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Did you know that if you watched any football besides the Illini or Big Ten in general that there were some pretty good games this weekend? Well, all right, the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party was terrible. It looked like both teams had been partaking in the pre-game cocktailing before playing the game, but it did feature an undefeated Florida going down.
Then there was Notre Dame going down to Norman and beating up on Oklahoma, along with Kansas State taking care of Texas Tech. All of which means there's a lot of movement in this week's Blogpoll Ballot.
So let's get to looking at it already.
The Champaign Room Ballot - Week 9
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama Crimson Tide | -- |
| 2 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish |
 2 |
| 3 | Oregon Ducks | -- |
| 4 | Kansas St. Wildcats |
1 |
| 5 | Ohio St. Buckeyes |
1 |
| 6 | Florida Gators |
 -4 |
| 7 | LSU Tigers | -- |
| 8 | Georgia Bulldogs |
7 |
| 9 | Florida St. Seminoles |
3 |
| 10 | South Carolina Gamecocks |
6 |
| 11 | Louisville Cardinals |
2 |
| 12 | Boise St. Broncos |
7 |
| 13 | Clemson Tigers |
8 |
| 14 | Louisiana Tech Bulldogs |
6 |
| 15 | Texas Tech Red Raiders |
-6 |
| 16 | Oregon St. Beavers |
-8 |
| 17 | Northern Illinois Huskies |
5 |
| 18 | Toledo Rockets |
5 |
| 19 | Stanford Cardinal |
5 |
| 20 | Texas A&M Aggies | -- |
| 21 | Mississippi St. Bulldogs |
-10 |
| 22 | Tulsa Golden Hurricane |
3 |
| 23 | Kent St. Golden Flashes | -- |
| 24 | Rutgers Scarlet Knights |
-14 |
| 25 | Oklahoma Sooners |
-8 |
| Dropouts: Ohio Bobcats, USC Trojans | ||
SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings "
THE TOP FIVE
1. Alabama - Well there's certainly no reason to bump The Nick Saban Death Machine from the top spot. The Tide knocked Mississippi State from the ranks of the unbeaten and did so rather convincingly. I do find it funny and completely understandable how we all just assume Alabama is going to reach the title game and all the debate is about who the second team will be. I mean, it's not like Alabama has to play LSU in Baton Rouge on Saturday or anything.
2. Notre Dame - That's right, if the season ended today my title game would be Alabama and Notre Dame. I know, my head has exploded too. That being said, it's hard to argue against putting the Irish here considering the teams they've beaten. Purdue is the only team that Notre Dame has played that currently has a losing record. You can't say that about Kansas State and Oregon, who have both played teams like North Texas and Tennessee Tech. Or Colorado.
3. Oregon - The Ducks get the edge over Kansas State this week on my ballot. Oregon hasn't played as tough a schedule as Kansas State has, but it's beaten the hell out of everybody put in front of it. That 49-0 win over Arizona looks even more impressive after the Wildcats beat USC this weekend.
4. Kansas State - What's holding Kansas State back in my formula is close wins against North Texas and Iowa State, along with the value of wins over West Virginia and Oklahoma losing their luster. That being said, the difference between two, three and four is pretty much non-existent in my formula. Another touchdown here or there and this might be totally different.
5. Ohio State - Big Ten represent! That's right, Illini fans, we get to play the fifth best team in the nation this weekend! After losing to Indiana by 14 at home, I'm sure we won't have any problems going on the road to face Braxton Miller and Ohio State. That Illibuck Trophy is as good as ours.
THE REST
-- Maybe the formula was right about Oklahoma. Last week IN THIS VERY SPOT I said I felt that my formula had Oklahoma ranked too low. I also had that feeling about USC, though I didn't share it here. Welp, whaddya know, Oklahoma lost at home by 17 to drop from 17th to 25th and USC lost to Arizona and fell out of the top 25 altogether. The lesson is always trust my formula. It's smarter than we are.
-- Florida is still better than Georgia. I hate when voters still put teams above others that just beat them, but this is what the formula thinks this week, and I really don't disagree. Georgia beat Florida on Saturday, but nobody actually won that game. One just lost less.
-- I'm surprised Louisville is so low. My formula generally rewards teams for being unbeaten, but Louisville just can't break into the top ten. Though I certainly understand it. Louisville may be 8-0 but it's last six wins have been by a combined total of 31 points, with a 10-point win against Pitt being the largest deficit.
-- The MAC has three teams in my top 25. The Big Ten has one. Oh and one of those top 25 teams is Toledo. Just in case you don't hate the world enough already.
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
Ohio, USC, Texas, UCLA and Nebraska
WHERE IS ILLINOIS?
Out of 83 teams ranked in my formula the Illini check in at.......DRUMROLL.........79th!!