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MRI Football 2008 - Rankings Week 3
October 8, 2008 | By Benjamin Miraski
If there was anything needed to make this weekend's game between Texas and Oklahoma even more important, try putting the top spot in the MRI into the mix.
Oklahoma might only be in the No. 6 spot, but they can make a big move depending on the result of the game on Saturday and potentially make the big jump into first. They will have a tough time doing that though considering the teams on the list that lie ahead of them.
Penn State lies in the way. At No. 2, they take on a Wisconsin team which has had two very difficult defeats in two weeks. While they still remain in the MRI top 25, they can only thank their small margin of loss in those games. Wisconsin might decide to actually step it up this week and take out the high flying Nittany Lions.
Or they might just roll over and be beaten like they were against Michigan and Ohio State. Maybe the loss of their band has something to do with it.
Also in the way is another Big XII team, Missouri. The Tigers have a tough test of their own in Oklahoma State. The Cowboys (MRI #10) have shown the offense that they only showed glimpses of last season is still out there. That means Missouri's defense will really get a test this time out, not like how Nebraska "tested" it. If the Tigers can win, they will definitely be standing in the way of a Sooner bolt to the top.
Or how about another team from Oklahoma. Not Oklahoma State. I am talking about Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane have lit up scoreboards in a way that has their Athletic Director worried that he might have to install a third digit on the scoreboard. Tulsa will likely get knocked back a little this weekend as they take on SMU and given the Mustang record, it will be difficult for Tulsa to continue gaining points the way it has.
And then there is USC. Can anyone tell me which USC might show up this week? Against Oregon State, it was the choke USC team.
Looking at the game, you would have expected USC to beat Oregon, but for the game to have been close.
You would have been wrong, as the Trojans rolled over the Ducks. (Maybe I should start using the Balki "Perfect Strangers" method of picking my games.)
So does Arizona State have a chance? It is anyone's guess.
Check out all the rankings in Week 3 of the Football MRI.
MRI Top 25 Rankings
| Rank | Team | Record | MRI | LW |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Texas | 5-0 | 78.44 | 1 |
| 2 |  Penn State | 6-0 | 76.64 | 2 |
| 3 |  Missouri | 5-0 | 73.53 | 9 |
| 4 |  Tulsa | 5-0 | 70.33 | 7 |
| 5 |  USC | 3-1 | 68.03 | 21 |
| 6 |  Oklahoma | 5-0 | 65.99 | 5 |
| 7 |  TCU | 5-1 | 64.24 | 6 |
| 8 |  Alabama | 6-0 | 61.71 | 3 |
| 9 |  BYU | 5-0 | 59.87 | 8 |
| 10 |  Oklahoma State | 5-0 | 59.73 | 10 |
| 11 | Texas Tech | 5-0 | 57.28 | 13 |
| 12 | Florida | 4-1 | 57.05 | 18 |
| 13 | Utah | 6-0 | 56.49 | 4 |
| 14 | Arizona | 4-1 | 56.24 | 16 |
| 15 | Cal | 4-1 | 52.89 | 15 |
| 16 | Michigan State | 5-1 | 51.43 | 17 |
| 17 | Boise State | 4-0 | 49.52 | 19 |
| 18 | Wisconsin | 3-2 | 47.52 | 11 |
| 19 | Vanderbilt | 5-0 | 47.19 | 24 |
| 20 | LSU | 4-0 | 46.79 | 22 |
| 21 | Georgia Tech | 4-1 | 46.42 | NR(34) |
| 22 | South Florida | 5-1 | 45.89 | 12 |
| 23 | Kansas | 4-1 | 44.13 | 25 |
| 24 | Georgia | 4-1 | 43.32 | NR(27) |
| 25 | Minnesota | 5-1 | 42.67 | NR(26) |
Teams Dropped From The Top 25: Oregon (LW #14, TW #36), Kentucky (LW #23, TW #28), Nebraska (LW #23, TW #40)
Other Teams People Might Care About
| Rank | Team | Record | MRI | LW |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | Boston College | 4-1 | 42.58 | 33 |
| 27 | Florida State | 4-1 | 42.13 | 29 |
| 30 | Ohio State | 5-1 | 39.15 | 37 |
| 31 | Notre Dame | 4-1 | 38.94 | 42 |
| 33 | Auburn | 4-2 | 38.43 | 28 |
| 34 | Pittsburgh | 4-1 | 37.56 | 41 |
| 35 | Northwestern | 5-0 | 37.08 | 36 |
| 39 | Iowa | 3-3 | 34.92 | 35 |
| 40 | Nebraska | 3-2 | 34.14 | 23 |
| 42 | Illinois | 3-2 | 32.99 | 75 |
| 51 | Tennessee | 2-3 | 27.24 | 65 |
| 55 | Clemson | 3-2 | 25.16 | 58 |
| 57 | Northern Illinois | 2-3 | 23.89 | 53 |
| 62 | Duke | 3-2 | 20.76 | 39 |
| 67 | Indiana | 2-3 | 18.27 | 67 |
| 74 | Miami | 2-3 | 15.96 | 71 |
| 85 | Michigan | 2-3 | 8.18 | 61 |
| 86 | UCLA | 2-3 | 7.58 | 97 |
| 89 | Purdue | 2-3 | 3.96 | 84 |
| 90 | Maryland | 4-2 | 3.54 | 60 |
| 91 | Texas A&M | 2-3 | 3.13 | 90 |
| 98 | Miami(Ohio) | 1-4 | -3.68 | 96 |
| 119 | Washington State | 1-5 | -42.74 | 119 |
Last Place this week: Idaho (1-5) at -57.84. 2nd week in a row.
Biggest Gain this week: USC gained 20.07 points. (Beat Oregon (44-10))
Biggest Loss this week: Tulane lost 28.87 points (Lost to Army (13-44))
Conference rankings this week: Big 12, Big Ten, SEC, Mountain West, Big East, ACC, PAC-10, MAC, C-USA, WAC, Sun Belt
Conference rankings this week: Big 12, Big Ten, SEC, Mountain West, Big East, ACC, PAC-10, MAC, C-USA, WAC, Sun Belt
The MRI Rankings are copyright 2008 by MRISports.com. Ben Miraski is a reporter for the Medill News Service, edits and writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com
Posted October 8, 2008 7:04 AM
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