The Eliteness Tracker will see the debut of a new team inside the top 7, although, the top 5 remains unchanged from last week. The undefeated Baylor Bears jumped into the standings this week after Iowa State entered the top 25 which gave them a signature win. Iowa also debuts in the tracker at #16 by virtue of their win against Iowa State as well.
The other big winner this week was Penn State. PSU got past Michigan to remain undefeated and notch a 2nd top 25 win in as many weeks. The Nittany Lions moved up to #6.
The big losers this week were the aforementioned Michigan and, of course, Wisconsin. The Badgers were upset by a 4-loss Illinois team in maybe the biggest upset of the season. With the loss, they dropped from #6 to #12 below.
Week 9 Schedule
Rank represents the Elite Tracker
#12 Wisconsin @ #3 Ohio State, 12:00, FOX
Miss St. @ Texas A&M, 12:00, SECN
#16 Iowa @ Northwestern, 12:00, ESPN2
#10 Auburn @ #1 LSU, 3:30, CBS
#6 Penn State @ Michigan State, 3:30, ABC
Notre Dame @ #15 Michigan, 7:30, ABC
Boston College @ #5 Clemson, 7:30, ACCN
Cal @ #13 Utah, 10:00, FS1
Wash St. @ #11 Oregon, 10:30, ESPN
Maybe not as great of a schedule as week 7, but still a very eventful Saturday. The three games in bold are basically must see TV for a college football diehard. We’re definitely going to get movement in the Eliteness Tracker after those three games.
This is a big weekend for the Big 10. First, let’s look at the worst case scenario. If Michigan loses to Notre Dame, they will likely fall out of the AP Top 25. Therefore, a Wisconsin loss to Ohio State could leave them without the signature win needed to stay in the Eliteness Tracker. If Iowa were to be upset by Northwestern also, then all of Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan, and Iowa would fall out the Eliteness Tracker next week. Why does this matter? My research says that this would indicate a conference-wide shift in perception for the Big 10. This would create the situation where a 1-loss Big 10 Champion would be vulnerable to being left out of the CFP.
In the best case scenario for the Big 10, Michigan upsets Notre Dame and both Ohio State and Iowa handle business. Beating Notre Dame would likely vault Michigan back up into the top 15. This would elevate the resumes of Penn State and Wisconsin while lowering the value of Georgia’s win over Notre Dame at the same time. Therefore, the entire top of the Big 10 conference would get a boost in perception.
The SEC cannibalization will continue this weekend also. Either Auburn will get their 2nd loss of the season or LSU will get their first. This will not affect the perception of the SEC, but it will add an anchor in the form of a loss that will move an SEC team down the pecking order.
