Reaction to the Rankings, Week 3: BYU Falls Out, Can Climb Back with Win over Boise State

The Brigham Young Cougars could have climbed two or three spots in the rankings this week, but fall instead after the loss to Utah.

AP
The media voters who comprise the Associated Press (AP) poll had voted very favorably towards BYU this year. Last week BYU was ranked no. 25. Following the tough loss to Utah, it was expected that BYU would fall out of the top 25, but not off of every voters ballot.

BYU isn’t even in the “others receiving votes” category of this week’s AP Top 25.

Reaction to the AP Ranking: I don’t like that BYU dropped completely out of the AP rankings. BYU was ranked in the pre-season, behind Utah, so I don’t know what reason all voters are using to justify completely dropping BYU now. I guess it is because it is still early in the season, and there are still so many 3-0 teams to choose from there has to be a compelling reason (loss to top 10 ranked team, or ranked in the top 10 at time of loss) to continue voting for a team with one loss.

USA Today
BYU is still in the “others receiving votes” category for the USA Today (coaches poll). With 8 points, BYU is the unofficial no. 38. If it is any consolation to you, Utah has only 6 points and is team no. 40.

Boise State is “just” no. 26.

Reaction to the USA Today Ranking: I am happy to see BYU still in the “others” category. It isn’t much consolation to me that BYU is ahead of Utah, at least not now. At the end of the year, I will take pleasure being ranked ahead of Utah, especially if the two schools have the same record. It says a lot about how much more nationally respected BYU is than Utah.

Overall Reaction
It took a loss, but order had been restored in the college football polling universe. The coaches poll is treating BYU better than the media.

BYU missed out on a great opportunity to move up in the rankings this weekend. Virginia Tech, Arkansas, Michigan State, and Tennessee all lost, and BYU would have moved ahead of them all, except maybe Michigan State. Wisconsin almost lost to Utah State.

As far as the rankings go, BYU is in a good position. If the Cougars can beat Boise State (number 24 in the AP Poll) this week, then they will quickly jump back into the discussion of fringe top 25 teams. Many more media voters will be paying attention to the Boise State game on ESPN Thursday night. A win in Boise is much more respected than a win in Salt Lake City.

What is your reaction to the rankings?

Programming note: If BYU loses to Boise State next week, there will be no “Reaction to the Rankings” next week. This feature runs only when BYU is involved in the polls.

The complete rankings follow below.

AP Top 25

RK TEAM RECORD PTS
1 Alabama (58) 3-0 1498
2 LSU (2) 3-0 1433
3 Oregon 3-0 1356
4 Florida State 3-0 1275
5 Georgia 3-0 1203
6 Oklahoma 2-0 1181
7 South Carolina 3-0 1081
8 West Virginia 2-0 1051
9 Stanford 3-0 1009
10 Clemson 3-0 899
11 Notre Dame 3-0 854
12 Texas 3-0 816
13 USC 2-1 776
14 Florida 3-0 743
15 Kansas State 3-0 683
16 Ohio State 3-0 680
17 TCU 2-0 535
18 Michigan 2-1 448
19 UCLA 3-0 429
20 Louisville 3-0 366
21 Michigan State 2-1 318
22 Arizona 3-0 296
23 Mississippi State 3-0 106
24 Boise State 1-1 95
25 Nebraska 2-1 80

• Dropped from rankings: Virginia Tech 13, Tennessee 23, Brigham Young 25

• Others receiving votes: OREGONST 68, Baylor 55, NORTHWSTRN 41, Ohio 20, Oklahoma State 19, Rutgers 19, IOWAST 15, Virginia Tech 13, Cincinnati 9, Tennessee 6, Wisconsin 5, Texas Tech 5, Texas A&M 4, Missouri 4, Georgia Tech 3, FRESNOST 2, Utah 1

USA Today Poll

RK TEAM RECORD PTS
1 Alabama (54) 3-0 1470
2 LSU (5) 3-0 1411
3 Oregon 3-0 1339
4 Florida State 3-0 1240
5 Oklahoma 2-0 1201
6 Georgia 3-0 1150
7 West Virginia 2-0 1114
8 South Carolina 3-0 1071
9 Clemson 3-0 955
10 Texas 3-0 869
11 Stanford 3-0 868
12 USC 2-1 779
13 Kansas State 3-0 767
14 Florida 3-0 689
15 Notre Dame 3-0 681
16 TCU 2-0 675
17 Michigan 2-1 507
18 Louisville 3-0 434
19 UCLA 3-0 375
20 Michigan State 2-1 354
21 Arizona 3-0 296
22 Nebraska 2-1 194
23 Mississippi State 3-0 99
24 Wisconsin 2-1 97
25 Oklahoma State 2-1 73

• Dropped from rankings: Virginia Tech 13, Arkansas 21

• Others receiving votes: Virginia Tech 71, Boise State 70, Baylor 54, Cincinnati 39, NORTHWSTRN 33, Rutgers 29, IOWAST 29, OREGONST 24, Georgia Tech 20, Louisiana Tech 18, Missouri 18, Texas Tech 15, Brigham Young 8, Texas A&M 7, Utah 6, Tennessee 6, Ohio 5, ARIZONAST 5, ULMONROE 4, WESTERNKY 3, Washington 2, SANJOSEST 1

The Editor appreciates all feedback. He can be reached via email at bluecougarfootball@gmail.com

Comments