Sometimes, winning isn’t enough. This week’s Underdogs Poll shows that winning, and winning big won’t keep you safe. Like the College Football Playoff selection committee, the Underdogs Poll voters put heavy weight on strength of schedule.
2014 Underdogs Poll, week 4: ECU making its run at BYU
BYU is in a league of its own, and ECU is proving it is not if you win, but who you beat that matters.
| RANK | TEAM | POINTS | PREVIOUS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BYU (17) | 283 | 1 |
| 2 | ECU | 229 | 7 |
| 3 | Marshall (1) | 228 | 2 |
| 4 | Cincinnati | 218 | 3 |
| 5 | NIU (1) | 193 | 5 |
| 6 | Boise State | 182 | 6 |
| 7 | Navy | 162 | 8 |
| 8 | Louisiana Tech | 107 | 20 |
| 9 | UCF | 96 | 4 |
| 10 | Nevada | 92 | 10 |
| 11 | Utah State | 74 | 13 |
| 12 | San Diego State | 65 | 14 |
| 13 | Bowling Green | 57 | 25 |
| 14 | UTSA | 42 | 9 |
| 15 | Colorado State | 41 | 15 |
| Dropped Out: Louisiana-Monroe, CMU | Others Receiving Votes: Middle Tenn. (28), ULM (25), UTEP (21), UAB (16), CMU (15), Georgia Southern (14), Houston (12), Temple (11), Memphis (9), Fresno State (8), Old Dominion (8), Wyoming (6), Arkansas State (6), Tulane (6), Toledo (5), UL-Lafayette (5), Western Kentucky (4), Air Force (4), Rice (3), FAU (3), New Mexico State (1), UConn (1) | |||
One of the reasons BYU has kept increasing its lead in this poll is because of who the Cougars have beaten. UConn, Texas, and now Houston, and all in impressive fashion. Taysom Hill is as dynamic of a playmaker as you’ll find, and he’s putting up numbers (and Ws) against solid competition.
Marshall on the other hand, is slipping, and it’s undoubtedly because of the teams Marshall has played. The Thundering Herd looked fantastic in their 44-14 beatdown of Ohio, but Miami (Ohio), Rhode Island, and Ohio aren’t good teams. ECU leapt up five spots this week, leapfrogging Marshall, because of good performances against much tougher competition. The Pirates knocked off a ranked team this week, and hung tough with South Carolina a week ago.
And how about Navy? The Midshipmen looked great, even without Kennan Reynolds at the helm this week. If an injury to Reynolds couldn’t slow Navy down, that’s bad news for opposing defenses.
Then we have the curious case of Cincinnati and Gunner Kiel. In his collegiate debut (and the Bearcats’ season-opener) he orchestrated a 58-34 blowout of a solid Toledo squad, but UC still managed to drop this week. As I said, sometimes winning isn’t enough.
The Underdogs Poll is a weekly ranking of college football's top non-power FBS teams. Voters from SB Nation sites Bull Run, Down The Drive, Hustle Belt, Miner Rush, Mountain West Connection, The UConn Blog, Underdog Dynasty, Vanquish The Foe, and Voodoo Five.
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