Iowa Hawkeyes

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They’ve Earned it Rankings Week 9 ’09

Week 9 allowed the Ducks to make a serious statement and the Longhorns to show that they are a serious contender.  Other than that, most teams held serve.

Up- Oregon, Florida, Cincinnati, Texas
Down- Iowa, Ga. Tech, LSU, TCU
New – Boise
Out- USC

They’ve Earned It Top 10

  1. Oregon (7-1) Next: @ Stanford
  2. Alabama (9-0) Next: LSU
  3. Iowa (9-0) Next: Northwestern
  4. Florida (8-0) Next: Vanderbilt
  5. Georgia Tech (7-1) Next: Wake Forest
  6. Texas (8-0) Next: Central Florida
  7. Cincinnati (8-0) Next: UConn
  8. LSU (7-1) Next: @ Alabama
  9. TCU (8-0) Next: @ San Diego State
  10. Boise (8-0) Next: @ Louisiana Tech

Besides games involving the top 10 teams, here are the potential ranking-impact games.

  • Ohio State @ Penn State
  • Houston @ Tulsa

As I’m also keeping a curious eye on Va. Tech @ ECU, a big BOOOOOO to Auburn, Georgia, Kentucky, and Mississippi for playing nonD1 teams at this point in the season. That’s pathetic and shame on the SEC for the way they schedule league games.

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College Football Rankings Week 4 ’09

Another weekend of college football once again scrambles the rankings. Since the purpose of this ranking system is to provide a top 10 based on 2009 results – thus no speculations about future games, no high ratings based on expectations, nothing to do with returning lettermen or last year’s results … simply who one plays and the outcome.

Before the ranking I must say that what I heard several ESPN commentaries this weekend that was pleasant music to my ears. They simply made these points:

  • Preseason ranking get too much emphasis, especially in the season’s early weeks
  • Voters should be more fluid during the early weeks to result in teams who have earned respect versus teams who we still don’t know much about beyond expectations
  • Several challenged anyone to identify a team that had done more to date than the Miami Hurricanes

For those needing more explanation, read this post about PreSeason Rankings.

I would imagine that many fans will have problems with this week’s rankings, but hey – life is what it is and some teams have played 4 very respectable games to start the season.

  • Out from last week: Miami, Cal, Boise, North Carolina, Texas, UCLA
  • Dropped from last week: Cincinnati, Auburn,

They’ve Earned It Top 10

  1. LSU (4-0) Next: @ Georgia
  2. Alabama (4-0) Next: @ Kentucky
  3. Georgia (3-1) Next: LSU
  4. Oregon (3-1) Next: Washington State
  5. Iowa (4-0) Next: Arkansas State
  6. Va. Tech (3-1) Next: @ Duke
  7. Houston (3-0) Next: UTEP
  8. Cincinnati (4-0) Next: @ Miami (Oh)
  9. South Carolina (3-1) Next: South Carolina State
  10. Auburn (4-0) Next: @ Tennessee

Conference games are becoming more of the norm rather than the exception, so keep your eye on the Sun Belt race as other teams seek to catch Nebraska (3-0). Besides games involving the top 10 teams, I’m keeping my eyes on these potential ranking-impact games.

  • Georgia Tech @ Mississippi State
  • Michigan @ Michigan State
  • Oklahoma @ Miami
  • Oregon State @ Arizona State
  • USC @ Cal
  • Washington @ Notre Dame
  • Wisconsin @ Minnesota