The BlogPoll is about to reach critical mass.
Oregon lost to Boise State. Fair and square. To date, that has been the reasoning for the rankings of the two teams. They've played head to head, Oregon lost, rank them behind Boise, right? Many of the mainstream pollsters have a similar attitude, and it has brought about questions of whether the Ducks have the chance to pass Boise at all sans a Bronco loss.
But what if we do beat USC?
Because if that one loss had been to anyone besides Boise, this is a completely different argument. Should USC be ranked behind Washington? Houston behind UTEP? At some point, the resume has to win out over the head-to-head.
We're about to reach that point with Oregon and Boise. I'm not trying to be a homer here, but Boise has one really good win, by eleven points at home. And they won't get another. This is a team that, ultimately, will not have had to grind out a long string of games against quality competition. That won't have faced a test on the road. And I realize that it's not the fault of the Bronco players, but at some point you have to stop ignoring it. Oregon's resume is already better than Boise's, and a win over the Trojans will make that undebateable (and a loss makes it all a moot point).
Am I the only one that finds it funky that if Oregon had lost to Purdue instead of Boise, we'd be in a better position to make a NC run than we are now?
Of course, a playoff would take care of all of this, now wouldn't it (and I realize that I flip-flop on that yearly).
But that's getting ahead of ourselves......
In spite of a struggle against Tennessee last week, Alabama remains a clear #1 in my mind. Still the best resume, and the only struggle they've had this year. TCU is just crushing teams and moves way up. A road win at Michigan somewhat legitimizes Penn State, and California sneaks back into the poll.
I had somebody ask me why no Oklahoma? I ask, why should I put in a three loss team with only one quality win?
As always, I'll take suggestions in the comments.
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| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | |
| 2 | Florida | |
| 3 | Texas | |
| 4 | Iowa | |
| 5 | TCU |
 7 |
| 6 | Cincinnati | |
| 7 | Boise State |
 2 |
| 8 | Oregon |
1 |
| 9 | Southern Cal |
2 |
| 10 | LSU | |
| 11 | Georgia Tech | |
| 12 | Virginia Tech |
1 |
| 13 | Penn State |
1 |
| 14 | Pittsburgh |
3 |
| 15 | Oklahoma State |
4 |
| 16 | Utah | |
| 17 | Houston |
2 |
| 18 | Miami (Florida) |
10 |
| 19 | Arizona |
3 |
| 20 | Notre Dame | |
| 21 | Ohio State |
1 |
| 22 | West Virginia | |
| 23 | Central Michigan |
1 |
| 24 | California | |
| 25 | Wisconsin | |
| Last week's ballot | ||