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MRI Football 2010 - Rankings Week 1
September 21, 2010 | By Benjamin Miraski
It has finally reached the time to release the first MRI rankings of the year. Ahhh can you smell the hopes and dreams of the top 25, most of which will be dashed by the time that November rolls around?
The most striking item in this set of rankings is the dominance of the Pac-10 over the first three weeks of the season. At the end of the year, it may not be the best conference, but over the first three weeks, three leaders have definitely emerged: Oregon, Stanford and Arizona.
Those three west coasters occupy the top spots according to the bits and bytes this week and for good reason. They have outscored their opponents by a combined score of 471-89.
Add in all the offensive numbers that those three teams have put up and you have a juggernaut. It will be interesting to see how their defenses hold up when they all finally meet each other.
Alabama and Nebraska round out the top five in this week’s rankings.
If you are looking for sleeper teams, check out Cal (oh look, another Pac-10 team) and Iowa. Despite one loss each, both teams made the top 25 in the initial rankings. Both losses came this past week so maybe a trend is starting in the wrong direction, but both teams did enough in the first two weeks to show they are contenders.
As you move down the rankings, a couple of things are worth noting.
First, Utah is outside the top 25 and all the way down at 42. Despite being ranked at 13 in the latest AP poll, the Utes haven’t really impressed the computers yet.
Their last season in the Mountain West could be very disappointing come January if this keeps up. They would be the first team in a while that could actually blame the computers if they don’t make a BCS bowl.
Finally, the grand BYU independence experiment, while not officially underway, isn’t looking like it will have a good act to follow. The Cougars are 1-2 and currently sit at 110 in the MRI rankings after finishing last season at No. 14.
That is currently below MRI doormat Washington State. Those Cougars know a thing or two about being really bad, and it is not something the BYU wants to emulate.
Check out all the rankings in week one of the football MRI.
MRI Top 25 Rankings
| Rank | Team | Record | MRI | LW |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Oregon | 3-0 | 72.47 | 8 |
| 2 |  Stanford | 3-0 | 70.62 | 24 |
| 3 |  Arizona | 3-0 | 67.04 | 37 |
| 4 |  Alabama | 3-0 | 64.41 | 1 |
| 5 |  Nebraska | 3-0 | 63.95 | 10 |
| 6 |  Oklahoma State | 3-0 | 62.55 | 34 |
| 7 |  TCU | 3-0 | 61.66 | 4 |
| 8 |  Ohio State | 3-0 | 60.53 | 6 |
| 9 |  Texas | 3-0 | 58.12 | 3 |
| 10 |  Boise State | 2-0 | 57.73 | 5 |
| 11 | LSU | 3-0 | 54.10 | 25 |
| 12 | Florida | 3-0 | 53.81 | 2 |
| 13 | Texas A&M | 3-0 | 51.20 | 69 |
| 14 | Arkansas | 3-0 | 51.16 | 19 |
| 15 | Kentucky | 3-0 | 50.26 | 59 |
| 16 | Michigan State | 3-0 | 48.14 | 64 |
| 17 | Nevada | 3-0 | 48.10 | 39 |
| 18 | Cal | 2-1 | 48.09 | 61 |
| 19 | Northwestern | 3-0 | 47.43 | 56 |
| 20 | Missouri | 3-0 | 47.40 | 46 |
| 21 | Auburn | 3-0 | 46.60 | 41 |
| 22 | North Carolina State | 3-0 | 46.31 | 96 |
| 23 | Oklahoma | 3-0 | 46.12 | 11 |
| 24 | West Virginia | 3-0 | 45.08 | 40 |
| 25 | Iowa | 2-1 | 44-13 | 17 |
Other Teams People Might Care About
| Rank | Team | Record | MRI | LW |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | Wisconsin | 3-0 | 42.93 | 13 |
| 30 | Indiana | 2-0 | 41.21 | 97 |
| 32 | Michigan | 3-0 | 40.08 | 87 |
| 33 | Boston College | 2-0 | 39.68 | 55 |
| 41 | USC | 3-0 | 36.10 | 27 |
| 42 | Utah | 3-0 | 35.73 | 18 |
| 45 | Miami(Ohio) | 2-1 | 33.79 | 112 |
| 46 | Florida State | 2-1 | 33.77 | 51 |
| 48 | Clemson | 2-1 | 30.85 | 22 |
| 53 | Georgia Tech | 2-1 | 28.35 | 21 |
| 56 | Miami | 1-1 | 26.39 | 28 |
| 60 | Notre Dame | 1-2 | 25.07 | 35 |
| 63 | Syracuse | 2-1 | 24.13 | 83 |
| 64 | Purdue | 2-1 | 23.58 | 65 |
| 66 | Penn State | 2-1 | 23-13 | 9 |
| 67 | Illinois | 2-1 | 21.49 | 93 |
| 68 | Maryland | 2-1 | 21.47 | 108 |
| 69 | Pittsburgh | 1-1 | 21.12 | 16 |
| 70 | Virginia Tech | 1-2 | 20.78 | 7 |
| 72 | Vanderbilt | 1-2 | 19.83 | 103 |
| 79 | Tennessee | 1-2 | 18.40 | 32 |
| 82 | UCLA | 102 | 16.48 | 58 |
| 95 | Ball State | 1-2 | 8.51 | 107 |
| 96 | Northern Illinois | 1-2 | 8.24 | 60 |
| 99 | Duke | 1-2 | 5.86 | 95 |
| 106 | Washington State | 1-2 | -1.52 | 120 |
| 110 | BYU | 1-2 | -4.53 | 14 |
Last Place this week: Akron (0-3) at -21.69.
Conference rankings this week: SEC, Big 12, PAC-10, Big Ten, ACC, Big East, WAC, Conference USA, Mountain West, MAC, Sun Belt
Posted September 21, 2010 12:00 PM