Pool Poll Chaos: A&M Is Number One and North Texas Is Invited to the Playoffs AKA Why I'm Not Allowed to Run College Football

 

The Aggies snuck into the top spot after a strong win over Missouri.

    The College Football Playoffs committee has released their second rankings and frankly, it really doesn't mean anything, but it does give people something to argue about. But as usual, those cowards are afraid to take any real swings and in two weeks, it'll probably look completely different. Still, how can a committee rationalize a team that beats a ranked opponent still stuck behind a team that needed a miracle to beat a team that's dropped six straight (see below).

Indiana was this close to losing.

    The overall performance of the Big Ten is leaving a lot to be desired. Sure, you could argue about the depth, or maybe, Washington isn't a top 25 team and that's why they lost to Wisconsin. Of course, that's the argument that Texas fans have for why they lost to Florida. Still, the Big Ten's average rank for teams is well below the SEC and is struggling to stay ahead of the Big 12.

Ohio State is stuck with a schedule of bums, that hurts its Win Average.

    Now if the Pool Poll was the BCS of its time, then the playoffs would look something like this:

First Round Byes (*Hypothetical Conference Champ)

1. Texas A&M (SEC*)

2. Ohio State (Big Ten*)

3. Indiana (Big Ten)

4. Ole Miss (Sec)

First Round Matchups:

5. Texas Tech (Big 12*) vs 12. James Madison (Sun Belt*)

6. Alabama (SEC) vs 11. Georgia Tech (ACC*)

7. Georgia (SEC) vs 10. North Texas (AAC*)

8. BYU (Big 12) vs 9 Oregon (Big Ten)

The nail was almost driven into the coffin of Vanderbilt before they escaped from Auburn.

The rest of the rankings have these teams waiting in the wings to snatch the final spots:

13. Vanderbilt (SEC)

14. Virginia (ACC)

15. Memphis (AAC)

16. Houston (Big 12)

17. USC (Big Ten)

18. Notre Dame (No Conference and That's Why They Should Be Forced into One, Like Just Join the ACC Already) 

19. Oklahoma (SEC)

20. Texas (SEC)

21. South Florida (AAC)

22. Tulane (AAC)

23. Michigan (Big Ten)

24. Louisville (ACC)

25. Utah (Big 12)

Now let's break it down at a conference level. I judge a conference by their Power Index by taking the amount of teams in the Top 50 and subtract the number of teams ranked 100 or worse, and that's where this arbitrary line of distinction has been drawn. I will also attach each team's WA which is calculated by averaging the rank of the opponent with the other wins they've accumulated.

Alabama has the strongest WA of any team in the Pool Poll by a considerable amount.

SEC (+6)

1. Texas A&M (9-0, 73.7), 4. Ole Miss (9-1, 72.8), 6. Alabama (8-1, 41), 7. Georgia (8-1, 76.4), 13. Vanderbilt (8-2, 79.9), 19. Oklahoma (7-2, 64.4), 20. Texas (7-2, 65), 41. Tennessee (6-3, 79), 50. Missouri (6-3, 102)

105. South Carolina (3-6, 92.3), 106. Florida (3-6, 32.7), 123. Arkansas (2-7, 136)

The Ducks needed a late field goal to stay in the conversation.

Big Ten (+5)

2. Ohio State (9-0, 74.6), 3. Indiana (10-0, 87.3), 9. Oregon (8-1, 90.1), 17. USC (7-2, 54.3), 23 Michigan (7-2, 75.4), 35. Nebraska (7-3, 88.4), 40. Washington (6-3, 63.8), 44. Illinois (6-3, 93.2), 46. Iowa (6-3, 99.5), 47. Minnesota (6-3, 100)

102. UCLA (3-6, 52), 103. Wisconsin (3-6, 72.7), 109. Michigan State (3-6, 121.7), 112. Penn State (3-6, 129), 128. Purdue (2-8, 178)

Texas Tech dropped BYU right out of the top spot in the Big 12.

Big 12 (+5)

5. Texas Tech (9-1, 89.9), 8. BYU (8-1, 87.5), 16. Houston (8-2, 98.8), 25. Utah (7-2, 80.9), 28. Cincinnati (7-2, 96.7), 39. Arizona State (6-3, 50.5), 43. TCU (6-3, 92)

116. Colorado (3-7, 80.3), 132. Oklahoma State (1-8, 162)

Wake Forest's upset of Virginia has the ACC in shambles.

ACC (+3)

11. Georgia Tech (8-1, 92.3), 14. Virginia (8-2, 81.8), 24. Louisville (7-2, 78.6), 26. Miami (7-2, 89), 31. Pitt (7-2, 101.9), 36. SMU (7-3, 99.9), 49. Wake Forest (6-3, 100.8)

107. Virginia Tech (3-6, 107), 118. Stanford (3-7, 99), 120. Syracuse (3-7, 130), 135. Boston College (1-9, 252)

Tulane knocked Memphis out of the top spot in AAC.

AAC (+2)

10. North Texas (8-1, 92.1), 15. Memphis (8-2, 92.6), 21 USF (7-2, 68.7), 22. Tulane (7-2, 73), 33. Navy (7-2, 113.4)

San Diego State watched its chance slip away after a thumping by Hawaii.

MWC (+1)

29. San Diego State (7-2, 97.4), 34. UNLV (7-2, 115.1), 37. Hawaii (7-3, 101), 42. Fresno State (6-3, 85.3), 45. Boise State (6-3, 96.3)

104. San Jose State (3-6, 81.7), 110. Air Force (3-6, 127), 122. Colorado State (2-7, 135), 131. Nevada (1-8, 159)

108. UAB (3-6, 107), 121. Tulsa (2-7, 118.5), 133. Charlotte (1-8, 190)

The Owls have had one of the best turnarounds from last season.

CUSA (-2)

27. Western Kentucky (7-2, 91.3), 32. Kennesaw State (7-2, 109.4)

115. New Mexico State (3-6, 171.3), 125. UTEP (2-7, 148.5), 129. Middle Tennessee State (1-8, 82), 130. Sam Houston State (1-8, 127)

Charles Huff has brought his success from Marshall to Southern Miss.

Sun Belt (-3)

12. James Madison (8-1, 110.9), 30. Southern Miss (7-2, 98.7)

100. Louisiana (4-6, 129.3), 111. Texas State (3-6, 128.7), 114. Louisiana Monroe (3-6, 152.3), 126. South Alabama (2-7, 162), 134. Georgia State (1-8, 256)

The Bobcats reign at the top of the MAC was short-lived after a loss to Western Michigan as of this blog.

MAC (-5)

48. Ohio (6-3, 100.5)-Lost Tuesday to Western Michigan

101. Akron (4-6, 129.5)-Lost Tuesday to Kent State, 113. Kent State (3-6, 146)-Won over Akron on Tuesday, 117. Bowling Green (3-7, 92.3), 119. Eastern Michigan (3-7, 116.7), 124. Northern Illinois (2-7, 145) 136. UMass (0-9, 0)