When SwampSwami’s first NCAA college football rankings debuted last week, there were 35 unbeaten teams out of the 130 college football squads participating in the NCAA’s top division. A week later, we have lost 11 unbeaten teams and only 24 teams remain with a perfect record. That also means that yours truly had to determine the best 1-loss team in the country for #25 this week.
For a quick refresher, here is my methodology for ranking the best teams in the NCAA’s top division.
- Are you still undefeated? If so, you are eligible to be in this week’s rankings.
- How did you finish in last year’s final AP rankings? In my system, Clemson will remain #1 until someone beats them. Alabama stays at #2 for the same reason. That’s how the first 13 teams were determined for this week. If you are still undefeated and had a Top 25 ranking to end last season, you are still being rewarded. Why not – you haven’t lost yet!
- As for the rest of the Undefeateds, what has been your signature win so far this season and, importantly, what is the other team’s record as of this week? TCU’s dominating performance in pummeling last week’s #9 team, Oklahoma State, by a score of 44-31 in Stillwater warrants my 14th spot while Georgia’s 31-3 thrashing of previously unbeaten Mississippi State landed them in the top 15.
For this week’s #16-24, I continue to review the teams based on the quality of each team’s signature win. Weight is given for beating a good opponent with only a single loss, etc.
Finally, at #25, it is time to introduce the country’s best team with only one loss! I’m giving it to the Iowa Hawkeyes, whose undefeated record came to a stunning end on the final play of the game as the #6-ranked team, Penn State, completed a touchdown pass on the Nittany Lions’ version of the “Immaculate Reception”. There may be several thousand shocked Hawkeye fans still up in the stands of Ames, Iowa after that fantastic finish!
And now…on with the Count-down! Number ONE (ka-boom!) Bwa-ha-ha!
| # | Team | W | L | 2016 AP Final Rank | Best win/loss this season |
| 1 | Clemson | 4 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2 | Alabama | 4 | 0 | 2 | |
| 3 | USC | 4 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 | Washington | 4 | 0 | 4 | |
| 5 | Oklahoma | 4 | 0 | 5 | |
| 6 | Penn State | 4 | 0 | 7 | |
| 7 | Wisconsin | 3 | 0 | 9 | |
| 8 | Michigan | 4 | 0 | 10 | |
| 9 | Virginia Tech | 4 | 0 | 16 | |
| 10 | South Florida | 4 | 0 | 19 | |
| 11 | Miami (Fla) | 2 | 0 | 20 | |
| 12 | Utah | 4 | 0 | 23 | |
| 13 | San Diego State | 4 | 0 | 25 | |
| 14 | TCU | 4 | 0 | Def 3-1 Okie State 44-31 @ OSU | |
| 15 | Georgia | 4 | 0 | Def 3-1 Miss. State 31-3 at home | |
| 16 | UCF | 2 | 0 | Def 2-1 Maryland 38-10 @ MD | |
| 17 | Texas Tech | 3 | 0 | Def 2-1 Houston 27-24 @ Houston | |
| 18 | Duke | 4 | 0 | Def 2-1 Northwestern 41-17 at home | |
| 19 | Memphis | 3 | 0 | Def 2-2 UCLA 48-45 at home | |
| 20 | Navy | 3 | 0 | Def 2-2 Cincy 42-32 at home | |
| 21 | Wake Forest | 4 | 0 | Def 2-2 Utah State 46-10 @ home | |
| 22 | Washington State | 4 | 0 | Def 2-2 Boise St 47-44 at home | |
| 23 | Minnesota | 3 | 0 | Def 1-3 Oregon St 48-14 @ Ore. St. | |
| 24 | UT-San Antonio | 3 | 0 | Def 0-4 Baylor 17-10 @ Baylor | |
| 25 | Iowa | 3 | 1 | Lost to #6 Penn State on last play |