... 7) Boise has taken a hit even without playing (their game against LA Tech counted for the week 8 ratings). Their score itself moved about 0.01 down (some opponents' results helped, others hurt, net was a bit negative), but the main thing was that Oregon simply passed them. In the week 8 numbers, Boise had the tougher schedule, but after Oregon's big game at USC the Ducks' schedule strength grew substantially. The good news is that their schedule strength for their last five games is pretty comparable in aggregate to their first seven games, so their schedule rating shouldn't take much (if any) of a hit (it'll sag before Nevada, but then jump up after that game). The problem, however, is that, as expected, a number of the AQ teams may have a chance to pass Boise as their own schedules toughen up. Obvious examples of games where the winner should get a solid boost are Arizona-Stanford, Auburn-Alabama, and the Big 12 title game. The Broncos do have a solid lead on the rest, but as shown by Oregon's recent jump up in the numbers, that lead can be overcome. Boise needs to continue to dominate and hope that there's some chaos in the rest of the field, which pretty much reflects their reality in the rankings that actually count.