I put the ten worst teams in FBS at the bottom of my rankings each week in “inspiration” from ESPN’s Bottom 10, a humorous roundup of same that’s been going at least as long as I’ve been doing this. It does not take its remit seriously one bit, letting the teams themselves get overshadowed by whatever theme it’s cooked up for the week, as well as by the holder of its #5 spot, awarded to a high-profile team with any record that just took an embarrassing loss. This week, that spot was held by West Virginia, an unbeaten team that just took an admittedly-blowout road loss to a one-loss Texas Tech team. Is that really the best they could come up with?
Methinks that loss says more about Texas Tech than it says about West Virginia.
Yes, the Red Raiders’ own single loss was a blowout at the hands of Oklahoma, but even considering that I have to think the polls are vastly underrating Texas Tech. Not the C Ratings, where the Red Raiders’ big win is enough for them to plunder the #3 spot away from South Carolina, who only slips one spot after their close loss to LSU.
Still, the Mountaineers did fall all the way from #12 to out of positive B Points. But that was just a part of a larger story: while the entire rankings were shaken up last week, a number of losses by ranked teams this week results in craziness focused mainly on the lower part of the rankings, where the expectations for success lowered considerably. Had Mississippi State’s C Rating remained constant, it would have gained two spots and nuzzled up against Arizona State for #22. On the other hand, Georgia managed to fall a whopping 22 spots without even playing, after every single one of the teams they’d played lost, with only South Carolina avoiding a blowout.
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. | ||||||
| 6-0 | LW: #1 | A Rat: .902 | B Rating: | 47.525 | C Rating: | 41.354 | AP: 1 | BCS: 1 | |
| Do you think the Tide could beat the Cleveland Browns right now? | |||||||||
| 2 |  Oregon |
P12 #1 | ’09 Boise St. | ||||||
| 6-0 | LW: #2 | A Rat: .806 | B Rating: | 25.048 | C Rating: | 21.163 | AP: 2 | BCS: 3 | |
| Oregon could blow out the team immediately below and still not catch Alabama. | |||||||||
| 3 |  Texas Tech |
B12 #1 | Prncton/Yale | ||||||
| 5-1 | LW: #17 | A Rat: .630 | B Rating: | 21.301 | C Rating: | 18.648 | AP: 18 | BCS: 17 | |
| The Red Raiders served the rest of the country notice just how good they can be. But the Oklahoma loss could haunt them all season. | |||||||||
| 4 |  South Carolina |
SEC #2 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 6-1 | LW: #3 | A Rat: .664 | B Rating: | 21.794 | C Rating: | 17.688 | AP: 9 | BCS: 7 | |
| A devastating road loss, but they might still be better than the Gators – and have a chance to prove it this week. | |||||||||
| 5 |  Notre Dame |
BCS Title | |||||||
| 6-0 | LW: #4 | A Rat: .772 | B Rating: | 19.356 | C Rating: | 16.612 | AP: 5 | BCS: 4 | |
| Needing overtime and a controversial finish to beat Stanford doesn’t impress the C Ratings when you were already this high, and blows a chance to capitalize on the South Carolina loss. But the polls finally see how good the Godlen Domers really are. | |||||||||
| 6 |  Oklahoma |
B12 #2 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 4-1 | LW: #16 | A Rat: .599 | B Rating: | 18.617 | C Rating: | 16.442 | AP: 10 | BCS: 9 | |
| From negative B Points to #6 in two weeks. After demolishing Texas and becoming the team that crushed the Red Raiders in Lubbock, I honestly think the C Rating-unfriendly schedule is the only thing keeping the Sooners from #3. | |||||||||
| 7 |  Ohio State |
B10 #1 | Probation | ||||||
| 7-0 | LW: #5 | A Rat: .679 | B Rating: | 16.293 | C Rating: | 13.253 | AP: 7 | BlogPoll: 10 | |
| I’m actually a little surprised the Buckeyes didn’t fall further after a tight win over 2-4 Indiana than the two spots from Texas Tech and Oklahoma’s hard charges. Another opportunity missed. | |||||||||
| 8 |  Kansas State |
B12 #3 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 6-0 | LW: #7 | A Rat: .760 | B Rating: | 14.262 | C Rating: | 12.060 | AP: 4 | BCS: 4 | |
| And if Oklahoma is as good as they look, how good must K-State be for beating them in Norman? But that was by only five, and no matter how good Iowa State is they don’t benefit much from beating them by six either. | |||||||||
| 9 |  Florida State |
ACC #1 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 6-1 | LW: #9 | A Rat: .700 | B Rating: | 14.589 | C Rating: | 11.879 | AP: 12 | BCS: 14 | |
| The Seminoles put the hurt on Boston College, but they’re 1-5. A truer test will come when they visit rival Miami. | |||||||||
| 10 |  Florida |
SEC #3 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 6-0 | LW: #6 | A Rat: .759 | B Rating: | 14.320 | C Rating: | 11.801 | AP: 3 | BCS: 2 | |
| The Gators don’t benefit as much as you’d think from LSU’s big win because neither it nor Florida’s original win were by margins that big. Want the #3 spot? Beat South Carolina in the Swamp. | |||||||||
| 11 |  Texas A&M |
SEC #4 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 5-1 | LW: #11 | A Rat: .594 | B Rating: | 11.431 | C Rating: | 9.253 | AP: 20 | BCS: 18 | |
| The Aggies have the opposite situation as Florida State: a narrow win over a good team. LSU should serve as a benchmark of where this team really stands. | |||||||||
| 12 |  Oregon State |
P12 #2 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 5-0 | LW: #21 | A Rat: .675 | B Rating: | 9.663 | C Rating: | 7.939 | AP: 8 | BCS: 8 | |
| After pulling away from BYU, Beavers fans are wondering if everyone has the wrong Oregon team going to Miami. Certainly the Civil War should be one for the ages. | |||||||||
| 13 |  Stanford |
P12 #3 | BCS Bowl | ||||||
| 4-2 | LW: #10 | A Rat: .388 | B Rating: | 6.140 | C Rating: | 5.226 | AP: 22 | BCS: 20 | |
| Stanford acquitted themselves better than I thought they would against Notre Dame, but still, a loss is a loss. Time to get back on track against rival Cal. | |||||||||
| 14 |  Iowa State |
B12 #4 | BCS Bowl | ||||||
| 4-2 | LW: #14 | A Rat: .408 | B Rating: | 4.779 | C Rating: | 5.065 | BCS: 24 | — | |
| After how close they kept it against K-State, I’m actually starting to become mystified at the lack of love for the Cyclones. If being ranked in the BCS despite a smattering of remaining poll votes doesn’t wake people up, a big win in Stillwater will. | |||||||||
| 15 |  Cincinnati |
BST #1 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 5-0 | LW: #13 | A Rat: .790 | B Rating: | 7.058 | C Rating: | 4.856 | AP: 21 | BCS: 21 | |
| Games against FCS schools are akin to bye weeks. But a road trip to Toledo is definitely a trap game. | |||||||||
| 16 |  LSU |
SEC #5 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 6-1 | LW: #18 | A Rat: .580 | B Rating: | 6.767 | C Rating: | 4.069 | AP: 6 | BCS: 6 | |
| A big win, but a narrow one at home. A road trip to College Station will show where this team really stands. | |||||||||
| 17 |  Rutgers |
BST #2 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 6-0 | LW: #22 | A Rat: .782 | B Rating: | 7.396 | C Rating: | 3.974 | AP: 19 | BCS: 15 | |
| So many teams took bad losses in this range that Rutgers moved up a fraction of a point – good enough for five spots. | |||||||||
| 18 |  North Carolina |
ACC #2 | BCS Bowl | ||||||
| 5-2 | LW: #28 | A Rat: .517 | B Rating: | 6.159 | C Rating: | 3.450 | — | — | |
| Both of UNC’s losses were on the road by five or less, and the five came to an unbeaten team. If they beat Duke, the way could be clear to win the Coastal. | |||||||||
| 19 |  Toledo |
MAC #1 | MAC Title | ||||||
| 6-1 | LW: #19 | A Rat: .535 | B Rating: | 6.388 | C Rating: | 3.036 | — | — | |
| Tight wins never penalize you much, even against winless Eastern Michigan, and especially with enough losses by teams ahead of them that Toledo loses close to seven-tenths of a point and stays put. | |||||||||
| 20 |  Texas |
B12 #5 | BCS Bowl | ||||||
| 4-2 | LW: #8 | A Rat: .415 | B Rating: | 3.906 | C Rating: | 3.021 | BCS: 25 | Harris: 25 | |
| Where was the Longhorn team that started the season in the top 5 of the C Ratings? Now Texas is third best in their own state, which should leave them very afraid. | |||||||||
| 21 |  Penn State |
B10 #2 | Probation | ||||||
| 4-2 | LW: #26 | A Rat: .437 | B Rating: | 5.164 | C Rating: | 2.318 | — | — | |
| Could the Big Ten’s best two teams both be ineligible for the Rose Bowl? Under the circumstances, Penn State’s first full season without Joe Paterno is going amazingly well, with a win over then-unbeaten Northwestern under their belt. | |||||||||
| 22 |  Arizona State |
P12 #4 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 5-1 | LW: #20 | A Rat: .644 | B Rating: | 6.179 | C Rating: | 2.287 | Coaches: 24 | Harris: 24 | |
| No credit for blowing out a godawful Colorado team. Expect them to fall off after getting crushed by Oregon. | |||||||||
| 23 |  Clemson |
ACC #3 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 5-1 | LW: #27 | A Rat: .555 | B Rating: | 4.167 | C Rating: | 2.226 | AP: 14 | BCS: 19 | |
| How crazy are the bottom of the rankings? Clemson moves up a full four spots despite not even playing. | |||||||||
| 24 |  Utah State |
WAC #1 | WAC Title | ||||||
| 5-2 | LW: #47 | A Rat: .447 | B Rating: | 4.518 | C Rating: | 2.208 | — | — | |
| Both losses were on the road to good-to-decent teams by close margins, and Utah’s the only other team they haven’t beaten by double digits. After a 22-point road win over San Jose State, notice has been served on the remnants of the WAC. | |||||||||
| 25 |  USC |
P12 #5 | BCS Title | ||||||
| 5-1 | LW: #52 | A Rat: .564 | B Rating: | 4.642 | C Rating: | 1.946 | AP: 11 | BCS: 10 | |
| Somehow USC rocketed up the rankings despite a modest 10-point road win over 3-3 Washington and most of the teams they played losing. Guess that’s what Cal’s blowout of Washington State will do for you. | |||||||||
37 teams total with positive C Rating (none with negative B Rating)
Off Top 25: #26 Mississippi State (was #25), #29 Louisiana Tech (was #24), #37 Georgia (was #15), #41 West Virginia (was #12), #54 Baylor (was #23)
Unbeaten teams not on Top 25: #26 Mississippi State, #30 Louisville, #39 Ohio (all in positive B Points, Ohio not in positive C)
Rest of Watch List (all 5-1 unless otherwise noted): #27 Northern Illinois (6-1), #28 TCU*, #29 Louisiana Tech, #31 Boise State, #32 Oklahoma State (3-2), #33 Michigan (4-2), #34 Nevada (6-1), #35 Western Kentucky, #36 Wisconsin (5-2), #37 Georgia, #38 Iowa (4-2)
Other Positive B Ratings: #40 Northwestern* (6-1), #42 Louisiana-Monroe (4-2), #44 Fresno State (4-3) (*=Newly Positive)
No Longer Positive: #41 West Virginia, #45 Michigan State, #46 Pittsburgh, #54 Baylor, #55 BYU, #59 San Jose State, #63 Texas-San Antonio
Bottom 10: #115 UTEP, #116 Akron, #117 Colorado State, #118 Eastern Michigan, #119 Illinois, #120 Colorado, #121 Idaho, #122 Tulane, #123 Hawaii, #124 Massachusetts
Best game of week: South Carolina @ Florida, 3:30pm ET, CBS