The number of undefeated teams in the country has been whittled down to six. And yet the top-ranked team in the Achievement Index is one-loss Notre Dame.
Lovely, eh?
A significant portion of the country is less than pleased whenever the Irish get any kind of advantage over their opponents, and this team getting ranked ahead of several undefeated squads would, on the surface, qualify.
To that I reply: Look at the schedule.
Four of Notre Dame’s opponents have ranked in the Top 35 of the F/+ rankings, with the Irish’s lone loss coming at the hands of No. 1, Clemson.
So why do the Irish get the nod over Clemson? Well, for one, head-to-head is meaningless in this system. For another, Clemson has just three opponents in the Top 35 to Notre Dame’s four … and a pair of wins against FCS schools. Finally, I just don’t like them.
Ha, just kidding. Really, it’s mostly the FCS thing.
Before we get to this week’s rankings, here once again is the rundown of my methodology:
- Each team is ascribed a score derived from the combined efficiency rankings produced by the fine folks at Football Outsiders (specifically, Bill Connelley and Brian Fremeau), termed the “F/+” rankings. The basic gist of each set of rankings that goes into this merged list — individually the “FEI” and the “S&P+ Ratings” — is to evaluate a team based on its efficiency on individual plays. If you want a general sense of how “good” a team is, with only a few exceptions, you’re going to get an accurate reading from these.
- The scores pulled from the F/+ do not factor into an individual team’s ranking, however. Rather, they provide the basis for evaluating who said team has played. So for example, Wisconsin didn’t get any credit in regards to its own ranking for being the No. 31 team in the F/+, but it did get credit for facing Alabama, which ranks at No. 2. In reverse, Alabama didn’t get credit for being No. 2, but did get credit for beating No. 31. This is all about accomplishments. And for simplicity’s sake, all teams from below the FBS level got ascribed the same value: 129, which is one slot lower than the lowest FBS team (128).
- Basic weighting is applied such that, in general, road wins>neutral wins>home wins>bye weeks>road losses>neutral losses>home losses. There are discrepancies such that a particularly egregious home loss can hurt a team more than two road losses, or a loss to No. 1 can actually help a team more than being off that week. The actual weighting involved is the wild card here, as I expect I may tweak it some as we go along. Lots of philosophical debates are involved in this process (For example: Is a road win worth more than two home wins? And is a neutral site loss to No. 1 worse or better than a road loss to No. 8?). These questions can go on for days, honestly, and much of it is dependent on an individual’s point of view. I tried to go with the above approach as much as possible and applied a fair, consistent system across the board, so we’ll see where the chips fall.
And one final note … this is through games completed as of Nov. 8 (no last-minute Mac-tion additions; those will be added in due course at the conclusion of next week). So with all that said, here we go:
| Rank | Team | Record | F/+ | AI |
| 1 | ND | (8-1) | 3 | 173.375 |
| 2 | Clem | (9-0) | 1 | 194 |
| 3 | OSU | (9-0) | 5 | 203.6666667 |
| 4 | Iowa | (9-0) | 17 | 214.3333333 |
| 5 | OkSt | (9-0) | 14 | 214.4444444 |
| 6 | Utah | (8-1) | 16 | 222 |
| 7 | Temple | (8-1) | 34 | 234 |
| 8 | Hou | (9-0) | 27 | 237.6666667 |
| 9 | Fla | (8-1) | 11 | 239 |
| 10 | LSU | (7-1) | 7 | 267.8571429 |
| 11 | Bay | (8-0) | 10 | 280.25 |
| 12 | TCU | (8-1) | 13 | 297.125 |
| 13 | Memph | (8-1) | 29 | 307.625 |
| 14 | Ala | (8-1) | 2 | 335.625 |
| 15 | Navy | (7-1) | 12 | 342 |
| 16 | Wis | (8-2) | 31 | 380.75 |
| 17 | NW | (7-2) | 44 | 420 |
| 18 | BYU | (7-2) | 32 | 432.7142857 |
| 19 | Stan | (8-1) | 9 | 454 |
| 20 | Mich St | (8-1) | 18 | 474.5 |
| 21 | Mich | (7-2) | 4 | 538.7142857 |
| 22 | Miss St | (7-2) | 15 | 594.1428571 |
| 23 | USC | (6-3) | 8 | 612.1666667 |
| 24 | WKU | (8-2) | 25 | 619.125 |
| 25 | Uga | (6-3) | 42 | 626.3333333 |
The margin between Iowa and Oklahoma St. for the No. 4 spot is razor-thin, and almost completely meaningless, given the Cowboys’ slate of upcoming games.
| Rank | Team | Record | F/+ | AI |
| 26 | BG | (7-2) | 26 | 655.4285714 |
| 27 | Pitt | (6-3) | 51 | 665.8333333 |
| 28 | FSU | (7-2) | 21 | 684.8571429 |
| 29 | Toledo | (7-1) | 33 | 799.1428571 |
| 30 | OU | (8-1) | 6 | 802.125 |
| 31 | PSU | (7-3) | 38 | 807.7142857 |
| 32 | Mia | (6-3) | 57 | 814 |
| 33 | Boise | (7-2) | 36 | 822.8571429 |
| 34 | Ole Miss | (7-3) | 19 | 869.7142857 |
| 35 | UNC | (8-1) | 23 | 889.375 |
| 36 | UCLA | (7-2) | 24 | 920 |
| 37 | Ga South | (6-2) | 61 | 972.8333333 |
| 38 | Tenn | (5-4) | 20 | 991.2 |
| 39 | App St | (7-2) | 43 | 1021.428571 |
| 40 | WVU | (4-4) | 28 | 1042.5 |
| 41 | LaTech | (7-3) | 35 | 1046.142857 |
| 42 | W. Mich | (6-3) | 59 | 1064.333333 |
| 43 | TT | (5-5) | 54 | 1071 |
| 44 | aTm | (6-3) | 41 | 1088 |
| 45 | NCSt | (6-3) | 30 | 1136.666667 |
| 46 | Aub | (5-4) | 56 | 1171.2 |
| 47 | Cal | (5-4) | 40 | 1237.4 |
| 48 | Marsh | (8-2) | 60 | 1243.75 |
| 49 | AF | (6-3) | 68 | 1267.833333 |
| 50 | Ore | (6-3) | 48 | 1303.5 |
It’s probably worth noting several teams previously given up for dead — including Oregon, Auburn and Tennessee — make appearances in the Top 50. Overall, this group is tightly bunched, with a lot of potential for movement.
| Rank | Team | Record | F/+ | AI |
| 51 | Lville | (5-4) | 39 | 1367 |
| 52 | N. Illinois | (6-3) | 49 | 1370 |
| 53 | SouthMiss | (6-3) | 72 | 1397.833333 |
| 54 | Illinois | (5-4) | 58 | 1526.8 |
| 55 | Ark St | (6-3) | 74 | 1529.333333 |
| 56 | Duke | (6-3) | 50 | 1609.166667 |
| 57 | Cinci | (5-4) | 46 | 1693.2 |
| 58 | USF | (5-4) | 67 | 1797 |
| 59 | Ariz | (5-5) | 84 | 1852.8 |
| 60 | Tulsa | (5-4) | 88 | 1895.8 |
| 61 | Minn | (4-5) | 69 | 1979 |
| 62 | Ark | (5-4) | 37 | 2003.6 |
| 63 | SDSt | (6-3) | 53 | 2133.833333 |
| 64 | WSU | (6-3) | 63 | 2195.5 |
| 65 | UtSt | (5-4) | 47 | 2318.2 |
| 66 | Texas | (4-5) | 80 | 2443.5 |
| 67 | Ken | (4-5) | 92 | 2544.5 |
| 68 | Wash | (4-5) | 22 | 2677 |
| 69 | K-State | (3-5) | 70 | 2701.666667 |
| 70 | Uconn | (5-5) | 82 | 2869.8 |
| 71 | IowaSt | (3-6) | 77 | 2881.666667 |
| 72 | ASU | (4-5) | 65 | 2935.75 |
| 73 | Ohio | (5-4) | 81 | 2948 |
| 74 | Buff | (5-4) | 87 | 2961 |
| 75 | M Tenn | (4-5) | 79 | 3147.5 |
Kansas State is the best three-win team in the nation! (Maybe, maybe not, but given the season the ‘Cats are going through, I’ll take whatever I can.)
| Rank | Team | Record | F/+ | AI |
| 76 | Ind | (4-5) | 64 | 3249.75 |
| 77 | Mizz | (4-5) | 75 | 3354 |
| 78 | C. Mich | (5-4) | 55 | 3555 |
| 79 | ECU | (4-6) | 73 | 3707.25 |
| 80 | VaTech | (4-5) | 52 | 3736.75 |
| 81 | Rut | (3-6) | 106 | 3836.333333 |
| 82 | UVA | (3-6) | 85 | 3903.333333 |
| 83 | Akron | (4-5) | 90 | 3946.75 |
| 84 | FIU | (5-5) | 98 | 3985.6 |
| 85 | ODU | (4-5) | 121 | 4032.75 |
| 86 | Rice | (4-5) | 118 | 4104.75 |
| 87 | UNM | (5-4) | 109 | 4193.4 |
| 88 | SouthAla | (4-4) | 105 | 4205.5 |
| 89 | Vand | (3-6) | 71 | 4257 |
| 90 | GT | (3-6) | 62 | 4437.333333 |
| 91 | Nev | (5-4) | 100 | 4492.8 |
| 92 | ULL | (4-4) | 101 | 4580 |
| 93 | Neb | (4-6) | 45 | 4648.5 |
| 94 | SJ St | (4-5) | 96 | 4812 |
| 95 | CSU | (4-5) | 78 | 5078.25 |
| 96 | Maryland | (2-7) | 76 | 5204 |
| 97 | Colo | (4-6) | 95 | 5266.25 |
| 98 | Syr | (3-6) | 89 | 5293.666667 |
| 99 | UTEP | (4-5) | 128 | 5447 |
| 100 | SoCar | (3-6) | 83 | 5571.333333 |
I don’t have much to say here other than, nice rebound, Louisiana-Lafayette. It’s good to see you back to yourselves.
| Rank | Team | Record | F/+ | AI |
| 101 | WF | (3-6) | 93 | 5777 |
| 102 | BC | (3-7) | 66 | 6380.333333 |
| 103 | UNLV | (3-6) | 99 | 6848.333333 |
| 104 | KentSt | (3-6) | 107 | 7111.666667 |
| 105 | Troy | (3-6) | 86 | 7467 |
| 106 | Ball St | (3-7) | 110 | 7963.333333 |
| 107 | Idaho | (3-6) | 112 | 8904.333333 |
| 108 | OregSt | (2-7) | 111 | 9187.5 |
| 109 | Tulane | (2-7) | 114 | 9566 |
| 110 | Pur | (2-7) | 94 | 10356 |
| 111 | Fresno | (2-7) | 115 | 12142 |
| 112 | Tx St | (2-6) | 113 | 12851 |
| 113 | Hawaii | (2-8) | 116 | 14071 |
| 114 | Miami Oh | (2-8) | 117 | 14321.5 |
| 115 | NM St | (2-7) | 124 | 16549.5 |
| 116 | Char | (2-7) | 123 | 16885.5 |
| 117 | Ga St | (2-6) | 104 | 17417 |
| 118 | Army | (2-7) | 108 | 17619.5 |
| 119 | FAU | (2-7) | 91 | 17698.5 |
| 120 | SMU | (1-8) | 102 | 29501 |
| 121 | La-Mon | (1-8) | 120 | 29607 |
| 122 | KU | (0-9) | 126 | 30200 |
| 123 | Umass | (1-8) | 97 | 30864 |
| 124 | UNT | (1-8) | 127 | 34039 |
| 125 | UTSA | (1-8) | 103 | 36648 |
| 126 | UCF | (0-10) | 125 | 42220 |
| 127 | Wyo | (1-9) | 119 | 43810 |
| 128 | E. Mich | (1-9) | 122 | 44579 |
At the other end of the state, Louisiana-Monroe is plummeting like my portfolio. Zing!
Week 9 rankings
Week 8 rankings
Week 7 rankings
Week 6 rankings
Week 5 rankings
Week 4 rankings
Week 3 rankings
Week 2 rankings
As always, let me know your thoughts and feel free to share with friends, family, and special persons of import. See any errors in record/placement? Probably a typo since I did most of this by hand, but I’d appreciate hearing about it anyway … I might have goofed up something in the rankings themselves.