BCS Observation

If you are a college football fan like me, today is the day you've been waiting for all season. Today the first BCS Rankings of the year were released and here's a quick overview of how they look plus a few observations by me.

#1 Alabama Crimson Tide (7-0) 0.9841

USA Today Coaches Poll: #1

Harris Interactive Poll: #1
Anderson & Hester: #2
Colley Matrix: #3
Jeff Sagarin: #2
Kenneth Massey: #3
Peter Wolfe: #1
Richard Billingsley: #1
Evans Rankings: #4, 3.113

Note: I really do not have a problem with Alabama being #1 so far. They are very close in my Rankings to #1. Alabama has very quality wins on their schedule (Virginia Tech & Texas A&M) but they also have 2 very weak wins over Kentucky and winless Georgia State. They have some opportunity to move up in the coming weeks with LSU and Auburn still on the schedule but their non-league game with Chattanooga may keep them out of my top spot if Ohio State, Florida State, Oregon and Missouri keep winning.

#2 Florida State Seminoles (6-0) 0.9348

USA Today Coaches Poll: #3

Harris Interactive Poll: #3
Anderson & Hester: #1
Colley Matrix: #2
Jeff Sagarin: #1
Kenneth Massey: #1
Peter Wolfe: #1
Richard Billingsley: #5
Evans Rankings: #3, 3.167

Note: A once strong looking win over Maryland could end up hurting the Seminoles chances to stay towards the top in the Evans Rankings Top 25. Florida State could stay strong as long as they keep winning. They have a big test in 2 weeks when undefeated Miami-Florida comes to Tallahassee and if they get through that game it could be the hated Gators standing between them and a BCS Championship game.

#3 Oregon Ducks (7-0) 0.9320

USA Today Coaches Poll: #2

Harris Interactive Poll: #2
Anderson & Hester: #4
Colley Matrix: #4
Jeff Sagarin: #4
Kenneth Massey: #4
Peter Wolfe: #4
Richard Billingsley: #2
Evans Rankings: #7, 2.571

Note: What do we know about Oregon? We know that they have a very explosive offense. We know that they score a ton of points. We know that they rally to the ball on defense. We know that they will use a different uniform combination for every game between now and 2023. Here’s what we don’t know, really how good is Oregon? Let’s look at who they’ve beaten: Nicholls State, Virginia, Tennessee, California, Colorado, Washington and Washington State. Their next 2 games will show us whether Oregon is a contender or just a flash in the pan. UCLA comes to Autzen Stadium before the Ducks fly to Palo Alto for the massive clash with Stanford. With 2 wins, and only with 2 wins will Oregon prove to the nation that they deserve to be in the running for BCS glory.

#4 Ohio State Buckeyes (7-0) 0.8553

USA Today Coaches Poll: #4

Harris Interactive Poll: #4
Anderson & Hester: #5
Colley Matrix: #5
Jeff Sagarin: #8
Kenneth Massey: #8
Peter Wolfe: #7
Richard Billingsley: #3
Evans Rankings: #1, 3.214

Note: In my Rankings I classify a “good win” as a win versus a team with a winning % of over .500, Ohio State is the definition of good win this year as they have 4 so far with the possibility to add at least 3 more. As long as the Buckeyes don’t look past Penn State this week, they should be sitting pretty when the hated Wolverines invade Columbus during the last week of the regular season. By that game Ohio State should already have punched their ticket to the Big Ten Championship game where they could see a Michigan State or maybe even a rematch with archrival Michigan as the last step in their journey to the BCS Championship Game. If they don’t make it there, they’d probably have to settle for a potential Rose Bowl date with Oregon.

#5 Missouri Tigers (7-0) 0.8219

USA Today Coaches Poll: #7

Harris Interactive Poll: #6
Anderson & Hester: #3
Colley Matrix: #1
Jeff Sagarin: #3
Kenneth Massey: #2
Peter Wolfe: #3
Richard Billingsley: #6
Evans Rankings: #2, 3.214

Note: It’s really hard to believe that Missouri is doing this well in the SEC, in my opinion. SEC football is big boy football. Missouri is in their 2^nd year in the conference and not only are they keeping up with the big boys of the SEC, they are beating them. Missouri is coming off a win at home over the Florida Gators with their backup quarterback in. Things don’t get any easier as the South Carolina Gamecocks visit this week. The game that I am concerned about the most for Mizzou the rest of the way is their matchup at Mississippi. With Texas A&M looming right after that, Missouri could overlook the Rebels.

#6      Stanford Cardinal (6-1)                 0.7414 [Evans Rankings #5, 3.065]

#7      Miami Hurricanes (6-0)                 0.7200 [Evans Rankings #18, 1.929]
#8      Baylor Bears (6-0)                        0.7120 [Evans Rankings #16, 2.071]
#9      Clemson Tigers (6-1)                    0.6249 [Evans Rankings #8, 2.571]
#10     Texas Tech Red Raiders (7-0)      0.6220 [Evans Rankings #11, 2.262]
#11     Auburn Tigers (6-1)                     0.5058 [Evans Rankings #9, 2.536]
#12     UCLA Bruins (5-1)                        0.4807 [Evans Rankings #22, 1.833]
#13     LSU Tigers (6-2)                          0.4552 [Evans Rankings #15, 2.083]
#14     Virginia Tech Hokies (6-1)           0.4408 [Evans Rankings #6, 2.786]
#15     Oklahoma Sooners (6-1)              0.4204 [Evans Rankings #10, 2.333]
#16     Texas A&M Aggies (5-2)               0.3666 [Evans Rankings #21, 1.851]
#17     Fresno State Bulldogs (6-0)          0.3379 [Evans Rankings #14, 2.095]
#18     Northern Illinois Huskies (7-0)      0.3032 [Evans Rankings #24, 1.732]
#19     Oklahoma State Cowboys (5-1)     0.2687 [Evans Rankings #41, 0.976]
#20     Louisville Cardinals (6-1)              0.2556 [Evans Rankings #26, 1.690]
#21     South Carolina Gamecocks (5-2)   0.2161 [Evans Rankings #31, 1.256]
#22     Michigan Wolverines (6-1)            0.1637 [Evans Rankings #12, 2.149]
#23     Central Florida Knights (5-1)        0.1394 [Evans Rankings #23, 1.821]
#24     Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-1)          0.1354 [Evans Rankings #37, 1.048]
#25     Oregon State Beavers (6-1)           0.1042 [Evans Rankings #32, 1.214]

My BCS Question of the Week:

If I could ask one question of the BCS, that question would be directed at Jeff Sagarin. This week’s question is: Why do you have the Pittsburgh Panthers ranked #24 in your poll? I’m really curious because I have them ranked #25.