |||||||||
| 16 |  Clemson |
ACC #2 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 4-1 | LW: #19 | A Rat: .532 | B Rating: | 4.872 | C Rating: | 4.125 | AP: 15 | Coaches: 15 | |
| Clemson bounced back with a double-digit win over Boston College. But a good G-Tech team desperately wants a road bounce back of its own. | |||||||||
| 17 |  Cincinnati |
BST #1 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 3-0 | LW: #18 | A Rat: .752 | B Rating: | 4.798 | C Rating: | 4.055 | Coaches: 23 | Legends: 24 | |
| People are starting to take note of the Bearcats; their win over V-Tech wasn’t much, but they’re knocking on the door of every poll they aren’t already in. | |||||||||
| 18 |  Oregon State |
P12 #4 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 3-0 | LW: #23 | A Rat: .606 | B Rating: | 4.102 | C Rating: | 3.659 | AP: 14 | Coaches: 17 | |
| Oregon State continued their string of victories against the Wildcats. Perhaps when Washington State comes to Corvallis, they can even win by more than a single score. | |||||||||
| 19 |  Iowa State |
B12 #5 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 3-1 | LW: #16 | A Rat: .486 | B Rating: | 2.940 | C Rating: | 3.219 | — | — | |
| That’s not a setback you want to take at home, but now the Cyclones have a chance to prove their bona fides in Fort Worth against a TCU team earning a bit more respect. | |||||||||
| 20 |  Louisiana Tech |
WAC #1 | BCS Bowl | ||||||
| 4-0 | LW: #17 | A Rat: .642 | B Rating: | 6.592 | C Rating: | 2.977 | — | — | |
| Louisiana Tech’s six-point win over 2-2 Virginia is as painful as Iowa State’s loss, no thanks to Illinois getting blown out by Penn State. | |||||||||
| 21 |  TCU |
B12 #6 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 4-0 | LW: #21 | A Rat: .847 | B Rating: | 5.574 | C Rating: | 2.754 | AP: 15 | Coaches: 13 | |
| If it’s a conference with more tests the polls want, it’s a conference with more tests TCU’s gonna get. It all starts this week against Iowa State. | |||||||||
| 22 |  Toledo |
MAC #1 | MAC Title | ||||||
| 4-1 | LW: #43 | A Rat: .507 | B Rating: | 3.985 | C Rating: | 2.249 | — | — | |
| The Rockets’ only loss was in OT to Arizona, but their squash of Western Michigan on the road shows what they’re really capable of. | |||||||||
| 23 |  Northwestern |
B10 #2 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 5-0 | LW: #40 | A Rat: .702 | B Rating: | 3.345 | C Rating: | 2.068 | AP: 24 | Coaches: 22 | |
| Yes, Michael Wilbon, the Wildcats are for real! Their squash of Indiana has made everyone take notice, and with Ohio State and this week’s opponent Penn State ineligible for bowls, the way may be clear for a trip to the Rose Bowl. | |||||||||
| 24 |  Ohio |
MAC #2 | BCS Bowl | ||||||
| 5-0 | LW: #20 | A Rat: .691 | B Rating: | 5.876 | C Rating: | 1.776 | BlogPoll: 25 | — | |
| Beating the worst team in FBS? Not impressive. Beating them by a field goal? Even less so. And now a potential showdown with Toledo in the conference title game will hang over their season. | |||||||||
| 25 |  Mississippi State |
SEC #6 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 4-0 | LW: #25 | A Rat: .794 | B Rating: | 3.298 | C Rating: | 1.597 | AP: 20 | Coaches: 19 | |
| Mississippi State manages to stay up despite idle hands, partly due to losses by surrounding teams, and are ready to get back into the meat of the SEC. | |||||||||
37 teams total with positive C Rating (none with negative B Rating)
2009 Boise State title: #55 Washington (3-1), .421, -2.916, -2.196
Off Top 25: #33 Baylor (was #24), #38 Rutgers (was #22)
Unbeaten teams not on Top 25: #32 Louisville, #38 Rutgers, #48 Texas-San Antonio (all in positive B Points, Rutgers and Texas-San Antonio not in positive C)
Rest of Watch List: #26 Boise State (3-1), #27 Texas A&M (3-1), #28 Nevada (4-1), #29 Middle Tenn. St. (3-1), #30 Oklahoma State (2-2), #31 UCLA (4-1), #33 Baylor (3-1), #34 Northern Illinois (4-1), #35 Iowa* (3-2), #36 San Jose State (4-1), #37 Pittsburgh (2-3)
Other Positive B Ratings (all 3-2 unless otherwise noted): #39 BYU, #40 North Carolina, #41 Fresno State, #42 Western Kentucky* (4-1), #43 Penn State*, #44 Michigan State, #45 Nebraska (4-1), #46 Tennessee, #47 Utah State (4-2), #51 Purdue* (3-1), #52 USC (3-1) (*=Newly Positive)
No Longer Positive: #49 Oklahoma, #57 Arizona, #60 Central Florida, #67 Georgia Tech, #70 Minnesota
Bottom 10: #115 Southern Miss, #116 New Mexico State, #117 Rice, #118 Army, #119 Akron, #120 Colorado, #121 Idaho, #122 Hawaii, #123 Tulane, #124 Massachusetts
Best game of week: Georgia @ South Carolina, 4pm PT, ESPN