D1scourse.com

The D1scourse 30: Final rankings

It's not meaningful in any particular way, but a post-bowls rundown of the nation's top 30 teams using a results-based system ...

1. Auburn (14-0). Steady at No. 1. Most reasonable minds would agree the Tigers own seven victories over top 25 teams (Oregon, Louisiana State, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi State and South Carolina twice). In the absence of a playoff, that's the best evidence available, and the Tigers have navigated enough stern tests to be a worthy national champion.

2. Texas Christian (13-0). Up from No. 3. The Horned Frogs nabbed a signature victory in the Rose Bowl against Wisconsin, and there's no question their defense is legitimate. But stack up the resumes of the two remaining unbeatens, and Auburn's is simply deeper.

3. Oregon (12-1). Down from No. 2. Bowl teams the Ducks defeated this season: Stanford (12-1), Washington (7-6), Arizona (7-6) and Tennessee (6-7). The defeat of the Cardinal is superb, but it isn't enough of a resume to bump Oregon over an unbeaten Texas Christian team.

4. Stanford (12-1). Steady at No. 4. The Cardinal lost to one of the two teams in the national title game, and complemented their domination of a depleted Pac-10 (and Notre Dame) with a rout of Virginia Tech. A great season in Palo Alto, and there's a chance for something even greater in 2011 with Andrew Luck remaining in the fold.

5. Ohio State (12-1). Up from No. 7. The Buckeyes were the one notable Big Ten team to escape bowl season unscathed, but they might not have done that if Arkansas understood the concept of scoop-and-score. The Sugar Bowl win is the highlight of an set of victories (at Iowa, Miami, Penn State, Michigan) in the regular season that was qualitatively limited.

6. Oklahoma (12-2). Up from No. 9. The Florida State pummeling looks better, as does the Bedlam victory in Stillwater. The Sooners' 48-20 handling of Connecticut was no surprise and should cement a top-10 finish in the major polls.

7. Louisiana State (11-2). Up from No. 10. For all the befuddling moments out of Baton Rouge this season, the resume still is excellent. Victories over Texas A&M (in the Cotton Bowl), Alabama, Mississippi State, Florida and North Carolina.

8. Alabama (10-3). Up from No. 17. The Crimson Tide didn't repeat as national champs, but they hauled in three legitimate top-20 wins (Arkansas, Michigan State and Mississippi State). The bowl season devalued the chains of Big Ten and Big 12 teams in the top 20 to allow a big jump for a particularly masterful performance. Alabama got just that.

9. Oklahoma State (11-2). Up from No. 18. The Pokes' victories didn't grow much more valuable in the bowl season, and they beat up on an overmatched Arizona team in the Alamo Bowl. Still, they have a decent enough set of victories and nothing shameful to their name. There's an argument to be made they belong behind these next two teams ...

10. Nevada (13-1). Up from No. 14. The Wolf Pack upended a pedestrian Boston College team in the Fight Hunger Bowl, and were buoyed by their upset of Boise State to the very end. The rest of Nevada's resume is a bit skimpy --- at Brigham Young, at Fresno State, home against a sub-.500 Cal outfit --- but one game in late November makes the difference between pushing for a spot in the top 10 and barely making the top 25. Hooray for small sample sizes.

11. Boise State (12-1). Up from No. 15. Eviscerated Utah in Las Vegas seemingly a month ago (it was merely three weeks in the past. The victory over Virginia Tech did what it was supposed to all along. Just for fun, the resume of a 13-0 Boise team that didn't play in a BCS game would probably have ranked fourth in the end game, given Texas Christian's defeat of Wisconsin.

12. Michigan State (11-2). Down from No. 5
13. Wisconsin (11-2). Down from No. 6

The one head-to-head that would be sort of nice to ignore is the Spartans' defeat of the Badgers. The eyeball test said Wisconsin was better, and the bowl results --- Michigan State getting reamed by Alabama, while the Badgers fell by two to Texas Christian --- back that up. Still, head-to-head is head-to-head, and they're comparable enough that Sparty gets the nod.

14. Arkansas (10-3). Down from No. 8. The Louisiana State win looks better. The South Carolina and Texas A&M victories really don't. But there isn't a three-loss team that leaves this season with a better set of losses (Auburn, Ohio State, Alabama). With Ryan Mallett leaving, though, is this going to be high tide in Fayetteville for a while?

15. Virginia Tech (11-3). Up from No. 16. Yes, up. The Hokies lost to a clearly superior Stanford bunch, and both their best wins (Florida State, N.C. State and North Carolina) and their notable loss (Boise State) look better than a month ago. (Boise, in turn, got propped up a bit with Nevada's win). To the end, it's difficult to know what to make of the Hokies' loss to James Madison. But they did beat a certain surging team in the ACC title game ...

16. Florida State (10-4). Up from No. 21. The best of the four-loss teams? It's the Seminoles, Mississippi State or Texas A&M. Florida State wasn't far from being a 12-2 outfit, and at their peak (i.e. with Christian Ponder close to full health, even if he wasn't a Heisman-caliber QB even then this season) they probably nose ahead of the rest of that bunch. One other thing: Jimbo Fisher's team is going forward before it goes backward.

17. Mississippi State (9-4). Up from No. 20. Is it too late to get the Chick-Fil-A Bowl to take Mississippi State, then send Steve Spurrier to the Gator Bowl to issue the death knell for Rich Rodriguez's tenure at Michigan. It would have worked out so well all around (well, not for Rich Rod). The Bulldogs went 1-4 in the tortuous SEC West and ran the table against everyone else. As such, their best victories are against tarnished titans like Florida, Michigan and Georgia. The eyeball test gets applied a little here to differentiate.

18. Missouri (10-3). Down from No. 11. The train of Big 12 teams shifts seven spots downward. Missouri won at Texas A&M and also defeated Oklahoma. That keeps them at the head of this three-team group, even though the Tigers did little to impress in an Insight Bowl loss to inconsistent Iowa.

19. Texas A&M (9-4). Down from No. 12. Part of the Aggies' tumble is because they lost to Louisiana State. Just as much of it is due to the unexpected losses of Nebraska, Missouri and Baylor (OK, that last one was more unexpected by me than most) in their respective bowl games. A&M will finish the season a bit undervalued, just as it was all season. It does have a defeat of Oklahoma, and that still counts for something.

20. Nebraska (10-4). Down from No. 13. The Cornhuskers will fit in just nicely in the Big Ten after their embarrassing collapse in the Holiday Bowl against Washington. Not sure there was a more disappointing team in the postseason than Nebraska.

21. South Carolina (9-5). Down from No. 19. Paused for a while on what to do from this point going forward. In the end, it's difficult to punish the Gamecocks too much for falling to Auburn twice, just as it's difficult not to reward them for collecting a top-10 win (Alabama). The setback at Kentucky remains a puzzler, and it probably costs South Carolina four spots in the final rankings.

22. Maryland (9-4). Up from No. 23. Hammered an amazingly mediocre East Carolina bunch in the Military Bowl to send Ralph Friedgen out a winner. The Terps were helped by N.C. State's victory in the Champs Sports Bowl, though those road losses to Clemson and Miami look worse after bowl season. There's no great gem on Maryland resume, but it should slip into the tail end of the top 25.

23. N.C. State (9-4). Up from No. 25. Handled West Virginia with relative ease in the Champs Sports Bowl. The Wolfpack belongs just behind Maryland based on head-to-head, which slightly trumps State's escape of Florida State in the regular season.

24. Tulsa (10-3). Up from unranked. Destroyed Hawaii in Honolulu, and that victory at Notre Dame kept increasing in value as the season progressed. That's something --- enough to get Todd Graham the Pittsburgh job.

25. Iowa (8-5). Up from unranked. There are no correct answers going forward, just a muddled mass of teams that aren't easy to differentiate. The Hawkeyes beat Michigan State and Missouri. They also lost to Minnesota somehow.  Even given a spot here, they're among the biggest letdowns nationally.

26. Notre Dame (8-5). Up from unranked. The Irish saved their most credible performances for late in the season, beating Utah, Southern California and Miami. Others can argue a place here, but Notre Dame did beat No. 27 ...

27. Utah (10-3). Down from No. 24. Underwhelming to the end, Utah still should be the second-highest ranked Mountain West team based on their victories over solid San Diego State and Air Force. But if November (and the Las Vegas Bowl) demonstrated anything, it's that the Utes are a borderline top-25 team at best.

28. San Diego State (9-4). Up from No. 29. The Aztecs beat both Navy and Air Force at home, and didn't embarrass themselves along the way. Four losses by 15 points says this was a good bunch all along; it just doesn't have the resume to show it's particularly noteworthy.

29. Air Force (9-4). Up from unranked. The Falcons complete the Mountain West chain. Another good-but-not-great team, Air Force was blitzed by Texas Christian, suffered its other three losses by a combined 10 points and outlasted a middling Georgia Tech team in an ugly Independence Bowl. Even now, the Falcons' best showing all year might be the three-point loss at Oklahoma.

30. Central Florida (11-3). Steady at No. 30. Beat Georgia in a difficult-to-watch Liberty Bowl, and the only other bowl teams the Knights defeated (East Carolina and Southern Methodist) did not acquit themselves well in the postseason. SMU, in fact, was the only team Central Florida defeated that wound up with a .500 record. Eleven wins is eleven wins, but this wasn't a particularly accomplished team.

Next five: Hawaii, West Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Navy

The D1scourse 30: Dec. 5

(Running down a Harris poll ballot --- plus five more teams --- and the rationale behind it)

There won't be too much suspense Sunday night when the BCS title game opponents are revealed.

That's because they will be Auburn and Oregon.

Auburn has nine victories over bowl-bound teams. A case can be made six of them are over top-25 teams.

That's a stark contrast to Oregon and Texas Christian, who own a combined nine victories over bowl-bound teams.

What lifts Oregon (with victories over Stanford, Arizona and Washington) over Texas Christian (victories over Utah, San Diego State, Baylor, Air Force, Southern Methodist and Brigham Young) is the Stanford game. It's the only remarkable accomplishment for either team.

(That said, the Ducks' offense and the Horned Frogs' defense on the same field would be fun).

As for the full top 30 (assuming Hawaii holds onto a 24-point lead over UNLV), read on. ...

1. Auburn (13-0). Steady at No. 1. The Tigers navigated the brutal SEC West, then hung half a hundred and then some in the SEC title game. The season's great what-if: Had Clemson managed to kick a short field goal in overtime, how would that game have turned out in subsequent overtimes?

2. Oregon (12-0). Steady at No. 2. The manic Ducks' offense brings the fashion Frankensteins within a victory of the program's first national title. Who wants to bet Oregon will wear new uniforms (again) for the meeting with Auburn. As mentioned earlier, the Ducks have Stanford to thank as much as themselves for being in the position they're in.

3. Texas Christian (12-0). Steady at No. 3. The Horned Frogs were basically in the clubhouse in mid-November. They beat plenty of decent teams, but no great ones. Basically, they are Ohio State without a loss, and they'll enjoy a trip to Pasadena.

4. Stanford (11-1). Steady at No. 4. There's no shame in suffering your only loss to an undefeated team. Sounds like a promising chart idea for the blog in the next few weeks. The Cardinal are plenty deserving of a BCS berth. Whether Jim Harbaugh is still around for it is the next question.

5. Michigan State (11-1). Steady at No. 5
6. Wisconsin (11-1). Steady at No. 6
7. Ohio State (11-1). Steady at No. 7

The one-loss Big Ten teams are ordered here based on head-to-head performance. Maybe that doesn't appropriately account for Michigan State's loss to Iowa, or its overtime defeat of Notre Dame. The eyeball test says Wisconsin's the best team, but here's to sticking to actual results.

8. Arkansas (10-2). Steady at No. 8. The top wins (Louisiana State, Texas A&M and South Carolina) stack up just a bit better than Oklahoma's (Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Florida State). Gave serious consideration to flip-flopping the two.

9. Oklahoma (11-2). Steady at No. 9. Probably could have used a Florida State upset of Virginia Tech. As it stands, the Sooners have a likely date with Connecticut in the Fiesta Bowl. And that makes them the most likely top-10 team to win its postseason game.

10. Louisiana State (10-2). Steady at No. 10. The Hat lost to the two SEC teams above him and beat everyone else. This constitutes a worthy placement.

11. Missouri (10-2). Up from No. 13. With the Oklahoma win a bit more valuable and Nebraska taking a slight hit, the Tigers' look a bit better. It's tough to keep them behind Texas A&M, a team they beat on the road with ease.

12. Texas A&M (9-3). Down from No. 11. The Aggies are off to the Cotton Bowl for what could be a highly entertaining game against Louisiana State or Alabama.

13. Nebraska (10-3). Down from No. 12. Not a serious hit for the Cornhuskers after a three-point loss to Oklahoma. Victories over Missouri and Oklahoma State held up reasonably well.

14. Nevada (12-1). Steady at No. 14
15. Boise State (11-1). Steady at No. 15
16. Virginia Tech (11-2). Steady at No. 16

Again, head-to-head makes a difference. This is also where losing to a 6-5 Division I-AA team will get held against the Hokies. Virginia Tech's resume (Florida State on a neutral field, at N.C. State, at North Carolina, at Miami) is more complete, but it's tough to ignore the on-field results. Beating Stanford in the Orange Bowl would make it a lot easier to look past the early-season date with the Broncos at FedEx Field.

17. Alabama (9-3). Up from No. 18. The Crimson Tide's comeback victory at Arkansas was their greatest accomplishment on the season (other than building a huge lead on Auburn). Counterintuitively, they pick up a spot after a team they lost to goes down in the SEC championship game.

18. Oklahoma State (10-2). Up from No. 19. The Pokes' only losses came at the hands of the Big 12 title game participants. Will be curious to see just where they land in the next day or two.

19. South Carolina (9-4). Down from No. 17. Half the Gamecocks' losses are to the nation's best team. No shame in that.

20. Mississippi State (8-4). Up from No. 21. The only beneficiary in this ranking as a result of Florida State's loss. Nonetheless, the Bulldogs' best win remains Florida --- which this season isn't all that overwhelming.

21. Florida State (9-4). Down from No. 20. Not a big hit for losing to Virginia Tech in the ACC title game. The Seminoles' set of wins is a bit deeper than Mississippi State's, but they've also lost to a couple teams that had lesser seasons. Either way, this spot is a toss-up as the regular season concludes.

22. West Virginia (9-3). Up from No. 23. The Mountaineers seem ticketed to the Champs Sports Bowl after being denied the Big East's BCS berth. They did finish the season on a four-game winning streak.

23. Maryland (8-4). Up from No. 24. Dragged up a spot with West Virginia taking a minor step.

24. Utah (10-2). Down from No. 22. If Texas Christian is Ohio State with no losses, then the Utes are a version of the Buckeyes with two unsightly setbacks. Victories over San Diego State, Pittsburgh, Air Force and Brigham Young are nice, but a spot just inside the top 25 is probably what the Utes earned this year.

25. N.C. State (8-4). Steady at No. 25. The Wolfpack beat five bowl teams, including division champ Florida State. The season-ending loss to Maryland probably cost them five spots.

26. Connecticut (8-4). Up from No. 29. The Huskies doubled their road win total for the season with a 19-16 victory at South Florida that locked up a BCS berth. UConn did beat West Virginia, Pittsburgh and South Florida, yet lost to Louisville and Rutgers.

27. Navy (8-3). Steady at No. 27. The Midshipmen still have a shot at a 10-win season. The first of two steps toward that end comes Saturday when they face Army at Lincoln Financial Field.

28. Hawaii (10-3). Up from No. 30. The Warriors will face Tulsa in Honolulu on Christmas Eve to close out their season.

29. San Diego State (8-4). Up from unranked. The non-BCS equivalent of Mississippi State, except the Aztecs sprinkled in a loss to Brigham Young (6-6). No matter. You've got to get to 30 somehow, and Brady Hoke's team is easily the most deserving bunch left on the board. The defeat of Air Force helps.

30. Central Florida (10-3). Up from unranked. The Knights beat Southern Methodist in the Conference USA title game, thus assuring them of their only victory over a team with a winning record. There's really no truly deserving team, but there are worse teams to give a nod to than one with 10 wins.

 

The D1scourse 30: Week 13

(Running down a Harris poll ballot --- plus five more teams --- and the rationale behind it)

Dare you to really make sense of the best of the Big 12.

OK, so Oklahoma State probably a little down the pecking order based on resume. It beat Texas A&M, lost to Nebraska and Oklahoma and didn't play much of a nonconference schedule.

But differentiating Oklahoma and Texas A&M? When the Aggies hold a head-to-head win but also an extra loss? When A&M was willing to play Arkansas on a neutral field, while the Sooners demolished Florida State, upended Air Force and was willing to play at Cincinnati (which was coming off a one-loss season).

If you're going to vote based on the actual results, head-to-head has to count --- but not for everything. The overall body of work gave the nod to the Sooners, but not by much.

Replace an A&M loss to Arkansas with a victory over a chump, and it doesn't change the calculus. Flip Oklahoma's defeat of Florida State, and it probably does.

It was close. Maybe the choice was a poor one. But at least it was an informed poor choice.

The rundown:

1. Auburn (12-0). Steady at No. 1. Who would have guessed beating Alabama might constitute a team's fourth-best victory this season. The Tigers have five top-25 wins this season, and the lone blemish was needing overtime to finish off a 6-6 Clemson team. But they've done more than anyone, and will earn a BCS title game invitation with a victory in the SEC championship game.

2. Oregon (11-0). Steady at No. 2. The Ducks' resume is probably not substantially better than Texas Christian's except for one big issue: Beating Stanford. That win will be the difference for Oregon if it wins the Civil War next week.

3. Texas Christian (12-0). Up from No. 4. It would seem the Horned Frogs will be able to borrow a line from Northwestern and take the purple to Pasadena. There's about five victories with value --- Utah, Baylor, San Diego State, Oregon State, Air Force --- but none with tremendous value. Ultimately, TCU was hurt by Utah's loss at Notre Dame and Oregon State's middling season.

4. Stanford (11-1). Up from No. 6. The Cardinal have three conference shutouts, a victory over Notre Dame that qualifies as useful and a lone setback to an unbeaten team. They edge out the Big Ten pacesetters mainly because the Big Ten midpack is nearly as middling as the Pac-10's.

5. Michigan State (11-1). Up from No. 7. It's the right thing to do. Yes, the loss to Iowa looks worse by the week. But Sparty did deal Wisconsin its only loss of the season. It's interesting that the Big Ten debate is much less interesting if Michigan State's fake field goal against Notre Dame doesn't work.

6. Wisconsin (11-1). Up from No. 8. By the eyeball test, the Big Ten's best team. One thing's for sure: The Badgers belong ahead of Ohio State, who they beat back in October.

7. Ohio State (11-1). Up from No. 9. Imagine the fit Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany would have had if the Buckeyes ran the table and got nosed out by Oregon for a title game spot. It's worth pointing out: Ohio State's best work (Iowa, Michigan, Miami, Penn State) came against a medley of 7-5 teams.

8. Arkansas (10-2). Up from No. 11. The class of the two-loss teams, the Hogs turned out to be worthy of all their preseason hype. Arkansas beat Louisiana State and South Carolina and ... well, anyone who didn't happen to be located in Alabama. The Texas A&M and Mississippi State wins were nice, too, and the Razorbacks would be a fine BCS at-large pick.

9. Oklahoma (10-2). Up from No. 15. Beating one-loss Oklahoma State on the road in the final week of the regular season gives the Sooners a bit of a bump. Coupled with the defeat of surging Florida State, and it vaults the Sooners into the top 10.

10. Louisiana State (10-2). Down from No. 5. Who else thinks Louisiana State-Texas A&M would be an amazing Cotton Bowl? The Hat's nine lives ran out to deny the Tigers an 11-win regular season.

11. Texas A&M (9-3). Up from No. 14. Beat Nebraska and Oklahoma, lost to Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma State. Such a tough team to figure out. One thing is likely: The nation's best three-loss team might have only lost twice if Mike Sherman switched quarterbacks a couple weeks earlier.

12. Nebraska (10-2). Up from No. 17. Playing a nonconference schedule of Idaho, South Dakota State, Washington and Western Kentucky will not treat two-loss teams great in a results-based ballot. Sorry.

13. Missouri (10-2). Steady at No. 13. Upon further review ... you can view this one in several ways. Not sure there's a right answer with the Tigers, either, but this is probably about where they belong.

14. Nevada (11-1). Up from No. 19. Beat an undefeated team. Needed overtime to do so. Definitely bolstered a resume that had California, Fresno State and Brigham Young on it before.

15. Boise State (10-1). Down from No. 3. The price of playing a schedule with few opportunities to legitimately earn impressive victories is that the first setback will send a team reeling. Fortunately, the Broncos have Virginia Tech to cushion their fall.

16. Virginia Tech (10-2). Steady at No. 16. Sorry. Can't in good conscience put the Hokies over Boise State.

17. South Carolina (9-3). Up from No. 18. The Gamecocks head to the SEC title game with a chance to cause some mischief on the national landscape. Sounds like a dream scenario for Steve Spurrier.

18. Alabama (9-3). Down from No. 10. With the same number of losses as South Carolina, the Crimson Tide wasn't going to escape a spot just behind the Ol' Ball Coach. Things would look a lot different if Alabama could have converted some of those red zone chances against Auburn.

19. Oklahoma State (10-2). Down from No. 12. The Texas A&M win is nice, but the losses to Nebraska and Oklahoma and the absence of a serious nonconference schedule send the Pokes back down.

20. Florida State (9-3). Up from No. 21. And the Seminoles' best victory was against ... Maryland? The 8-4 Terps might actually have a better resume than a collection of better-known 7-5s (Miami, Florida and Boston College) and 6-6s (Clemson) the Seminoles toppled this season.

21. Mississippi State (8-4). Up from No. 24. The best of the four-loss teams, the Bulldogs played the better SEC West teams tough at home and flopped on the road. Their best win came against Florida, which only says so much this season. But there's also no evidence Dan Mullen's team doesn't belong here.

22. Utah (10-2). Up from No. 25. Still don't trust the Utes, but they did bow up and rally past Brigham Young in the Holy War. At 10-2, they're tough to ignore.

23. West Virginia (8-3). Up from No. 30. Running out of teams here. The victory over Maryland has held up extremely well.

24. Maryland (8-4). Unranked last week. The victory over N.C. State, paired with wins over Navy (8-3) and surging Boston College (7-5), gives the Terps a bit of a resume. Not huge, but it's something --- and enough to make me feel comfortable giving Maryland a vote for the first time all season.

25. N.C. State (8-4). Down from No. 20. With the same record as Maryland with a slightly better top win (Florida State) and slightly more troubling worst loss (East Carolina) tossed in, this spot was determined by head-to-head.

26. Arizona (7-4). So, uh, beating Iowa didn't turn out to be worth all that much anyway. The Wildcats can still finish a solid season with a win over Arizona State that would secure them a place as the best Pac-10 team outside Eugene and Palo Alto.

27. Navy (8-3). Up from No. 28. Notre Dame, East Carolina and Southern Methodist --- a decent resume. The Mids head to the Poinsettia Bowl regardless of Dec. 11 game against Army.

28. Northern Illinois (10-2). Up from No. 29. Huskies play for the MAC title later in the week. This is about the ceiling, though, for a team with losses to Iowa State and Illinois.

29. Connecticut (7-4). Unranked last week. Not a big believer for a team that's 1-4 on the road and must go to South Florida next week to lock up the Big East.

30. Hawaii (9-3).  Unranked last week. Thanks to defeat of Nevada, the Warriors edge out South Florida and San Diego State for last spot.

The D1scourse 30: Week 11

Trying to provide the rationale behind a weekly top 30 ...

1. Auburn (11-0). Steady at No. 1. The only way the Tigers fall is if they lose or Cam Newton is declared ineligible. The remaining schedule (Alabama, South Carolina) is strong enough to keep Auburn at No. 1 if it wins out. The Newton issue is one it seems silly to try to get ahead on. If he's eligible, then Auburn should be evaluated as the unbeaten outfit it is. If he's declared ineligible, let the guesswork to figure out how Auburn Minus Newton compares to Oregon, Boise State and Texas Christian begin.

2. Oregon (10-0). Steady at No. 2. The Ducks are vulnerable, and not just because of a tight victory at California. The win in Berkeley might be Oregon's third-best of the season (behind Stanford and Southern Cal). The Ducks need Stanford to keep winning.

3. Boise State (9-0). Steady at No. 3. The Broncos cruised and Virginia Tech won. That's a solid weekend in Potato Land.

4. Texas Christian (11-0). Steady at No. 4. Voters shouldn't make too much of the Horned Frogs' five-point win, but they will. They shouldn't overstate the devaluation of TCU's defeat of Oregon State (with James Rodgers) now that the Beaver (without Rodgers) inexplicably lost at home to Washington State. But they might. With only New Mexico remaining, the Horned Frogs are done resume-building after upending San Diego State.

5. Louisiana State (9-1). Steady at No. 5. Three of the Tigers' top four victories --- Mississippi State, Florida and North Carolina --- lost value. Plus, Auburn sewed up the SEC West. The Sugar Bowl doesn't sound like a bad consolation prize at this point.

6. Stanford (9-1). Steady at No. 6. The Cardinal's sluggish night in the Valley of the Sun keeps treading water. The Notre Dame win looks a little better after the Irish clocked Utah.

7. Michigan State (9-1). Steady at No. 7. The Spartans were on the bye before a two-game burst to finish the season against Purdue and Penn State.

8. Wisconsin (9-1). Steady at No. 8. The Ohio State win still looks good. The Iowa win lost value. The third-best result? Well, hanging 83 on anyone --- even Indiana --- is strong.

9. Nebraska (9-1). Steady at No. 9. Clobbered Kansas. Loss to Texas looks even worse. Nothing new to see here.

10. Alabama (8-2). Up from No. 12. The best of the two-loss teams turned back Mississippi State. Up next: A visit from old friend Bill Curry and Georgia State.

11. Arkansas (8-2). Up from No. 13. The Texas A&M win looks better by the week, and the dismantling of South Carolina grew in stature as well.

12. Ohio State (9-1). Down from No. 10. Not a great resume for the Buckeyes, who at least will get some mileage out of their defeat of Miami. The looming Iowa game lost some luster when the Hawkeyes lost to Northwestern.

13. Oklahoma State (9-1). Up from No. 14. Not the most proven bunch, but the Pokes keep on winning. The Bedlam Game on Nov. 27 in Stillwater should be a treat.

14. Missouri (8-2). Up from No. 16. Tigers still propped up by their defeat of Oklahoma, but a 10-win season is within reach with Iowa State and Kansas still to come.

15. Oklahoma (8-2). Up from No. 18. The Sooners hit the road for Baylor and Oklahoma State to finish things out. The Florida State win maintained its worth this week.

16. South Carolina (7-3). Up from No. 21. The SEC East-winning Gamecocks have beaten Alabama, Florida and Georgia this year. They're the first team to do so since 2004 Tennessee.

17. Virginia Tech (8-2). Steady at No. 17. Upward mobility for the rest of the season tied to beating Miami, and even then the Hokies can only get so far.

18. Texas A&M (8-3). Up from No. 23. The nation's most fortuitous quarterback change occurred a few weeks back in College Station; Ryan Tannehill (156.61 passing efficiency) has helped the Aggies win four straight.

19. Southern California (7-3). Up from unranked. Good for the Trojans for not folding. They earned a nice victory at Arizona. Too bad they can't collect votes in the Harris or coaches polls.

20. Nevada (9-1). Up from No. 22. One of what seems like eight teams with victories over California this season. The Wolf Pack have a huge date with Boise State in two weeks.

21. Arizona (7-3). Down from No. 15. The victory over Iowa will prop up the Wildcats ... at least until they play Oregon.

22. Iowa (7-3). Down from No. 11. The Hawkeyes have one great win (Michigan State) and a couple good ones (Michigan and Penn State). It's the so-so loss (Northwestern) that prompted this week's plummet.

23. N.C. State (7-3). Up from No. 24. Commence indistinguishable ACC scrum.

24. Florida State (7-3). Up from No. 27. Stuck behind N.C. State unless they have different records.

25. Miami (7-3). Steady at No. 25. Hurricanes have a collection of decent but not great ACC wins to their credit (Clemson, North Carolina, Maryland, Georgia Tech)

26. Mississippi State (7-3). Down from No. 19. It's not long ago a 20-point road loss to a top-15 team was progress in Starkville. It's a sign of progress that the Bulldogs are legitimately disappointed.

27. Michigan (7-3). Up from unranked. Look whose victories over Connecticut and Notre Dame look slightly better.

28. Penn State (6-4). Up from unranked. The Nits' tide rises with Northwestern. Speaking of which ...

29. Northwestern (7-3). Up from unranked. The Wildcats make a cameo here, since quarterback Dan Persa is done for the year with an Achilles injury suffered late in the defeat of Iowa. They'll play Illinois at Wrigley Field this week.

30. Maryland (7-3). Up from unranked.The Terrapins don't own the greatest of resumes, but it's not as though the Big Ten teams right above them have done too much, either. Plus, Maryland has a couple road victories and the victory over Navy has steadily (if modestly) grown in value of late.

Fell out: No. 20 Utah, No. 26 North Carolina, No. 28 Baylor, No. 29 Florida, No. 30 Kansas State

On the doorstep: Utah, Navy, Baylor, Syracuse, Northern Illinois

The D1scourse 30: Week 10

Trying to provide a rationale for a weekly top 30 ...

1. Auburn (10-0). Steady at No. 1. The Tigers had a bye, er, date with Chattanooga. The victories over Louisiana State (arguably the best win on the board) and Arkansas look better, but the Iron Bowl still looms at month's end.

2. Oregon (9-0). Steady at No. 2. Gave serious thought to hopscotching Boise State over the Ducks based on overall resume. Oregon does have the only victory over Stanford, which is frankly more impressive than guady margins of victory over .500ish teams.

3. Boise State (8-0). Steady at No. 3. The opening victory over Virginia Tech grows in value by the week. The Oregon State win warrants a W.R. (with Rodgers) bump, and pummeling Hawaii counts for something, too.

4. Texas Christian (10-0). Steady at No. 4. The Horned Frogs demonstrated that, at the least, Utah was somewhat overrated. But no one will be a fan of the Utes more than Gary Patterson's team going forward. TCU had its Baylor and SMU wins devalued, and Oregon State also lost (though like Boise State, TCU is in the W.R. crowd of upending the Beavers).

5. Louisiana State (8-1). Up from No. 11. Oh, Hat. You have an excusable loss and defeats of Alabama, Mississippi State, North Carolina and Florida. But Arkansas still lurks around the corner. The Tigers still need a lot of help to make it to the title game.

6. Stanford (8-1). Up from No. 16. Strong work from the Trees this week, dispatching Arizona with ease. No one was a bigger beneficiary of the Big 12's implosion (more on that later) than Stanford.

7. Michigan State (9-1). Up from No. 8. Here comes the Big Ten chain. Sparty has the only defeat of Wisconsin on the board, which keeps them just ahead of the Badgers.

8. Wisconsin (8-1). Up from No. 9. Not the most efficient performance from Bucky, but it's still a one-loss team with victories over Ohio State and Iowa. As resumes go, it's not bad.

9. Nebraska (8-1). Down from No. 6. The Cornhuskers suffer not only for needing overtime, but also for seeing their loss to Texas devalued even further. And that signature victory over Missouri? Not looking so good.

10. Ohio State (8-1). Up from No. 13. The Buckeyes didn't play and benefited from yesterday's ridiculousness. Their victory over Miami also modestly increased in value.

11. Iowa (7-2). Up from No. 15. The Hawkeyes will continue to be carried by their upset of Michigan State. Until it adds something else (i.e. a victory over Ohio State), Iowa's value is pegged to the strength of the Spartans.

12. Alabama (7-2). Down from No. 5. The Tide still has a win over Arkansas, but that might be the only top-25 win they own (Florida and Penn State are probably 25-35ish teams).

13. Arkansas (7-2). Up from No. 21. The Razorbacks' best victory is no longer a defeat of 5-5 Georgia or a neutral-site defeat of Texas A&M. Then again, who can count on South Carolina to hold up through November?

14. Oklahoma State (8-1). Up from No. 22. The only real winner among the previously ranked Big 12 teams, the Pokes got a strong victory (Baylor) and watched the profiles of Kansas State, Texas A&M and Texas Tech. Mike Gundy's a man, he's 40 (and change) and he got a big bump this week.

15. Arizona (7-2). Down from No. 14. The road loss to Stanford doesn't hurt much, but the Wildcats are being propped up a bit by their victory over Iowa (and, in turn, by Iowa's victory over Michigan State).

16. Missouri (7-2). Down from No. 7. The Tigers tumble thanks to their own loss and the stumble of Oklahoma.

17. Virginia Tech (7-2). Up from No. 18. The Hokies beat Georgia Tech, but also had their best victories (N.C. State and East Carolina) devalued.

18. Oklahoma (7-2). Down from No. 10. The fall was quick for the Sooners. Very, very quick.

19. Mississippi State (7-2). Up from No. 20. Alabama. Arkansas. Egg Bowl. It's a big three weeks for the Bulldogs.

20. Utah (8-1). Down from No. 12. It was moving day for the Utes. And they moved down.

21. South Carolina (6-3). Down from No. 17. And so the indistinguishable scrum begins.

22. Nevada (8-1). Up from No. 25. The Wolf Pack had three 100-yard rushers against Idaho, and quarterback Colin Kaepernick wasn't one of them. Oh, and they rolled up 800+ yards.

23. Texas A&M (6-3). Unranked last week. You have any better ideas? With losses to Arkansas, Oklahoma State and Missouri, the Aggies have done nothing noxious (other than commit plenty of turnovers).

24. N.C. State (6-3). Down from No. 19. So begins the March of the ACC teams.

25. Miami (6-3). Up from No. 27. Victories over North Carolina and Clemson look better after yesterday.

26. North Carolina (6-3). Up from No. 28. The Tar Heels are bowl eligible. Is that Charlotte I hear calling again?

27. Florida State (6-3). Down from No. 23. So ends the March of the ACC teams.

28. Baylor (7-3). Down from No. 24. Can only penalize the Bears so much for laying an egg in Stillwater.

29. Florida (6-3). Steady at No. 29. Sorry, Urban, but hanging half a hundred on Vanderbilt won't help you here.

30. Kansas State (6-3). Unranked last week. With victories over UCLA (home), Central Florida (home) and Iowa State (neutral), the case can be made that the Wildcats' rout of Texas is only the fourth-best thing on their resume.

On the doorstep: Penn State, San Diego State, Southern California, Michigan, Maryland

The D1scourse 30: Week 9

The unbeatens are thinned out, with just five of them entering November. That number will decrease to four (and possibly less) next week, since Utah and Texas Christian meet in Salt Lake City.

That will finally be a chance to answer the Utah Question --- namely, how good is a Utes team that arguably just got its best result of the season, a 28-23 victory at Air Force.

(To be fair, that rout at Iowa State looks more valuable than it did at the time).

Onto the full top 30, which Maryland narrowly missed ...

1. Auburn (9-0). Steady at No. 1. The Tigers have four legitimate top-25 victories to their name --- Louisiana State, South Carolina, Arkansas and Mississippi State --- and just turned back Mississippi. Their resume remains the best in all the land, plus they have a fantastic Choose Your Own Adventure tale from SB Nation/Every Day Should Be Saturday. What more could anyone want?

2. Oregon (8-0). Up from No. 3. The Ducks have three-touchdown victories over their two best opponents to date (Stanford and now Southern Cal), but the schedule strengths drops considerably after those two games. Of course, no one wants to hear that while they're oohing and aahing about an offense that's hung half-a-hundred five times already. Sound familiar? Then you must be acquainted with Oklahoma circa 2008. In any case, the Ducks should blitz Washington and California the next two weeks before things get really interesting.

3. Boise State (7-0). Up from No. 5. The Broncos roasted another bad team, and Oregon State's win gave it a mild boost. The thing really helping Boise is that Hawaii and Nevada keep winning. Stronger opponents near the top of the league can only help.

4. Texas Christian (9-0). Up from No. 7. The Horned Frogs have a huge thing going against them in the final three weeks of the season: They play nobody. OK, they play New Mexico on Nov. 27, but that's their only game after Nov. 13. Clearly, TCU must beat Utah and San Diego State as well, but it is not going to do anything to improve its resume after the next two weeks. One thing helping right now: Baylor's continued success.

5. Alabama (7-1). Up from No. 9. The Crimson Tide had the week off, but its best victories (Arkansas, Florida, Penn State) all look a bit better now than 24 hours ago. Plus, losses by Big Ten and Big 12 unbeatens devalued not only those teams, but the teams they had beaten.

6. Nebraska (7-1). Up from No. 15. So commences a scrum through No. 16 that is difficult to differentiate. The Cornhuskers can stick here thanks to beating Missouri, but they're tied to the Tigers' welfare at the time being. If Missouri falls again, look for Nebraska to take a hit here as well.

7. Missouri (7-1). Down from No. 4. No shame in losing to the Cornhuskers, and Gary Pinkel's team still has a victory over Oklahoma to prop it up. The national title hopes are probably dead, but this can still be a good season in Columbia.

8. Michigan State (8-1). Down from No. 2. Like Mizzou, Sparty's national championship hopes are gone. But they do have the victory over Wisconsin, though nothing else on their resume holds up right now.

9. Wisconsin (7-1). Down from No. 6. A one-loss Badgers team doesn't belong ahead of one-loss Michigan State, which depresses Wisconsin's value at the moment. The victory over Iowa, though, looks more excellent.

10. Oklahoma (7-1). Down from No. 8. Sure, the Sooners pushed Dan Hawkins a step closer to the firing line. But Florida State, Texas, Air Force, Cincinnati ... they all lost. The only Oklahoma victory that got more valuable was its thrashing of Iowa State, and even that is marginal since the Cyclones beat Kansas. Plus, Missouri (who beat Oklahoma) lost. Overall, another unhelpful weekend for the Sooners.

11. Louisiana State (7-1). Up from No. 13. Struggled with Utah and LSU in this spot. Pretty much a push. The Tigers' best wins look a little bit better this week (Mississippi State, Florida) and its lone loss is against No. 1. With Alabama up next, it'll be clear whetherthe Tigers are a top-10 team.

12. Utah (8-0). Steady at No. 12. A difficult November awaits the Utes, though that trip to South Bend looks easier by the day. Oddly, that's not what Utah needs at the moment.

13. Ohio State (8-1). Down from No. 10. What do we know of the Buckeyes? They're better than Miami, which means less by the day, and Illinois. Oh, and that they lost at Camp Randall. The resume is toward the bottom of the 6-through-16 scrum.

14. Arizona (7-1). Up from No. 16. It helped to beat UCLA, but the Wildcats' boat rises with Iowa. And the Hawkeyes knocked off Michigan State this week.

15. Iowa (6-2). Up from No. 22. The first of the two-loss teams absorbed its setbacks against a pair of 7-1 outfits. The Michigan State win is by far the Hawkeyes' best accomplishment, and the schedule turns favorable in November (Ohio State at home, three winnable Big Ten games otherwise).

16. Stanford (7-1). Down from No. 14. A very Oklahoma-like week for the Cardinal, who won easily but had all of its top victims lose.

17. South Carolina (6-2). Steady at No. 17. Not much changing here. The next tier of teams begins with the Gamecocks at the moment.

18. Virginia Tech (6-2). Up from No. 21. The Hokies rise along with N.C. State, which beat Florida State.

19. N.C. State (6-2). Up from No. 24. As long as the Wolfpack has just two losses, they'll be ahead of Florida State.

20. Mississippi State (7-2). Down from No. 19. Not in the Alabama/Auburn/Louisiana State neighborhood and without the signature victory of South Carolina, the Bulldogs are still better than the non-Gamecocks portion of the SEC East and Ole Miss. Alabama and Arkansas are up next.

21. Arkansas (6-2). Down from No. 20. The Razorbacks might be better than this ranking, but a resume featuring Georgia, Texas A&M and Mississippi makes that more faith-based than anything. Arkansas' greatest accomplishment might still be scaring Alabama.

22. Oklahoma State (7-1). Up from No. 23. A big prove-it game in the Big 12 looms next week when the Pokes welcome Baylor to Stillwater.

23. Florida State (6-2). Down from No. 11. The Miami win isn't doing much to help the Seminoles these days.

24. Baylor (7-2). Up from No. 26. Think Art Briles might be a popular candidate for a job opening this offseason?

25. Nevada (7-1). Not ranked last week. Like last week, this is about where the resumes get a bit skimpier.

26. Oregon State (4-3). Not ranked last week. The Beavers won at Arizona, lost to a pair of unbeatens and fell to Washington in overtime. That's an impressive 4-3.

27. Miami (5-3). Down from No. 18. The Hurricanes still have defeats of North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Clemson, which isn't bad. But if Jacory Harris is out for an extended stretch, The U will need to be evaluated differently.

28. North Carolina (5-3). Not ranked last week. And even this week, it's a stretch.

29. Florida (5-3). Not ranked last week The Gators' best feat is beating Georgia in overtime. This year, that doesn't mean a whole lot.

30. Southern Cal (5-3). Steady at No. 30. Irrelevant curiosity for November: How will the Trojans fare now that there's nothing to play for. At least one more loss (at Arizona and/or at Oregon State) probably still looms.

Dropped out: No. 25 Texas, No. 27 Clemson, No. 28 Michigan, No. 29 East Carolina

On the doorstep: Maryland, Hawaii, Illinois, Texas A&M, San Diego State, Penn State

The D1scourse 30: Week 8

The D1scourse 30 --- which doubles as one of the 100-plus Harris poll votes --- is a results-based ranking of the college football season to date.

And after missing last week (on the blog, not in the poll) recovering from a crazy travel weekend, this feature is back (if revamped).

One of the things all college football polls warrant is more transparency. The Associated Press does it best, releasing everyone's vote every week.

It's just as important to have an explanation. Unlike a lot of voters, I (a) do not use my previous week's ballot as a guide and (b) do not use any poll as a guide. I line up every team (breaking them alphabetically in conference clumps to make it easier to sort) and fill in results as the week.

So this week, Oregon was one of the first teams on the board because it played on Thursday.

This is based mostly on who you played, where you played and how you fared, with blowouts modestly accounted for. Who you blow out matters, too.

This, then, is this week's top 30 --- and boy does it get ugly around No. 25.

1. Auburn (8-0). Up from No. 2. The Tigers own the nation's best resume --- the only defeat of Louisiana State and one of only two defeats of Arkansas, Mississippi State and South Carolina. They needed overtime to beat Clemson at home, so that's a mini-blemish. But the other Tigers are still pretty good.

2. Michigan State (8-0). Up from No. 3. The Spartans have the only defeat of Wisconsin, and victories against Michigan, Northwestern and Notre Dame (well, maybe not overtime) help. The truth is, though, Michigan State doesn't have much left that can help it improve its profile. It probably isn't well-served being in a three- or four-way bunching of unbeatens.

3. Oregon (7-0). Up from No. 5. Some of this is yielding to style points. But besides Stanford, who have the Ducks toppled? It's not a great list: UCLA, Arizona State, Tennessee, Washington State, New Mexico and Portland State. Things are about to get trickier.

4. Missouri (7-0). Up from No. 16. Toppling an unbeaten with a strong resume will do that. The Tigers don't have much after that (upending San Diego State is nice, and handling Texas A&M on the road helps), but next week's date with Nebraska can fix that. Collect another standout victory, and a No. 2 ranking is plausible.

5. Boise State (6-0). Down from No. 4. The Broncos need to remain unbeaten, Virginia Tech to keep winning and for voters to give them credit for beating Oregon State with James Rodgers. I think Boise's good, but that four other teams have done more (though you could argue Missouri hasn't).

6. Wisconsin (7-1). Up from No. 10. The Badgers barely belonged in the top 25 two weeks ago. Beating Ohio State and Iowa helped a ton. They've done what they can done --- Wisconsin's November schedule is underwhelming --- and probably won't rise much higher than this (at least on this ballot) even if they win out.

7. Texas Christian (8-0). Holding steady. The Horned Frogs' defeat of Baylor grows more valuable, and adding a rout of Air Force is nice. It'll be curious how the Oregon State win is perceived, but the truth is a bump is waiting if TCU can upend Utah in two weeks.

8. Oklahoma (6-1). Down from No. 1. Not a good week for the Sooners. Not only did they lose, but defeats of Air Force and Texas were devalued as well.

9. Alabama (7-1). Down from No. 8. The Crimson Tide can still surge; three of their final four games are against teams that should be ranked in the top 20 (Auburn, Louisiana State, Mississippi State). Tennessee, who Nick Saban's team squelched on Saturday, is not rankings worthy.

10. Ohio State (7-1). Up from No. 12. Victories over Miami and Illinois became slightly more valuable, and the loss to Wisconsin hurts less after the Badgers survived a trip to Iowa. The Buckeyes also helped themselves by bludgeoning Purdue.

11. Florida State (6-1). Down from No. 9. The Seminoles' lone setback looks a little worse today, and it's hard to look past the reality they don't have much going for them besides a rout at Miami. That can change with a bunch of 20-40 teams (N.C. State, Clemson, North Carolina, Florida, Maryland) to close out the schedule.

12. Utah (7-0). Up from No. 20. The Utes' seven opponents are a combined 14-39. Maybe they have top-10 talent, but their greatest accomplishment is either an overtime defeat of Pittsburgh or a road rout of 4-4 Iowa State. The Cyclones' win at Texas provided some of the bump, as did another conference pillaging. But the Utes still have plenty to prove.

13. Louisiana State (7-1). Down from No. 6. The Hat can't win 'em all, even if he tries to do in the most mysterious of ways. Despite a bunch of decent wins, the best thing the Tigers have done this year is handle Mississippi State with ease.

14. Stanford (6-1). Down from No. 11. The Cardinal dispatched Washington State, but two of its best accomplishments lost some luster when UCLA was smacked at Oregon and Notre Dame lost to Navy.

15. Nebraska (6-1). Holding steady. Beating previously unbeaten Oklahoma State was offset a bit by Texas' loss to Iowa State. A victory over Missouri will help.

16. Arizona (6-1). Down from No. 13. The Wildcats haven't done much besides beat Iowa. Routing Washington is arguably the second-best thing on their resume (toppling California is the other contender).

17. South Carolina (5-2). Up from No. 18. The class of the two-loss teams is going to rise and fall on Alabama's accomplishments.

18. Miami (5-2). Up from No. 22. No terrible losses, and a smattering of somewhat useful victories (Clemson, Pittsburgh, North Carolina). Showdowns with Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech still loom in November.

19. Mississippi State (6-2). Up from No. 25. If not the Bulldogs, then who? They've lost two tangles with Tigers, but do have defeats of Georgia and Florida going for them. Not great, not terrible.

20. Arkansas (5-2). Up from No. 21. Pretty similar to Mississippi State in profile, with victories over Georgia and Texas A&M.

21. Virginia Tech (6-2). Up from No. 24. East Carolina continues to modestly help the Hokies out.

22. Iowa (5-2). Down from No. 14. Victories over Michigan, Penn State and Iowa State can only do so much.

23. Oklahoma State (6-1). Down from No. 17. Not a deep resume for the Pokes. At all.

24. N.C. State (5-2). Up from No. 28. Just about out of accomplished teams here. The Wolfpack did win at Georgia Tech earlier this season.

25. Texas (4-3). Down from No. 19. The Nebraska win will keep the Longhorns afloat if they can produce a decent record.

26. Baylor (6-2). Unranked last week. Bully for the Bears becoming bowl eligible.

27. Clemson (4-3). Unranked last week. With Boston College and Wake Forest still to come, the Tigers will probably get a bowl berth after all. Beating Georgia Tech helped immensely.

28. Michigan (5-2). Down from No. 26 Two acceptable losses, but those victories over Notre Dame, Connecticut and Indiana lose value by the week.

29. East Carolina (5-2). Unranked last week. Don't entirely trust the Pirates, but their upset of N.C. State makes then worth watching.

30. Southern Cal (5-2). Unranked last week. Who would have guessed the Trojans' best first-half accomplishment could arguably be winning at Hawaii. It's either that, or defeating California.

The D1scourse 30: Week 6

Well, this wasn't easy.

There's probably 10 teams that could argue for the No. 1 spot nationally. Fortunately, that number will decline in the coming weeks.

In a results-oriented ballot, a team can win without even playing (as Oklahoma did when Florida State knocked off Miami). It can also lose, as Iowa did when Penn State and Iowa State --- the best teams the Hawkeyes have upended --- both got trounced.

This ballot is built without looking at the previous week's rankings (either my own or anyone else's); the ranking for this week is added in after everything else is done. So this ballot (like the one before it) will be blown up by the time next week arrives (aside from the notes of who beat whom; that's useful to keep around).

Anyway, here we go ...

No. Team	W-L	Pvs.	Notes
1. Oklahoma	5-0	2	* Florida State (H), Air Force (H), Texas (N), Cincinnati (A)
2. Oregon	6-0	3	* Stanford (H), Tennessee (A), Arizona State (A)
3. Auburn	6-0	8	* South Carolina (H), Clemson (H-OT), Miss. State (A)
4. Louisiana State	6-0	9	* Florida (A), West Virginia (H), Miss. State (H), UNC (N)
5. Boise State	5-0	4	* Oregon State (H), Virginia Tech (N*)
6. South Carolina	4-1	19	* Alabama (H), Georgia (H), So. Miss. (H); L: Auburn (A)
7. Alabama	5-1	1	* Arkansas (A), Florida (H), Penn St. (H); L: South Carolina (A)
8. Michigan State	6-0	15	* Wisconsin (H), Michigan (A), Notre Dame (H-OT)
9. Ohio State	6-0	5	* Miami (H), Illinois (A), Indiana (H)
10. Texas Christian	6-0	7	* Oregon State (H), Baylor (H), SMU (A)
11. Nebraska	5-0	10	* Kansas State (A), Washington (A)
12. Florida State	5-1	23	* Miami (A), Virginia (A), BYU (H); L: Oklahoma (A)
13. Stanford	5-1	12	* USC (H), Notre Dame (A), UCLA (A); L: Oregon (A)
14. Arkansas	4-1	14	* Georgia (A), Texas A&M (N); L: Alabama (H)
15. Missouri	5-0	25	* Illinois (N), Colorado (H), San Diego State (H)
16. Oregon State	3-2	30	* Arizona (A), Arizona State (H); L: Boise State (A), TCU (A)
17. Arizona	4-1	6	* Iowa (H), California (H); L: Oregon State (H)
18. Nevada	6-0	20	* California (H), BYU (A)
19. Michigan	5-1	11	* Notre Dame (A), UConn (H), Indiana (A); L: Michigan St. (H)
20. Utah	5-0	17	* Pittsburgh (H-OT), Iowa State (A)
21. Iowa	4-1	16	* Penn State (H), Iowa State (H); L: Arizona (A)
22. West Virginia	4-1	24	* Maryland (H); L: Louisiana State (A)
23. Air Force	5-1	22	* Navy (H), BYU (H); L: Oklahoma (A)
24. Oklahoma State	5-0	26	* Texas A&M (H), Tulsa (H)
25. N.C. State	5-1	NR	* Georgia Tech (A), UCF (A), Cincinnati (H); L: Virginia Tech (H)
26. Wisconsin	5-1	28	* Arizona State (H), Minnesota (H); L: Michigan State (A)
27. Miami	3-2	13	* Clemson (A), Pittsburgh (A); L: Ohio St. (A), Florida St, (H)
28. Florida	4-2	18	* Tennessee (A), Kentucky (H), USF (H); L: Alabama (A), LSU (H)
29. California	3-2	NR	* UCLA (H), Colorado (H); L: Arizona (A), Nevada (A)
30. Virginia Tech	4-2	NR	* N.C. State (A), BC (A); L: Boise State (N*), James Madison (H)

Dropped out: No. 21 Kansas State, No. 27 Northwestern, No. 29 UCLA

Clearly, South Carolina's upset of Alabama had a massive effect on things. It.

(a) Vaulted the Gamecocks into the top 10, ahead of Alabama
(b) Cost the Crimson Tide the No. 1 spot
(c) Enhanced the value of Auburn's comeback victory over South Carolina
(d) Slightly devalued both Arkansas and Florida
(e) Would have provided reason to push Southern Mississippi (whose only loss before yesterday was to South Carolina) until the Golden Eagles fell to East Carolina.

These sorts of fluctuations will decrease as the season advances and the sample size is greater, naturally. But this does reflect that a single outcome can have a cascade effect on other teams in this form of analysis.

The D1scourse 30: Week 5

The first Harris poll of the year comes out later today.

Here's one man's ballot --- results-based at that --- that will be included:

No. Team	W-L	Pvs.	Notable
1. Alabama	5-0	1	* Arkansas (A), Florida (H), Penn State (H)
2. Oklahoma	5-0	2	* Florida State (H), Air Force (H), Texas (N)
3. Oregon	5-0	6	* Stanford (H), Tennessee (A), Arizona State (A)
4. Boise State	4-0	4	* Oregon State (H), Virginia Tech (N*)
5. Ohio State	5-0	3	* Miami (H), Illinois (A), Marshall (H)
6. Arizona	4-0	5	* Iowa (H), California (H)
7. Texas Christian	5-0	7	* Oregon State (H), Baylor (H), SMU (A)
8. Auburn	5-0	8	* South Carolina (H), Clemson (H-OT), Miss. St. (A)
9. Louisiana State	5-0	9	* West Virginia (H), UNC (N), Miss. St. (H), Tennessee (H)
10. Nebraska	4-0	11	* Washington (A)
11. Michigan	5-0	14	* Notre Dame (A), UConn (H), Indiana (A)
12. Stanford	4-1	12	* UCLA (A), Notre Dame (A); L: Oregon (A)
13. Miami	3-1	15	* Clemson (A), Pittsburgh (A); L: Ohio State (A)
14. Arkansas	3-1	13	* Georgia (A); L: Alabama (H)
15. Michigan State	5-0	24	* Wisconsin (H), Notre Dame (H-OT)
16. Iowa	4-1	23	* Penn State (H), Iowa State (H); L: Arizona (A)
17. Utah	4-0	16	* Pittsburgh (H-OT)
18. Florida	4-1	10	* Tennessee (A), Kentucky (H), USF (H); L: Bama (A)
19. South Carolina	3-1	17	* Southern Miss (H), Georgia (H); L: Auburn (A)
20. Nevada	5-0	19	* California (H), BYU (A)
21. Kansas State	4-0	22	* UCLA (H), Iowa State (N), UCF (H)
22. Air Force	4-1	25	* Navy (H), BYU (H); L: Oklahoma (A)
23. Florida State	4-1	26	* Virginia (A), BYU (H); L: Oklahoma (A)
24. West Virginia	3-1	NR	* Maryland (H); L: Louisiana State (A)
25. Missouri	4-0	NR	* San Diego State (H), Illinois (N)
26. Oklahoma State	4-0	NR	* Texas A&M (H), Tulsa (H)
27. Northwestern	5-0	28	* Vanderbilt (A), Central Michigan (H), Minnesota (A)
28. Wisconsin	4-1	20	* Arizona State (H); L: Michigan State (A)
29. UCLA	3-2	29	* Texas (A), Houston (H); L: Stanford (H), K-State (A)
30. Oregon State	2-2	NR	* Arizona State (H), Louisville (H); L: Boise (A), TCU (A)

Dropped out: N.C. State (No. 18), Southern California (No. 21), Penn State (No. 27), Texas (No. 30).

The D1scourse 30: Week 4

Boy do I hate to do this.

I really do.

But right now, one of the most accomplished teams in the country is Louisiana State.

Yes, the Tigers have a way of looking bad while winning. And it's nothing new; they got outgained by more than 20 yards a game last year en route to a 9-4 season.

Great defense, shudder-worthy offense. That's the rap on LSU, then and now.

But the Tigers have victories against West Virginia, North Carolina, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt. There's not a signature win in there, so it's tough to rank LSU in the top five.

There's also a string of decent-to-really good teams in there, too. Vanderbilt might not be good, but its other two results (handling Mississippi and nearly topping Northwestern) suggest the Commodores aren't dreadful.

The eyeball test says Louisiana State doesn't belong in the top 10. The Tigers' accomplishments suggest otherwise.

And that's part of the fun of a results-based ballot.

No. Team	W-L	Pvs.	Notable
1. Alabama	4-0	2	* Arkansas (A), Penn State (H), Duke (A)
2. Oklahoma	4-0	3	* Florida State (H), Air Force (H), Cincinnati (A)
3. Ohio State	4-0	1	* Miami (H), Marshall (H)
4. Boise State	3-0	6	* Virginia Tech (N*), Oregon State (H)
5. Arizona	4-0	8	* Iowa (H), California (H)
6. Oregon	4-0	7	* Tennessee (A), Arizona State (A)
7. Texas Christian	4-0	4	* Oregon State (H), Baylor (H), SMU (A)
8. Auburn	4-0	14	* South Carolina (H), Clemson (H-OT), Miss. State (A)
9. Louisiana State	4-0	15	* West Virginia (H), UNC (N), Miss. State (H), Vandy (A)
10. Florida	4-0	5	* Tennessee (A), Kentucky (H), USF (H)
11. Nebraska	4-0	10	* Washington (A)
12. Stanford	4-0	16	* UCLA (A), Notre Dame (A), Wake (H)
13. Arkansas	3-1	12	* Georgia (A); L: Alabama (H)
14. Michigan	4-0	13	* Notre Dame (A), UConn (H)
15. Miami	2-1	19	* Pittsburgh (A); L: Ohio State (A)
16. Utah	4-0	17	* Pittsburgh (H-OT)
17. South Carolina	3-1	11	* Georgia (H), So. Miss. (H); L: Auburn (A)
18. N.C. State	4-0	25	* Georgia Tech (A), UCF (A), Cincinnati (H)
19. Nevada	4-0	22	* California (H), BYU (A)
20. Wisconsin	4-0	23	* Arizona State (H), UNLV (A)
21. Southern California	4-0	20	* Virginia (H), Washington State (A)
22. Kansas State	4-0	26	* UCLA (H), UCF (H), Iowa State (N)
23. Iowa	3-1	21	* Iowa State (H); L: Arizona (A)
24. Michigan State	4-0	24	* Notre Dame (H-OT)
25. Air Force	3-1	29	* BYU (H); L: Oklahoma (A)
26. Florida State	3-1	NR	* BYU (H), Wake (H); L: Oklahoma (A)
27. Penn State	3-1	27	* Temple (H); L: Alabama (A)
28. Northwestern	4-0	28	* Vanderbilt (A), Central Michigan (H)
29. UCLA	2-2	NR	* Texas (A), Houston (H); L: Stanford (H), K-State (A)
30. Texas	3-1	9	* Texas Tech (A), Rice (A); L: UCLA (H)

Next five: Missouri, West Virginia, Texas A&M, Clemson, Oklahoma State

Dropped out: No. 18 West Virginia, No. 30 Boston College