I never thought I would rank Kansas #2 in football, but there they are in this latest installment of the Cross Poll. Meanwhile, Arizona State didn't fall far, and Boston College remained in the top ten. Several teams stayed in the same place as last week, suggesting that we're starting to zero in on where teams truly stand. But there's plenty of football left to prove us wrong.
The Cross Poll in no way influences the BCS Poll, making it about as relevant as the AP Poll. And because I watch at least one college football game per week, this makes the Cross Poll about as informed as the Coaches’ Poll. And because I use a combination of other polls and screwy computer formulas, this makes the Cross Poll about as accurate and confusing as the BCS Poll. And because no one cares where I rank these teams, this makes the Cross Poll about as important as the Harris Poll.
The Cross Poll is not an attempt to predict how good teams will be at the end of the season. Instead, it ranks the teams based on how well they’ve played to this point. It takes more than just win-loss record into account when determining teams’ rankings, factoring in who teams beat and who they lost to.
With that preface out of the way, here’s the Cross Poll rankings for Week 9, now with last week’s rankings in brackets:
Ohio State (10-0) [2]
Kansas (9-0) [4]
LSU (8-1) [5]
Oregon (8-1) [7]
Oklahoma (8-1) [6]
Arizona State (8-1) [3]
Missouri (8-1) [9]
West Virginia (7-1) [8]
Boston College (8-1) [1]
Hawaii (8-0) [10]
Connecticut (8-1) [11]
Georgia (7-2) [12]
Virginia Tech (7-2) [13]
Boise State (8-1) [18]
USC (7-2) [14]
Texas (8-2) [15]
Michigan (8-2) [20]
Florida (6-3) [19]
Clemson (7-2) [21]
Auburn (7-3) [22]
Virginia (8-2) [NR]
Alabama (6-3) [16]
California (6-3) [NR]
Tennessee (6-3) [NR]
Cincinnati (7-2) [NR]
Fallen from the Ranks: South Florida [17]; South Carolina [23]; Wake Forest [24]; Purdue [25].
As a Jayhawk fan for several decades, I will state that we are probably not the second best team in the country. After we play more football, we will see how good WE are!
halmay,
I don't know that Kansas is necessarily the #2 team in the nation (I think LSU and Oregon probably have the strongest claims to that) but based on the resume, they have had the second best season SO FAR. I'm not trying to predict where teams will end up, just how good they are based on what they've done to this point. As long as they continue to win, they deserve to be in the discussion.
To the above poster, ranking and reality are two different things. If we want projections ask the Vegas handicappers who would without question put Oregon or LSU at #1/#2.
Now these are pretty good rankings. Boise State is probably better than Hawaii, we'll see when they play. Hawaii isn't 8-1 by the way they are 8-0.
I can tell you this. Very few teams will want to play teams like Kansas, Missori, Connecticut or Virginia in a bowl game. All they do is win.
Kansas' ranking is justified at this moment, but I'm not sure I'd take them on a neutral field against LSU, Oregon, Ohio St, Oklahoma, or West Virginia. Interesting stat: the only two teams ranked in the top 12 nationally in scoring offense, total offense, scoring defense, and total defense are Kansas and West Virginia.
Why is everyone so quick to drop BC all the way to the bottom of the top 10? It seems to me that they have a better resume (if you only consider wins and losses, period) than everyone but Ohio St, Kansas, LSU, and Oregon. Do you rank these by some sort of formula?
OSL,
South Florida's collapse disappoints me too. I hope they rebound. There's been several teams this year who have started strong and then it all fell apart with a whimper.
Norcalfella,
That brings up a good point about the differences between pollsters and handicappers. Here's a link to a poll by handicappers: http://www.wiseguys.com/lvscpoll.as px
Thanks for catching my error on Hawaii. I knew they are undefeated, I just had a brain ####. And I'm glad you agree with my rankings more than you did last week.
ramblineer,
Any of those games you suggested would be close, I think. Kansas isn't a fluke; they're a good team. I would love to see them.
But do you know who I would really love to see? Oregon versus West Virginia. The two teams are very similar.
In answer to your question, yes, I use a formula. It's complicated, but simple. I use an average of poll rankings and then assign certain point values based on who teams have beat and to whom they have lost. Boston College fell toward the bottom of the one-loss teams because their only good win is against Virginia Tech while they've lost to an unranked team.
