Lots of shuffling this week, at least partly because of how I am ranking the teams from now on (and how I should have been doing it the last couple of weeks.
Teams are ranked by overall record, then conference record, and then tiebreakers (i.e. this weeks 2/3/4 teams) are my own subjective opinion. Works for me, and I gives a poopy if you commenters like it.
NIU, EMU, Temple and WMU make what on the surface are large jumps but are indicative of their rise in the actual conference standings. Hopefully this next week or two doesn't do too much to screw all that up.
| Rank | Rank (Pv) | Team | Record | What We Learned |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 |  |
(5-3) | Undefeated in conference play, and rolling on offense now that their entire QB/RB by committee is healthy |
| 2 | 6 |  |
(5-3) | Of the 3-1 teams (conference), they have the best point differential (and fewest points allowed since conference play started). Go figure. |
| 3 | 5 |  |
(5-3) | I stick to my "o.k. team" descriptive. I was torn whether to put them above or below EMU, but that gets solved this weekend. |
| 4 | 7 |  |
(5-3) | The offense certainly is clicking - as they gradually morph into Temple (a team that can win if they effectively run the ball…until they can't). |
| 5 | 1 |  |
(5-3) | The hell is wrong with this team? How do you have two players rush for 100+ yards and manage to cross midfield three times all game? |
| 6 | 4 |  |
(5-3) | They took care of beating a beatable Akron team, though they didn't look amazing doing it. Hope their D is ready for Temple's run game |
| 7 | 8 |  |
(4-4) | Rebounded in impressive fashion against Temple. Didn't do everything right, but did what they needed when they needed it for a gutsy win. And now they get to whip on Kent |
| 8 | 2 |  |
(4-4) | Once again, performed well below expectations against a very beatable (and possibly less talented) EMU squad. Not so sure about their ability to take down a beatable Ball State team anymore. |
| 9 | 11 |  |
(2-5) | Capable of scoring when there is no pressure to, like, win or anything. It's something, which is better than nothing, so we'll see what happens back home against Buffalo. |
| 10 | 9 |  |
(2-6) | Back to back weeks of offensive success and defensive invisibility. Good time to face Akron. |
| 11 | 10 |  |
(2-6) | Did almost enough to win, in their third game this season decided by a field goal or less. They're close to being a .500 team…but they aren't. |
| 12 | 12 |  |
(1-6) | Bye week |
| 13 | 13 |  |
(1-7) | Never a good sign when teams start looking forward to playing you as a break from having to work to win. |