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After a tumultuous Week 8 that saw several shakeups in the major polls, we have some movement in the Week 9 Mid-Major College Football Top 10 as well, albeit not nearly as much.
For the third straight week Fresno State (6-0, 3-0 MWC) and Northern Illinois (7-0, 3-0 MAC) come in at No. 1 and No. 2 respectively, though it's interesting to note that the gap between the two grew ever so slightly, despite the fact that the two teams are neck and neck in the BCS Rankings. Also for the third straight week, Ball State (7-1, 4-0 MAC) comes in at No. 3, but also dropped ever so slightly in votes. Boise State (5-2, 3-1 MWC) and BYU (5-2) round out the Top 5.
Bowling Green (5-2, 3-0 MAC) slipped a spot to No. 6 after a bye week, and take the place of Wyoming which dropped from the poll entirely a week after coming in at No. 6. The Cowboys suffered a brutal 52-22 loss to conference foe Colorado State on Saturday. With Wyoming's fall it marks the second straight week that the No. 6 team dropped from the poll entirely the following week; Ohio feel after being upset by Central Michigan the week before.
The Conference-USA leads this weeks poll with the most teams represented with Tulane (5-2, 3-0 C-USA), East Carolina (5-2, 3-1 C-USA) and Rice (5-2, 3-0 C-USA) and newcomer Marshall (4-2, 2-0 C-USA) rounding out the Top 10.
Interestingly the Sun Belt still has yet to have a team make the Top 10 this season a week after Western Kentucky came in at No. 11. The Hilltoppers didn't receive a single vote this week after falling 37-20 to Louisiana-Lafayette Saturday. The Rajin' Cajuns took WKU's place, finishing in a tie with Buffalo with four votes and finishing just outside of the Top 10.
Voting this week was comprised of one ballot from each of the following blogs: UB Bull Run (Buffalo), Cowboy Altitude (Wyoming), Miner Rush (UTEP), Mountain West Connection (MWC) and of course Hustle Belt.
What are your thoughts on the poll this week? Anyone too high, too low, snubbed? Was Ohio's drop warranted, what about Bowling Green's rise? Let us know in the comment section below.
| Rank | Team | Record | Votes | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fresno State | 6-0 (3-0 MWC) | 49 (3) | 1 |
| 2 | Northern Illinois | 7-0 (3-0 MAC) | 45 (1) | 2 |
| 3 | Ball State | 7-1 (4-0 MAC) | 38 | 3 |
| 4 | Boise State | 5-2 (3-1 MWC) | 30 | 4 |
| 5 | BYU | 5-2 (IND) | 28 | 7 |
| 6 | Bowling Green | 5-2 (3-0 MAC) | 24 | 5 |
| 7 | Tulane | 5-2 (3-0 C-USA) | 15 | 8 |
| 8 | East Carolina | 5-2 (3-1 C-USA) | 12 | 9 |
| 9 | Rice | 5-2 (3-0 C-USA) | 10 | 10 |
| 10 | Marshall | 4-2 (2-0 C-USA) | 6 | NR |
| Dropped Out: Wyoming | Others Receiving Votes: Buffalo (4), Louisiana-Lafayette (4), Ohio (2) |