You’d think that when number two in the polls plays number four, and number two just barely wins, that’s exactly what would be expected, so the polls must have had it right, at least in terms of relative ranking.

So why did Ohio State drop to number nine?

The argument presumably is because they shouldn’t now be rated above so many teams with no losses, but the only reason those teams don’t have losses could be because they haven’t played Texas or USC (or Ohio State). I remember back in the eighties when number one and number two played each other during the season (I think it was Michigan and Iowa, but it might have been Michigan State and Iowa), and number one eked out a win against number two. By any consistent logic, they both should have retained their rankings. The fact that number two fell then, and tOSU fell today, is a testament to the fundamental irrationality of the process.