D Poll: Week 10 (2024)
Ranking the top 25 in college football, one wacky result at a time.
I am fed up.
The most recent AP Poll is an egregious ranking. It takes everything remarkable about college football and throws it in the trash. A miraculous undefeated season by a college football nobody in Indiana? Nope, they don't like that. A mediocre (or bad) Missouri team that is 0-2 against ranked opponents and has lost a combined 75-10 in those games? Yes, they do like that!
When does winning start to matter? Most teams are eight games through their seasons at this point, yet the AP Poll (and other rankings such as the Coach's Poll) continues to value teams that have "quality losses" over those that haven't lost at all. Last time I checked, zero losses are more important than one "quality loss." It's malpractice. It's dishonorable. It makes my blood boil. If we aren't going to award teams for doing everything that's asked of them on the field, then what's the point of playing these games anyway?
The last several rankings that I've put out have been fairly similar to what the AP has posted because I've agreed with them for the most part. It's OK to power rate teams earlier in the season because there's a lack of data points.
*For those not familiar with what a power rating is, it's simply just asking whether a team would be favored on a neutral field against somebody and then ranking them in that order.
Those models are usually trying to be predictive which can sometimes disregard what's already happened. That is an OK strategy to use early in the season. But in Week 10? No way. There have simply been too many games played to discredit anything that teams have done.
That tirade brings me to this week's D Poll. I've decided to make a statement. What has been done on the football field has to matter more than anything else. The following ranking might be an overcorrection to the AP, but I believe that it's necessary to try and steer this ship back in the right direction.
Here's the D Poll for Week 10.
1. Oregon (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten)
Week 9 game: 38-9 win vs. Illinois
2. Penn State (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten)
Week 9 game: 28-13 win at Wisconsin
3. Miami (8-0, 4-0 ACC)
Week 9 game: 36-14 win vs. Florida State
4. BYU (8-0, 5-0 Big 12)
Week 9 game: 37-24 win at UCF
5. Indiana (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten)
Week 9 game: 31-17 win vs. Washington
6. Iowa State (7-0, 4-0 Big 12)
Week 9 game: BYE
7. Georgia (6-1, 4-1 SEC)
Week 9 game: BYE
8. Clemson (6-1, 5-0 ACC)
Week 9 game: BYE
9. Texas (7-1, 3-1 SEC)
Week 9 game: 27-24 win at Vanderbilt
10. Ohio State (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten)
Week 9 game: 21-17 win vs. Nebraska
11. Pittsburgh (7-0, 3-0 ACC)
Week 9 game: 41-13 win vs. Syracuse
12. Notre Dame (7-1)
Week 9 game: 51-14 win at Navy
13. Texas A&M (7-1, 5-0 SEC)
Week 9 game: 38-23 win vs. LSU
14. Tennessee (6-1, 3-1 SEC)
Week 9 game: BYE
15. Boise State (6-1, 3-0 Mountain West)
Week 9 game: 29-24 win at UNLV
16. Kansas State (7-1, 4-1 Big 12)
Week 9 game: 29-27 win vs. Kansas
17. Army (7-0, 6-0 American)
Week 9 game: BYE
18. SMU (7-1, 4-0 ACC)
Week 9 game: 28-27 win at Duke)
19. Washington State (7-1, 0-0 Pac-12)
Week 9 game: 29-26 win at San Diego State
20. LSU (6-2, 3-1 SEC)
Week 9 game: 38-23 loss at Texas A&M
21. Alabama (6-2, 3-2 SEC)
Week 9 game: 34-0 win vs. Missouri
22. Illinois (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten)
Week 9 game: 38-9 loss at Oregon
23. Colorado (6-2, 4-1 Big 12)
Week 9 game: 34-23 win vs. Cincinnati
24. UNLV (6-2, 2-1 Mountain West)
Week 9 game: 29-24 loss vs. Boise State
25. Ole Miss (6-2, 2-2 SEC)
Week 9 game: 26-14 win vs. Oklahoma
Teams in consideration: Navy, Memphis, Virginia Tech, Louisiana, Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Duke, TCU
OK, I feel the need to explain myself. Yes, Georgia, Clemson, Texas, and Ohio State might be objectively better than some of the teams above them in terms of a power rating. Trust me, I don't think that BYU would beat Texas on a neutral field if they played tomorrow. What I do know is that Texas got creamed by Georgia at home two weeks ago. BYU hasn't lost all year, and so I am rewarding them for that. The same logic applies for pretty much this entire ranking. If a team has taken care of business, I have rewarded them for it. What a novel concept.
The D Poll will continue to be spicy until morale improves for the national rankings. A week from today, the first College Football Playoff rankings will be revealed. If it reflects the AP's stupidity at all, then I fear that the D Poll will have no choice but to respond even more harshly next week.
On that note, the D Poll will be released on Wednesday morning from here on out. I want a chance to review the CFP rankings that are put out every Tuesday night before I release mine because I desire the opportunity to either praise or reject whatever the committee delivers every week.