Going from worst to first in terms of recent history, this week seems to have been about the second-tier-but-probably-never-going-to-be-first-tier programs like Arizona, Boston College, etc. In yesterday's Arizona preview, I said this:
You are allowed to win big in college football if you are not a member of the ruling class; but you will find it very hard to recruit at the highest level and win big again unless your name is USC, Oklahoma, Georgia, Texas, Michigan, Tennessee, Ohio State, Alabama, Notre Dame, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Nebraska or, maybe, Penn State or Auburn.
This was basically a list of the 15 teams that had access to the top floor, not teams currently occupying it. Regardless, I thought it would be interesting to look at the F/+ rankings of the top teams that weren't any of the "top tier(ish)" teams listed above. Thanks to their recent regression, Boston College has actually fallen out of the top of the non-ruling class; after three "top ten" finishes below, they've had three straight years without one. That, of course, includes both of Frank Spaziani's seasons at the helm.
Top Five F/+ finishes on the list below: 8.
BCS title game appearances from the list below: 1.
2005
1. Virginia Tech (11-2, +28.3% F/+ rating, fifth overall)
2. Miami (9-3, +22.7%, seventh)
3. West Virginia (11-1, +17.2%, 13th)
4. Boston College (9-3, +17.0%, 15th)
5. Oregon (10-2, +16.8%, 17th)
6. Clemson (8-4, +15.5%, 18th)
7. Louisville (9-3, +14.6%, 19th)
8. Iowa (7-5, +13.5%, 21st)
9. Texas Tech (9-3, +13.3%, 22nd)
10. TCU (11-1, +13.1%, 23rd)
2006
1. Louisville (12-1, +26.5%, fifth)
2. West Virginia (11-2, +24.1%, seventh)
3. BYU (11-2, +22.3%, eighth)
4. Rutgers (11-2, +20.3%, ninth)
5. Virginia Tech (10-3, +20.0%, 10th)
6. Boise State (13-0, +19.8%, 11th)
7. Arkansas (10-4, +19.6%, 12th)
8. California (10-3, +18.8%, 14th)
9. Boston College (10-3, +18.2%, 16th)
10. Georgia Tech (9-5, +15.5%, 19th)
2007
1. West Virginia (11-2, +25.8%, third)
2. Oregon (9-4, +23.8%, fifth)
3. Virginia Tech (11-3, +19.0%, eighth)
4. South Florida (9-4, +17.9%, ninth)
5. Missouri (12-2, +17.4%, 10th)
6. Oregon State (9-4, +15.7%, 12th)
7. BYU (11-2, +15.6%, 13th)
8. Clemson (9-4, +15.0%, 15th)
9. California (7-6, +14.4%, 16th)
10. Boston College (+13.8%, 11-3, 18th)
2008
1. TCU (11-2, +24.7%, sixth)
2. Boise State (12-1, +19.4%, ninth)
3. Ole Miss (9-4, +17.3%, 10th)
4. Utah (13-0, +16.6%, 11th)
5. Iowa (9-4, +15.6%, 12th)
6. Pittsburgh (9-4, +14.4%, 14th)
7. Texas Tech (11-2, +13.9%, 15th)
8. Oregon (10-3, +13.9%, 16th)
9. Missouri (10-4, +13.7%, 17th)
10. Cincinnati (11-3, +13.0%, 18th)
2009
1. TCU (12-1, +28.7%, third)
2. Virginia Tech (10-3, +25.8%, fourth)
3. Oregon (10-3, +21.8%, eighth)
4. Iowa (11-2, +19.8%, ninth)
5. Boise State (14-0, +19.6%, 10th)
6. Miami (9-4, +19.1%, 12th)
7. Clemson (9-5, +17.1%, 14th)
8. Cincinnati (12-1, +16.9%, 15th)
9. Georgia Tech (11-3, +16.5%, 17th)
10. Wisconsin (10-3, +15.8%, 18th)
2010
1. Boise State (12-1, +30.5%, second)
2. Stanford (12-1, +27.9%, fourth)
3. TCU (13-0, +25.2%, sixth)
4. Arkansas (10-3, +23.2%, seventh)
5. Oregon (12-1, +21.5%, ninth)
6. Virginia Tech (11-3, +21.2%, 10th)
7. South Carolina (9-5, +21.0%, 11th)
8. Wisconsin (11-2, +20.4%, 12th)
9. Oklahoma State (11-2, +18.4%, 14th)
10. Missouri (10-3, +17.6%, 16th)
Five-Year F/+ Average
1. TCU (+19.8%, seventh)
2. Virginia Tech (+19.5%, eighth)
3. Boise State (+19.1%, ninth)
4. Oregon (+18.0%, 10th)
5. West Virginia (+17.4%, 11th)
6. Arkansas (+13.8%, 15th)
7. Clemson (+13.7%, 16th)
8. South Carolina (+12.4%, 18th)
9. Wisconsin (+12.2%, 19th)
10. Missouri (+11.9%, 20th)
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