MisterGopher
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https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/67...ball-team-rankings-indiana-ohio-state-oregon/
Gophers 53
Nebraska 22
Iowa 39
MSU 69
Oregon 9
Northwestern 59
Wisconsin 84
Indiana 1
OSU 2
USC 15
Michigan 21
Illinois 26
Cal 52
Maryland 55
Penn State 60, Wow how they've fallen.
UCLA 65
Rutgers 67
Purdue 81
Buffalo 99
A week ago, I said Miami, Ohio State and Oregon looked like the clear best teams in the country. Then Indiana, more than a touchdown underdog at Oregon, went to Autzen Stadium and won by 10 points.
As a result, Indiana is No. 1 in The Athletic 136 this week. The Hoosiers are undefeated with the best or second-best win of anyone in the country, and they beat Illinois by 53 points, a better performance than Ohio State had against the Illini. In addition, Miami’s win against Florida State has lost luster after the Seminoles’ latest loss.
Some angry Ohio State fans will now head to the comments section. Miami fans will, too. They’ll say if the teams matched up, Ohio State and Miami would blow Indiana off the field like Ohio State and Notre Dame did a year ago.
Maybe. But let me ask you this: Three days ago, if Ohio State or Miami were going to play at Oregon, how confident would you have been? Would you have felt victory was guaranteed? Or would you have believed the Ducks had a real shot at beating the Buckeyes just like they did a year ago?
A lot of you are probably in that latter camp. So now that Indiana has gone and outplayed Oregon at its place, should you not feel similarly about the Hoosiers? Why does that win have to say more about Oregon than Indiana, other than the fact that it’s Indiana?
Maybe the Hoosiers would lose against the Buckeyes or Hurricanes. They’d surely be a betting underdog. But these rankings aren’t about projection. They’re about what a team has done, and Indiana has done a lot.
People need to get last year’s Indiana out of their heads. This Hoosiers team already has two wins that are far better than any last year’s team had. ESPN’s metrics give Indiana a slightly better strength of schedule (17) than Ohio State (20) and slightly behind Miami (14). The Hoosiers are No. 1 in ESPN’s strength of record measure; the CFP committee will incorporate a similar metric this year, though we’re not sure exactly what their version will look like.
Gophers 53
Nebraska 22
Iowa 39
MSU 69
Oregon 9
Northwestern 59
Wisconsin 84
Indiana 1
OSU 2
USC 15
Michigan 21
Illinois 26
Cal 52
Maryland 55
Penn State 60, Wow how they've fallen.
UCLA 65
Rutgers 67
Purdue 81
Buffalo 99
A week ago, I said Miami, Ohio State and Oregon looked like the clear best teams in the country. Then Indiana, more than a touchdown underdog at Oregon, went to Autzen Stadium and won by 10 points.
As a result, Indiana is No. 1 in The Athletic 136 this week. The Hoosiers are undefeated with the best or second-best win of anyone in the country, and they beat Illinois by 53 points, a better performance than Ohio State had against the Illini. In addition, Miami’s win against Florida State has lost luster after the Seminoles’ latest loss.
Some angry Ohio State fans will now head to the comments section. Miami fans will, too. They’ll say if the teams matched up, Ohio State and Miami would blow Indiana off the field like Ohio State and Notre Dame did a year ago.
Maybe. But let me ask you this: Three days ago, if Ohio State or Miami were going to play at Oregon, how confident would you have been? Would you have felt victory was guaranteed? Or would you have believed the Ducks had a real shot at beating the Buckeyes just like they did a year ago?
A lot of you are probably in that latter camp. So now that Indiana has gone and outplayed Oregon at its place, should you not feel similarly about the Hoosiers? Why does that win have to say more about Oregon than Indiana, other than the fact that it’s Indiana?
Maybe the Hoosiers would lose against the Buckeyes or Hurricanes. They’d surely be a betting underdog. But these rankings aren’t about projection. They’re about what a team has done, and Indiana has done a lot.
People need to get last year’s Indiana out of their heads. This Hoosiers team already has two wins that are far better than any last year’s team had. ESPN’s metrics give Indiana a slightly better strength of schedule (17) than Ohio State (20) and slightly behind Miami (14). The Hoosiers are No. 1 in ESPN’s strength of record measure; the CFP committee will incorporate a similar metric this year, though we’re not sure exactly what their version will look like.
