Only this year could the top two ranked teams lose on the last day of the regular season.
Rogers Rankings is back after a catastrophic meltdown of the rankings computer, Ace, to release the last football rankings before the Bowl season begins.
Thanks to good data backup, Ace lives again (despite some operator difficulty in figuring out what the problem really was.)
And now, the shakedown!
This Week's Top Ten
Oklahoma(11-2)
Many of you may be really surprised to see that Oklahoma takes the top spot at the end of the regular season, but if you would have had the chance to see last weeks (unpublished) rankings, you would not be as surprised. They entered the weekend ranked third, then beat top ranked Missouri for the second time this season. They most likely would have been top ranked even if West Virginia (second last week) had won. LSU (11-2)
Unlike Oklahoma, previously #4 LSU would not have likely been able to make up the distance over West Virginia had they been able to take care of business against Pittsburgh. Lucky for LSU that WVU lost. The Tigers now have a date with Ohio State in the BCS National Championship, carrying their 18th placed strength of schedule with them. West Virginia (10-2)
Despite losing to Pittsburgh, West Virginia only slips back to third in the final regular season rankings, thanks mostly to being otherwise undefeated against teams ranked worst then 10th. It also doesn't hurt that they could have lost to a worse team than Pittsburgh, who is only one game out of bowl eligibility. Missouri (11-2)
Four teams in the top ten with two losses? Yep. If you want to talk technically, Missouri has only lost to one team this year; it just so happens that they lost to them twice. Their schedule rank checks in at 30th, and that certainly doesn't hurt them, either. Kansas (11-1)
Finally, a one loss team, but surprise again, it is not Ohio State. Buckeye fans will have to keep reading, I'm afraid. Jayhawk fans can take pride that right now we think that they are the best one loss team in the nation. In a normal year, that might get you into a National Championship game. Not this year, my feathered friends.Florida (9-3)
(Keep reading, Ohio State fans.) Three is a big number for Florida this year. Not only is it how many losses they have, it is also their strength of schedule ranking. Three of their four weakest opponents were Western Kentucky (99), Vanderbilt (80), and Florida Atlantic (63), all of which they destroyed. Their losses were to Auburn (20), LSU (2), and Georgia (7). Not exactly cupcakes. Georgia (10-2)
(Keep reading, Ohio State fans.) Wait, didn't we just say that Florida lost to Georgia? Realize, however, that Georgia did lose to South Carolina (59) at home. If you put the Florida-Georgia game in The Swamp, and Florida most likely wins that game.Virginia Tech (11-2)
(Keep reading, Ohio State fans.) Virginia Tech above Ohio State? I know you are thinking that. Again look at who Virginia Tech lost against: LSU (2) and Boston College (21). Then they beat BC in the conference championship rematch. Combine that with half of their opponents being ranked better than 50, and that checks them in at a solid 8th. Ohio State (11-1)
I can hear the Buckeye fans now yelling about all of the teams they are ranked behind, but the fact is they only played one team ranked in the top 25. That team was Illinois (25), and they lost to them. Combine a weak non-conference schedule with a very down year for the Big Ten, and it is hard to get much respect for an 11-1 season. South Florida (9-3)
Rounding out the top 10 this week is South Florida. They took the Florida route into the top ten; win 9 games and have a pretty good schedule rank. That schedule rank, by the way, checks in at 31st.
Upset of the Week
Who would have guessed that Pittsburgh, ranked 80th, last week, would have been able to knock off West Virginia? For that BCS monkey wrench win, Pittsburgh wins the award for the Upset of the Week. Honorable mention goes to Stanford for their defeat of California.
About Rogers Computer Rankings
Rogers Computer Rankings is a computer ranking system for the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision. For current and future rankings, be sure to check back on Sportales.
