It’s a bird (“War Eagle!“)! It’s a plain(s)man! It was a Super Saturday of upsets which have landed Bucky-the-Badger and the Golden Knights atop this week’s SwampSwami College Football Top 25!
B-bye, Bama! Auburn put a whoopin’ on their second #1 BCS seed by defeating last week’s top ranked squad, Alabama, by a 26-14 count.
Yet another unbeaten team, The University of Miami (Fl), was “caned” by the upstart 5-7 Pitt Panthers last Saturday 24-14 in a game where Miami was dominated from start to finish.
A week ago, we had Four Horsemen at the top of my rankings with unbeaten records.
A week later, it’s down the Dynamic Duo as Wisconsin (12-0) and the University of Central Florida (11-0) remain the two unbeaten teams out of the 130 colleges comprising the NCAA’s top football division. Things won’t get easier for our top-rated Caped Crusaders as Wisconsin plays Ohio State for the Big 10 championship this weekend, while Central Florida’s magical ride takes them into the American Athletic Conference title game against 10-1 Memphis.
For those who have not followed SwampSwami’s criteria for rankings, teams have been rewarded based on the fewest losses. For the teams which have lost one or more games, a determination is made of the best opponent they have defeated during this season.
It really shouldn’t be any harder than that, should it? (Note – This week, I made a special exception for one team – Auburn – which has taken down two different undefeated teams in Georgia and Alabama. Despite having two losses, I have ranked a two–loss Auburn ahead of both one-loss SEC teams, Georgia and Alabama).
Finally, I have been asked, “Why Central Florida?” My response is, “Why not Central Florida? Please name the team which has beaten them”. Next question!
On (Wisconsin) with the countdown…
| # | Team | W | L | 2016 Final Rank | Best win this season |
| 1 | Wisconsin | 12 | 0 | 9 | |
| 2 | UCF | 11 | 0 | Beat 9-1 Memphis 40-13 at home | |
| 3 | Oklahoma | 11 | 1 | Beat 10-2 Ohio State 31-16 @ Ohio St | |
| 4 | Clemson | 11 | 1 | Beat 9-3 Virginia Tech 31-17 @ VT | |
| 5 | Auburn | 10 | 2 | Beat 11-1 Georgia and 11-1 Alabama | |
| 6 | Georgia | 11 | 1 | Beat 9-3 Notre Dame 20-19 @ ND | |
| 7 | Alabama | 11 | 1 | Beat 9-3 LSU 24-10 at home | |
| 8 | Miami (Fla) | 10 | 1 | Beat 9-3 Notre Dame 41-8 at home | |
| 9 | Memphis | 10 | 1 | Beat 7-4 Houston 42-38 @ Houston | |
| 10 | Ohio State | 10 | 2 | Beat 10-2 Penn State 39-38 @ home | |
| 11 | TCU | 10 | 2 | Beat 9-3 Okie State 44-31 @ OSU | |
| 12 | USC | 10 | 2 | Beat 9-3 Stanford 42-24 at home | |
| 13 | San Diego State | 10 | 2 | Beat 9-3 Stanford 20-17 at home | |
| 14 | Washington | 10 | 2 | Beat 9-3 Fresno State 48-16 at home | |
| 15 | Penn State | 10 | 2 | Beat 8-4 Michigan 42-13 at home | |
| 16 | Toledo | 10 | 2 | Beat 8-4 N. Illinois 27-17 at home | |
| 17 | South Florida | 10 | 2 | Beat 5-7 Tulane 34-28 @ Tulane | |
| 18 | Troy | 9 | 2 | Beat 9-3 LSU 24-21 @ LSU | |
| 19 | LSU | 9 | 3 | Beat 10-2 Auburn 27-23 at home | |
| 20 | Washington State | 9 | 3 | Beat 10-2 USC 30-27 at home | |
| 21 | Boise State | 9 | 3 | Beat 10-2 San Diego St. 31-14 @ SD St. | |
| 22 | Fresno State | 9 | 3 | Beat 10-2 San Diego St. 27-3 @ SD St. | |
| 23 | Stanford | 9 | 3 | Beat 10-2 Washington 30-22 at home | |
| 24 | Northwestern | 9 | 3 | Won 3 OT games + 9-3 Mich. St 39-31 | |
| 25 | Michigan State | 9 | 3 | Beat 10-2 Penn State 27-24 at home |