T Shoe Index Résumé Rankings Week 9
We’re just over a week away from the inaugural College Football Playoff rankings being released. I constantly harp on the fact that the AP and Coaches’ polls are useless anyway, but especially once the CFP rankings get released, the aforementioned human polls are deemed completely irrelevant. Obviously, my first and foremost priority is to formulate predictive power ratings; the second priority is to take those power ratings and determine which teams have produced the best résumé to date, based on the strength of schedule according to those power ratings. Last week, Washington was the No. 1 team in my résumé rankings after a win against Oregon, but this week, the Huskies dropped to No. 4 and there’s a new leader in the clubhouse – and it might not be who you think.
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Florida State – The New No. 1
The new No. 1 in the T Shoe Index résumé rankings is the Florida State Seminoles, who barely edged out the Buckeyes for the top spot. Florida State has played an average opponent power rating of 3.9, good for fifth in the country. After beating Duke by 18 – albeit trailing until Duke QB Riley Leonard went down with his lingering ankle injury – the Seminoles now have a 72% chance to go undefeated, according to updated TSI projections. The ‘Noles are a real (likely?) playoff contender.
Ohio State – The New No. 2
Another contender on the rise is the Ohio State Buckeyes, who took care of business again Penn State at home in week 8, in a game the Buckeyes never trailed. Now sitting at No. 2 in the résumé rankings and No. 3 in my power ratings, the Buckeyes have one stiff test looming in Ann Arbor in the regular season finale. Will the offense – Marvin Harrison Jr. notwithstanding – establish a rhythm over the next month and get healthy enough to test the No. 1 power rated team in the country, Michigan?