With the exception of the Boise State game, I did not watch any college football this past weekend. Considering the bulk of poorly played games, it was the right weekend to take a viewing sabbatical. It also means that more help is needed from those of the community who watched the games to help in finalizing this week's poll submission.
Last week the discussion centered on how high should Boise State climb after a dominating performance on the road against Bowling Green. Should the Broncos drop this week after a lackluster home performance against FCS foe UC Davis? In different iterations of this week's poll, I considered placing Boise State anywhere from No. 4 to No. 8. See where the Broncos land and give your opinion on the rest of the Top 25 following the jump.
 |
||
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | |
| 2 | Texas | |
| 3 | Florida | |
| 4 | Virginia Tech |
 1 |
| 5 | Boise State |
 1 |
| 6 | Iowa | |
| 7 | Miami (Florida) |
7 |
| 8 | Southern Cal | |
| 9 | LSU |
2 |
| 10 | Cincinnati |
3 |
| 11 | Ohio State |
2 |
| 12 | Oregon |
4 |
| 13 | TCU | |
| 14 | Penn State |
1 |
| 15 | Kansas |
2 |
| 16 | Nebraska |
4 |
| 17 | Auburn | |
| 18 | Oklahoma State |
3 |
| 19 | Brigham Young |
5 |
| 20 | Wisconsin | |
| 21 | Georgia Tech | |
| 22 | Missouri |
1 |
| 23 | South Florida |
2 |
| 24 | Stanford | |
| 25 | Michigan |
6 |
| Last week's ballot | ||
Virginia Tech jumps over Boise State, demoting the Broncos to the 5th spot on the poll. Regardless of Saturday night's outcome, I probably would have dropped the Broncos solely due to the FCS opponent diluting the strength of schedule. When looking at the resume of teams early in the year, wins over FCS teams were factored when comparing similar teams. The Broncos should suffer the same fate even though their FCS game was later in the year. Virginia Tech's quality wins over Miami and Nebraska outweigh their struggles with lowly Duke. USC was considered for the Top 5, but their loss to Washington is looking worse with each passing week. Iowa has struggled as much or more against inferior opponents than BSU and LSU pulled out another unimpressive win. Miami (FL), with one loss, is the only other team with a comparable resume, picking up a quality win over Oklahoma.
The rest of the poll is proving just as hard to fill out. I normally try to give greater consideration for head-to-head results, but I could not place Houston above Oklahoma State. Houston falls from the rankings after giving up half a hundred to UTEP. This is similar to the treatment given to BYU after their monumental loss to Florida State, propelling the Cougars below Oklahoma at the time.
I originally had Notre Dame ranked, but ultimately decided to give the nod to Michigan due to their win over the Irish, even though the Wolverines lost this weekend. Despite a record of 2-2, Oklahoma was also considered at #25 with both losses coming by one point to ranked teams. Ultimately their lack of a quality win left them out of the rankings.
Idaho was among several one loss teams that were not considered for the Top 25, although using my formula that attempts to rank teams free of bias, scoring margin, and historical expectations, the Vandals come in at #25, just ahead of West Virginia and Penn State.
As always, your comments determine the final poll which will be submitted late Tuesday night. Check out CBSSports.com on Wednesday morning to find out how the Broncos fare in this weeks BlogPoll.