Back again with the blogpoll. CRFF is sticking to the modified record/resume ranking system that has been proven 100% correct in the past. For the methodology, skip to the end of this post.
The list of teams to include on the ballot this week was easy. Rule 1 states that we take all the teams from BCS-AQ conferences and rank them in order of record. There are exactly 25 teams from BCS-AQ conferences that are undefeated. Done and done (welcome Kansas State!). However, rule 2 states that teams from non-BCS-AQ conferences can be added at our discretion, and Boise certainly fits (bye Kansas State!). And Houston, while not great, has the victory over UCLA which is at least enough to knock Texas Tech and their two wins over "Jack" and "Shit" out of the poll.
So we have our 25 best undefeated teams, now we just have to order them. This part is the mess. With most teams playing 2 cupcakes and one "decent" opponent, it is really hard to find separation. Clearly OU and LSU are the top 2 as they are probably the only 2 teams that have huge victories over teams that can win a BCS conference (unless you count the Big East as a BCS conference, then I guess throw Baylor in there). After that though, feel free to order the rest however you like.
I like that Wisconsin has killed 3 "decent" teams and gave that more weight than say Baylor or Clemson's "signature" wins. Iowa State continues the feel good story and temporarily stays in the Top 10 thanks to the impressive Iowa win and beating a decent UConn team in spite of it being possibly the biggest potential let-down loss of the entire season for any team. Illinois had the semi-solid ASU win, 10, 11, and 12 have pretty interchangeable wins, and after that I think I used a combination of alcohol and sleep deprivation to barf out the rest of the order.
Ballot and methodology are after the jump.
CowboysRideForFree Ballot - Week 4
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma Sooners | -- |
| 2 | LSU Tigers | -- |
| 3 | Wisconsin Badgers | -- |
| 4 | Clemson Tigers | -- |
| 5 | South Florida Bulls | -- |
| 6 | Baylor Bears | -- |
| 7 | Alabama Crimson Tide | -- |
| 8 | Iowa St. Cyclones | -- |
| 9 | Illinois Fighting Illini | -- |
| 10 | Oklahoma St. Cowboys | -- |
| 11 | West Virginia Mountaineers | -- |
| 12 | Arkansas Razorbacks | -- |
| 13 | Texas Longhorns | -- |
| 14 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | -- |
| 15 | Texas A&M Aggies | -- |
| 16 | USC Trojans | -- |
| 17 | Stanford Cardinal | -- |
| 18 | Boise St. Broncos | -- |
| 19 | South Carolina Gamecocks | -- |
| 20 | Vanderbilt Commodores | -- |
| 21 | North Carolina Tar Heels | -- |
| 22 | Virginia Tech Hokies | -- |
| 23 | Michigan Wolverines | -- |
| 24 | California Golden Bears | -- |
| 25 | Houston Cougars | -- |
SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings "
The CRFF BlogPoll Methodology
There are a few steps we go through to break the teams into different tiers, then rank them within their tier.Step 1: We rank all the teams from BCS-AQ conferences in order of record. All undefeated teams go to the top, then the one loss teams, then the two loss teams, then... you know how counting works. So at no point - EVER - will any team be ranked above a team that has a better overall record.
Step 2: Non BCS-AQ teams can be dropped into each tier at CRFF's discretion. If we think Boise State is good enough to be in the undefeated tier with the BCS schools, they go in, if we deem then not good enough, they are out of the poll completely.
Step 3: We rank within the record tiers. This is where it gets subjective, although we try to standardize it a little. The ranking within the record tiers is based purely on resume. Whichever team has got to this record tier by beating the best opponents will be the first seed in this tier. Of course, the "who they beat" part is pretty subjective, but at some point you have to rank based on what we watch each week right?