College Football Rankings - 21 Nov

Here is my new, completely unbiased and statistical ranking of the top 25 teams in college football. The team name is followed by overall record, rating, and previous ranking.

1. Oregon (10-0) -45.11 (1)
2. Boise State (10-0) -44.25 (2)
3. Stanford (10-1) -41.45 (3)
4. TCU (11-0) -33.60 (5)
5. Alabama (9-2) -33.07 (4)
6. Ohio State (10-1) -32.78 (6)
7. Oklahoma (9-2) -29.14 (16)
8. Auburn (11-0) -28.98 (7)
9. Arizona State (4-6) -28.95 (9)
10. Wisconsin (10-1) -27.83 (10)
11. Arkansas (9-2) -27.19 (14)
12. South Carolina (8-3) -26.72 (12)
13. Virginia Tech (9-2) -26.36 (17)
14. Oregon State (5-5) -26.10 (NR)
15. Oklahoma State (10-1) -25.61 (19)
16. Arizona (7-3) -25.45 (18)
17. Nebraska (9-2) -25.20 (24)
18. Missouri (9-2) -24.87 (22)
19. Florida (7-4) -24.59 (NR)
20. USC (7-4) -24.49 (8)
21. Florida State (8-3) -24.46 (23)
22. Texas A&M (8-3) -23.97 (20)
23. Utah (9-2) -23.19 (NR)
24. Nevada (10-1) -23.18 (21)
25. Iowa (7-4) -22.61 (25)

Dropped from rankings:
26. LSU (10-1) -21.76 (13)
27. Cal (5-6) -21.70 (11)
29. Miami (FL) (7-4) -21.09 (15)

Some interesting movement in the rankings this week.

Alabama, despite a huge win over Georgia State, dropped one notch below idle TCU. This has to do completely with the strength of the opponent they played. They would have had to win by an unsportsmanlike margin to maintain their ranking or move up, a la Wisconsin vs. Indiana.

Oklahoma was a big mover this week. They had a strong victory over a decent Baylor team, and Texas A&M, one of Oklahoma's losses, pulled off an upset over Nebraska. If they can beat Oklahoma State next week, which is a possibility, they would be my pick to win the Big 12 and score a BCS invite.

Oregon State re-entered the rankings after they demolished USC once again. The Beavers still have a chance at a bowl berth despite playing the nation's most difficult schedule, including TCU, Boise State, and Oregon, all of whom are undefeated today. Injuries and a couple of bad games kept them from a shot at the Pac-10 title.

Nebraska and Texas A&M may look like they moved in the wrong directions following the Aggies' upset of Nebraska, but based on A&M being at home, they should have won by more than 3. Nevertheless, it was an impressive victory over a very good team.

Florida re-enters the rankings just in time for their showdown with in-state rival Florida State, who is also ranked. Their win over an FCS opponent (Appalachian State) was much more impressive than Alabama's because the Mountaineers are one of the top programs in the FCS and will challenge for the championship at their level.

USC took a nosedive after their blowout loss to Oregon State, and they may fall out of the rankings completely if Matt Barkley's ankle makes him unavailable for their annual showdown with Notre Dame, who is much improved this year.

Utah's comeback win over an underrated San Diego State team earned them a spot back in the rankings after a 1-week hiatus following their 2-game losing streak. They play a home game against archrival BYU next week, and would finish with another 10-win season with a victory.

Nevada slipped a few spots this week due to their extremely low strength of schedule, but that is about to increase with their huge showdown against Boise State this week. A victory there would earn them a lot of respect, as well as clearing up the BCS title picture a little.

LSU dropped just out of the rankings with their lucky victory over one of the SEC's weakest teams. All talk of LSU in the BCS will end with their loss at Arkansas this weekend, and they will finally be exposed as a team that continually found ways to eke out wins against bad teams, with one miraculous victory over Alabama.

Prediction results - 20 Nov
College Football: 12/15 (.800) 14/17 overall (0.824)
NBA: 4/9 (0.444) 21/33 overall (0.636)

NBA Player of the Night:
Stephen Jackson - Bobcats: It's tough to overlook Blake Griffin's 44 points or Al Horford's 20-20, but those were both put up in losing efforts, while Jackson earned the first triple-double in Bobcats history with 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in a big win over the Suns.

NBA Predictions - 21 Nov
Celtics at Raptors - Celtics by 5
Wizards at Pistons - Pistons by 4
Hornets at Kings - Hornets by 13
Warriors at Lakers - Lakers by 13