Welcome to the penultimate edition of the Cross Poll. Once the bowls are all played out I will unveil the final Cross Poll standings, ranking all 120 teams from the BCS winner to those that should continue moving back to D-1AA. But for now, you'll have to satisfy yourself with the usual Top 30.
Happy Thanksgiving. I went 17-5 last week, bringing my record for the year to 62-20. This week, I’m keeping it short and simple again. Also, this week, rather than the BCS rankings, I’m using the rankings I’ve developed in the Cross Poll. (Shameless plug.)
Thursday Throwdown: #12 USC at #6 Arizona State, Thu., 11/22, 8:00 pm, ESPN … The wacky Pac-10 race could get a little more wacky if USC knocks of the Sun Devils, creating a three-way tie with Oregon. … USC 25, ASU 22
Arkansas at #2 LSU, Fri., 11/23, 2:30 pm, CBS … Arkansas is underachieving this year. LSU is not. … Arkansas 25, LSU 38
#15 Texas at Texas A&M, Fri., 11/23, 3:30 pm, ABC … The first of several in-state rivalries this week. Usually a good game, but I don’t see the Aggies matching up well. … Texas 32, Texas A&M 24
#14 Boise State at #7 Hawaii, Fri., 11/23, 9:00 pm, ESPN2 … There’s a lot at stake in this one, including a possible BCS at-large berth. The Broncos have to travel to the island, but I think they’ll handle the trip well. … Boise State 30, Hawaii 28
#8 Virginia Tech at #16 Virginia, Sat., 11/24, 12:00 pm, ESPN 2 … Who is the best team in Virginia? Well, let’s see: losses to LSU and Boston College vs. losses to Wyoming and NC State. … Virginia Tech 22, Virginia 17
Miami (Fl) at #13 Boston College, Sat., 11/24, 12:00 pm, ESPN … Flutie Bowl! This one probably won’t require any last-second heroics. … Miami 17, BC 32
#24 South Florida at Pittsburgh, Sat., 11/24, 12:00 pm, GamePlan … Boy, Dave Wannstedt is really doing a great job with the Panthers, isn’t he? Maybe he should take the Michigan job. … USF 27, Pitt 18
#20 Tennessee at #29 Kentucky, Sat., 11/24, 1:30 pm, CBS … If a four-loss Kentucky team at home beats a three-loss Tennessee team, is it technically an upset? … Tennessee 29, Kentucky 32
Utah at #23 Brigham Young, Sat., 11/24, 2:00 pm CSTV/Versus/The MTN… Who is the best team in Utah? I honestly couldn't tell you. … Utah 22, BYU 21
#17 Connecticut at #4 West Virginia, Sat., 11/24, 3:30 pm, ABC/GamePlan … The de facto Big East championship game, and to the winner a likely BCS bid. For the Mountaineers, even more is riding on it because if they win out and either Kansas or LSU lose, they have a shot at the national championship. … UConn 17, WVU 30
#9 Georgia at Georgia Tech, Sat., 11/24, 3:30 pm, ABC/GamePlan … Who is the best team in Georgia? I came very close to taking the Rambling Wreck, but then I remembered how wrong I was the last time I bet against Georgia. … Georgia 26, Georgia Tech 23
#10 Oregon at UCLA, Sat., 11/24, 3:30 pm, ABC/GamePlan … Can the Ducks win without Dennis Dixon? It sure didn’t look like it last week. … Oregon 29, UCLA 22
Oklahoma State at #11 Oklahoma, Sat., 11/24, 3:30 pm, FSN … Who is the best team in Oklahoma? I’m not man enough to choose the Cowboys. …
Oklahoma St 28, Oklahoma 38
#30 Florida State at #18 Florida, Sat., 11/24, 5:00 pm, CBS … Who is the best team in Florida? Well, who would you rather have, Tim Tebow or whoever the Seminole quarterback is this week? …
Florida St 26, Florida 35
#25 Clemson at South Carolina, Sat., 11/24, 7:00 pm, ESPN2 … Who is the best team in South Carolina? Hopefully this one won’t make Lou Holtz cry. … Clemson 33, South Carolina 26
#22 Cincinnati at Syracuse, Sat., 11/24, 7:15 pm, ESPNU … The historic teams of the Big East (read: Syracuse and Pitt) are pathetic while the new guard (read: Cincinnati and South Florida) are dominating. Who saw this coming when Miami led the mutiny years ago? … Cincinnati 36, Syracuse 16
Alabama at #26 Auburn, Sat., 11/24, 8:00 pm, ESPN … Who is the best team in Alabama? Better question: Will anyone outside the state watch this one when there’s a much better game on ABC? … Alabama 19, Auburn 26
Game of the Week: #3 Missouri at #1 Kansas, Sat., 11/24, 8:00 pm, ABC … What are you doing Saturday night? If you like college football, you’re watching this game, probably polishing off some leftovers. I go back and forth on this one. One thing I know: there will be a lot of points scored. … Missouri 35, Kansas 38
Happy Turkey Day, Foxsports.com bloggers and readers! Welcome to another installment of the Cross Poll.
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, with last week’s rankings in brackets:
Kansas (11-0) [1]
LSU (10-1) [2]
Missouri (10-1) [5]
West Virginia (9-1) [7]
Ohio State (11-1) [8]
Arizona State (9-1) [6]
Hawaii (10-0) [9]
Virginia Tech (9-2) [10]
Georgia (9-2) [11]
Oregon (8-2) [3]
Oklahoma (9-2) [4]
USC (8-2) [12]
Boston College (9-2) [17]
Boise State (10-1) [14]
Texas (9-2) [15]
Virginia (9-2) [16]
Connecticut (9-2) [19]
Florida (8-3) [20]
Illinois (9-3) [21]
Tennessee (8-3) [22]
Wisconsin (9-3) [23]
Cincinnati (8-3) [18]
Brigham Young (8-2) [27]
South Florida (8-3) [28]
Clemson (8-3) [13]
Auburn (7-4) [NR]
Texas Tech (8-4) [NR]
Michigan (8-4) [24]
Kentucky (7-4) [26]
Florida State (7-4) [NR]
Fallen from the Ranks: Penn State [25]; California [29]; Mississippi State [30].
This week, I'm expanding the Cross Poll from 25 teams to 30 to credit those right outside the top 25. After all the bowls, I plan to do a Cross Poll 120, ranking every team. But for now, you'll have to make do with 30.
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 11, with last week’s rankings in brackets:
Kansas (10-0) [2]
LSU (9-1) [3]
Oregon (8-1) [4]
Oklahoma (9-1) [5]
Missouri (9-1) [7]
Arizona State (9-1) [6]
West Virginia (8-1) [8]
Ohio State (10-1) [1]
Hawaii (9-0) [10]
Virginia Tech (8-2) [13]
Georgia (8-2) [12]
USC (8-2) [15]
Clemson (8-2) [19]
Boise State (9-1) [14]
Texas (8-2) [16]
Virginia (9-2) [21]
Boston College (8-2) [9]
Cincinnati (8-2) [25]
Connecticut (8-2) [11]
Florida (7-3) [18]
Illinois (8-3) [NR]
Tennessee (7-3) [24]
Wisconsin (8-3) [NR]
Michigan (8-3) [17]
Penn State (8-3) [NR]
Kentucky (7-3) [NR]
Brigham Young (7-2) [NR]
South Florida (7-3) [NR]
California (6-4) [23]
Mississippi State (6-4) [NR]
Fallen from the ranks: Auburn (7-4) [20]; Alabama (6-4) [22]
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].
There have been a lot of changes this week, including a new team atop the rankings. Thursday night Boston College got something Ohio State has yet to get: a statement win over a good team. Even if they relied on the miracle arm of Matt Ryan to come from behind and win at the last second, they beat a tough opponent on the road, and this is enough to carry them above the Buckeyes.
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:
1. Boston College (8-0) [2]
2. Ohio State (9-0) [1]
3. Arizona State (8-0) [3]
4. Kansas (8-0) [4]
5. LSU (7-1) [5]
6. Oklahoma (7-1) [6]
7. Oregon (7-1) [7]
8. West Virginia (7-1) [9]
9. Missouri (7-1) [11]
10. Hawaii (8-0) [13]
11. Connecticut (7-1) [19]
12. Georgia (6-2) [18]
13. Virginia Tech (6-2) [10]
14. USC (6-2) [12]
15. Texas (7-2) [20]
16. Alabama (6-2) [25]
17. South Florida (6-2) [8]
18. Boise State (7-1) [23]
19. Florida (5-3) [15]
20. Michigan (7-2) [22]
21. Clemson (6-2) [NR]
22. Auburn (6-3) [NR]
23. South Carolina (6-3) [16]
24. Wake Forest (6-2) [NR]
25. Purdue (7-2) [NR]
Fallen from the Rankings: Virginia (7-2) [14]; Kentucky (6-3) [17]; California (5-3) [21]; Penn State (6-3) [24]
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 8:
This morning, in a segment of Good Call, Bad Call on That Other Network, Kirk Herbstreet was asked if South Florida deserves a spot in the BCS Championship game. Something like 76% of voters in the SportsNation poll voted yes. Herbstreet claimed this is a bad call.
To Kirk Herbstreet, I say: bad call.
Herbstreet claims that if South Florida wins out, they will not be as deserving a shot at the national championship as a one-loss LSU team. I'm sure there are many who share this sentiment. But let's look at the resume, assuming both South Florida and LSU win the rest of their remaining games.
Sure, you can make the argument that LSU will play, and beat, more ranked teams. And sure, if you're one of the many who think there's the SEC on one level, then the rest of the BCS conferences on the second level, and completely ignore the rest of the conferences, you can make the argument that LSU will play a much more difficult slate of games than USF, even ignoring ranked teams.
However, don't forget that this USF team, if it wins out, will have beaten Auburn, a Top-10 West Virginia team, and many other Big East schools that are or were ranked this year, like Rutgers, Cincinnati, and Louisville. Sure, there's no South Carolina or Kentucky on that list, but let's not belittle what the Bulls will have done if they pull it off. Both teams will have beaten several ranked teams.
The difference between them? South Florida will have done everything asked of them and won every game, regardless of opponent or situation. LSU will not.
That's not to say that I'm downplaying the talent of LSU or the fact that they lost in three overtimes or that Kentucky is really good this year. Heck, I don't even dispute the fact that the SEC is probably the strongest conference this year. (I said probably, Big Ten and Pac-10 fans.)
But the fact of the matter is that a true national champion should be a team that consistently proves, on the biggest stages, that it is the best team in the nation. If a team from one BCS conference, despite the strength of its schedule, has not proven that it can beat any team that comes its way, and other BCS schools have proven they can, then there's no reason a one-loss team should jump them.
Last I checked, the idea between having certain conferences designated as "BCS conferences" is saying that these are the strongest conferences in the game, and the national championship should be decided between the two best schools from those conferences. I never heard there were certain programs from certain conferences that were inelligible.
So, at this point, South Florida, Boston College, Arizona State, and Kansas all deserve a shot at the BCS Championship more than LSU or Oklahoma or USC.
