NCAA Network

276 AND COUNTING!!! 

-That is the number of teams who entered today who still have a shot at making the dance, and theoretically still have a shot at winning it all.  As the Atlantic Sun, Colonial, Horizon, Metro Atlantic, Missouri Valley, Ohio Valley, SoCon and West Coast Conference tournaments all play out, we’ll have fewer tomorrow. 

-Northern Iowa had no trouble disposing of Drake in the MVC Quarterfinals.  They’re safely in the NCAA Tournament no matter what and are merely playing for seeding now.  They’re the only team that is safe, though.  Everyone else in the league will need to win the conference tournament in order to capture a bid. 

-Old Dominion also appears to be in fairly good shape out of the Colonial.  Still, a loss in the quarterfinals would come against Towson, who knocked off UNC Wilmington in the opening round.  That’s not the kind of loss that looks good on a tournament resume, and their stock would go down significantly if they can’t win at least one game in the conference tourney. 

-Butler out of the Horizon and Gonzaga out of the West Coast are also safely in regardless of what happens.  Saint Mary’s has a shot at an at-large, but if they lose in the semifinals I believe they’ll be out.  As always, the bubble will tighten up during Championship week and they don’t want to leave anything to chance. 

Bracket Projections and S Curve rankings should be coming later, so stay tuned….

Rk  Team             W-L  Votes   Previous
1.  Florida (3)     11-0   189       1
2.  Texas (2)       11-0   188       3
3.  Alabama (3)     11-0   185       2
4.  Georgia Tech    10-1   157       7
4.  TCU             11-0   157       4
6.  Cincinnati      11-0   148       6
7.  Boise State     11-0   144       5
8.  Pittsburgh       9-1   131       8
9.  Ohio State      10-2   122       9
10. Penn State      10-2   116      11
11. Oregon           9-2   105      13
11. Oklahoma State   9-2   105      12
13. Iowa            10-2    89      18
14. BYU              9-2    84      15
15. Virginia Tech    8-3    73      17
16. Utah             9-2    68      16
17. Central Michigan 9-2    62      22
18. Clemson          8-3    60      NR
19. Oregon State     8-3    50      21
19. Temple           9-2    50      NR
21. LSU              8-3    43      10
22. Ole Miss         8-3    42      NR
23. Houston          9-2    40      20
23. Navy             8-3    50      NR
25. Miami            8-3    37      25

Dropped Out:
Wisconsin 14, Stanford 18, Arizona 23, Southern Cal 24, Rutgers 25

Others Receiving Votes:
Nebraska 26, North Carolina 22, California 21, Wisconsin 15, Southern Cal 10, Stanford 9, Arizona 6, Troy 4, Nevada 2

Rk  Team             W-L  Votes   Previous
1.  Florida (4)     10-0   217       1
2.  Alabama (3)     10-0   213       3
3.  Texas (2)       10-0   212       2
4.  TCU             10-0   199       4
5.  Boise State     10-0   186       5
6.  Cincinnati      10-0   184       5
7.  Georgia Tech    10-1   172       7
8.  Pittsburgh       9-1   153       8
9.  Ohio State       9-2   132      11
10. LSU              8-2   130      13
11. Penn State       9-2   126      17
12. Oklahoma State   8-2   117      16
13. Oregon           8-2   113      19
14. Wisconsin        8-2    94      21
15. BYU              8-2    82      20
16. Utah             8-2    69      10
17. Virginia Tech    7-3    64      24
18. Stanford         7-3    57      25
18. Iowa             9-2    57      11
20. Houston          8-2    56       9
21. Oregon State     7-3    40      NR
22. Central Michigan 8-2    34      NR
23. Arizona          6-3    30      18
24. Southern Cal     7-3    28      14
25. Miami            7-3    26      15
25. Rutgers          6-3    26      NR

Dropped Out:
South Florida (22), West Virginia (23)

Others Recieving Votes:
Navy 22, Temple 20, Clemson 19, Nebraska 11, Virginia 10, Ole Miss 8, West Virginia 7, California 3, North Carolina 3, Georgia 2, Notre Dame 1, South Florida 1, Boston College 1

-If you’re reading this at some point between midnight on Monday night and midnight on Tuesday night, then you’re in the midst of 24 straight hours of college basketball on ESPN.  In reality, it’s more like 28 hours if you count what was on Full Court and ESPNU before that.  This is the second year in a row ESPN has kicked off the season this way.  It’s the only time you’ll ever see a games at 6am and 8am on the East Coast. 

 REVIEWING THE FIRST WEEKEND

-Dayton and Creighton probably played the best game of the weekend.  Both teams are probable NCAA Tournament caliber teams and they did something that you don’t see much of these days, and that is schedule each other in the season opener.  It was close all the way through as the two exchanged blows for 39 minutes.  Dayton wound up pulling away to win 90-80, but the game was still in doubt until about the final minute.  Dayton also did something very well that I thought they’d struggle with this season, and that’s hit their freethrows and shoot the ball well from the field.  Although Creighton lost, they still learned more about themselves and have a much better feel for playing in intense games against strong competition than everyone else who scheduled teams that they knew they would overwhelm.  Both teams are better off for it.  Chances are it was easier for them to stay focused and motivated in practice for the weeks leading up to the season because both knew that their first game would be a tough one. 

-About 98% of everything else that has happened so far has gone according to plan.  We’ve seen to very surprising upsets, though, and another near upset.  It started with Rider knocking off Mississippi State over the weekend.  I certainly did not see that one coming.  Rider shot an unbelievable 62% from beyond the arc.  Mississippi State jumped out to an 11-2 lead, but were outscored 86-63 from that point on.  For a team that finished the season so strongly and had so much coming back, it was odd to see them struggle like they did against what appeared to be an inferior opponent. 

-I’m writing this just as Cal State Fullerton has knocked off UCLA in double overtime.  The game was exciting, but that doesn’t mean it was the best played game you’ll ever see.  Both teams shot below 40%, and it wasn’t because of intense defensive pressure either.  CS Fullerton didn’t get a whole lot of love at media day and was picked to finish just 7^th in the Big West.  This upset win should definitely get them some attention, though. 

-The other near big upset happened last night as Miami, OH nearly took down Kentucky.  The Redhawks led by as many as 18 in the first half.  Miami plays a very regimented type of game where the focus is on fundamentals more so than athleticism.  As a result, they typically pass and shoot the ball very well and are not overly susceptible to turning the ball over.  Generally when they get an 18 point lead, they keep it.  At that moment I thought we were going to see Kentucky go down in a major upset in the first week of the season for the third year in a row.  That’s not what happened, though.  Kentucky was able to come back and make it a close game at halftime.  Midway through the second half, they were able to take the lead.  It seesawed back and forth after that, and we saw an incredible finish in the last twenty seconds.  Miami’s Kenny Hayes hit a deep three from the top of the key to tie the score at 70-70 in the final seconds, but John Wall took the inbounds and hit a shot at the buzzer to give Kentucky a come from behind 72-70 win.  He had 19 points in the game.  Patrick Patterson and Demarcus Cousins also had great games as both finished with double-doubles.  The Redhawks were an incredible 15-26 from beyond the arc, and really put up a tremendous effort despite not having near the athleticism that Kentucky has.  It was especially surprising given that Miami lost their first game to Towson, who is…shall we say….not in possession of four players who will likely make the NBA.    

-SAINT MARY’S will square off against SAN DIEGO STATE in the middle of the night.  These are two teams that barely missed the NCAA Tournament a season ago (it’s my belief that SDSU should have been in, but that’s another story), but both teams have lost quite a bit from last year and look to be in a sort of rebuilding mode.  Winning this game is a good way to get this season off to a nice start and speed up the building. 

-We will also get a look at SIENA on Tuesday morning as they take on NORTHEASTERN.  Siena is a strong team that is just outside the top 25 in both polls.  They’ve made the second round of the NCAAs for two consecutive years and return four starters from last year’s team.  They should make quite a bit of noise this season and be solidly in the picture come March.  They got off to a slow start last season, though, and do not want a repeat of that this year. 

-The finale of this marathon gives us two very interesting games.  First, MICHIGAN STATE hosts GONZAGA.  Michigan State advanced all the way to the national championship game last year and has high expectations again this year.  Gonzaga appears to be solid, but lost several contributing players from last year’s team.  I expect them to have a solid year, but they face a huge challenge today.  Obviously, a win would really catapult them back into the top 25. 

MEMPHIS and KANSAS will face off in Saint Louis as well tonight.  Memphis had quite the offseason in which they had to forfeit all 38 wins from their 2007-2008 Final Four year, lost their head coach, and lost two of the top recruits in the country.  It will be interesting to see how they match up against the top ranked team in the country with such a new look.  Like Gonzaga in the first game, a win would really catapult Memphis back into the national scene

OTHER NOTABLE ACTION

-TEMPLE AT GEORGETOWN.  Both teams managed wins in their openers.  Temple has won the Atlantic Ten Tournament the past two years, but could be looking at a rebuilding year this year.  We’ll see how well they can do early on at Georgetown today.

-CLEMSON AT LIBERTY.  This is another game that’s part of the 24 hour marathon.  It would have been more interesting had Seth Curry remained at Liberty.  Nevertheless, it’s still a big game for the Flames.  It’s not every day they get to play at home on national television against a ranked team.

-ARKANSAS VS LOUISVILLE.  This game is also being played in Saint Louis.  Arkansas won their first game easily, but today won’t be so easy.  Louisville is deep.  Arkansas is not.  Louisville typically does not start off strong.  Even though they’ve been to back to back Elite Eights, they haven’t played like a top 25 team in November and December the past two years.  It will be interesting to see how they look today.  If they don’t win, or do win but don’t look impressive doing it, Louisville fans will no doubt be in a frenzy of worry.  They were last year.  They were the year before that as well.  Losing games early does put pressure on Louisville later on in the season, but they always seem to make up for it by the time conference play rolls around.   

-IOWA STATE AT DRAKE.  It’s never easy to go on the road against an in-state opponent.  Drake doesn’t appear to be world-beaters by any means, but it will still be a difficult game for Iowa State to win and improve to 3-0. 

-NEW MEXICO AT NEW MEXICO STATE.  Another early season rivalry game.  New Mexico won their first game easily, but should get a tougher test today…..I think.  I thought NMSU would have a halfway decent year, but they were blown out by Saint Mary’s in their first game.  A win against a big rival would be a great way for them to bounce back.    

 PRESEASON NIT (winners of each game advance to the semis at MSG)

-CHARLOTTE AT DUKE.  This game appears to be a mismatch, but Charlotte is an improved team this year.  It’s also not all that common for them to get a shot at one of the heavyweights from the state of North Carolina either, so this is a huge deal for them.  That doesn’t mean they’re going to win because there is the little issue of playing at Cameron Indoor against a very good Duke team, but don’t expect them to just lay down.    

-HOFSTRA VS CONNECTICUT.  UConn struggled in the first half against Colgate, but ended up winning without too much trouble.  Hofstra appears to be better than Colgate, but it still isn’t likely that they’ll take down the Huskies.  Still, a trip to the semis in Madison Square Garden is on the line, so it’s a great opportunity for the Pride to not only pick up a notable win, but give them the chance to take on some other big teams and build their resume.  As early as it is in the season, winning now for a team like Hofstra who typically doesn’t get a lot of chances at impressive wins once conference play begins is hugely important. 

-WESTERN KENTUCKY AT LSU.  Western Kentucky desperately needs to do well in this tournament.  In my opinion they are a top 25 caliber team.  The only problem is that they get so few chances to prove it, especially once conference play begins.  Succeeding in this tournament will get them the quality wins they need to make a case for themselves come March.  I sound like a broken record, but these games do matter even though it’s early, ESPECIALLY for a team like the Hilltoppers.  They did not look like a top 25 caliber team in their first game, where they struggled against Wisconsin Milwaukee.  They have a much tougher opponent tonight.  Getting to MSG would be a huge deal for WKU.  It would get them the exposure and opportunities at quality wins that they need to make a case for themselves.  They were a second round team last year who lost at the buzzer, and they return pretty much everyone, so they should be very strong.

-TCU AT ARIZONA STATE.  This appears to be the biggest mismatch of the quarterfinals, but TCU did win their first game convincingly against CS Northridge, so if nothing else they should be able to play with some confidence.  Arizona State struggled with Texas State for the first part of the first half, but had little trouble the rest of the way. 

GAMES BROUGHT TO YOU BY HOSTESS

-UNC Asheville at Tennessee

-Longwood at Old Dominion.  Old Dominion is off the radar now, but they should have a very strong team this year.  Winning today won’t prove that, but they’ll get their chances a little later on. 

-UNC Greensboro at Virginia Tech.  The Hokies shouldn’t have any trouble improving to 2-0. 

-Saint Francis NY at Boston College.  The Eagles will improve to 2-0 with a win

-Bowling Green at Xavier.  Both teams are 1-0, but Bowling Green will likely be way overmatched in this one. 

-Northern Illinois at Illinois

-Fairfield at Maryland.  Fairfield has won their first two games, but hasn’t faced a challenge like this yet. 

 -Louisiana Monroe at Oklahoma

-Tennessee Martin at Missouri

-Florida A&M at Creighton.  Creighton lost their home opener against a very good Dayton team, but they did show in that game that they are a strong team and will likely have a strong year and be in the NCAA Tournament discussion come March. 

-Idaho State at BYU.  BYU looked good in their first win against Bradley.  They’ll face a much weaker opponent tonight.

As dozens of people may have noticed this week, college basketball season has officially started.  Seriously, DOZENS of people!!  It is the only major sport that doesn’t start off with a bang.  The MLB has Opening Day, Week One of the NFL regular season is always a big deal and gives us several big match-ups, Opening Night in the NBA isn’t the greatest, but it doesn’t go virtually unnoticed either, and the opening of college football is anticipated for months in advance.  College basketball, as popular as it is, seems to go virtually unnoticed for the first week or two. 

 A big reason for that might be the overall approach that the majority of major programs have of wanting to ease in to their seasons.  As a result, the first week of the season treats us to a slate of games and match-ups that are, for the most part, crappy.  I’ve always said that Hostess would be a great corporate sponsor for the first week of the season because of all the cupcakes that the better teams like to schedule.  Nevertheless, it is college basketball season.  Technically speaking everyone is at zero.  Practically speaking that is not the case, but nevertheless the committee is still watching and the possibility exists that a team that no one expects anything out of will step up, shock everyone, make a name for themselves, and ultimately begin to make a case for themselves.  The one thing that I can attest to is that there is no preseason.  These games, as uninteresting as they may appear, do count.    

 COACHES VS CANCER CLASSIC

 -A perfect example of teams easing into things would be the Coaches vs Cancer Classic, which tipped off this past Monday.  As expected, North Carolina, Ohio State, California and Syracuse all breezed past the two opponents that they faced.  Murray State did step up on California to make it a game and trailed by as few as six points within the last five minutes, but could not pull off the upset.  For those of you that like to look at what’s under the radar, Murray State is a team to watch.  They return four starters from a team that won 11 of their last 13 before losing in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament last year, and are the preseason favorites to win the league this year.  Another thing about them is that other than a game at Western Kentucky, they will likely be favored to win just about every game for the rest of the season (depending on who they face in the Bracket Buster).  They should be able to rack up quite an impressive record before the season is over.  It’s just unfortunate that it doesn’t look as if they’ll get too many shots at teams that will be strong contenders for NCAA Tournament spots.  Even with an impressive record, it’s hard to impress the committee regarding an at-large bid (if they were to need one) if they’re not able to beat at least some notable teams.  That is why the game against Cal, even though it was the season opener, did have significance for a team like Murray State.    

 -The four host teams, Cal, UNC, Ohio State and Syracuse, will all meet in NYC next week.  The organizers of this tournament did something that, in my opinion, is grossly unfair, and that was guarantee those four schools spots even if they were to lose one of the opening round games.  In other words, had Murray State won, Cal would still be going to MSG.  The chances of those teams not winning their first two games are small, but it did happen in a similar tournament back in 2007 when Gardner Webb took down Kentucky in the 2K Sports Classic.  It would have been outrageous had Kentucky been allowed to advance to the finals instead.  What this tournament has done is no less outrageous. 

 Oh well.  It didn’t matter anyway. 

TONIGHT’S (Nov. 13^th) NOTABLE MATCH-UPS…..

 The non-exempt season begins tonight!!

 -BRADLEY AT BYU.  This is one of the few games that is actually intriguing.  BYU should once again be one of the better teams in the MWC and I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to see them in the rankings before the season is over.  Bradley was inconsistent last year, but really looked good in the last few weeks of the season winning five out of seven before losing in the semifinals of the MVC Tournament.  Bradley did lose their leading scorer, but they return their next three leading scorers from last season.  They should still be tough out on the perimeter this year and it will be interesting to see how they match up against BYU.  Most people don’t realize this because it is so early, but this game (and all games, for that matter) could end up having NCAA Tournament implications depending on what kind of season each team ends up having.  Winning this game would certainly be a good way either team to kickstart things. 

 -NORTHERN IOWA AT DENVER.  Northern Iowa is clearly the better team.  They’re another team that I think we’ll see in the rankings before the season is over.  They’re on the road today, but they should still win this one rather easily. 

 -PENN AT PENN STATE.  Penn State won the Postseason NIT after just missing the NCAA Tournament last year.  With three starters coming back along with much of their bench they should be a dangerous and exciting team again this season.  Penn used to be good, but the bottom has fallen out these past two years.  They’ve gone from first to worst in the Ivy League.  This is the type of game that they would have been expected to win in the past, but at least for now the tables have turned. 

 -DREXEL AT SAINT JOSEPH’S.  Saint Joseph’s has been inconsistent the past several years.  They’re a team with a lot of question marks, and seem to have been for the past couple seasons.  Some nights they look like they can take down Duke.  Other nights they lose to teams at the bottom of their conference.  This is one of those Philadelphia match-ups that are always fun.  Whoever wins this should walk away with some early confidence. 

 -STANFORD AT SAN DIEGO.  It’s not every day that the Torreros get to host a team like Stanford.  This should be interesting. 

 -NEW MEXICO STATE AT SAINT MARY’S.  Right now, I’d say these teams don’t eve feel like bubble teams, and like a lot of teams there are simply more questions than answers, but both have the potential to be pretty good.  We should know a little more about each of them after tonight. 

 -UMASS AT UCF.  Both teams are building up their programs, but I don’t think either one is to the point of being an NCAA Tournament team just yet.  Still, it’s one of the more interesting games taking place this weekend. 

 EXEMPT TOURNAMENTS

 -ATHLETES IN ACTION CLASSIC (Washington, Wright State, Portland State, Belmont).  This is a Round Robin tournament that Washington is hosting.  The Huskies are clearly the favorite to win, but the teams they are playing are all dangerous.  Wright State is not at full strength for this game, but is still a good defensive team and should make quite a bit of noise in the Horizon League.  Belmont has always done well in the Atlantic Sun, and Portland State has won the Big Sky the last two years.  If anything, these are the types of opponents that can really end up boosting a school’s RPI because they end up winning so many games. 

 -BASKETBALL TRAVELERS TOURNAMENT (Oregon, Winston Salem State, UC Davis, Colorado State).  This is a Round Robin Tournament that Oregon is hosting.  They had a very disappointing season last year, and this tournament isn’t going to really tell us whether or not they’ve improved all that much. 

 -DUEL IN THE DESERT (Texas Tech, South Dakota, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Oregon State).  Texas Tech will be undermatched in all three games of this Round Robin Tournament. 

 -HISPANIC FUND CLASSIC (Kent State, Samford, UW Green Bay, UAB).  Kent State is hosting this Round Robin tournament, and is capable of beating all three teams.  It’s a good opportunity for all four of these teams to springboard their seasons and build some momentum, especially for Kent if they’re able to win all three games at home.  An interesting aside, Samford and UAB do not play on a regular basis despite the fact that both are located in Birmingham, but will face each other on the final day of this tournament.  Too bad it’s one time zone and four states away from their home city.

 GAMES BROUGHT TO YOU BY HOSTESS….

 Essentially, I think there is a reasonable chance that half of these teams could be in the NCAA Tournament discussion.  I bet you’re smart enough to figure out which half. 

 -Western Illinois @ Arizona State

 -Alcorn State @ Arkansas.  Arkansas is in for a long season due to some recent off the court troubles, but they should win this one.

 -Norfolk State @ Baylor

 -Dartmouth @ Boston College

 -Presbyterian @ Clemson

-William & Mary @ Connecticut

 -UNC Greensboro @ Duke

 -Liberty @ George Mason.  Keep in mind, Liberty is without Seth Curry, who transferred to Duke. 

 -New Orleans @ Georgia.  Mark Fox makes his debut with the Bulldogs. 

 -SIU Edwardsville @ Illinois.  Welcome to div1 SIUE!!!

 -Howard @ Indiana.  Indiana won just five games a year ago, but should be much improved.  Then again, as bad as they were a year ago they could improve and still not be any good. 

 -Hofstra @ Kansas.  Hofstra could make some noise in the Colonial, but will likely be overwhelmed today. 

 -Morehead State @ Kentucky.  Morehead State will challenge Murray State for the OVC title.  They will likely not challenge Kentucky today, though.  John Calipari makes his debut at Kentucky, along with a stellar recruiting class for this one. 

 -Louisiana Monroe @ LSU

 -Centenary @ Marquette.  After being placed on probation by the NCAA, Centenary will move down to div2 after this year.  After today, they’ll likely wish they were already there.

 -Charleston Southern @ Maryland

 -Jackson State @ Memphis.  Memphis is Calipari-less, but they won’t feel the effects of that just yet. 

 -Florida Gulf Coast @ Michigan State.  Seriously??

 -Tennessee Tech @ Minnesota

 -Alabama State @ Mississippi.  Very few teams have been plagued with injuries quite like Ole Miss has these past two years.  Hopefully this year they can stay healthy. 

 -Northwest Missouri State (nondiv1) @ Missouri.  Why bother??

 -Northern Illinois @ Northwestern.  The Wildcats made some noise last year and could do so again this year. 

 -Wofford @ Pittsburgh

 -Cal State Northridge @ Purdue

 -Lehigh @ Richmond.  Richmond has been down for several years, but they did finish rather strong and have a nice group coming back.  They could be a dangerous team in the Atlantic Ten this year.

 -Saint Peter’s @ Seton Hall

 -Alabama A&M @ South Carolina.  Darren Horn did a great job turning SC around last year.  If he keeps it up they’ll be dancing this year. 

 -Austin Peay @ Tennessee.  Somewhat interesting due to the fact that APSU is an in-state opponent, but Tennessee is still way undermatched. 

 -Angelo State (nondiv1) @ Texas A&M. 

 -Georgetown @ Tulane.  Kind of an odd road game for the Hoyas, but they location shouldn’t effect the result all that much.

 -Idaho @ Utah.  Utah lost a lot from last year, but they should still end up having a big year. 

 -Texas Southern @ UTEP.  UTEP will likely be one of the better teams in Conference USA and should contend for a spot in the NCAAs.  They just can’t afford to stub their toes in a game like this.  An early bad loss is still a bad loss. 

 -Fairleigh Dickinson @ Villanova

 -Oral Roberts @ Wake Forest.  Oral Roberts has had some good teams in the past, and should be good within the Summit League this year.  Wake Forest is not in the Summit League, though. 

 -Mississippi Valley State @ Washington State.  Ken Bone’s debut with the Cougars. 

 -Youngstown State @ Xavier.  The Musketeers lost three starters and their head coach from last year’s Sweet Sixteen team.  They shouldn’t have too much trouble winning this one, though. 

 More to Come in regards for the rest of the weekend, and throughout the entire season…..

Rk  Team             W-L  Votes   Previous
1.  Florida (6)      9-0   245       1
2.  Texas (2)        9-0   239       2
3.  Alabama (2)      9-0   233       3
4.  TCU              9-0   215       4
5.  Boise State      9-0   208       5
5.  Cincinnati       9-0   208       6
7.  Georgia Tech     9-1   187       7
8.  Pittsburgh       8-1   160      13
9.  Houston          8-1   155      12
10. Utah             8-1   138      15
11. Ohio State       8-2   126      15
11. Iowa             9-1   126       8
13. LSU              7-2   120      10
14. Southern Cal     7-2   114      14
15. Miami            7-2   109      17
16. Oklahoma State   7-2    97      18
17. Penn State       8-2    91      11
18. Arizona          6-2    80      19
19. Oregon           7-2    78       9
20. BYU              7-2    57      20
21. Wisconsin        7-2    48      23
22. South Florida    6-2    47      25
23. West Virginia    7-2    32      NR
24. Virginia Tech    6-3    29      22
25. Stanford         6-3    24      NR

Dropped Out:
Notre Dame (20), California (24)

Others Receiving Votes:
Rutgers 15, Troy 11, Central Michigan 11, Navy 10, Temple 9, Auburn 8, Nebraska 7, Oregon State 6, Texas Tech 6, Notre Dame 1

Rk  Team             W-L  Votes   Previous
1.  Florida (6)      8-0   268       1
2.  Texas (3)        8-0   264       3
3.  Alabama (2)      8-0   253       2
4.  TCU              8-0   231       5
5.  Boise State      8-0   228       5
6.  Cincinnati       8-0   222       4
7.  Georgia Tech     8-1   187       9
8.  Iowa             9-0   184       8
9.  Oregon           7-1   175      12
10. LSU              7-1   172      10
11. Penn State       8-1   166      11
12. Houston          7-1   148      14
13. Pittsburgh       7-1   133      17
14. Southern Cal     6-2   126       7
15. Ohio State       7-2   114      18
15. Utah             7-1   114      16
17. Miami            6-2   102      19
18. Oklahoma State   6-2    71      13
19. Arizona          5-2    61      24
20. BYU              6-2    53      22
20. Notre Dame       6-2    53      23
22. Virginia Tech    5-3    49      14
23. Wisconsin        6-2    48      NR
24. California       6-2    41      NR
25. South Florida    6-2    17      NR

Dropped Out:
West Virginia (19), Central Michigan (21), South Carolina (25)

Others Receiving Votes:
West Virginia 16, Oklahoma 16, Central Michigan 15, Rutgers 9, North Carolina 8, Idaho 7, Troy 6, Auburn 5, Boston College 4, Clemson 4, Temple 3, South Carolina 2

TCU (.7890) is sixth, a spot ahead of Boise State (.7752).

Cincinnati was eighth, the lowest of the unbeaten teams, with LSU and Oregon rounding out the top 10.

The big swing between the undefeated Broncos and Horned Frogs came after TCU won 38-7 at Mountain West Conference rival BYU (6-2) and Boise State won 54-9 at Western Athletic Conference rival Hawaii (2-5).

Those games caused a major shift in the computer rating and that put TCU ahead of Boise State, said BCS analyst Jerry Palm. But the Horned Frogs lead over the Broncos is far from safe.

“If those two teams keep winning, it’s going to go down to the wire,” Palm said in a telephone interview Sunday.

Neither the WAC or MWC has an automatic BCS bid for its champion, but in each of the last three seasons a team from one of those leagues has earned automatic entry by finishing in the top 12 of the final BCS standings.

Only one team from an non-automatic qualifying league can earn an automatic bid and it’s unlikely either would be taken as an at-large selection.

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Rk  Team             W-L  Votes   Previous
1.  Florida (6)      7-0   289       1
2.  Alabama (3)      8-0   284       2
3.  Texas (3)        7-0   282       3
4.  Cincinnati       7-0   246       5
5.  Boise State      7-0   244       4
5.  TCU              7-0   244       6
7.  Southern Cal     6-1   226       8
8.  Iowa (1)         8-0   217       7
9.  Georgia Tech     7-1   190      12
10. LSU              6-1   185       9
11. Penn State       7-1   172      11
12. Oregon           6-1   166      13
13. Oklahoma State   6-1   157      14
14. Virginia Tech    5-2   130      16
14. Houston          6-1   130      18
16. Utah             6-1   106      17
17. Pittsburgh       7-1    99      19
18. Ohio State       6-2    92      21
19. Miami            5-2    84      10
19. West Virginia    6-1    84      22
21. Central Michigan 7-1    65      23
22. BYU              6-2    42      15
23. Notre Dame       5-2    33      NR
24. Arizona          5-2    32      NR
25. South Carolina   6-2    25      NR

Dropped Out:
Kansas (20), Texas Tech (23), Idaho (25)

Others Receiving Votes:
Oklahoma 20, Ole Miss 18, Kansas 10, Navy 8, Idaho 7, California 7, Wisconsin 4, Idaho 1, Troy 1

Rk  Team             W-L  Votes   Previous
1.  Florida (2)      6-0   264       1
2.  Alabama (5)      7-0   263       3
3.  Texas (2)        6-0   255       2
4.  Boise State      6-0   226       4
5.  Cincinnati       6-0   221       7
6.  TCU              6-0   219       6
7.  Iowa (1)         7-0   202      11
8.  Southern Cal     5-1   198       8
9.  LSU              5-1   180       9
10. Miami            5-1   164      14
11. Penn State       6-1   163      13
12. Georgia Tech     6-1   155      16
13. Oregon           5-1   135      15
14. Oklahoma State   5-1   134      18
15. BYU              6-1   124      17
16. Virginia Tech    5-2   105       5
17. Utah             5-1    94      21
18. Houston          5-1    88      22
19. Pittsburgh       6-1    74      NR
20. Kansas           5-1    55      12
21. Ohio State       5-2    54       9
22. West Virginia    5-1    43      NR
23. Texas Tech       5-2    33      NR
23. Central Michigan 6-1    33      NR
25. Idaho            6-1    15      NR

Dropped Out:
South Florida (19), Nebraska (20), South Carolina (23), Notre Dame (23), Oklahoma (25)

Others Receiving Votes:
South Florida 12, Nebraska 12, Notre Dame 8, North Carolina 8, California 6, South Carolina 6, Boston College 5, Wisconsin 5, Arizona 5, Michigan 4, Ole Miss 3, Arkansas 2, Oklahoma 1, Ohio 1