2009 Week 8 in Review

Some of the highlights of the games of 10/21-10/24:

It was a very interesting week at the top. In our ratings 2 of the top 4 won in blowouts (Texas, Cincinnati) and a third was impressive on the road (Florida). So the fourth (Alabama, who barely beat Tennessee at home) drops from #1 all the way to #4. It's that close at the top.

It looked like TCU was going to move from #8 to #5 after thrashing BYU, but while most of us were sleeping Boise State went to Hawaii and won 54-9.

Virginia Tech drops from #5 to #7 will sitting idle, I think this is a more reasonable ranking for them anyway. Oklahoma was quite impressive over Kansas, but the others did more. It'd be tough to justify them over TCU considering their relative performance against BYU.

Most impressive performances of the week (adjusted for opponent strength):

1. TCU 38-7 at BYU

2. Texas 41-7 at Missouri

3. Boise State 54-9 at Hawaii

4. Penn State 35-10 at Michigan

5. Oklahoma 35-13 at Kansas

Worst performance by a BCS conference team (adjusted for opponent strength):

1. Baylor losing 34-7 at home vs. Oklahoma State

2. Texas Tech losing 52-30 at home vs. Texas A&M

3. Washington State losing 49-17 at California

4. Minnesota losing 38-7 at Ohio State

5. Missouri losing 41-7 at home vs. Texas

Biggest moves among the top 25

Nebraska down from 10 to 22 (lost to #54 Iowa State 9-7 at home)

Tennessee up from 35 to 24 (lost at #4 Alabama 12-10)

Clemson up from 27 to 17 (won at #14 Miami (FL) 40-37 in OT)

Best non-BCS teams (rank among 120 FBS teams)

#5 Boise State (7-0)

#6 TCU (7-0)

#16 Fresno State (4-3)

#21 Central Michigan (7-1)

#31 Utah (6-1)

Worst BCS Teams (rank among 120 FBS teams)

#113 Washington State (1-6)

#104 Illinois (1-6)

#98 Maryland (2-6)

#92 Northwestern (5-3)

#90 Indiana (4-4)

Best FCS teams in Non-Auto Bid Conferences (rank among 125 FCS teams)

#14 Pennsylvania (4-2)

#16 Harvard (4-2)

#20 Liberty (4-2)

#23 Albany (6-2)

#25 Central Connecticut State (6-1)