Week 3, November 2005
Here's the pairings for the third weekend of November...
| Rank | Team | Record | vs. | Rank | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas (h) | (10-0) | vs | #16 | Florida (H) | (7-3) |
| #2 | Ohio State (H) | (9-1) | vs | #14 | UCLA (h) | (8-2) |
| #3 | Oregon | (9-1) | vs | #15 | Miami (FL) | (7-3) |
| #4 | Auburn (H) | (9-1) | vs | #13 | Texas Tech | (8-2) |
| #5 | Virginia Tech (h) | (8-2) | vs | #12 | Alabama (h) | (8-2) |
| #6 | LSU (H) | (9-1) | vs | #11 | Notre Dame (h) | (8-2) |
| #7 | West Virginia | (9-1) | vs | #10 | Penn State (H) | (8-2) |
| #8 | Georgia (H) | (8-2) | vs | #9 | USC (H) | (9-1) |
| #19 | Oklahoma (H) | (7-3) | vs | #20 | Boise State | (8-2) |
| #22 | Michigan (H) | (6-4) | vs | #17 | TCU | (9-1) |
| #21 | Wisconsin (h) | (6-4) | vs | #18 | Louisville | (7-3) |
| #23 | California | (6-4) | vs | #24 | Boston College | (6-4) |
| #27 | South Carolina (h) | (6-4) | vs | #29 | Louisiana Tech | (7-3) |
| #31 | Florida State (h) | (6-4) | vs | #25 | Toledo | (7-3) |
| #32 | Clemson (h) | (6-4) | vs | #26 | Northern Illinois | (7-3) |
| #30 | UCF | (7-3) | vs | #28 | Nevada | (7-3) |
| #36 | Nebraska (h) | (6-4) | vs | #33 | GA Tech | (5-5) |
| #35 | Colorado | (6-4) | vs | #34 | Minnesota | (5-5) |
Before looking at wins and losses, I'll point out a switch that the Official Committee had to make in the Week 3 pairings.
#2 Ohio State should've been paired with #15 Miami (FL) and #3 Oregon with #14 UCLA. But since UCLA and Oregon are in the same conference, the Committee switched the pairings so that they were not playing each other. As for the victors...
#9 USC takes down #8 Georgia, securing their place in Group A for the next week. And #19 Oklahoma beats #20 Boise State, so they'll be moving up as well. (And I feel inclined to point out as well the absolutely huge matchups we're starting to see, not only in Group A but also at the top of Group B.)
After the Official Rankings are released, here's what we get...
| Rank | Team | W-L | Rank Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas (h) | (11-0) | - |
| #2 | Ohio State (H) | (10-1) | - |
| #3 | Oregon | (10-1) | - |
| #4 | Virginia Tech (h) | (9-2) | +1 |
| #5 | LSU (H) | (10-1) | +1 |
| #6 | West Virginia | (10-1) | +1 |
| #7 | USC (H) | (10-1) | +2 |
| #8 | Auburn (H) | (9-2) | -4 |
| #9 | Texas Tech | (9-2) | +4 |
| #10 | Georgia (H) | (8-3) | -2 |
| #11 | Penn State (H) | (8-3) | -1 |
| #12 | Notre Dame (h) | (8-3) | -1 |
| #13 | Alabama (h) | (8-3) | -1 |
| #14 | Miami (FL) | (7-4) | -1 |
| #15 | UCLA (h) | (8-3) | -1 |
| #16 | Oklahoma (H) | (8-3) | +3 |
| #17 | Louisville | (8-3) | +1 |
| #18 | Florida (H) | (7-4) | -2 |
| #19 | Michigan (H) | (7-4) | +3 |
| #20 | California | (7-4) | +3 |
| #21 | TCU | (9-2) | -4 |
| #22 | Boise State | (8-3) | -2 |
| #23 | Wisconsin (h) | (6-5) | -2 |
| #24 | South Carolina (h) | (7-4) | +3 |
| #25 | Northern Illinois | (8-3) | +1 |
| #26 | Florida State (h) | (7-4) | +5 |
| #27 | UCF | (8-3) | +3 |
| #28 | Boston College | (6-5) | -4 |
| #29 | Toledo | (7-4) | -4 |
| #30 | Minnesota | (6-5) | +4 |
| #31 | Louisiana Tech | (7-4) | -3 |
| #32 | Nebraska (h) | (7-4) | +4 |
| #33 | Nevada | (7-4) | -5 |
| #34 | GA Tech | (5-6) | -1 |
Not too much change amongst the Top 10, but USC did make a jump to #6. Oklahoma jumped 3 more spots to #16 after their win over Boise State.
Auburn dropped to #8 after their loss to Texas Tech who is now right behind them at #9. (Wait, didn't Texas Tech beat Auburn? Why are they ranked behind them then? Yeah, yeah - see the Ways to Fix the Rankings thread for my take on situations like these.)
As it is, Auburn is #8 and Texas Tech is still #9. Since the Top 8 are being paired for the next week's play, that would seem to leave Texas Tech out in the cold. But as the system is, they'll still be paired with a Top 15 team and will have a chance, albeit slight, to jump into the top 4 for the following week if the teams ahead of them lose. And don't think that Auburn got lucky here with their #8 ranking - they're going to have to take on #1 Texas whose been blowing people apart.
So who would you rather be, Auburn or Texas Tech? Which position, #8 or #9, gives a team a better shot at making it to the Top 4 for the next week? I'd say they're about equal. Auburn has a low % chance to beat Texas, but a high % chance to make it to the Top 4 if they do. Texas Tech has a high % chance to beat their next opponent, but a low % chance to finish in the Top 4 if they do. Seems even to me, appropriate for two teams with the same record and next to each other in the rankings.
On to the Week 4 Pairings!
Weeks 1 & 2 < Top > Week 4
No comments:
Post a Comment