Preparing Da Blog for football season

Football season is just moments away, and that means the busiest period on the site. I’ve finally belatedly updated the lineal titles and here’s what you need to know:

  • Despite the 2010 TCU title being merged with Princeton-Yale fairly early last season, we enter 2013 with one more linear title than we entered last year with, although it probably won’t stay that way for long. Texas A&M took the 2006 Boise State title from Alabama last year in the Tide’s one loss, so Alabama picks up a new 2012 BCS title, and while Ohio State were ineligible for bowls last year they did go undefeated and that at least gives them a claim to a linear title; call it the “Screw the NCAA” title. Unlike with 2009 Boise State in 2011-12, this one will never be “split” because its very existence hinges on bowl-ineligible teams being eligible for linear titles.
  • On the NFL front, the replacement officials led me to keep track of five different NFL lineal titles by the time I dropped off: the main version of both titles, versions of both titles where the replacement-ref games didn’t count, and the Packers’ Super Bowl XLVI title counterclaim. The main and no-replacement-refs Super Bowl XLVI titles were unified by a Dolphins-Colts game Week 9 the Colts won; the Packers counterclaim was unified two weeks later when the Patriots beat the Colts. All three remaining claims made the playoffs, so the Ravens enter the new season with the sole NFL lineal title.
  • Due to circumstances I will not be participating in the FantasySharks leagues this year, and I’m severely cutting back in the other leagues to 6 each for NFL.com, ESPN, Yahoo, and Fox, and one each for CBS and Fleaflicker, for 26 in all, though I reserve the right to add more ESPN/Yahoo/Fox teams as I see fit.
  • I’ll tweet when the first college football rankings of the last season of the rankings are due to come out at a later time, but to be honest I’m not looking forward to dealing with this year’s round of realignment and teams moving up to FBS to chase money and fill spots in depleted conferences.

Who SHOULD Be Going to Which Bowls?

I’ve had so much stuff on my plate I haven’t been doing any college football rankings posts for some time, and I’ll be releasing the week-by-week rankings for November throughout December (here‘s Week 8). But that won’t stop me from doing my annual roundup of the bowl matchups if they were determined by the C Ratings. Teams separated by a slash reflect adherence to the actual BCS rules; teams separated by an “or” reflect the fallout from the Georgia Tech exemption. Central Michigan is the only bowl-eligible team that doesn’t go to a bowl; Georgia Tech would knock out Middle Tennessee State.

Bowl 

Tie-ins 

Date/Time/Network 

Gildan New Mexico 

MWC #4/5

Dec. 15, 1 p.m. ESPN 

Albuquerque, N.M. 

Pac-12 #7

Air Force v. Washington

Famous Idaho Potato  

MAC

Dec. 15, 4:30 p.m. ESPN

Boise, Idaho 

WAC

Utah State v. Ball State/Kent State

S.D. County Credit Union Poinsettia 

MWC

Dec. 20, 8 p.m. ESPN 

San Diego 

BYU

Boise State v. BYU

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s St. Petersburg 

Big East #6

Dec. 21, 7:30 p.m. ESPN 

St. Petersburg, Fla. 

C-USA #4

East Carolina v. (Ohio or Bowling Green)/San Jose State

R+L Carriers New Orleans 

C-USA

Dec. 22, Noon ESPN 

New Orleans 

Sun Belt

Arkansas State v. SMU (Rice?)

MAACO Las Vegas 

MWC

Dec. 22, 3:30 p.m. ESPN

Las Vegas 

Pac-12 #5

Fresno State v. Arizona State

Sheraton Hawaii 

C-USA

Dec. 24, 8 p.m. ESPN 

Honolulu 

MWC #4/5

Tulsa (SMU?) v. Nevada

Little Caesars Pizza 

Big 10 #8 (/Sun Belt)

Dec. 26, 7:30 p.m. ESPN 

Detroit 

MAC

Northern Illinois/Toledo v. Western Kentucky

Military Bowl Presented By Northrop Grumman 

ACC #8 (/MAC #4)

Dec. 27, 3 p.m. ESPN 

Washington, D.C. 

Army

Kent State/Bowling Green v. San Jose State/West Virginia

Belk 

ACC #5

Dec. 27, 6:30 p.m. ESPN

Charlotte, N.C. 

Big East

Syracuse/Pittsburgh v. Duke or NC State

Bridgepoint Education Holiday 

Big 12 #5

Dec. 27, 9:45 p.m. ESPN 

San Diego 

Pac-12

USC v. TCU/Baylor

AdvoCare V100 Independence 

ACC #7

Dec. 28, 2 p.m. ESPN 

Shreveport, La. 

SEC #10

Louisiana Tech v. Middle Tennessee State or Ohio

Russell Athletic 

ACC

Dec. 28, 5:30 p.m. ESPN 

Orlando, Fla. 

Big East

Pittsburgh/Cincinnati v. Virginia Tech

Meineke Car Care of Texas 

Big 12 #6

Dec. 28, 9 p.m. ESPN

Houston 

Big 10 #6

Texas Tech/TCU v. Purdue

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces 

C-USA

Dec. 29, 11:45 a.m. ESPN 

Fort Worth 

MWC

San Diego State v. Rice (Tulsa?)

New Era Pinstripe 

Big 12 #7

Dec. 29, 3:15 p.m. ESPN 

Bronx, N.Y. 

Big East #4

Louisville v. Iowa State/Texas Tech

Kraft Fight Hunger 

Pac-12 #6 (/ACC #9)

Dec. 29, 4 p.m. ESPN2 

San Francisco 

Navy (/ACC #9)

Arizona v. Navy

Valero Alamo 

Big 12

Dec. 29, 6:45 p.m. ESPN 

San Antonio

Pac-12

Texas/Oklahoma State v. Oregon State

Buffalo Wild Wings 

Big 12 #4

Dec. 29, 10:15 p.m. ESPN 

Tempe, Ariz. 

Big 10 #5(/4?)

Baylor/Texas v. Nebraska

Franklin American Mortgage Music City 

ACC #6

Dec. 31, Noon ESPN 

Nashville, Tenn. 

SEC #7(/8?)

Vanderbilt v. Bowling Green/Ohio or Duke

Hyundai Sun 

ACC #4

Dec. 31, 2 p.m. CBS 

El Paso, Texas 

Pac-12 #4

NC State or Georgia Tech v. UCLA

AutoZone Liberty 

C-USA

Dec. 31, 3:30 p.m. ESPN 

Memphis, Tenn.

SEC #8/9 (or 7/8?)

Central Florida v. Mississippi

Chick-fil-A 

ACC

Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m. ESPN 

Atlanta 

SEC #5

Clemson v. LSU

TaxSlayer.com Gator 

Big 10 #4(/5?)

Jan. 1, Noon ESPN2 

Jacksonville, Fla. 

SEC #6

Michigan v. Mississippi State

Heart of Dallas 

Big 12 #8

Jan. 1, Noon ESPNU 

Dallas 

Big 10 #7

West Virginia/Iowa State v. Minnesota

Outback 

Big 10

Jan. 1, 1 p.m. ESPN 

Tampa, Fla. 

SEC /4 (East)

South Carolina v. Northwestern

Capital One 

Big 10

Jan. 1, 1 p.m. ABC 

Orlando, Fla.

SEC

Georgia v. Michigan State

Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio 

BCS (Big 10 )

Jan. 1, 5 p.m. ESPN 

Pasadena, Calif. 

BCS (Pac-12 )

Wisconsin v. Stanford

Discover Orange

BCS (ACC )

Jan. 1, 8:30 p.m. ESPN 

Miami 

BCS

Florida State v. Cincinnati/Syracuse

Allstate Sugar 

BCS (SEC )

Jan. 2, 8:30 p.m. ESPN 

New Orleans 

BCS

Florida v. Oklahoma/Northern Illinois

Tostitos Fiesta 

BCS (Big 12 )

Jan. 3, 8:30 p.m. ESPN 

Glendale, Ariz. 

BCS

Kansas State v. Notre Dame

AT&T Cotton

Big 12

Jan. 4, 8 p.m. FOX 

Arlington, Texas 

SEC /4 (West)

South Carolina v. Oklahoma State/Oklahoma

BBVA Compass 

Big East #5

Jan. 5, 1 p.m. ESPN 

Birmingham, Ala. 

SEC #8/9 (/Sun Belt)

Rutgers v. Louisiana-Lafayette

GoDaddy.com 

MAC

Jan. 6, 9 p.m. ESPN 

Mobile, Ala. 

Sun Belt

Toledo/Ball State v. Louisiana-Monroe

Discover BCS National Championship 

BCS

Jan. 7, 8:30 p.m. ESPN 

Miami 

BCS

Alabama v. Oregon

2012 College Football Rankings – Week 7

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 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 ’06 Boise St.
6-0 LW: 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 ’09 Boise St.
6-0 LW: 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 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 BCS Title
6-1 LW: 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 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 .
7 Ohio State B10 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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

2012 College Football Rankings – Week 6

After a week where a series of top-ten losses have shaken up the rankings, Alabama and Oregon had better watch out. South Carolina has thrown its hat into the national championship ring.

The Fighting Steve Spurriers waltzed into a matchup with a Georgia team that looked to be on the same level as them, and they didn’t even make it close. The Gamecocks’ utter demolition of the Bulldogs has caused the entire country to stand up and take notice, as they ratchet up into the spot in both the polls and the C Ratings. If last week, which also saw LSU finally lose to Florida, didn’t count, this week will see the official passing of the torch for the title of biggest challenger to Alabama’s SEC throne when South Carolina takes on LSU. And from there? Florida the following week is their biggest obstacle to a showdown with Alabama in the SEC Championship Game, which could once again serve as a de facto semifinal.

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 ’06 Boise St.
5-0 LW: A Rat: .906 B Rating: 34.856 C Rating: 30.170 AP: 1 Coaches: 1
Only Alabama could add four points to their rating without even playing.
2 Oregon P12 ’09 Boise St.
6-0 LW: A Rat: .806 B Rating: 27.648 C Rating: 23.878 AP: 2 Coaches: 2
The Ducks had little trouble with Washington, but Arizona State will be no pushover.
3 South Carolina SEC BCS Title
6-0 LW: #7 A Rat: .828 B Rating: 26.894 C Rating: 23.079 AP: 3 Coaches: 3
Sure a bunch of teams ahead of them lost, but the Gamecocks are determined to prove their bona fides with one game down in the meat of their schedule.
4 Notre Dame BCS Title
5-0 LW: #13 A Rat: .827 B Rating: 21.308 C Rating: 18.392 AP: 7 Coaches: 7
They’re ba-a-a-a-ack. After years of irrelevance, the Golden Domers’ shellacking of Miami to give the Hurricanes their second loss should prove their national championship bona fides. Might a similar squash of Stanford drive the point home?
5 Ohio State B10 Probation
6-0 LW: #11 A Rat: .704 B Rating: 16.838 C Rating: 14.259 AP: 8 BlogPoll: 8
At least USC’s bowl-ineligibility only screwed up the Pac-12 title game. After the way they handled Nebraska, the Buckeyes look like they might have been a national championship contender.
6 Florida SEC BCS Title
5-0 LW: #10 A Rat: .766 B Rating: 12.966 C Rating: 11.433 AP: 4 Coaches: 6
Florida didn’t quite put the hurt on LSU that South Carolina put on Georgia, but they impressed the country none the less. Of course, they’ll settle who’s really in the SEC in two weeks.
7 Kansas State B12 BCS Title
5-0 LW: #6 A Rat: .790 B Rating: 13.798 C Rating: 11.282 AP: 6 Coaches: 5
Kansas is a pretty bad team, so the Wildcats don’t benefit as much as the SEC teams, but they still did better than their Big 12 compadres.
8 Texas B12 BCS Title
4-1 LW: #4 A Rat: .570 B Rating: 12.860 C Rating: 10.898 AP: 15 Coaches: 15
The first loss is always the hardest, but West Virginia, though overrated by the polls, is still a good team. Now comes a Red River Rivalry with some oomph.
9 Florida State ACC BCS Title
5-1 LW: #5 A Rat: .665 B Rating: 12.478 C Rating: 10.383 AP: 12 Coaches: 11
On the other hand, the nature of B Points is that you’re never penalized too much for losing close no matter who it’s to. The way is still clear to dominate the conference.
10 Stanford P12 BCS Title
4-1 LW: #12 A Rat: .479 B Rating: 9.447 C Rating: 8.180 AP: 17 Coaches: 17
Stanford moves up almost by default despite needing overtime to beat Arizona at home. Be very afraid of their prospects in South Bend.
11 Texas A&M SEC BCS Bowl
4-1 LW: #27 A Rat: .601 B Rating: 9.769 C Rating: 7.495 AP: 22 Coaches: 21
Why does A&M shoot up the rankings after a narrow win over 3-3 Ole Miss? Perhaps it’s the cumulative effect of Arkansas’ first win and Florida’s big win. SMU did its part too.
12 West Virginia B12 Prncton/Yale
5-0 LW: #14 A Rat: .671 B Rating: 7.787 C Rating: 6.936 AP: 5 Coaches: 4
Credit for beating a good team, but it was by only three. If you want to impress the C Ratings, put the hurt on Texas Tech this week.
13 Cincinnati BST BCS Title
4-0 LW: #17 A Rat: .780 B Rating: 8.895 C Rating: 6.851 AP: 21 Coaches: 20
Cincinnati scored more points than they have all season in demolishing Miami (OH). The rest of the Big East should be on notice.
14 Iowa State B12 #4 BCS Title
4-1 LW: #19 A Rat: .525 B Rating: 6.600 C Rating: 6.090 Coaches: 25 Harris: 25
People are, belatedly, starting to realize the Cyclones are for real after a two-touchdown win over TCU. But Kansas State will be their biggest test yet.
15 Georgia SEC #4 BCS Title
5-1 LW: #9 A Rat: .550 B Rating: 7.233 C Rating: 5.618 AP: 14 Coaches: 12
Georgia came out with the short end of the stick after a trip to Columbia. But Kentucky should help them get back on track.
16 Oklahoma* B12 #5 BCS Title
3-1 LW: #49 A Rat: .546 B Rating: 7.142 C Rating: 5.606 AP: 13 Coaches: 10
Oklahoma just didn’t have the points to get anywhere, playing a I-AA school and taking two weeks off, but demolishing Texas Tech was just what they needed to prove their bona fides and spice up the Red River Rivalry.
17 Texas Tech B12 #6 BCS Title
4-1 LW: A Rat: .588 B Rating: 7.251 C Rating: 5.484
Texas Tech got humbled by Oklahoma – and now the Heisman front-runner is coming to Lubbock.
18 LSU SEC #5 BCS Title
5-1 LW: #8 A Rat: .582 B Rating: 8.388 C Rating: 5.404 AP: 9 Coaches: 8
And now the chickens come home to roost on LSU’s weak early-season performances. And to make matters worse, South Carolina is out to prove they really are the third-best team in the country.
19 Toledo MAC MAC Title
5-1 LW: #22 A Rat: .530 B Rating: 6.073 C Rating: 3.722
Ohio continues to get all the pub, but Toledo aren’t the ones escaping by a touchdown over a 1-4 team; they’re the ones demolishing the Directional Michigan schools.
20 Arizona State P12 BCS Title
4-1 LW: #15 A Rat: .609 B Rating: 5.471 C Rating: 3.248
Idle hands compounded by losses by teams they played. Hopefully Colorado was a suitable tune-up for Oregon.
21 Oregon State P12 #4 BCS Title
4-0 LW: #18 A Rat: .665 B Rating: 4.220 C Rating: 3.083 AP: 10 Coaches: 14
I’m a little more worried than the polls about how much trouble the Beavers had with 2-4 Washington State. Better get back on track for a road trip to BYU.
22 Rutgers BST BCS Title
5-0 LW: #38 A Rat: .803 B Rating: 7.098 C Rating: 3.062 AP: 20 Coaches: 19
The polls have Rutgers ahead of Cincinnati, but Rutgers hasn’t beaten an FCS opponent by more than 16, which Cincy has done twice.
23 Baylor B12 #7 BCS Title
3-1 LW: #33 A Rat: .480 B Rating: 3.716 C Rating: 2.631
Baylor moves up despite idle hands, doubtless because of the effect of WVU’s big win. They’re knocking on the door of nearly every poll, and can become ranked again by beating TCU.
24 Louisiana Tech WAC BCS Bowl
5-0 LW: #20 A Rat: .660 B Rating: 6.527 C Rating: 2.384 AP: 23 Coaches: 24
Sure they blew out UNLV, but it was UNLV. Against Texas A&M, they can prove their bona fides and arrest the slide, or take their first loss.
25 Mississippi State SEC #6 BCS Title
5-0 LW: #25 A Rat: .783 B Rating: 4.237 C Rating: 2.284 AP: 19 Coaches: 18
13-point win over 1-5 Kentucky means Mississippi State remains at #25 for the third straight week.


38 teams total with positive C Rating (none with negative B Rating)

Off Top 25: #27 Clemson (was #16), #31 Ohio (was #24), #46 Northwestern (was #23), #52 TCU (was #21)

Unbeaten teams not on Top 25: #31 Ohio, #38 Louisville, #44 Texas-San Antonio (all in positive B Points, Texas-San Antonio not in positive C)

Rest of Watch List: #26 Penn State (4-2), #27 Clemson (5-1), #28 North Carolina (4-2), #29 Northern Illinois (5-1), #30 Oklahoma State (2-2), #32 Michigan* (3-2), #33 USC (4-1), #34 Fresno State (4-2), #35 San Jose State (4-1), #36 Iowa (3-2), #37 Boise State (4-1)

Other Positive B Ratings (all 4-2 unless otherwise noted): #39 Michigan State, #40 Nevada (5-1), #41 Western Kentucky (5-1), #42 Pittsburgh (2-3), #43 BYU, #45 Louisiana-Monroe* (3-2), #47 Utah State, #49 Wisconsin* (*=Newly Positive)

No Longer Positive: #46 Northwestern, #48 Tennessee, #52 TCU, #54 Nebraska, #55 Middle Tennessee State, #70 UCLA, #80 Purdue

Bottom 10: #115 Virginia, #116 UTEP, #117 Colorado, #118 Southern Miss, #119 Eastern Michigan, #120 Akron, #121 Idaho, #122 Hawaii, #123 Tulane, #124 Massachusetts

Best game of week: Stanford @ Notre Dame, 3:30pm ET, NBC

2012 College Football Rankings – Week 5

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 . 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 ’06 Boise St.
5-0 LW: 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 BCS Title
5-0 LW: 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 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 BCS Title
4-0 LW: 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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

2012 College Football Rankings – Week 4

This will be my penultimate year of the college football rankings. There are a couple reasons for this, not just the new playoff – namely, conference realignment is making college football unrecognizable to me (the Princeton-Yale Title is going to be unified with the 2010 TCU title this week, shockingly early in the season, and the move of West Virginia to the Big 12 is almost solely responsible for it) – but the fact that we’re getting a playoff, one where a selection committee is making the decisions and so there’s less emphasis on “rankings” to try to influence people, is the main one. The monstrosity that has been the BCS has attempted to make its decisions with a combination of polls and computer rankings, though they’ve increasingly neutered the latter; as such, there’s a lot of emphasis on where teams stand, and my rankings were an attempt to contribute to that debate. Now, there are fewer people to be swayed and they’re less likely to be swayed; as such, if I were to continue the feature, its most appropriate form would probably be a “bubble watch”.

The week 3 rankings showed that the national consensus isn’t far off, with Alabama and LSU top three. The Tigers took a bigger tumble in the C Ratings this week after not only letting a mediocre-at-best Auburn team keep it closer than they should have, but having Washington not play and the other two teams they played lose. Just as in the polls, Oregon takes advantage of its squash of Arizona to take LSU’s spot. But in both weeks, there’s an interloper. Say what you will about their impact on conference realignment and the economics of college sports, but the Texas Longhorns will be good whenever they want to be. Their squashes of their first three opponents, especially an admittedly-weak SEC team, should serve notice to the rest of the country that they could be headed to Miami when all is said and done.

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 ’06 Boise St.
4-0 LW: A Rat: .935 B Rating: 26.029 C Rating: 22.864 AP: 1 Coaches: 1
Alabama has picked up right where they left off last season.
2 Texas B12 BCS Title
3-0 LW: A Rat: .845 B Rating: 24.513 C Rating: 21.711 AP: 12 Coaches: 10
If Texas can do to Oklahoma State what they’ve done to their other opponents so far, the whole country will realize how good this Longhorn squad really is.
3 Oregon P12 BCS Title
4-0 LW: #15 A Rat: .823 B Rating: 23.253 C Rating: 20.569 AP: 2 Coaches: 2
One big win over a good Arizona team, and suddenly Oregon looks a lot like the team USC was supposed to be – or the team from two years ago.
4 Texas Tech B12 BCS Title
3-0 LW: #5 A Rat: .901 B Rating: 20.427 C Rating: 17.982
When you never score less than 44, your rating is going to be good no matter what – and they actually account for Texas State’s only loss this season. But another unbeaten is next.
5 Florida State ACC BCS Title
4-0 LW: #6 A Rat: .900 B Rating: 18.657 C Rating: 16.813 AP: 4 Coaches: 4
With the Big East finally losing AQ status, the ACC becomes the new laughingstock conference – but their flagship team is back with a vengeance and out to prove they deserve their seat at the table.
6 Stanford P12 ’09 Boise St.
3-0 LW: #8 A Rat: .704 B Rating: 13.660 C Rating: 12.258 AP: 8 Coaches: 9
No Andrew Luck? No problem. Stanford’s out to prove they’re going to be a power in the Pac-12 for a long time to come.
7 Kansas State B12 BCS Title
4-0 LW: #7 A Rat: .773 B Rating: 14.056 C Rating: 12.201 AP: 7 Coaches: 8
Did Kansas State just pull off a huge upset? Not according to the C Ratings, where Oklahoma wasn’t even on the top 25.
8 Notre Dame BCS Title
4-0 LW: #18 A Rat: .792 B Rating: 11.999 C Rating: 10.224 AP: 10 Coaches: 11
The Golden Domers certainly look to be back. Navy’s squash of VMI for their first win of the season plays as much of a role in this ranking as anything.
9 LSU SEC BCS Title
4-0 LW: A Rat: .816 B Rating: 11.951 C Rating: 9.829 AP: 3 Coaches: 3
Sorry LSU, but national championship contenders don’t let a mediocre Auburn team get that close to victory.
10 Florida SEC BCS Title
4-0 LW: #10 A Rat: .761 B Rating: 10.990 C Rating: 9.365 AP: 11 Coaches: 12
Florida remains unbeaten despite three SEC games already, two on the road. But LSU awaits in two weeks.
11 Georgia SEC #4 BCS Title
4-0 LW: #4 A Rat: .823 B Rating: 11.074 C Rating: 8.994 AP: 5 Coaches: 5
Despite demolishing Vanderbilt, Georgia runs into the same problem as LSU: the other three teams they played all lost by sizable margins. But the Bulldogs may be making some real noise this year.
12 South Carolina SEC #5 BCS Title
4-0 LW: #9 A Rat: .823 B Rating: 9.616 C Rating: 7.523 AP: 6 Coaches: 6
If South Carolina were in any other conference, they’d be a favorite for the conference title. Instead, they’re third best in their own division.
13 Ohio State B10 Probation
4-0 LW: #12 A Rat: .749 B Rating: 9.485 C Rating: 7.309 AP: 14 BlogPoll: 14
Remember the effect USC’s bowl-ineligibility had on the Pac-12 South race last year? Ohio State may have that effect on the entire conference. Its next-best team isn’t on the Top 25.
14 Arizona State P12 BCS Title
3-1 LW: #17 A Rat: .585 B Rating: 7.441 C Rating: 5.830
Why is Arizona State our first one-loss team? They’ve never scored less than 37 or allowed more than 14 in a win, and their one loss was by only four.
15 West Virginia B12 #4 Prncton/Yale
3-0 LW: #23 A Rat: .757 B Rating: 6.847 C Rating: 5.772 AP: 9 Coaches: 7
West Virginia has won every game by at least ten – but none of them have been quite like the team whose 2010 TCU title is getting unified this Saturday.
16 Iowa State B12 #5 BCS Title
3-0 LW: #13 A Rat: .774 B Rating: 6.153 C Rating: 5.405
There’s reason for skepticism about the Cyclones – taking a week off right after facing a I-AA team, the 9-6 win over Iowa – but they beat down that I-AA opponent and account for Tulsa’s only loss.
17 Louisiana Tech WAC BCS Bowl
3-0 LW: #53 A Rat: .667 B Rating: 7.162 C Rating: 4.399
Huh? A team from the dying WAC is ranked this high? Take a look at their impressive win over an Illinois team whose other loss came to a team ranked even higher.
18 Cincinnati BST BCS Title
2-0 LW: #27 A Rat: .850 B Rating: 4.475 C Rating: 4.168
It’s easy to be 2-0 when you’ve only played two teams, one of them a I-AA school – but they’ve been by impressive margins and Pitt just put up an impressive win of its own.
19 Clemson ACC BCS Title
3-1 LW: #14 A Rat: .500 B Rating: 4.402 C Rating: 4.104 AP: 17 Coaches: 16
Florida State is seen as a national title contender, and it was high-scoring enough that a 12-point loss doesn’t affect score ratio too much. But it could keep the Tigers out of the conference title game.
20 Ohio MAC BCS Bowl
4-0 LW: #20 A Rat: .729 B Rating: 5.460 C Rating: 3.850 BlogPoll: 25
It’s easy to be skeptical of the Bobcats, especially with a win by only three over Marshall, but it’s hard to argue with their results.
21 TCU B12 #6 BCS Title
3-0 LW: #24 A Rat: .907 B Rating: 5.045 C Rating: 3.275 AP: 15 Coaches: 14
TCU has come into its new conference guns blazing with three squashes – and they might not even be in the top half of the conference. Look out, SEC.
22 Rutgers BST BCS Title
4-0 LW: #22 A Rat: .774 B Rating: 5.006 C Rating: 2.856 AP: 23 Coaches: 25
The Scarlet Knights will not play an FBS team currently with a winning record until Kent State the last week of October. Keep that in mind as they climb the polls the next few weeks. In other news, the Big East is mediocre.
23 Oregon State P12 #4 BCS Title
2-0 LW: #43 A Rat: .640 B Rating: 2.983 C Rating: 2.712 AP: 18 Coaches: 21
The Beavers have played two games, both within a score. Still, both were against above-average teams, which bodes well for their chances against reeling Arizona.
24 Baylor B12 #7 BCS Title
3-0 LW: #54 A Rat: .703 B Rating: 3.943 C Rating: 2.087 AP: 25 Coaches: 24
Surviving against a good Louisiana-Monroe team shows their bona fides, but it doesn’t bode well for a road trip to Morgantown.
25 Mississippi State SEC #6 BCS Title
4-0 LW: #29 A Rat: .900 B Rating: 18.657 C Rating: 16.813 AP: 21 Coaches: 19
Impressive win, albeit over an FBS newcomer. The schedule, and a 6-point escape over Troy in their only road game, are concerns, though, and they’ll fall off next week for idle hands.


42 teams total with positive C Rating (none with negative B Rating)

Off Top 25: #27 USC (was #21), #29 Oklahoma State (was #16), #33 Georgia Tech (was #19), #35 Arizona (was #11), #48 UCLA (was #25)

Unbeaten teams not on Top 25: #30 Louisville, #40 Northwestern, #45 Minnesota, #49 Texas-San Antonio (all in positive B Points, Minnesota and Texas-San Antonio not in positive C)

Rest of Watch List (all 3-1 unless otherwise noted): #26 Texas A&M (2-1), #27 USC, #28 Michigan State, #29 Oklahoma State (2-1), #31 Nevada, #32 Pittsburgh (2-2), #33 Georgia Tech (2-2), #34 San Jose State, #35 Arizona, #36 Tennessee*

Other Positive B Ratings: #37 North Carolina* (2-2), #38 Boise State (2-1), #39 BYU (2-2), #41 Fresno State* (2-2), #42 Nebraska (3-1), #43 Toledo (3-1), #44 Central Florida (2-1), #46 Oklahoma (2-1), #47 Utah State* (3-1), #48 UCLA (3-1), #55 Northern Illinois (3-1), #57 Middle Tennessee State (2-1) (*=Newly Positive)

No Longer Positive: #51 Western Kentucky, #52 Kentucky, #56 Louisiana-Monroe, #58 Maryland, #83 Utah

Bottom 10: #115 SMU, #116 Houston, #117 Akron, #118 Eastern Michigan, #119 Army, #120 Southern Miss, #121 Hawaii, #122 Colorado, #123 Tulane, #124 Massachusetts

Best game of week: Texas Tech @ Iowa State, 4pm PT, FCS

2011 College Football Rankings – After Bowls

After all is said and done, I must, begrudgingly, accept Alabama as my national champion.

Perhaps if LSU had kept it closer, they might have an argument for a split title. Perhaps if Oklahoma State didn’t need overtime to beat an overrated Stanford team, they might have an argument for a split title. But Alabama did what they need to, and now they’re the national champions.

Frankly, this is one of those years where the best solution might be no national champion. None of the teams involved are all that attractive. One good thing about a potential playoff system is that at least any potential champion has spent time building an aura of “champion-ness” by winning the games we consider to have the most value. Perhaps Alabama, or Oklahoma State, or even LSU would seem more legitimate by beating some number of teams along the way.

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 ’06 Boise St.
12-1 LW: A Rat: .796 B Rating: 67.874 C Rating: 59.634 AP: 1 BCS: 1
Say what you will about the BCS system, it is true what the Tide fans are saying: they won the one that counted.
2 LSU SEC SEC Champ.
13-1 LW: A Rat: .720 B Rating: 64.064 C Rating: 56.912 AP: 2 BCS: 2
On the plus side, Les Miles proved this year that his first national championship wasn’t just the result of inheriting Nick Saban’s players.
3 Oklahoma State B12 Fiesta Bowl
12-1 LW: A Rat: .651 B Rating: 55.805 C Rating: 47.798 AP: 3 BCS: 3
Sorry, but national championship teams don’t need overtime to beat teams that didn’t win their conference. Can I seriously expect you to have beaten Alabama?
4 Boise State MWC Maaco Bowl
12-1 LW: #5 A Rat: .717 B Rating: 47.456 C Rating: 38.482 AP: 8 Coaches: 6
Kellen Moore ended his college career with a bang, blowing out an Arizona State team that looked like the third-best team in the Pac-10 at one point this season.
5 Wisconsin B10 Big 10 Champ.
11-3 LW: #4 A Rat: .594 B Rating: 36.909 C Rating: 29.645 AP: 10

Coaches: 11
The Badgers kept it close enough against the Ducks that they don’t move below them.
6 Houston USA TicketCity
13-1 LW: #8 A Rat: .695 B Rating: 38.024 C Rating: 29.006 AP: 18 Coaches: 14
Houston proved their season wasn’t a fluke in demolishing a good Penn State team.
7 Oregon P12 Rose Bowl
12-2 LW: #6 A Rat: .611 B Rating: 34.317 C Rating: 28.226 AP: 4 Coaches: 4
The win over Wisconsin wasn’t impressive and the Pac-12 didn’t do that great in the bowls, but it took Stanford losing to a top-3 team for people to realize, “Wait, Oregon won this conference and Stanford didn’t for a reason.”
8 Oklahoma B12 Insight Bowl
10-3 LW: #7 A Rat: .534 B Rating: 31.655 C Rating: 26.064 AP: 16 Coaches: 15
Big win over Iowa didn’t do much to impress the voters in the final standings.
9 Michigan B10 Sugar Bowl
11-2 LW: #10 A Rat: .586 B Rating: 22.677 C Rating: 18.480 AP: 12 Coaches: 9
Yes, it was Virginia Tech. Yes, it took overtime. But Michigan did their darndest to prove how deserving of a BCS bowl they really were.
10 Stanford P12 Fiesta Bowl
11-2 LW: #9 A Rat: .617 B Rating: 23.190 C Rating: 17.428 AP: 7 Coaches: 7
Luck and the Cardinal gave all they could, but Oklahoma State, in the end, was the better team, even if marginally so.
11 Southern Miss USA Hawaii Bowl
12-2 LW: #11 A Rat: .586 B Rating: 21.956 C Rating: 14.893 AP: 20 Coaches: 19
The win over Nevada did move them up a couple of spots in the polls, even though it was by only a touchdown.
12 South Carolina SEC Capital One
11-2 LW: #13 A Rat: .576 B Rating: 15.962 C Rating: 12.501 AP: 9 Coaches: 8
Big win over a good Huskers team isn’t enough to put the Cocks in the top ten, but Spurrier has definitely built an elite program.
13 Arkansas SEC #4 Cotton Bowl
11-2 LW: #14 A Rat: .557 B Rating: 16.227 C Rating: 11.767 AP: 5 Coaches: 5
Arkansas didn’t quite blow K-State out of the water, and South Carolina is still ahead of them, but they do move up across the board even if they were overrated already.
14 TCU MWC MWC Champ.
11-2 LW: #12 A Rat: .606 B Rating: 17.332 C Rating: 11.036 AP: 14 Coaches: 13
Sorry, but I’m not going to give TCU the benefit of the doubt when they needed a fourth-quarter comeback to beat Louisiana Tech.
15 USC P12 ’09 Boise St.
10-2 LW: #15 A Rat: .559 B Rating: 11.199 C Rating: 6.697 AP: 6 SBNBlog: 12
As I expected, with almost everyone back and the team off probation people are talking up USC as a preseason national championship favorite… so why am I hearing about so many transfers leaving?
16 Florida State ACC Chmps Sprts
9-4 LW: #20 A Rat: .483 B Rating: 9.244 C Rating: 5.335 AP: 23 Coaches: 23
It was a low-scoring, tight game, but it was over a very good team, ranked ahead of them in the rankings, so a big move for the Seminoles.
17 Toledo MAC Military Bowl
9-4 LW: #19 A Rat: .422 B Rating: 8.725 C Rating: 5.136
Bit too close for comfort against a 7-6 team to justify ranking them for half the year, but at least they won, which teams below them can’t say.
18 Georgia SEC #5
10-4 LW: #16 A Rat: .462 B Rating: 7.658 C Rating: 4.876 AP: 19 Coaches: 20
Georgia fought valiantly for three overtimes before falling to a very good Spartans team.
19 Notre Dame  
8-5 LW: #17 A Rat: .361 B Rating: 6.954 C Rating: 4.242
The Golden Domers should have mixed feelings about their season. On one hand, they’re 8-5. On the other, their losses were like their Champs Sports bowl: they fought hard to the end.
20 Texas A&M B12 Meineke C. C.
6-6 LW: #23 A Rat: .336 B Rating: 6.519 C Rating: 2.957
A&M not only showed Northwestern how good they’ve really been, they did so in a big way, albeit close to home. But still no one is noticing.
21 Virginia Tech ACC
11-3 LW: #18 A Rat: .502 B Rating: 5.976 C Rating: 2.893 AP: 21 Coaches: 17
Virginia Tech fought hard to prove they belonged in a BCS bowl, but the only reason it went to overtime was that people had doubts about their opponent too.
22 West Virginia* BST Prncton/Yale
10-3 LW: #29 A Rat: .470 B Rating: 4.565 C Rating: 1.812 AP: 17 Coaches: 18
What an embarrassment for the ACC. What a statement by the Mountaineers.
23 Northern Illinois MAC GoDaddy.com
11-3 LW: #27 A Rat: .473 B Rating: 4.414 C Rating: -.614
One of the Huskies’ strongest seasons during their recent run even earned them quite a few poll votes.
24 Missouri* B12 #4 Independence
8-5 LW: #31 A Rat: .380 B Rating: .432 C Rating: -1.991
The Tigers say goodbye to the Big 12 on a high note with a big win over North Carolina.
25 Rutgers
(9-4, .428, -.361, -2.804)
BST Pinstripe


2010 TCU Title: #31 Baylor (10-3), .447, -1.730, -4.030

Off Top 25: #26 Michigan State (was #24), #27 Nebraska (was #21), #34 Penn State (was #25), #37 Clemson (was #23)

Watch List: #26 Michigan State

Other Positive B Ratings: #28 Ohio, #30 Temple* (*=Newly Positive)

No Longer Positive: #27 Nebraska, #29 Louisiana Tech, #32 Utah State, #37 Clemson, #40 Arkansas State

Best game of year: LSU @ Alabama / BCS Championship Game: Alabama v. LSU (tie)

It’s the MorganWick.com National Championship Pregame Show!

I’m frantically running around trying to make sure I have classes for the coming quarter (as in, the quarter that’s almost a week old already), so I only have one thing to say about the national championship game, which I won’t be watching.

The MXS for the game is Alabama 21¾-19¾. No, I have no idea why Alabama is favored when LSU won the first game on Alabama’s home turf and is playing closer to home.

Final college football rankings coming Tuesday, hopefully, though I wouldn’t bet on it.

2011 College Football Rankings – Week 14

For the past few weeks I’ve been resigned to the fact that an LSU-Alabama rematch was probably the least bad option for the national title game. It would pit two teams from the same conference that met in an unwatchable snoozefest in the regular season and include a non-conference champion, but none of the other one-loss teams were that attractive.

However… is there any sort of serious case to be made against Oklahoma State?

The main case against Oklahoma State seems to be that they lost to an Iowa State team that’s barely bowl-eligible. That’s it. I’m pretty sure teams have made the national title game with worse single losses. Forget about conference champions; Oklahoma State might have a better resume than Alabama even discounting the championship question. I suspect the real reason people dismiss Oklahoma State for the national title game is because they’re not one of the biggest name teams. As I said some weeks ago, people don’t quite believe that the “little brother” in the Bedlam rivalry is really a national title contender. Suppose we took Oklahoma State’s resume and applied it to Oklahoma, or even took Oklahoma’s resume and removed losses to Baylor and Oklahoma State, meaning their one loss would be even worse: to non-bowl-eligible Texas Tech. Would anyone seriously think Oklahoma wouldn’t make the national title game over Alabama?

It’s becoming more and more apparent that the BCS isn’t even about handing out the plum picks to the top five or six conferences, but about protecting the standing of the most prestigious schools. Alabama making the national title game over Oklahoma State proves that the BCS discriminates even against teams with moderately big names, let alone the small non-BCS schools, to protect a small cadre of name teams. It tells you everything you need to know about both why there has been so much realignment chaos the past two years, and why all of it is ultimately beside the point. At that point, perhaps it’s time to just admit it, and put the most prestigous schools together in the top level of a promotion-relegation system.

As it turns out, in a year that threatened to emulate every single BCS controversy from years past, the most similar case to this year would probably be 2006. People that year were gearing up for a national championship game between an undefeated team and a team from the same conference the undefeated team beat in the regular season. Then in the last week, a champion of a different conference was moved ahead of the non-champion despite the non-champion not playing. The difference between Ohio State-Michigan and LSU-Alabama? In 2006, Florida was a name team. Oklahoma State is not. Is it really that simple?

Rankings include the Army-Navy game, but not any of the bowls that have been played so far.

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 LSU SEC ’06 Boise St.
13-0 LW: A Rat: .835 B Rating: 76.655 C Rating: 67.552 AP: 1 BCS: 1
LSU won the first game on Bama’s home turf. Now they’ll have near-home field advantage for the rematch.
2 Oklahoma State B12 AP Title
11-1 LW: A Rat: .662 B Rating: 56.201 C Rating: 47.768 AP: 3 BCS: 3
Little Brother beat Big Brother so convincingly it created a national title groundswell – that wasn’t enough. Now Luck and the Cardinal await in the Fiesta.
3 Alabama SEC BCS Title
11-1 LW: A Rat: .780 B Rating: 54.428 C Rating: 47.050 AP: 2 BCS: 2
It’ll be a tall order for the Tide to get their revenge.
4 Wisconsin B10 Big 10 Chmp.
11-2 LW: #5 A Rat: .661 B Rating: 44.210 C Rating: 35.929 AP: 9 BCS: 10
Sparty kept it close, but the Badgers pulled it out and the polls moved them into the top 10. But Wisconsin could do even more against Oregon in their second straight Rose Bowl.
5 Boise State MWC Maaco Bowl
11-1 LW: #4 A Rat: .711 B Rating: 43.928 C Rating: 35.298 AP: 8 BCS: 7
A #7 BCS ranking nets the Broncos a date with an Arizona State squad that fumbled away a potential trip to the Pac-12 Title Game down the stretch.
6 Oregon P12 Pac-12 Chp.
11-2 LW: #8 A Rat: .612 B Rating: 36.178 C Rating: 29.920 AP: 6 BCS: 5
Oregon impressed everyone with their demolition of UCLA, but the Badgers will be a tall order in the Rose Bowl.
7 Oklahoma B12 Insight Bowl
9-3 LW: #6 A Rat: .516 B Rating: 29.405 C Rating: 23.918 AP: 19 BCS: 14
Demolished, but by a national title contender; people continue to overreact to their two tight losses. How bad might Iowa end up looking?
8 Houston USA TicketCity
12-1 LW: #7 A Rat: .689 B Rating: 32.712 C Rating: 23.802 AP: 20 BCS: 19
Losing to a ranked team should not be that horrible… but Penn State may be the next-best opponent they’ve played all season. How did the TicketCity bowl get two teams THAT good?
9 Stanford P12 Fiesta Bowl
11-1 LW: #9 A Rat: .686 B Rating: 27.329 C Rating: 20.817 AP: 4 BCS: 4
Stanford will be trying to prove they’re even better than the polls have them – and that Luck should have still won the Heisman – against Oklahoma State.
10 Michigan B10 Sugar Bowl
10-2 LW: #10 A Rat: .590 B Rating: 24.777 C Rating: 20.474 AP: 13 BCS: 13
A little surprised there’s enough support for the Wolverines to put them in a BCS bowl, but you have to imagine it’s more for the name value than what the ratings say.
11 Southern Miss USA C-USA Chmp.
11-2 LW: #18 A Rat: .586 B Rating: 21.956 C Rating: 14.893 AP: 22 BCS: 21
What does the huge upset net the Eagles? A move up the polls of 2-3 spots and a trip to Hawaii to face Nevada, while Houston gets set to face Penn State. No respect, I tells ya.
12 TCU MWC MWC Champ.
10-2 LW: #14 A Rat: .604 B Rating: 16.459 C Rating: 9.972 AP: 16 BCS: 18
The Poinsettia Bowl will be a showdown of champions between TCU and the champions of the WAC, Louisiana Tech.
13 South Carolina SEC Capital One
10-2 LW: #16 A Rat: .560 B Rating: 12.248 C Rating: 9.160 AP: 10 BCS: 9
The Gamecocks move up considerably without even playing and with only two of the teams they passed playing and losing, thanks to Clemson’s big win. Now Nebraska awaits.
14 Arkansas SEC #4 Cotton Bowl
10-2 LW: #15 A Rat: .545 B Rating: 13.190 C Rating: 8.910 AP: 7 BCS: 6
Kansas State is way overrated. How will it look if the Razorbacks blow them out of the water?
15 USC P12 ’09 Boise St.
10-2 LW: #13 A Rat: .559 B Rating: 13.086 C Rating: 8.799 AP: 5 SBNBlog: 9
Matt Barkley, come back. With USC off probation and Luck and James NFL-bound, the Pac-12 is yours for the taking.
16 Georgia SEC #5 Outback Bowl
10-3 LW: #12 A Rat: .506 B Rating: 9.744 C Rating: 6.765 AP: 18 BCS: 16
With regard to the polls, was Georgia hurt by playing in the conference title game? No matter: the SEC’s tie-in structure means it all works out.
17 Notre Dame   Chmps Sprts
8-4 LW: #17 A Rat: .402 B Rating: 9.125 C Rating: 6.264
An ACC-heavy schedule for the Golden Domers will continue against Florida State.
18 Virginia Tech ACC Sugar Bowl
11-2 LW: #11 A Rat: .549 B Rating: 9.543 C Rating: 6.215 AP: 17 BCS: 11
You want to know what enabled the outrage of V-Tech going to a BCS bowl? The BCS keeping them knocking on the door of the top 10.
19 Toledo MAC Military Bowl
8-4 LW: #19 A Rat: .412 B Rating: 8.182 C Rating: 4.590
What does Toledo have to show for their season? A showdown against an Air Force team that’s barely bowl-eligible (and continung what’s becoming a tradition of the Military Bowl picking service academies).
20 Florida State ACC Chmps Sprts
8-4 LW: #20 A Rat: .470 B Rating: 7.930 C Rating: 4.152 AP: 25 Coaches: 25
Poll respect aside, Notre Dame will be a tall order for the Seminoles.
21 Nebraska B10 Capital One
9-3 LW: #21 A Rat: .475 B Rating: 4.320 C Rating: 2.513 AP: 21 BCS: 20
Probably their best bowl fit, but the Huskers will have a tall order trying to stop the Gamecocks.
22 Clemson* ACC Prncton/Yale
10-3 LW: #31 A Rat: .457 B Rating: 4.998 C Rating: 1.924 AP: 14 BCS: 15
Stumbles down the stretch don’t matter now, becaue the Tigers are ACC Champions and headed to the BCS.
23 Texas A&M B12 Meineke C. C.
6-6 LW: #22 A Rat: .310 B Rating: 4.757 C Rating: 1.307
I wonder if A&M will show Northwestern how good they’ve really been?
24 Michigan State B10 #4 Outback Bowl
10-3 LW: #23 A Rat: .507 B Rating: 2.188 C Rating: -1.066 AP: 12 BCS: 17
The Spartans kept it close enough against a good Wisconsin team that they move in lockstep with the surrounding teams that didn’t play. But good luck against the Bulldogs.
25 Penn State
(9-3, .456, -.489, -1.811)
B10 #5 TicketCity


2010 TCU Title: #35 Baylor (9-3), .435, -3.743, -5.744

Off Top 25: #26 Louisiana Tech (was #25)

Watch List: #26 Louisiana Tech (Poinsettia Bowl), #27 Northern Illinois (GoDaddy.com Bowl)

Other Positive B Ratings: #30 Utah State* (Famous Idaho Potato Bowl), #32 Ohio (Famous Idaho Potato Bowl), #34 Arkansas State (GoDaddy.com Bowl) (*=Newly Positive)

Bottom 10: #111 Colorado, #112 UAB, #113 Middle Tenn. St., #114 UNLV, #115 Kansas, #116 Memphis, #117 Tulane, #118 Florida Atlantic, #119 New Mexico, #120 Akron

Best bowl: BCS Championship Game, LSU v. Alabama, 1/9 5:30pm PT, ESPN
Best non-Championship Game bowl: Rose Bowl, Wisconsin v. Oregon, 1/2 2pm PT, ESPN
Best non-BCS bowl: TicketCity Bowl, Houston v. Penn State, 1/2 9am PT, ESPNU

Who SHOULD Be Going to Which Bowls?

The bowls if selections were based on my C Ratings, out soon. If two teams are separated by an “or”, then I’m weighing whether teams would select based strictly on the standings, or if non-BCS teams have to be conference champions. An asterisk denotes teams filling for conferences and alternate conferences unable to fill all tie-ins. Not going to bowls despite being bowl-eligible: Purdue and Ball State.

  • Gildan New Mexico Bowl: MWC #4 (Wyoming or Air Force) v. Pac-12 #7 (UCLA or *Western Kentucky)
  • Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: MAC (Ohio) v. WAC (Utah State)
  • R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: C-USA #5 (*Illinois or Marshall) v. Sun Belt (Arkansas State)
  • Beef’O’Brady’s St. Petersburg Bowl: Big East #6 (Pittsburgh) v. C-USA #4 (Marshall or SMU)
  • San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl: MWC (San Diego State or Boise State) v. WAC (Nevada)
  • MAACO Bowl Las Vegas: MWC (TCU) v. Pac-12 #5 (California or Washington)
  • Sheraton Hawaii Bowl: C-USA ? (Tulsa or Southern Miss) v. Hawaii/WAC (Louisiana Tech)
  • AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl (Shreveport): ACC #7 (Virginia) v. MWC (Air Force or San Diego State)
  • Little Caesar’s Bowl (Detroit): Big 10 #8/Sun Belt (Northwestern or Illinois) v. MAC (Toledo)
  • Belk Bowl (Charlotte): ACC #5 (Georgia Tech) v. Big East (Rutgers)
  • Military Bowl (Washington DC): ACC #8/MAC #4 (Wake Forest) v. Navy/Big 12 #8 (*Temple)
  • Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl (San Diego): Big 12 #5 (Baylor) v. Pac-12 (Arizona State or Utah)
  • Champs Sports Bowl (Orlando): ACC (Florida State) v. Big East (Notre Dame)
  • Valero Alamo Bowl (San Antonio): Big 12 (Missouri) v. Pac-12 (Stanford or Arizona State)
  • Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (Dallas): C-USA (SMU or Tulsa) v. BYU
  • New Era Pinstripe Bowl (New York): Big 12 #7 (Iowa State) v. Big East #4 (Cincinnati)
  • Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl: ACC #6 (NC State) v. SEC #7/8 (Auburn)
  • Insight Bowl (Tempe): Big 12 #4 (Kansas State) v. Big 10 #5 (Penn State or Iowa)
  • Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas (Houston): Big 12 #6 (Texas) v. Big 10 #6 (Iowa or Ohio State)
  • Hyundai Sun Bowl (El Paso): ACC #4 (North Carolina; would be Miami (FL)) v. Pac-12 #4 (Utah or California)
  • AutoZone Liberty Bowl (Memphis): C-USA (Southern Miss or Houston) v. SEC #7/8 (Mississippi State)
  • Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (San Francisco): Pac-12 #6/ACC #9 (Washington or UCLA) v. Army/ACC #9 (*Western Michigan)
  • Chick-fil-A Bowl (Atlanta): ACC (Virginia Tech) v. SEC #5 (Vanderbilt)
  • TicketCity Bowl (Dallas): Big 10 #7/Big 12 #8 (Ohio State or Northwestern) v. C-USA #7/Big 12 #8 (*Western Kentucky or *Wyoming)
  • Outback Bowl (Tampa): Big 10 (Nebraska or Michigan State) v. SEC -4 (East) (Georgia)
  • Capitol One Bowl (Orlando): Big 10 (Michigan or Nebraska) v. SEC (South Carolina)
  • TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl (Jacksonville): Big 10 #4 (Michigan State or Penn State) v. SEC #6 (Florida)
  • Rose Bowl Game pres. by Vizio (Pasadena, CA): Big 10 (Wisconsin) v. Pac-12 (Oregon)
  • Tostitos Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, AZ): Big 12 (Oklahoma) v. BCS (Boise State or Stanford)
  • Allstate Sugar Bowl (New Orleans): SEC (Alabama) v. BCS (Houston or Michigan)
  • Discover Orange Bowl (Miami): ACC (Clemson) v. BCS/Big East ? (West Virginia)
  • AT&T Cotton Bowl (Cowboys Stadium): Big 12 (Texas A&M) v. SEC -4 (West) (Arkansas)
  • BBVA Compass Bowl (Birmingham): Big East #5 (Louisville) v. SEC #9/Sun Belt (Louisiana-Lafayette)
  • GoDaddy.com Bowl (Mobile): MAC (Northern Illinois) v. Sun Belt (Florida International)
  • BCS National Championship Game: BCS (LSU) v. BCS (Oklahoma State)