Finally, some entertainment and some separation. For the ACC it was a good weekend, with Georgia Tech's breathtaking mauling of Kansas, Maryland playing West Virginia solid, Miami hanging a big win over Ohio State, Clemson knocking Auburn from the unbeaten ranks and Florida State giving Oklahoma a tussle.
With the third week of the season in the books, FINALLY the data is there to do a legitimate computer ranking. For the formula (inspired in no small part by the college hockey seeding criteria), we take each team and compare with each of the other teams on 5 criteria: RPI Rating, Adjusted Scoring Margin, Winning Pct vs Good Teams (not enough games for this to kick in yet), Record vs Common Opponents and Head to Head Record. The sausage making level detail is at my little corner of the internet. The Top 25 is below. "Last week" seems irrelevant - we are starting fresh here.
1. Oklahoma (2-0) - 119 pairwins
2. Michigan (3-0) - 118
3. Texas A&M (2-0) - 112
4. Oklahoma State (3-0) - 111
5. USC (3-0) - 102
6. LSU (3-0) - 97
7. Boise State (2-0) - 97
8. Alabama (3-0) - 96
9. Florida International (3-0) - 94
10. South Carolina (3-0) - 94
11. South Florida (3-0) - 94
12. Illinois (3-0) - 94
13. North Carolina (3-0) - 94
14. Wisconsin (3-0) - 94
15. Georgia Tech (3-0) - 92
16. Baylor (2-0) - 89
17. Texas (3-0) - 88
18. Ohio (3-0) - 88
19. Stanford (3-0) - 88
20. West Virginia (3-0) - 87
21. San Diego State (3-0) - 87
22. TCU (2-1) - 85
23. Vanderbilt (3-0) - 81
24. Wyoming (3-0) - 80
25. Auburn (2-1) - 78
WOW! Michigan is #2?? Really? Now I am not going to argue that Michigan is the 2nd best team in the country - but of course any computer ranking only knows what the season tells it. So when Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Notre Dame are a combined 5-1 when not playing Michigan, it's easy to look good. Florida International's 9 ranking is explained in a similar fashion. I'd expect the SEC teams to rise once the conference slate starts in earnest - such as current #46 Arkansas who has not really beaten anyone of consequence yet, or current #121 (last place) Boston College who will have some chances to notch legitimate wins and improve on the 0-3 start.
As mentioned above the jump, the full rankings story can be found here.