D Poll: Week 11
The top four remain the same, Texas and OU see big surges, and the ACC is in bad shape.
Just because the College Football Playoff started releasing its rankings doesn’t mean that the D Poll isn’t important anymore. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that the D Poll is even more consequential than ever!
While that might be the case, it’s crucial to remember that the CFP committee is aiming to do something entirely different than the D Poll. My ranking is filled with vibes, feelings, winning, and a whole lot more vibes. The CFP ranking is focused more on all those fancy stats that your friend at work tries to talk your ear off about, like success rate, efficiency rating, game control, etc. Those statistics are all well and good, but none of them do much for me in my journey to find the team with the best vibes in the country.
That doesn’t mean that I forgo any of the results on the field when trying to rank teams. For instance, in this week’s poll, Miami is still ahead of Notre Dame despite being eight spots behind the Fighting Irish in the CFP ranking released this past Tuesday night. The inverse is true for Louisville and Virginia — the Cavaliers beat the Cardinals earlier in the year, but the vibes aren’t as great in Charlottesville (at least in my estimation), so they are lower in the ranking.
As with all college football rankings, this is a subjective exercise. What you consider “good vibes” might differ from my definition, and that’s perfectly fine. As long as you understand what this is and what I’m trying to do, you’ll probably find a few fun insights along the way.
Before we get started, I’d like to formally apologize for the lack of a graphic this week. That’s entirely my fault, as I didn’t send in the list to my wonderful graphic designer (my wife) in time. Don’t worry — it’ll return with a bang next week.
Alright, without further ado, here’s the D Poll for Week 11.
1. Texas A&M (NM)
Week 10 result: BYE
2. Indiana (NM)
Week 10 result: 55-10 win at Maryland
3. Ohio State (NM)
Week 10 result: 38-14 win vs. Penn State
4. BYU (NM)
Week 10 result: BYE
5. Alabama (+1)
Week 10 result: BYE
6. Georgia (+3)
Week 10 result: 24-20 win vs. Florida
7. Texas Tech (+5)
Week 10 result: 43-20 win at Kansas State
8. Ole Miss (+1)
Week 10 result: 30-14 win vs. South Carolina
9. Oregon (-2)
Week 10 result: BYE
10. Texas (+10)
Week 10 result: 34-31 win vs. Vanderbilt
11. Oklahoma (+10)
Week 10 result: 33-27 win at Tennessee
12. Utah (+12)
Week 10 result: 45-14 win vs. Cincinnati
13. Louisville (+1)
Week 10 result: 28-16 win at Virginia Tech
14. Miami (-3)
Week 10 result: 26-20 loss at SMU
15. Notre Dame (+2)
Week 10 result: 25-10 win at Boston College
16. Memphis (+2)
Week 10 result: BYE
17. Virginia (+2)
Week 10 result: 31-21 win at California
18. Georgia Tech (-13)
Week 10 result: 48-36 loss at NC State
19. Vanderbilt (-9)
Week 10 result: 34-31 loss at Texas
20. Iowa (+2)
Week 10 result: BYE
21. USC (+4)
Week 10 result: 21-17 win at Nebraska
22. Michigan (NR)
Week 10 result: 21-16 win vs. Purdue
23. Washington (NR)
Week 10 result: BYE
24. James Madison (NR)
Week 10 result: 52-20 win at Texas State
25. Missouri (NR)
Week 10 result: BYE
Here are some of my quick thoughts regarding the Week 11 D Poll:
Texas A&M retains the top spot for the second week in a row based on just how thorough it was in its domination of LSU. It wasn’t enough that it completely dismantled them on the field; it also sent the governor of Louisiana into a tailspin for all the world to see. And while the Tigers appear to have figured out their coaching search to a certain extent, it’s certainly telling that all it took was one loss to the Aggies for everything to go insane. So, good job Texas A&M — you’re officially a home wrecker.
The rest of the top 10 was fairly easy to ascertain. Indiana, Ohio State, and BYU are all undefeated, making their placement toward the top a no-brainer. Alabama, Georgia, Texas Tech, Ole Miss, and Oregon have all suffered one loss apiece, so it was simple to lump them together. As for the order, I just went based on head-to-head results, and, as always, vibes.
Just like the CFP committee, I’m fairly low on the ACC following Georgia Tech and Miami’s losses this past weekend. My projections have just one team from the league making the playoff, which opens up a spot for multiple Big 12 schools to crash the party. At the moment, those spots are BYU and Texas Tech’s to lose, but Utah is right on their tails.
Unlike the CFP committee, I have two Group of 6 schools included in the D Poll: Memphis and James Madison. Memphis has shown time and again that it can be counted on to win football games (just forget about that loss to UAB — it never happened and was a dream), while James Madison is rated pretty high in my power ratings that I calculate in my head — and on my computer, of course — each week. As such, including the Dukes was necessary for this week’s D Poll.
Iowa, USC, Michigan, and Washington are all lumped together toward the bottom of the ranking, but each of them has the opportunity to climb up should more victories come along their respective paths. The Hawkeyes have an opportunity to do so against Oregon this Saturday, while USC and Washington will get to do the same later in the season. Meanwhile, Michigan is just chugging along, biding its time until it gets to play Ohio State in Ann Arbor in the last game of the year. If all goes to plan for the Wolverines, a win in that contest could get them a spot in the CFP.
Astute readers will notice that Tennessee isn’t included, unlike in the AP and the CFP. Well, it has three losses, and, in my opinion, that should eliminate it from consideration for the time being. Now, that doesn’t mean that the Volunteers can’t win some more games and get back up, but there are other teams that deserve a number next to their names, and Tennessee isn’t one of those at the moment.
As mentioned at the top, I have Miami above Notre Dame. This one seems fairly straightforward to me. Both teams have the same record, and Miami holds the head-to-head victory over the Fighting Irish. Simple enough, right? Wrong. Apparently, it’s hard for people to wrap their heads around the idea that results on the field should matter! I guess it doesn’t mean as much since it was played 11 weeks ago, but if that’s the argument, then whoever is making the argument is dumb. I’m sorry — that was mean. While I don’t take it back, I do acknowledge that it was probably insulting.
Finally, the vibes are on the rise the most for Utah. After falling in the Holy War to hated BYU, the Utes have captured back-to-back dominant wins over Colorado (53-7) and Cincinnati (45-14). That victory over Cincinnati was enough for me to throw the Bearcats all the way out of the D Poll entirely. Just like with Texas A&M, there’s nothing sweeter than sending a team out the door with not only a loss but with an exit ticket out of the D Poll.