Power Rankings 10-31-23

Welcome Back!

Before I talk about the rankings, there are 2 early games this week. Hopefully, I'll do better this week than last on these early contests...

Tuesday, October 31

MACtion is back!

Northern Illinois @ Central Michigan- The Chippewas lead the series 32-25-1, winning 3 of the last 4, and 7 of the last 9, including 35-22 last year, but the Huskies won the last time they played in Mount Pleasant. NIU is 4-4/3-1, and 2-2 on the road (win at Boston College and a loss at Nebraska), with wins over Ohio, EMU (by 7), and at Akron (by 41), and a loss at Toledo. CMU is 4-4/2-2, and 3-0 at home, with wins over EMU (by 3) and Akron (by 7) and losses at Buffalo and Ball State. Strange things happen on week nights in the MAC, but the Huskies should win this to stay right behind Toledo in the MAC West.

Buffalo @ Toledo- The Rockets lead the series 7-6, but the Bulls have won the last 3 (since 2018), including 34-27 last year in Buffalo. Toledo has won 5 of the 6 games played at home, but Buffalo won the last time played here. The Bulls are 3-5/3-1, and 2-2 on the road (loss at Wisconsin), with wins over CMU and at Akron and Kent State. The Rockets are 7-1/4-0, and 4-0 at home, with wins over WMU and NIU, and at Ball State and Miami. Buffalo needs to win this to keep pace in the MAC East with Miami, but I see them embarking on a 3-game losing streak these next few weeks. Toledo wins.

Power Rankings

There are quite a few changes in the Power Rankings again this week, as everything is now based on what the teams have accomplished this season. 

One of the results of dropping my preseason points is that the teams are now more tightly bunched together, and so wins and losses affect them more than they have before. In other words, the rankings from week to week are going to be much more volatile than they have been.

At any rate, I am less concerned with being correct right now than I am with being correct at the end of the season. 

The Top 10 has been rearranged yet again, as has much of the bottom 10, and pretty much everything in between. Ohio State moves into the top spot, mainly because Michigan didn't play this week, and thus didn't earn any points. Now that most teams have been through their off week, we are comparing similar resumes, with almost every team playing 8 games, a few playing 9 already, and 1 (Navy) playing only 7.

Most teams moved 9 spots or less. Here are the teams that moved up at least 10 places:

Oklahoma State +10 to #38

West Virginia +10 to #45

Virginia Tech +15 to #49

Georgia Tech +14 to #58

San Jose State +10 to #60

Boise State +18 to #67

Northwestern +19 to #74

Arizona State +12 to #89

Here are the teams that dropped 10 or more places:

North Carolina -10 to #27

South Alabama -10 to #41

Maryland -11 to #57

Washington State -11 to #69

Wyoming -13 to #70

Syracuse -14 to #71

Mississippi State -10 to #79

Houston -12 to #90

Marshall -11 to #92

Wake Forest -11 to #94

Cincinnati -10 to #97

New Mexico -11 to #100

Pittsburgh -12 to #102

Eastern Michigan -10 to #122

As you can tell, fewer teams moved a lot of spots. I feel these rankings more accurately reflect what has transpired this season, though I am surprised at where a few teams are this week. Remember, I use a point system, so none of this is my opinion.

As stated before, this year I am listing where the teams were ranked last week as well.

Here are the new rankings:

Rank	Team	Previous
1	Ohio State	2
2	FSU	7
3	Oregon	6
4	Georgia	4
5	Michigan	1
6	Notre Dame	10
7	Texas	8
8	Oklahoma	3
9	Penn State	5
10	UCLA	14
11	Ole Miss	16
12	Air Force	12
13	Alabama	11
14	Washington	9
15	LSU	15
16	SMU	25
17	Oregon State	13
18	Kansas State	27
19	Louisville	24
20	James Madison	19
21	Tennessee	21
22	Missouri	20
23	Miami, Fl	18
24	Liberty	22
25	Arizona	28
26	Troy	29
27	North Carolina	17
28	Tulane	33
29	Toledo	30
30	Texas A&M	32
31	Duke	23
32	Utah	26
33	Miami, OH	38
34	Kansas	43
35	Fresno State	37
36	USC	36
37	Georgia Southern	45
38	Oklahoma State	48
39	Rutgers	39
40	Clemson	34
41	South Alabama	31
42	Jacksonville State	51
43	Memphis	41
44	Iowa State	52
45	West Virginia	55
46	Florida	35
47	Wisconsin	40
48	Texas State	42
49	Virginia Tech	64
50	Iowa	49
51	Georgia State	44
52	UNLV	47
53	Louisiana	59
54	Kentucky	50
55	Coastal Carolina	61
56	NC State	60
57	Maryland	46
58	Georgia Tech	72
59	Ohio	54
60	San Jose State	70
61	UCF	53
62	Auburn	67
63	UTSA	62
64	Nebraska	66
65	Boston College	65
66	Minnesota	74
67	Boise State	85
68	TCU	63
69	Washington State	58
70	Wyoming	57
71	Syracuse	56
72	Texas Tech	76
73	New Mexico State	75
74	Northwestern	93
75	Arkansas	80
76	ODU	77
77	Rice	68
78	BYU	71
79	Mississippi State	69
80	Colorado	73
81	California	79
82	Northern Illinois	82
83	FAU	97
84	Appalachian State	88
85	Utah State	86
86	Virginia	92
87	Bowling Green	91
88	WKU	84
89	Arizona State	101
90	Houston	78
91	Illinois	95
92	Marshall	81
93	Navy	99
94	Wake Forest	83
95	South Carolina	96
96	Baylor	94
97	Cincinnati	87
98	North Texas	100
99	Purdue	98
100	New Mexico	89
101	USF	104
102	Pittsburgh	90
103	Colorado State	103
104	Western Michigan	111
105	UAB	105
106	Michigan State	102
107	Indiana	108
108	Arkansas State	117
109	La Tech	106
110	Middle Tenn	114
111	Central Michigan	116
112	Buffalo	118
113	Charlotte	109
114	Army	110
115	San Diego State	119
116	Tulsa	107
117	ULM	113
118	Stanford	123
119	Ball State	121
120	East Carolina	115
121	Vanderbilt	120
122	Eastern Michigan	112
123	FIU	122
124	UConn	124
125	UTEP	127
126	UMass	128
127	Hawai'i	125
128	Sam Houston	126
129	Kent State	130
130	Southern Miss	129
131	Akron	131
132	Temple	132
133	Nevada	133

I will update these rankings each week throughout the season.

Feel free to leave a comment. Come back tomorrow for my Odds and Ends! 

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