Tim Tebow Fails to Convert 4th Down, Ole Miss D-Line

Everyone who would like to stay in the Top 10, please step forward. Not so fast, Florida.


What a weekend. What did we do to deserve such a smorgasbord of delightful comeuppance? Oh, that's right... we had to listen to SEC fans thump their chests about how awesome their conference was for the last nine months. Well... at least your best teams have the decency to lose at home. Apparently, the vaunted SEC home-field advantage only works on Sun Belt schools. And Tennessee.

Of course, it would be silly to write today's losers off so early in the season. Just as silly as it would be to rank today's losers so highly so early in the season. But let me just point out who had Alabama ranked at #3 last week...

Top 25 Rankings

1. Texas (19.779) +5 - powered by consistent drubbings (52-10, 42-13, 52-10, 52-10) of bad-to-mediocre teams
2. USC (16.008) -1 - despite getting engulfed by the Beavers, the Trojans are still pounding the rankings on the strength of two blowout victories, one over a now 4-1 Ohio State
3. Missouri (14.723) +8 - didn't even play, yet they shoot up the rankings based on improving opponent records
4. Oklahoma (13.467) +8 - continues to crush opponents; wins over TCU and Cincinnati boost ranking
5. BYU (12.087) -1 - in this case, staying idle hurts
6. Alabama (11.371) - 3 - Go figure, Alabama sinks this week, weighed down by Arkansas's increasing exposure and Georgia's garbage-time scoring
7. Kentucky (9.613) +1 - idle but rising due to lopsided wins
8. Georgia (9.430) +1 - if you're going to lose, UGA sez: score big in garbage time and lose to an undefeated team
9. Wisconsin (9.281) -7 - Bucky Badger forgot that there was a second half in football
10. Nebraska (8.629) -5 - keeping it close in the loss to VaTech saved them from falling farther
11. Kansas (8.450) +3 - loss to USF looking better by the week
12. Penn State (8.023) +4 - JoePa keeps creeping forward... with his blinker still on
13. California (8.001) +11 - key to an 11-point jump: resume blowing teams out
14. Tulsa (7.854) +6 - keeps winning impressively
15. Oklahoma State (7.714) NR - quietly winning big
16. Utah (7.537) -6 - weak schedule beginning to catch up with Utes
17. Vanderbilt (6.616) +6 - SEC dark horse keeps gaining
18. Ball State (6.558) -3 - weak schedule coming into play
19. USF (6.542) NR - wins beginning to pay off
20. Boise State (6.061) NR - everybody's favorite underdog breaks into the Top 25
21. Texas Tech (5.986) +4 - well, everyone else is losing... someone has to be #21
22. Connecticut (5.820) nc - you can't spell consistency without UConn... well, I guess you don't need the "U"
23. Northwestern (5.707) NR - can Fitzgerald's Wildcats keep winning?
24. Arizona (5.662) -7 - the season is beginning to catch up with these 'Cats
25. Wake Forest (5.470) -12 - dropping 12 spots happens when you lose to a team that passes five times all game

Missing the cut: Florida, LSU, Michigan State, TCU, Minnesota
Explanation of Rankings

It took until Week 5, but the AP pollsters are beginning to agree with me. Sure, the order is slightly off, but we agree that Texas, OU, and Mizzou are all Top-5 teams. What you won't find in the YFTS rankings is arbitrary punishment for this week's upset victims. USC still has that big win over Ohio State to hang its hat on, Georgia lost to another Top-10 team, and other losers kept the final score close. There are now 18 teams ranked simultaneously in the AP poll and the YFTS rankings. The seven oddballs on my rankings still rank as "receiving votes" in the AP poll.

One thing that's evident from the YFTS rankings is that it's better to lose a close game to even a mediocre opponent (USC, Cal) than it is to be undefeated against no one in particular (Utah, Ball State). Of course, blowouts over cupcakes never hurt (Texas).

Weekly Awards:

• The Biggest Loser Award goes to Florida, who fell from #7 to "missing the cut." That's what happens when your opponents keep losing. Well, except for Ole Miss.
• The Best Passer Award goes to Mark "Dirty" Sanchez of USC, who rifled his mouthguard at the exit tunnel of Reser Stadium with laser accuracy.
• The Weirdest Score That Happened Twice Award goes to Michigan-Wisconsin and Central Michigan-Buffalo, both producing 27-25 final scores. Work on those conversions, guys.
• The Video Game Score Award goes to Rice, for annihilating North Texas 77-20, with only 5-minute quarters, no less!
• The Oops, I Crapped My Pants Award goes to Georgia, who wisely thought to wear all black to an event where they would mess themselves both badly and publicly