With Apple Cup being the most festive and important game of the year for WSU recently, it seemed right to do my weekly BlogPoll ballot post focused on the rivalry game.
The Huskies have risen to No. 25 in the BCS rankings, but those are of little importance compared to where they have landed in my formula.
As a reminder, my rankings are 1/3 rank in margin, 1/3 rank in win percentage, and 1/3 strength of schedule. The Apple Cup pits my No. 48 against my No. 114. I probably don't need to tell you which is which.
So why are the Huskies ranked so much higher in the BCS? It basically comes down to margin. BCS got rid of using that a long time ago. The Huskies haven't blown many people out until recently, and they suffered a few big losses. Still, they've steadily risen from the 70s in the rankings as the year has gone along.
WSU has been going the opposite direction. They've continued to fall in win percentage, and getting blown out two of the last three games have put them among the worst in margin. They haven't been in the top 100 in a long time.
Washington rates as having the fourth-toughest schedule in my rankings, but that will certainly take a hit today. The Cougars have the 38th-most difficult.
UW is heavily favored any way you look at it. The Cougs will have to pull off a pretty big upset to win today. Scroll down for my ballot this week.
CougCenter Ballot - Week 12
Rank | Team | Delta |
---|---|---|
1 | Alabama Crimson Tide | -- |
2 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 2 |
3 | Oregon Ducks | -- |
4 | Kansas St. Wildcats | -2 |
5 | Florida Gators | -- |
6 | Texas A&M Aggies | -- |
7 | Georgia Bulldogs | -- |
8 | Clemson Tigers | 3 |
9 | Florida St. Seminoles | 1 |
10 | Ohio St. Buckeyes | -2 |
11 | LSU Tigers | 1 |
12 | South Carolina Gamecocks | -3 |
13 | Oklahoma Sooners | 1 |
14 | Stanford Cardinal | 1 |
15 | Utah State Aggies | 4 |
16 | Northern Illinois Huskies | 4 |
17 | Oklahoma St. Cowboys | 5 |
18 | UCLA Bruins | -1 |
19 | San Jose St. Spartans | -1 |
20 | Boise St. Broncos | -4 |
21 | Fresno St. Bulldogs | 2 |
22 | Michigan Wolverines | -- |
23 | Oregon St. Beavers | -- |
24 | Louisiana Tech Bulldogs | -- |
25 | Tulsa Golden Hurricane | -- |
Dropouts: Nebraska Cornhuskers, Texas Longhorns, Central Florida Knights, USC Trojans |
SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings "