Is the Big East the worst BCS conference in college football? When you look at this week’s Las Vegas Rankings below, it’s apparent that former Las Vegas oddsmaker Kenny White believes so.
In this week’s poll, there are no Big East schools listed in the Top 30. West Virginia (31) and Pittsburgh (33) barely made the preseason rankings and both were dropped after their performances in Week 1.
Head coach Dave Wannstedt and the Panthers faced a tough test at Salt Lake City and came up short in an overtime loss to Utah, 27-24. Meanwhile, the Mountaineers blanked Coastal Carolina 31-0 but they only led 10-0 at the break.
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Arguably, the biggest disappointment for the conference in Week 1 was Connecticut’s effort against Michigan, which ended with a 30-10 setback in “The Big House.” As a whole, the eight-team conference went 4-4 in Week 1 and three of the victories came against FCS opponents.
Will things get better? South Florida (36) is on the cusp and the Bulls can make a serious statement this weekend when it visits Gainesville to face Florida (8). Urban Meyer and the Gators didn’t looked sloppy in their 34-12 win over Miami, Ohio last Saturday, which is why White dropped the school six positions over the weekend.
Despite that fall, the SEC still has seven schools ranked in the Top 30, including No. 1 Alabama. The Crimson Tide aren’t expected to have reigning Heisman Trophy Mark Ingram (knee) on the field this week against Penn State (17), but Nick Saban’s team is still a healthy home favorite over Joe Paterno and company.
The Nittany Lions are one of five Big 10 schools listed in this week’s rankings. Ohio State (2) jumped up to the second slot and could move ahead of ‘Bama this week if it puts forth an impressive showing against Miami, Florida (10) this wekeend. The Hurricanes are still the highest ranked team out of the ACC, who has six teams ranked.
Oregon (5) got some credit for its opening win albeit against New Mexico (72-0). The Ducks moved up four spots and they too will face a test this weekend, when they travel to Knoxville on Saturday for a non-conference battle against Tennessee. The Pac 10 has six schools listed in the Top 30.
The Big 12 has four schools ranked, with Oklahoma (4) and Texas (6) listed in the first 10 slots. Bob Stoops and the Sooners were almost stunned at home to Utah State (31-24) but they won’t have room for error this week against a solid squad from Florida State (17).
Below is complete breakdown of this week’s LV Rankings from White.
Las Vegas Rankings Top 30 - Week 2
Rank
School
Rating
Last Week
1
Alabama
115.9
1
2
Ohio State
115.4
4
3
Texas Christian
114.9
6
4
Oklahoma
114.6
3
5
Oregon
114.3
9
6
Texas
114.2
5
7
Boise State
114.0
7
8
Florida
113.9
2
9
Southern California
113.4
8
10
Miami
113.0
10
11
Wisconsin
112.6
14
12
Georgia
112.3
16
12
Iowa
112.3
13
14
Penn State
112.0
17
15
Nebraska
111.9
11
16
Virginia Tech
111.8
11
17
Arkansas
110.8
18
17
Florida State
110.8
19
19
Auburn
110.5
21
20
Oregon State
110.2
25
21
Stanford
110.1
22
22
Georgia Tech
109.9
24
22
Arizona
109.9
30
24
LSU
109.7
19
25
Missouri
109.5
23
26
North Carolina
109.0
15
26
Clemson
109.0
27
28
California
108.9
34
29
Michigan State
108.8
33
30
South Carolina
108.5
28
Next Ten: West Virginia, Texas A&M, Pittsburgh, Arizona State, Tennessee, South Florida, Notre Dame Utah, BYU, Houston.
Dropped out of Top 30: West Virginia (29), Pittsburgh (26)
