Official Site of the College Football Researchers Association Poll

College football is back, and so is the College Football Researchers Association top 25 poll.  As most of you know, this poll was started last year under the same name of a formerly prestigious poll from the 1980s and 90s.  With the permission and involvement of past members, this poll has been re-energized, and I’m happy to announce  that it’s re-emergence has been officially been acknowledged by the NCAA.  Here is a link to the 2010 NCAA Football Record:  http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/stats/football_records/DI/2010/2010FBS.pdf.  You will see that on page 68 the origins of the College Football Researchers Association poll are described, and it is mentioned in the last sentence that the poll was restarted in 2009.  You can also see from the chart immediately above the poll that we are currently one of the only seventeen active polls officially acknowledged by the NCAA.  Furthermore, because of the predated national champions which the original CFRA elected, there are only five national polls that have elected more national champions than we have. 

The CFRA poll has expanded in size this year and is ready to publish it’s 2010 preseason rankings.  One of the most interesting aspects of this preseason poll  is that the poll includes the exact same 25 teams which are ranked in Coaches preseason poll.  On othe other hand, one major disparity between this poll and the AP and Coaches  polls is the ranking of North Carolina.  The Tar Heels are ranked 18th in both the AP and Coaches but are ranked as low as 24th in this poll.  Also, unlike several other national polls, Southern Cal is eligible to be ranked and has received several top 25 votes, as you will see below.  Here are this year’s CFRA preseason rankings.

1.  Alabama (9)- 315 points

2.  Boise State (2)- 293 points

3.  Ohio State (1)- 292 points

4.  Florida (1)- 272 points

5.  Texas- 271 points

6.  TCU- 258 points

7.  Oklahoma- 245 points

8.  Virginia Tech- 239 points

9.  Iowa- 221 points

10.  Nebraska- 200 points

11.  Wisconsin- 175 points

12.  Miami- 150 points

13.  Oregon- 138 points

14.  Arkansas- 115 points

15.  Georgia Tech- 114 points

16.  Penn State- 112 points

17.  Pittsburgh- 107 points

18.  LSU- 93 points

19.  Oregon State- 78 points

20.  Florida State- 75 points

21.  Utah- 62 points

22.  Georgia- 60 points

23.  West Virginia- 48 points

24.  North Carolina- 45 points

25.  Auburn- 40 points

Others Receiving Votes:  Cincinnati 37, Houston 33, Brigham Young 23, Southern Cal 19, California, 18, South Carolina 13, Oklahoma State 11, Notre Dame 11, Washington 9, Clemson 9, Texas Tech 7, Connecticut 6, Missouri 5, Stanford 2, Wake Forest 2, NC State 1, Texas A & M 1

Teams Ranked Higher in CFRA than AP and Coaches Polls: Boise State (2), Wisconsin (11), Miami (12), Arkansas (14), Georgia Tech (15), Oregon State (19), Utah (21), West Virginia (23)

Teams Ranked Lower in CFRA than AP and Coaches Polls: Ohio State (3), Nebraska (10), Oregon (13), Pittsburgh (17), North Carolina (24), Auburn (25)

Teams Ranked Exactly the Same in All 3 Major Human Polls (AP, CFRA, and Coaches): Alabama (1), Florida State (20)

I’ve tried to incorporate the original CFRA with our new organization, so I thought I would complete a list of CFRA champions including our newly-elected national champion.  You will see that Bama has now won consecutive CFRA championships because of the poll’s 17 year hiatus.  I’m not sure how many entries I will be making in the offseason, but an improved and explanded CFRA will be coming next fall.

Bold represents CFRA champions who were not chosen as the consensus national champion by a majority of the other NCAA-recognized national polls.

Here are some stats comparing  our poll with the final AP and Coaches polls.  As a general theme, the CFRA repects the Big East and mid-majors more than the major polls, while, the major polls have more respect for the traditional powerhouses.

Teams Ranked Higher in CFRA than BCS, AP, and Coaches: Boise State (2),  TCU (5), Cincinnati (7),  Brigham Young (11), Pittsburgh (13), Utah (14), Central Michigan (19), Clemson (23), Oregon State (25).

Teams Ranked Lower in CFRA than BCS, AP, and Coaches:  Texas (3), Florida (4), Ohio State (6), Iowa (8), Oregon (12), Georgia Tech (14), Nebraska (17), LSU (18),  Miami-FL (20), Oklahoma State (NR), Texas Tech (NR).

Teams Ranked Exactly the Same in All 3 Major Human Polls (AP, CFRA, and Coaches):  Alabama (1), Virginia Tech (10), Wisconsin (16).

Much like all other college football polls across the nation,  the College Football Researchers Association (CFRA)  has elected the University of Alabama as its 2009 college football national champion.  We would like to congratulate the Crimson Tide for their amazing season which earned them the first CFRA national championship since 1992.  However, it is worth noting that the Tide’s margin of victory is much narrower than in most other polls.  Boise State was able to garner 40% of the first-place votes cast leaving them only 4 points behind the Tide when all the ballots were counted.  This is a major departure from the AP poll which has just been released and ranked Boise a meager # 4.   Other interesting aspects of this final poll include the fact that  we once again have a tie in our rankings, as both Utah and Georgia Tech share the 14 spot.  Finally, the CFRA once again demonstrated its great respect for mid-major teams by ranking all five of the non-BCS ranked teams (Boise State, TCU, BYU, Utah, and Central Michigan) higher than the associated press.  Here are this year’s final CFRA rankings.

1.  Alabama (6)- 246 points 

2.  Boise State (4)- 242 points

3.  Texas- 224 points

4.  Florida- 220 points

5.  TCU- 215 points

6.  Ohio State- 193 points

7.  Cincinnati- 181 points

8.  Iowa- 177 points

9.  Penn State- 176 points

10.  Virginia Tech- 150 points

11.  Brigham Young- 143 points

12.  Oregon- 125 points

13.  Pittsburgh- 112 points

14.  Utah- 106 points

14.  Georgia Tech- 106 points

16.  Wisconsin- 101 points

17.  Nebraska-  98 points

18.  LSU- 86 points

19.  Central Michigan- 67 points

20.  Miami (FL)- 47 points

21.  Ole Miss- 35 points

22.  Southern Cal- 34 points

23.  Clemson- 32 points

24.  West Virginia- 27 points

25.  Oregon State- 22 points

Others Receiving Votes: Texas Tech 17, Oklahoma 12, Stanford 9, Navy 9, Georgia 9, Rutgers 8, Florida State 6, Oklahoma State 4, Middle Tennessee State 3, Arizona 3, Auburn 2, Houston 2, Villanova 1

Dropped Out: Stanford 19, Oklahoma State 20, Arizona 25

It took the entire regular season, but finally the CFRA has made a significant and drastic departure from the mainstream polls.  The association has almost unanimously voted in favor of a different title game by placing TCU ahead of Texas at the # 2 spot in the country.  If TCU beats Boise and Texas beats Alabama, it will be interesting to see if the Frogs will stay on top of the Horns to claim the CFRA national title on January 7.  Another interesting aspect of this final regular season poll is that Houston went from a team that had been consistently ranked higher in the CFRA than the other polls, and now after a loss to ECU, it finds itself lower in this poll than any others.  Here are this week’s rankings.

1.  Alabama (9)- 272 points 

2.  TCU (2)- 261 points

3.  Texas- 253 points

4.  Boise State- 241 points

5.  Cincinnati- 230 points

6.  Florida- 224 points

7.  Oregon- 200 points

8.  Ohio State- 199 points

9.  Penn State- 174 points

10.  Georgia Tech- 172 points

11.  Iowa- 170 points

12.  Virginia Tech- 158 points

13.  LSU- 136 points

14.  Brigham Young- 133 points

15.  Miami(FL)- 121 points

16.  Pittsburgh- 95 points

17.  Oregon State- 87 points

18.  West Virginia- 75 points

19.  Stanford- 73 points

20.  Oklahoma State- 52 points

21.  Utah- 48 points

22.  Central Michigan- 43 points

22.  Nebraska- 43 points

24.  Wisconsin- 35 points

25.  Arizona- 26 points

Others Receiving Votes: East Carolina 10, Clemson 10, Troy 9, North Carolina 9, Ole Miss 5, Houston 4, Auburn 3, Georgia 3, South Carolina 1

Dropped Out: Houston 17, Southern Cal 19, California 21

Teams Ranked Higher in CFRA than BCS, AP, and Coaches: TCU (2), Boise State (4), Utah (21), Central Michigan (22).

Teams Ranked Lower in CFRA than BCS, AP, and Coaches:  Cincinnati (5), Florida (6), Arizona (25), Houston (NR).

Teams Ranked Exactly the Same in All 3 Major Human Polls (AP, CFRA, and Coaches):  Alabama (1), Oregon (7), Ohio State (8), Virginia Tech (12), LSU (13).

There was some moving and shaking at the top of the CFRA poll this week, as Florida regained the # 1 spot after back-to-back weeks at # 3.  This movement actually created a tie at the 2-spot between Texas and Alabama, which I believe this is the first tie between two top 5 teams  in any major poll this season.  However, there will certainly be more changes up there next week, as Bama and Florida square off on Saturday.  We also had a surprise MAC entrant into the poll for the second consecutive week.  Temple snuck into the CFRA poll at # 24  last week, and now after the Owls’ disappointing loss to Ohio, Central Michigan has been voted in to replace them at the same spot.  Furthermore, a major theme emerged in this week’s rankings and that is the continued respect the CFRA has for quality mid-major programs and lack of respect for teams from inferior BCS Conferences.  If you check out the CFRA extremity listings at the bottom of the poll, you will see that 4 out of 5 of the teams voted higher in this poll than in the AP, Coaches, and BCS are squads from non-BCS conferences.  Conversely, 5 of the 6 teams voted lower in this poll than in the three others are squads from the worst BCS leagues (ACC and Big East).  At any rate, here are this week’s rankings.

1.  Florida (4)- 215 points 

2.  Texas (2)- 210 points

2.  Alabama (1)- 210 points

4.  TCU (2)- 206 points

5.  Boise State- 193 points

6.  Cincinnati- 181 points

7.  Ohio State- 167 points

8.  Oregon- 164 points

9.  Penn State- 142 points

10.  Iowa- 137 points

11.  Virginia Tech- 134 points

12.  Brigham Young- 111 points

13.  Georgia Tech- 108 points

14.  LSU- 101 points

15.  Oregon State- 100 points

16.  Pittsburgh- 93 points

17.  Houston- 82 points

18.  Miami (FL)- 77 points

19.  Southern Cal- 61 points

20.  Nebraska- 42 points

21.  California- 40 points

22.  Stanford- 36 points

23.  West Virginia- 21 points

24.  Central Michigan- 19 points

25.  Oklahoma State- 18 points

Others Receiving Votes: Utah 16,  Wisconsin 14, Clemson 12, Troy 7, Ohio 6, Ole Miss 1, William & Mary 1

Dropped Out: Clemson 15, Utah 19, Ole Miss 22, Temple 24

Teams Ranked Higher in CFRA than BCS, AP, and Coaches: Boise State (5), Brigham Young (12), Houston (17), Stanford (22), Central Michigan (24).

Teams Ranked Lower in CFRA than BCS, AP, and Coaches:  Cincinnati (6), Georgia Tech (13), Pittsburgh (16), Miami-FL (18), Oklahoma State (25), Clemson (NR).

Teams Ranked Exactly the Same in All 3 Major Human Polls (AP, CFRA, and Coaches):  Florida (1), TCU (4).

Wow… it sure is tight at the top.  For the first-time in seven weeks, there are no ties in the CFRA poll; however, the three unbeaten powerhouses are virtually in a deadlock for the top spot.  Only one point separates Texas, Alabama, and Florida, as the top 3 stay the same in the CFRA for the second consecutive week.    Interestingly enough, Florida actually received the most first-place votes of any team this week, yet they find themselves at # 3.  I don’ t think I have ever seen that before in any top 25 poll in any sport.  There is also a major surprise at bottom of the Top 25, as Temple becomes a surprise entrant into the poll.  I’m not sure the last-time Temple was ranked in any college football poll, but the association feels they have earned the 24th spot based on their impressive 9-game winning streak, which is one of the longest in the country.  Without further ado, here are this week’s rankings.

1.  Texas (3)- 260 points 

2.  Alabama (2)- 259 points

3.  Florida (4)- 258 points

4.  TCU (2)- 252 points

5.  Boise State- 235 points

6.  Cincinnati- 221 points

7.  Georgia Tech- 209 points

8.  Pittsburgh- 194 points

9.  Ohio State- 185 points

10.  Oregon- 178 points

11.  Oklahoma State- 158 points

12.  Penn State- 146 points

13.  Iowa- 140 points

14.  Virginia Tech- 128 points

15.  Clemson- 115 points

16.  Brigham Young- 103 points

17.  LSU- 86 points

18.  Oregon State- 80 points

19.  Utah- 62 points

20.  Miami (FL)- 57 points

21.  Houston- 56 points

22.  Ole Miss- 51 points

23.  Southern Cal- 33 points

24.  Temple- 26 points

25.  California- 17 points

Others Receiving Votes: Nebraska 15, Central Michigan 14,  North Carolina 14, Stanford 12, Wisconsin 8, Nevada 2, Troy 1

Dropped Out: Wisconsin 14, Stanford 15, Rutgers 22

Teams Ranked Higher in CFRA than BCS, AP, and Coaches: Texas (1), Boise State (5), Temple (24).

Teams Ranked Lower in CFRA than BCS, AP, and Coaches: Florida (3), Cincinnati (6), North Carolina (NR). 

Teams Ranked Exactly the Same in All 3 Major Human Polls (AP, CFRA, and Coaches):  TCU (4) , Georgia Tech (7), Oregon (10), Iowa (13), Virginia Tech (14), LSU (17) .

Finally, we have a major shakeup at the top of the CFRA rankings.  The CFRA has reversed the BCS and AP top 3 ranking Texas at 1, Bama at 2, and Florida at 3.  Even more surprising is the fact that TCU has garnered two first-place votes making the CFRA the first major poll this season to give first-place votes to a non-BCS team.  This may foreshadow possible movement within the CFRA to split the national champinons if TCU were to win out.  In addition, for the sixth consecutive week, there are ties in the poll with both Iowa and Stanford sharing the 15 spot, Houston and Miami deadlocked at 20, and USC and Utah tied at # 24. 

1.  Texas (3)- 238 points 

2.  Alabama (2)- 236 points

3.  Florida (3)- 233 points

4.  TCU (2)- 228 points

5.  Boise State- 214 points

6.  Cincinnati- 201 points

7.  Georgia Tech- 188 points

8.  Pittsburgh- 174 points

9.  Ohio State- 162 points

10.  LSU- 158 points

11.  Oregon- 150 points

12.  Oklahoma State- 130 points

13.  Penn State- 120 points

14.  Wisconsin- 105 points

15.  Iowa- 103 points

15.  Stanford- 103 points

17.  Virginia Tech- 95 points

18.  Clemson- 82 points

19.  Brigham Young- 74 points

20.  Houston- 36 points

20.  Miami (FL)- 36 points

22.  Rutgers- 30 points

23.  Oregon State- 27 points

24.  Southern Cal- 25 points

24.  Utah- 25 points

Others Receiving Votes: Central Michigan 19, Temple 17, Arizona 15, Nebraska 11, Ole Miss 7, West Virginia 6, North Carolina 2

Dropped Out: Arizona 18, South Florida 23, West Virgnia 25

Teams Ranked Higher in CFRA than BCS, AP, and Coaches: Texas (1), Boise State (5), Houston (20), Rutgers (22).

Teams Ranked Lower in CFRA than BCS, AP, and Coaches: Florida (3), Cincinnati (6), Virginia Tech (17),  Oregon State (23), Southern Cal (24), Utah (24), California (NR).

Teams Ranked Exactly the Same in All 3 Major Human Polls (AP, CFRA, and Coaches):  TCU (4) , Georgia Tech (7), LSU (10), Oregon (11), Iowa (15).

 There are several interesting developments in this week’s CFRA poll.  First of all, the association has pretty much found a solution for the controversy surrounding the Boise-TCU-Cincy battle for spots 4-6 in the polls, and that is to create a virtual tie between the 3 teams.  As you will see, TCU, Boise, and Cincy are all separated by only one point in this poll.  A similar 3-way struggle exists between USC, Ohio State, and LSU at numbers 10-12, which are also separated by a single point each  in this poll.  In addition, for the fifth straight week, there is a tie in the poll with both Miami and Oregon sharing the 15 spot.  Furthermore, the CFRA continues to give respect to non-BCS teams, as Boise, Houston, and BYU were ranked higher in this poll than any others for the second straight week.  

1.  Florida (7)- 246 points 

2.  Texas (2)- 238 points

3.  Alabama (1)- 236 points

4.  TCU- 211 points

5.  Boise State- 210 points

6.  Cincinnati- 209 points

7.  Georgia Tech- 190 points

8.  Pittsburgh- 165 points

9.  Houston- 152 points

10.  Southern Cal- 145 points

11.  Ohio State- 144 points

12.  LSU- 143 points

13.  Iowa- 130 points

14.  Utah- 124 points

15.  Miami-FL- 114 points

15.  Oregon- 114 points

17.  Oklahoma State- 90 points

18.  Arizona- 86 points

19.  Penn State- 77 points

20.  Wisconsin- 53 points

21.  Brigham Young- 45 points

22.  Virginia Tech- 33 points

23.  South Florida- 27 points

24.  Clemson- 25 points

25.  West Virginia- 19 points

Others Receiving Votes: Stanford 10, Temple 4, Central Michigan 3, Oregon State 3, Rutgers 2, Auburn 2

Dropped Out: Notre Dame 19, Oklahoma 22, California 25

Teams Ranked Higher in CFRA than BCS, AP, and Coaches: Boise State (5), Houston (9), Brigham Young (21).

Teams Ranked Lower in CFRA than BCS, AP, and Coaches: Cincinnati (6), LSU (12), Virginia Tech (22).

Teams Ranked Exactly the Same in All 3 Major Human Polls (AP, CFRA, and Coaches): Florida (1), Texas (2), Alabama (3), TCU (4) , Georgia Tech (7).

It looks like the CFRA was correct in its lack of respect for USC.  While all other major rankings systems had USC in the top 5, ranked ahead many of the current unbeatens, the CFRA kept them below Boise, Cincy, and TCU.  The association should feel vindicated this weekend, as Southern Cal got tore up by Oregon.  The top 3 here are the same as the other major polls, but Boise continues to hold on to the CFRA 4-spot, despite falling to # 7 in the BCS.  In addition to Boise, this poll continues to have a great deal of love for non-BCS schools, as you will notice in the “teams ranked higher in CFRA poll” stat on the bottom of the entry.  Also, for the fourth straight week, there is a tie in the poll, as both Oklahoma and Wisconsin share the 22 spot.  Here are this week’s rankings:

1.  Florida (6)- 246 points 

2.  Texas (3)- 241 points

3.  Alabama (1)- 233 points

4.  Boise State- 212 points

5.  Cincinnati- 208 points

6.  TCU- 201 points

7.  Iowa- 198 points

8.  Oregon- 174 points

9.  LSU- 168 points

10.  Georgia Tech- 161 points

11.  Penn State- 140 points

12.  Houston- 132 points

13.  Pittsburgh- 119 points

14.  Ohio State- 112 points

15.  Southern Cal- 111 points

16.  Utah- 98 points

17.  Oklahoma State- 89 points

18.  Miami (FL)- 69 points

19.  Notre Dame- 51 points

20.  Arizona- 48 points

21.  Virginia Tech- 44 points

22.  Oklahoma- 40 points

22.  Wisconsin- 40 points

24.  Brigham Young- 29 points

25.  California- 22 points

Others Receiving Votes: South Florida 20, West Virginia 17, Central Michigan 6, Clemson 6, Idaho 3, Texas Tech 2, Temple 2, Auburn 2, Ole Miss 1

Dropped Out: West Virginia 18, South Carolina 21, Ole Miss 22, Central Michigan 24

Teams Ranked Higher in CFRA than BCS, AP, and Coaches: Boise State (4), Houston (12), Oklahoma State (17), Virginia Tech (21), BYU (24).

Teams Ranked Lower in CFRA than BCS, AP, and Coaches: Southern Cal (15), Miami-FL (18), Cal (25) .

Teams Ranked Exactly the Same in All 3 Major Human Polls (AP, CFRA, and Coaches): Florida (1), Texas (2), Alabama (3), LSU (9).