Week 7 Big Ten/AP/BCS Rankings

There will always be things about college football I'll never understand. Last week Indiana pushed Michigan State to the brink and lost, and yesterday they did the same thing to Ohio State. The ghost of Knute Rockne must be in full force after yesterday's last second win in overtime against Stanford, and how that wasn't a touchdown by Taylor at the goal line I'll never agree with. Geno Smith's Heisman candidacy took a massive hit after losing to Texas 49-14. Michigan State losing to Iowa was a shocker to some, but not to others. The Spartan offense has been bad lately, and Andrew Maxwell is looking shakier every week. I do trust in the theory of quality wins vs quality losses, but when MSU loses to Iowa, who were previously beaten by CMU earlier in the season...well that just says they have a long way to go before becoming elite as many have tried to make them out to be. And I can't forget Michigan ...a team that dominated Illinois yesterday in every way possible. Illinois couldn't muster 150 yards of total offense, and were shut out by the resurgent Wolverines. The running game was effective and diverse, and there wasn't a single receiver who caught more than one pass. The balanced attack on offense and defense led to a great, resounding victory.

1) Alabama (6-0) Again, another consensus week at the No. 1 spot. Other than possible roadblocks against Mississippi State and LSU, I don't see a loss in their future.
2) Oregon  (6-0) Even on a bye week, Oregon outscores their opponents
3) Florida (6-0) Slow in the first half, they roll to beat Vanderbilt. Will Muschamp has the second best SEC team rolling.
4) Kansas State (6-0)
5) Notre Dame (6-0) I've seen the replay, and Stanford's drive should have culminated with that touchdown. As I said earlier, the football gods were on the side of the Irish yesterday.
6) LSU (6-1) Just when I think LSU is weakened this year, they rebound to take out undefeated South Carolina. Not sure what to make of this team
7) Ohio State (7-0) Indiana pushed them to a 52-49 scorefest. Indiana is improved this season, but OSU has to be worried about their defense. 
8) Oregon State (5-0)
9) South Carolina (6-1) So much for another chance for Steve Spurrier and a national title. 
10) Oklahoma (4-1)
11) USC (5-1)
12) Florida State (6-1) Did anyone really think Boston College would be a challenge?
13) Georgia (5-1)
14) Clemson (5-1)
15) Mississippi State (6-0)
16) Louisville (6-0)
17) West Virginia (5-1) Quite the blowout against WVU...TTU has a good defense, maybe the only good one in the Big 12.
18) Texas Tech  (5-1) See above. Made Geno Smith look like Clark Kent instead of Superman.
19) Rutgers (6-0)
20) Texas A&M (5-1)
21) Cincinnati (5-0)
22) Stanford (4-2) Should be 5-1. Will still rebound to be a good bowl but still have games against USC and Oregon. 
23) Michigan (4-2) It was good to see Michigan shutout Illinois the week before the state championship against Michigan State. 
24) Boise State (5-1)
25) Ohio (7-0) I'm glad to see a MAC team ranked this high. Frank Solich is doing a heck of a job with this team and Tyler Tettleton.

Dropped from rankings: Texas, Louisiana Tech

Others receiving votes: Arizona State, TCU, Louisiana Tech, Texas, North Carolina State, Northwestern, Washington, Wisconsin, Nebraska , North Carolina, Tulsa, Penn State, Arizona

A bit of an addendum here about the rankings. The BCS rankings were released for the first time last night, sparking more controversies as always. Thankfully, two years from now we will be free of this arcane mathematical formula that decides team standings, and back to good old human debate. For now though, we must live by this system that is so flawed that even the casual fan can laugh at it. I understand some of it, but if Michigan is ranked at the 23rd spot in the AP polls, it stands to reason that they would also be in the BCS. Not so. Ohio State can't be ranked, and Michigan isn't ranked at all. Two losses yes, but two quality losses. Losses to undefeated Alabama and undefeated Notre Dame. Texas has been blown out two weeks in a row by far inferior teams than those two and they still cracked the Top 25. They also don't have a harder schedule than Michigan in case people wanted to use that argument. Boise State...a close loss to Michigan State, and the Spartans haven't even sniffed any rankings in the last few weeks, don't have any other quality opponents. Florida State--close loss to Clemson is their only setback and West Virginia is right above them, and they were just blown out by Texas Tech. So if anyone out there can debate or argue with me about the virtue of the BCS system please do so. The argument between Nebraska and Michigan in 1997 was the last time the AP rankings and the coaches poll decided the No. 1 team. I know we don't really want to go back to that, but it's still better than this sham of a system.