Here's my week 12 ballot; it's sure to raise eyebrows, but... why the heck not? Remember: I'm polling based on three Rules, found below the jump. For you ballot-auditors who don't like my ballots, pay particular attention to Rule #2.
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The Purple Wimple Ballot - Week 12
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | TCU Horned Frogs | -- |
| 2 | Boise St. Broncos |
 1 |
| 3 | Auburn Tigers |
 -1 |
| 4 | Wisconsin Badgers |
1 |
| 5 | LSU Tigers |
1 |
| 6 | Nebraska Cornhuskers |
2 |
| 7 | Oregon Ducks |
-3 |
| 8 | Stanford Cardinal |
-1 |
| 9 | Michigan St. Spartans | -- |
| 10 | Ohio St. Buckeyes | -- |
| 11 | Oklahoma St. Cowboys | -- |
| 12 | Virginia Tech Hokies |
2 |
| 13 | Alabama Crimson Tide |
-1 |
| 14 | Arkansas Razorbacks |
1 |
| 15 | South Carolina Gamecocks |
2 |
| 16 | Texas A&M Aggies | -- |
| 17 | Nevada Wolf Pack |
1 |
| 18 | Air Force Falcons |
6 |
| 19 | Northern Illinois Huskies | -- |
| 20 | Miami Hurricanes |
3 |
| 21 | Missouri Tigers | -- |
| 22 | Oklahoma Sooners | -- |
| 23 | USC Trojans | -- |
| 24 | North Carolina Tar Heels |
1 |
| 25 | Temple Owls |
-3 |
| Dropouts: Iowa Hawkeyes, Mississippi St. Bulldogs, San Diego St. Aztecs, Utah Utes, Arizona Wildcats | ||
SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings "
The ritual reading of the Three Rules: Rule #1: I make exceptions to all of the following rules, as I see fit, except for Rule #2. Rule #2: for at least one week, the winner of a game must outrank the loser of the same game. Rule #3A: We cannot measure a team’s quality until it beats a quality opponent. Rule #3B: Beating a 2A team is usually a meaningless exercise.
It's Rule #2 that is throwing people. It causes drastic turnovers in rankings, week in and week out, and that concerns folks like Brian at MGoBlog, who manages this poll, and whose BVDs wad up each week at my ballot. But, as Rule #2 is the one rule I won't break, it's tough noogies for those poll watchers out there who want everybody's ballot to look like theirs.
Iowa gets the brunt of Rule #2 this week. Northwestern doesn't merit a ranking, in my humble estimation, and because Northwestern beat Iowa this week, I rank neither team. That way Northwestern "outranks" Iowa, for at least a week after beating the Hawkeyes.
I finally got around to docking Oregon for its (a) weak resume, because the Ducks escaped a loss in Berkley this week by luck, and not because of skill. That berths in the national title game should turn on things as flukey as a kicker's studder-step (or worse, referees' blatant homerism in clock management, Texas) is as much an indictment of the BCS as any I know. For heavens' sake, use a playoff already!