Eight weeks into the season, Ball State University is ranked in every poll of significance thanks to an unblemished 7-0 record. Some polls have Ball State just in the top 25 while others have the Cardinals in the top 20.
But where do they truly belong? Let's take a look.
First let's get all the teams that are still undefeated and have played top competition. That takes care of the University of Texas, the University of Alabama, Penn State University, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State University.
The other undefeated teams that should be ranked above Ball State are University of Utah and Boise State University. Boise State won on the road against Oregon, and while Utah hasn't beaten anyone of real significance, they still have a tougher schedule than Ball State.
Now let's mark off all the one-loss teams that clearly belong ahead of Ball State in the polls. Those include the University of Southern California, the University of Florida, the University of Oklahoma, the University of Georgia, Ohio State University, Louisiana State University, the University of South Florida, Texas Christian University and the University of Pittsburgh.
While there's really no arguing that these one-loss teams deserve to be ahead of Ball State in the polls, there are still some one-loss teams that may not be as obvious but deserve to be ahead of Ball State.
One of those teams is Georgia Tech. The Associated Press Poll has it one spot behind Ball State this week, but Georgia Tech's only loss was at Virginia Tech. Of its six wins, one came at Boston College and one came at Clemson University. It has played stiff competition, and its only loss is to a ranked team on the road. I will take that team over a 7-0 team that has beaten one team with a winning record - Navy, which is 4-3.
Another one-loss team that should be ahead of Ball State is the aforementioned Boston College. The university's only loss came to Georgia Tech, and this weekend it beat the Virginia Tech team that beat Georgia Tech.
Finally we come to a two-loss team that most people would say is better than Ball State. The University of Missouri's only losses came to top 10 teams, and it has beaten teams such as the University of Nebraska and the University of Illinois.
Here is where I would slide in Ball State at No. 20. I realize there is a handful of teams that are either ranked ahead of Ball State or that many believe should be ranked ahead of Ball State that I haven't included yet. Allow me to explain my reason for having them behind Ball State.
The highest ranked team in the AP Poll that I didn't mention yet is Brigham Young University. It is behind Ball State for two simple reasons. Before this week its strength of schedule was second worst in the country. Also, the team played its first good team this week and lost 32-7; no team that, in its only game of importance, has been whomped deserves to be ranked ahead of an undefeated team.
The University of Kansas is also ranked ahead of Ball State. While Kansas' losses - such as Missouri - are to topranked teams, the team doesn't have the Nebraska and Illinois wins to fall back on. Kansas hasn't beaten a decent team this year. It's blown out all the bad teams it has played like Ball State, but it has been beaten by the only two quality opponents it has played.
All the other teams have at least one loss and don't have a big win to justify being ahead of an undefeated team, except for University of Tulsa. Like Ball State, Tulsa is 7-0 and hasn't played anyone difficult. The reason Tulsa shouldn't be ahead of Ball State is because it has played the nation's easiest schedule. That's not my opinion; that is fact. Tulsa is 120th out of 120 teams in strength of schedule. That alone should be enough to have Ball State ahead of Tulsa, but there is also the fact that the team hasn't kept an opponent under 14 points all season.
So there it is. Ball State should be ranked No. 20 - the exact spot the AP Poll has the team. Unfortunately, that is the poll that doesn't factor into the BCS standings - which were released this week. The USA Today Poll and Harris Interactive Poll are the ones that truly matter.
Write to Levin at ltblack@bsu.edu
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