D Poll: Week 12
The Group of 6 has a ton of representatives, BYU falls far, and the Aggies stay at the top.
The College Football Playoff committee might be releasing its own rankings, but that thing is rife with scandal and nastiness. The D Poll has never had to go through such a thing, which makes it way more trustworthy than the CFP.
If I had to rank the vibes and feelings of the CFP after today’s news — which, if you haven’t heard, the chair of the committee, Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades, stepped down due to an investigation into an incident with a football player a couple of weeks back — I’d put it in the dumpster alongside the raccoons and the dirty diapers. I wouldn’t blame you if you decided that those rankings are dumb and stupid now.
Just remember that the D Poll is attempting to do something entirely different than the CFP selection committee. The D Poll is a ranking of vibes, feelings, and winning, while the CFP is supposedly searching to find the “best team.” Whether it accomplishes that goal 100 percent of the time is neither here nor there, but I can assure you that the D Poll has not done that. Heck, I’d go as far as to say that the team ranked No. 1 this week isn’t the best in the country, but it does have the best vibes and feelings surrounding it.
As with all rankings, this is a subjective exercise. What you categorize as good or bad vibes may be different than me, and that’s okay. You may have Northern Illinois at the top of your list because it crushed UMass last night, or you may instead put Ohio State at No. 1 because, well, it’s the best team in the nation and everybody knows it. Either strategy works for me! I’m not here to judge.
This ranking is a special one because the lovely graphic created by my talented wife is back this week! If you don’t feel like reading all the text I’ve poured my heart and soul into, then feel free to just glance at the pretty picture below, see where your favorite team is ranked, and then leave. Actually, please don’t do that — it’d be rude.
Without further ado, here’s the D Poll for Week 12.
1. Texas A&M (NM)
Week 11 result: 38-17 win at Missouri
2. Indiana (NM)
Week 11 result: 27-24 win at Penn State
3. Ohio State (NM)
Week 11 result: 34-10 win at Purdue
4. Texas Tech (+3)
Week 11 result: 29-7 win vs. BYU
5. Alabama (NM)
Week 11 result: 20-9 win vs. LSU
6. Georgia (NM)
Week 11 result: 41-21 win at Mississippi State
7. Oregon (+2)
Week 11 result: 18-16 win at Iowa
8. Ole Miss (NM)
Week 11 result: 49-0 win vs. The Citadel
9. Texas (+1)
Week 11 result: BYE
10. Oklahoma (+1)
Week 11 result: BYE
11. Vanderbilt (+8)
Week 11 result: 45-38 win vs. Auburn
12. BYU (-8)
Week 11 result: 29-7 loss at Texas Tech
13. Notre Dame (+2)
Week 11 result: 49-10 win. vs. Navy
14. Utah (-2)
Week 11 result: BYE
15. Georgia Tech (+3)
Week 11 result: BYE
16. USC (+5)
Week 11 result: 38-17 win vs. Northwestern
17. Michigan (+5)
Week 11 result: BYE
18. Miami (-4)
Week 11 result: 38-10 win vs. Syracuse
19. Pittsburgh (NR)
Week 11 result: BYE
20. South Florida (NR)
Week 11 result: 55-23 win vs. UTSA
21. Louisville (-8)
Week 11 result: 29-26 loss vs. California
22. James Madison (+2)
Week 11 result: 35-23 at Marshall
23. Tulane (NR)
Week 11 result: 38-22 win at Memphis
24. Cincinnati (NR)
Week 11 result: BYE
25. Hawai’i (NR)
Week 11 result: 38-6 win vs. San Diego State
Teams dropped from last week’s ranking: Missouri, Washington, Iowa, Virginia, Memphis
The top three remain the same. Each team won this week — Texas A&M beat Missouri, Indiana narrowly escaped Penn State, and Ohio State crushed Purdue into submission — thus making it simple to just keep them where they were previously. I ascertain that the Aggies remain the squad with the best vibes in America. What Mike Elko has been able to accomplish there is unlike what any other coach has been able to do in College Station over thirty years. As such, A&M fans are rightfully buzzing with excitement, rightfully so.
Texas Tech rises up to No. 4 after putting on a show for all the nation to see in its win over BYU. The Red Raiders have risen eight spots over the past two weeks, which is just a symbol of how amazing the vibes in Lubbock are at the moment. Just like with Texas A&M, we’re entering unprecedented territory for Texas Tech. That’s some pretty good vibes if you ask me.
The rest of the top 10 is fairly similar to last week. The only change comes with Oregon leaping over Ole Miss due to its gritty, comeback road victory against Iowa. The Ducks went into Kinnick Stadium — a place that’s produced countless nightmares for national championship contenders in the past — and left with a win. Sure, they’re a little battered and bruised because of it, but that’s just the cost of doing business when you play Iowa.
I have to admit, BYU disappointed me. The Cougars ran just seven plays in Texas Tech territory all game and only put up seven points in an effort that was anything but inspiring. The CFP selection committee dinged BYU all the way down to No. 12, and I followed suit. There’s still a path to win the Big 12, though the margin for error is much slimmer.
Vanderbilt surprisingly made a massive jump from No. 19 to No. 11. Beating a zombie Auburn team isn’t necessarily the most impressive accomplishment known to man, but I was impressed with the Commodores’ ability to throw counterpunch after counterpunch in a back-and-forth overtime win. Of course, the vibes king himself resides in Nashville in Diego Pavia, so that always helps the D Poll ranking. And it’s Vanderbilt! How could I not have it fairly high?
I decided to drop Miami below Notre Dame, despite the head-to-head result. If that offends anybody, I apologize, but I just don’t see the vibes with the Hurricanes at the moment. Sure, a 28 point win over Syracuse is fine, though it just doesn’t move the needle for me. One more loss for Miami, and it’s probably out of here.
Pittsburgh is in the poll, and I kind of regret it after hearing head coach Pat Narduzzi’s comments about the Panthers’ upcoming game versus Notre Dame. Oh well, I can’t take it back now. I can only hope that Pitt backs me up by winning on Saturday.
I love the Group of 6. South Florida, Tulane, and James Madison rightfully belong in any top 25 ranking that’s about vibes and feelings. Screw putting in a three-loss SEC or Big Ten team — let’s put in the teams that actually deserve it! And by the way, North Texas just narrowly missed out on making the ranking. Should it continue to win, it’ll be back in the fold very soon.
Hawaii is No. 25 and I’m not afraid to admit it. The Rainbow Warriors are 7-3 and just beat San Diego State, the team most likely to win the Mountain West. Head coach Timmy Chang’s squad is not the best in the world — far from it, actually — but this is a story that deserves celebrating. From going 3-10 three seasons ago to being on the verge of winning nine games is an accomplishment that should be recognized, and that’s what I’m doing with this placement in the D Poll. I don’t care if you ridicule me for it; just at least acknowledge that it’s cool that Hawaii football is kind of good.