Power Rankings 11/26/19

Welcome Back!

Note: Look below the Power Rankings for my picks for the Tuesday games.

The Power Rankings are much improved this year, and so far I'm pretty happy with how they are working.  They are still far from perfect, but they're much better than when I first introduced them 2 years ago.  If you've been following me for 2 years, then you'll know that the 1st year was marred by too many ties in the rankings.  Last year was better, but there were still too many ties.  This week, ties have returned, as I dropped a preseason rating that really separated the teams.  I'm looking at a change for next season that may minimize these even more.  One other thing I'm happy about is that my rankings contain no "knee jerk" reactions.  One loss won't drop a team 30 spots, nor will a big win move them that far.

First, a few clarifications about the rankings.  I assign a point value to each win and loss.  Depending on how far away a team is from the ones above or below, and how those teams did, a team may move up or down, or may not move at all.  A team may win and move down, or lose and move up, or stay the same.  It all depends on how the teams around them did, and how far away they are from the teams above and below.

A majority of teams move only 1 or 2 spaces either way (or stay in the same spot); this week 21 of the top 25 moved either up or down.  Since there were no more preseason rankings to drop, movement has settled down a bit.  It's important to note that the rankings now are based solely on what has happened this year. 

I have already decided what tweaks to put in next year to make it even more accurate (I hope).  You should notice a resemblance to the AP and CFB Playoff polls.

The biggest winners were:

Eastern Michigan +21
Michigan State +20
Nebraska +20
Ohio +18
Mississippi State +17
WKU +15
BYU +14
Kent State +14
Hawai'i +13
Iowa State +12
Louisville +12
Arizona State +12
Colorado +12
Charlotte +12
Va Tech +11
UAB +11
ULM +11
East Carolina +11
Houston +11
Kentucky +10
North Carolina +10
FIU +10
Virginia +9
Washington State +8
Buffalo +8
Georgia State +7
Nevada +7
Arkansas State +6
Tennessee +6
Middle Tennessee +6
Wake Forest +5
New Mexico State +5
Michigan +4
UNLV +4
FAU +3
Kansas State +3
Vanderbilt +3

The biggest losers were:

Northern Illinois -17
USF -14
Pittsburgh -13
Temple -13
Utah State -13
Marshall -12
Troy -12
North Texas -12
Southern Miss -11
Liberty -11
Boston College -10
Ball State -10
Tulsa -10
Indiana -9
Texas -9
San Diego State -9
FSU -9
San Jose State -9
Toledo -9
Fresno State -9
Washington -8
Western Michigan -8
Miami, Fl -8
Colorado State -8
Syracuse -8
Florida -7
La Tech -7
Illinois -7
Missouri -7
Purdue -7
NC State -7
Tulane -6
Oregon State -6
Ole Miss -6
South Carolina -6
UCLA -6
Stanford -6
SMU -5
Wyoming -5
Texas Tech -5
Duke -5
Maryland -5
Oregon -4
Georgia Southern -4
Coastal Carolina -4
Arizona -4
Wisconsin -3
Central Michigan -3
Army -3
Northwestern -3
Bowling Green -3

A couple of observations:

The highest ranked G5 team is Appalachian State at #11.  Next is Louisiana at #12.  Oklahoma at #7 is the highest ranked Big 12 team.

The lowest ranked P5 program is Rutgers at #123, though Arkansas at #121 and Northwestern at #118 isn't that far ahead.

Some other interesting notes:

- The SEC has 3 in the top 10, and 5 in the top 22, then a large drop-off to #47, and has 2 ranked 117 or below.

- The Big Ten has 6 in the top 24, and 8 in the top 45, then drops off to #79.  They also have 4 ranked 105 and below.

- The ACC has Clemson at #3, then the next highest is Virginia at #30.  They have 9 teams bunched between 30 and 74, but 4 ranked 98 and below.

- The Big 12 has 3 teams in the top 29, and 5 in the top 36, then 3 between 51-84, with 2 ranked 109 and below.

- The Pac 12  2 teams in the top 8, and 3 in the top 28, then 6 between 41-70, with 3 ranked 97 and below.

- The AAC has 5 in the top 26, but 5 ranked 93 and below.

- The MWC has 2 teams in the top 21, but has 5 teams rated 90 and below.

- The highest rated MAC team is Central Michigan at #37. They have 8 teams between 53-95, and the other 3 are 103 and below.

-CUSA has FAU at #27, with 4 others ranked 39-49, then another tight grouping of 2 at 72 and 75.  The rest- 6 teams- are 100 and below.

- The SBC is led by App St at #11 and  Louisiana at #12.  The other 8 teams are at 59or below, with 3 teams at 96+.

- Independents have Notre Dame at #18, but the next highest is BYU at #35.  2 of the bottom 9 teams are Independents.

Now, on to the rankings!

1	Ohio State
2	LSU
3	Clemson
4	Alabama
5	Utah
6	Georgia
7	Oklahoma
8	Oregon
9	Penn State
10	Baylor
11	Appalachian State
12	Louisiana
12	Michigan
14	Memphis
15	Boise State
16	Wisconsin
17	Florida
18	Notre Dame
19	Minnesota
20	Cincinnati
21	Air Force
22	Auburn
23	SMU
24	Iowa
25	Navy
26	UCF
27	FAU
28	USC
29	Oklahoma State
30	Virginia
31	Wake Forest
32	Kansas State
33	Virginia Tech
34	Indiana
35	BYU
36	Iowa State
37	Central Michigan
38	Hawai'i
39	Louisiana Tech
40	WKU
41	Washington
42	Southern Miss
43	Louisville
44	UAB
45	Illinois
46	Tulane
47	Texas A&M
48	Arizona State
49	Marshall
50	Washington State
51	Texas
52	Kentucky
53	Western Michigan
54	Pittsburgh
55	San Diego State
56	Temple
57	Wyoming
58	Miami, FL
59	Georgia State
60	North Carolina
61	Buffalo
62	Arkansas State
63	Oregon State
64	TCU
64	Colorado
66	Utah State
67	Tennessee
68	FSU
69	Miami, OH
70	California
71	Liberty
72	Charlotte
73	Nevada
74	Boston College
75	FIU
76	Ole Miss
77	Troy
78	Georgia Southern
79	Michigan State
80	Mississippi State
80	Eastern Michigan
82	Missouri
83	South Carolina
84	Texas Tech
85	ULM
86	Nebraska
87	Ohio
88	Ball State
89	Kent State
90	Colorado State
91	San Jose State
92	Army
93	East Carolina
94	USF
95	Toledo
96	Coastal Carolina
97	UCLA
98	Syracuse
99	Houston
100	Duke
100	North Texas
102	Fresno State
103	Northern Illinois
104	Tulsa
105	Purdue
106	Middle Tennessee
107	NC State
108	Stanford
109	West Virginia
110	UNLV
111	Arizona
112	Maryland
113	UTSA
114	Georgia Tech
115	Kansas
116	Rice
117	Vanderbilt
118	Northwestern
119	Texas State
120	Bowling Green
121	Arkansas
122	New Mexico State
123	Rutgers
124	South Alabama
125	Connecticut
126	New Mexico
127	ODU
128	UTEP
129	Akron
130	Massachusetts

Tuesday, November 26

Ohio @ Akron- The Bobcats will not win the MAC this year, but can still become bowl eligible for the 5th consecutive year.  The Zips are fighting to not be the only winless team of the 2019 season.  Akron will give Ohio a tough game, but OU wins.
Western Michigan @ Northern Illinois- The Broncos will clinch the MAC West if they win this game.  A loss opens the door to CMU.  The Huskies are playing for pride only, as there is no chance at a bowl.  WMU wins.

That's all for now! Come back tomorrow for my Odds and Ends, and check out my TWIF Notes from Monday.  And don't forget to follow me on Twitter: @pbanderson

Until next time, may you and your loved ones be blessed!