The Washington Huskies fell one spot in both the AP and USA Today Coaches polls to No. 16 and No. 19, respectively, after losing 31-28 at Stanford Saturday night.
This is about the drop most expected after losing a close game to the No. 5 team in the country. Some would say the outcome of the game proved last week’s polls to be accurate, but teams naturally move down after a loss, no matter who it’s to.
The Oregon Ducks are still the No. 2 team in the country in both polls, setting up a showdown between two top-20 teams in Seattle on Saturday. The UCLA Bruins moved up one spot to No. 11 in the AP and stayed stagnant at No. 13 in the USA Today poll. Stanford remains at No. 5 in both polls for the fourth straight week. After losing to Notre Dame at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, the Arizona State Sun Devils dropped out of the AP poll, in which they were ranked No. 22.
Sports Illustrated writer Stuart Mandel brought up a good point, asking how much the No. 19 Huskies would be favored over No. 16 Michigan Wolverines if they played this week. My guess is by about a touchdown, give or take. It just shows the flaws in the polling system, and why we should look into them too seriously at least until the BCS rankings are released.