BlogPoll Ballot, Week 4: Settling in a bit

Again, for the methods, go here. The one tie was broken by the resume ballot, keeping that promise.

Things are still moving around a bit as the first weeks give us a better idea of where these teams are. But the fact that conference play is just beginning still gives us some oddities, like four SEC teams in the Top 7 and three Big XII teams in the Top 10. That likely changes soon enough.

And, of course, Vanderbilt in the Top 15. Can you go ahead and lose so I don't have to do stuff like that?

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Southern Cal	--
2	Missouri	--
3	Georgia	2
4	Florida	2
5	Oklahoma	2
6	LSU	14
7	Alabama	2
8	Penn State	4
9	Texas	4
10	Wisconsin	2
11	Wake Forest	1
12	Vanderbilt	5
13	South Florida	2
14	Brigham Young	4
15	Texas Tech	1
16	Boise State	10
17	Colorado	4
18	Utah	--
19	Auburn	5
20	East Carolina	13
21	Virginia Tech	5
22	Michigan State	--
23	TCU	2
24	Kansas	--
25	Oregon	6

Dropped Out: North Carolina (#15), Notre Dame (#23).

Focusing on the big movers:

LSU (No. 6, up 14)
I got scolded for having LSU at No. 20 last week, but they hadn't played anybody, which dragged them way down when I mixed in the resume numbers. With the Auburn win, they move up significantly. This is why resume ranking works even early in the season, and why I'm factoring it in a bit earlier this year: These things work themselves out. This poll is not meant to be the final product, or even a guess at the final product. It's supposed to be a snapshot in time.

Penn State (No. 8, down 4), Texas (No. 9, up 4)
Well, that was unexpected. The Nittany Lions largely fall because of the improvement in the resumes of teams that were below them. Texas moves up because -- well, it looks like those now below the Longhorns fared worse on the resume ballot. The fall of ECU helped some.

Vanderbilt (No. 12, up 5)
I know, this is frightening. But they've played a decent schedule and won every game, some by impressive margins. Thus, a result that would make no sense at the beginning of the season.

BYU (No. 14, down 4)
The Cougars fell on the resume ballot, dragging them down. This could be more of a problem as BYU gets into conference play; go undefeated, though, and that won't be as important.

Boise State (No. 16, previously unranked)
Win over Oregon -- impressive. I hadn't expected Boise to do well, and I might be proven right in the end. But, based on what we've seen right now, I'm wrong.

Colorado (No. 17, up 4)
Beating West Virginia might not be as big a deal as it was at the end of the season -- and we all know Bill Stewart contributed mightily to the Buffs' win. But it's still a BCS-league team, and one that was in a BCS bowl in January. So they get some credit.

Auburn (No. 19, down 5)
Well, the offense is better. Now, about that defense... It also wouldn't hurt to defeat a team that, you know, is good.

East Carolina (No. 20, down 13)
Ahem. South Carolina defeated N.C. State 34-0. They only won over William & Mary by 10 points. All that dream season talk is fading quickly.

Virginia Tech (No. 21, previously unranked)
The win over UNC puts the Hokies back in the driver's seat in the ACC Coastal. And it puts them back on the ballot -- barely.

Oregon (No. 25, down 6)
They barely hold on. They almost came back to defeat Boise State, so maybe they deserve a reprieve.

North Carolina, Notre Dame (unranked, down 11 and 3)
Lost games that could have moved them up further. Notre Dame was one of those "snapshot" teams. UNC has now dropped from the ballot twice and is unlikely to return.

Considered
Connecticut, Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech

As always, your input is welcome.