FBS/FCS Power Points Standings: Week 6

The Iowa Hawkeyes won! My team won! Admittedly, I do not like our chances if Sean Clifford is not injured and does not miss the rest of the game. Penn State was certainly the better team through most of the first half and might have ended Iowa’s streak of holding opponents under 25 points the way the Nittany Lions were playing. But it did not happen and Iowa found a way. And that is all that should matter. I get why so many do not believe Iowa is the second best team despite moving to #2 in both polls. I don’t. I read a stat that said Iowa ranks in the top ten for most punts. The other nine teams have 12 combined wins. Iowa has six. The problem is not how good Iowa is compared to all other teams. The problem is that too many think that is the basis for ranking teams. Rankings should operate like standings: best results win. Second place and second best team do not mean the same thing. Even after previously unbeatable Alabama lost to unranked Texas A&M, the Tide only dropped to fifth in both polls because they are still predicted to beat most every other team. When discussing where teams should rank, several Twitter posts asked who the reader would pick between Alabama and various teams. Who cares? Put a large sum of money on the table, I am going to pick Alabama and others to beat Iowa. But that is irrelevant to where teams should place based on actual game results. If someone wants to argue that going 5-1 versus Alabama’s schedule is better than going 6-0 versus Iowa’s schedule, go ahead and make that case. Just don’t tell me that Alabama would roll Iowa and should be ranked higher for that reason. Hypothetical results do not count. Hypothetically, Texas A&M never beats Alabama.

Through week 6, Georgia and Eastern Washington remain atop the FBS and FCS standings respectively. In FBS play, Iowa moved past Michigan into second place following their 23-20 win over Penn State. Kentucky is the newest member of the top four after the Wildcats handled LSU. #4 Kentucky visits #1 Georgia next Saturday in the game of the week. Good luck. In FCS play, Southern Illinois and Villanova posted big wins over South Dakota State and James Madison respectively while Sam Houston State and North Dakota State moved closer to the top of the standings. This week’s standings list each team’s Power Points Won (PPW) and Power Points Lost (PPL). For example, Ohio State’s five wins are worth 14 points to date and their one loss is worth -1 point.