For the first time in seven-year history of CB360′s 100-point Composite National Rankings (CNR), Louisiana (Lafayette) sits atop the CNR after moving up from No. 2 a week ago. Former No. 1 Florida State slipped back to 5th while South Carolina slipped from 3rd to 7th, allowing Virginia to climb a couple spots to No. 2 while Cal Poly’s ascension contined (6th to 3rd). Texas is up from 5th to 4th, while Oregon State made the jump from 9th to 6th and Washington bumped up two positions into No. 8. Ole Miss has cracked the top-10 (from 13th to 9th) and Houston holds down the final top-10 spot, after dropping from 7th. Current No. 13 Vanderbilt (8th last week) has slipped outside of the current top-10.
The top-10 includes three teams enjoying their highest ranking in the history of the CNR: Louisiana-Lafayette, Cal Poly and Washington, which Houston last week cracked the CNR top-10 for the first time.
Previous CB360 Top-50 from 2014 Season:
Week-9 | Week-8 | Week-7 | Week-6 | Week-5 | Week-4 | Week-3 | Week-2 | Preseason
For the first time in seven-year history of CB360′s 100-point Composite National Rankings (CNR), Louisiana (Lafayette) sits atop the CNR after moving up from No. 2 a week ago. Former No. 1 Florida State slipped back to 5th while South Carolina slipped from 3rd to 7th, allowing Virginia to climb a couple spots to No. 2 while Cal Poly’s ascension contined (6th to 3rd). Texas is up from 5th to 4th, while Oregon State made the jump from 9th to 6th and Washington bumped up two positions into No. 8. Ole Miss has cracked the top-10 (from 13th to 9th) and Houston holds down the final top-10 spot, after dropping from 7th. Current No. 13 Vanderbilt (8th last week) has slipped outside of the current top-10.
The top-10 includes three teams enjoying their highest ranking in the history of the CNR: Louisiana-Lafayette, Cal Poly and Washington, which Houston last week cracked the CNR top-10 for the first time.
Five teams in the low-40s of the previous week’s CNR have slid outside the top-50: (44) West Virginia, (45) Kansas, (47) Florida International, (48) Illinois State and (50) Wake Forest. Four teams have returned to the top-50 for this week – (32) Georgia Tech, (37) Seton Hall, (45) Nebraska and (49) Sam Houston State – while (46) Georgia has entered the top-50 for the first time in 2014.
TCU (#49 to #40) and UC Irvine (#42 to #35) made the biggest climbs within the CNR, while the biggest drops included: Arkansas (#31 to #48), Oklahoma (#37 to #50), Kentucky (#11 to #22), Clemson (#17 to #28) and NC State (#39 to #47).
The current top-50 includes 11 SEC teams (six of them among the top-20, but none top-5), plus seven ACC, five Big 12, five Pac-12 and four Big West. Other conference currently represented in the CNR: three each from the Missouri Valley and Mountain West … two each from the American Athletic, Big Ten and West Coast Conference … one each from the Atlantic 10, Atlantic Sun, BIG EAST, Big South, Southland and Sun Belt.
Among the teams in the 2014 CB360 preseason top-50, exactly half of them (25) have slipped out of the top-50 at some point during the season: (13) North Carolina, (18) Kansas State, (21) Arizona State, (22) TCU, (25) Texas A&M, (26) Alabama, (28) Arizona, (29) East Carolina, (30) Arkansas, (31) Florida Atlantic, (34) Oklahoma, (35) Georgia Tech, (36) UNC Wilmington, (38) Western Carolina, (39) Nebraska, (40) New Mexico, (41) Wichita State, (42) Stanford, (43) Coastal Carolina, (45) Liberty, (45) UNLV, (46) Mercer, (46) Sam Houston State, (49) Washington State and (50) North Florida.
Here are some of the midseason success stories, based on the CNR:
• Five teams that were not in the CNR preseason top-50 now have landed in the top-35: (8) Washington, (21) UNLV, (23) Pepperdine, (24) Texas Tech and (31) Tennessee
• Louisiana-Lafayette cb360 preseason #24, now #1
• Cal Poly preseason #27 (now #3)
• Texas preseason #23 (now #4)
• Ole Miss preseason #32 (now #9)
• Houston preseason #50 (now #10)
• UC Santa Barbara preseason #37 (now #20)
• Kentucky preseason #44 (now #22)
Seven of the teams in the CB360 preseason top-10 now find themselves outside of the top-10, including Indiana (preseason #7) currently down at 19th and current #26 Mississippi State (opened season at #4). Cal State Fullerton was the CB360 preseason #1 (now 25th), while current #47 NC State was 8th in the preseason. LSU was #6 in the CNR preseason but now is 11th, while preseason #10 Vanderbilt currently is 13th and Oregon (preseason #9) now is 15th. (The only three preseason top-10 teams still currently in the top-10 are Oregon State, Virginia and Florida State).
CB360 Composite Top-50 Rankings for 2014 – Week 10 (thru games of 4–13–14)
(rank) Team – CNR pts (prev.: week-9 CNR … preseason)
1. Louisiana-Lafayette – 98.07 (2 … 4 … 4 … 7 … 10 … 12 … 18 … 21 … 24 preseason)
2. Virginia – 97.18 (4 … 3 … 3 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 2 … 4 … 3)
3. Cal Poly – 95.87 (6 … 6 … 9 … 8 … 11 … 13 … 16 … 24 … 27)
4. Texas – 95.66 (5 … 7 … 13 … 14 … 12 … 16 … 23 … 26 … 23)
5. Florida State – 95.56 (1 … 2 … 1 … 2 … 2 … 1 … 1 … 3 … 5)
6. Oregon State – 93.00 (9 … 9 … 11 … 5 … 5 … 6 … 5 … 2 … 2)
7. South Carolina – 92.92 (3 … 1 … 2 … 1… 1 … 3 … 8 … 9 … 12)
8. Washington – 90.58 (10 … 19 … 27 … 42 … – … – … – … – … –)
9. Mississippi – 89.23 (13 … 18 … 10 … 12 … 15 … 19 … 30 … 30 … 32)
10. Houston – 87.25 (7 … 8 … 12 … 23 … 29 … 42 … 41 … 41 … 50)
11. LSU – 87.23 (12 … 15 … 7 … 11 … 7 … 8 … 3 … 6 … 6)
12. Louisville – 86.45 (16 … 16 … 17 … 15 … 14 … 14 … 13 … 14 … 14)
13. Vanderbilt – 86.42 (8 … 5 … 5 … 3 … 4 … 5 … 6 … 7 … 10)
14. Florida – 86.25 (20 … 12 … 35 … 45 … 44 … 46 … 21 … 18 … 19)
15. Oregon – 85.10 (15 … 11 … 6 … 6 … 9 … 9 … 7 … 8 … 9)
16. Alabama – 84.41 (14 … 20 … 43 … 27 … – … 38 … 26 … 25 … 26)
17. Rice – 83.11 (18 … 10 … 8 … 10 … 16 … 18 …11 … 15 … 15)
18. Miami – 80.08 (23 … 27 … 37 … 30 … 19 … 20 … 15 … 17 … 17)
19. Indiana – 80.06 (25 … 25 … 33 … 32 … 25 … 24 … 24 … 12 … 7)
20. UC Santa Barbara – 79.04 (19 … 22 … 16 … 22 … 23 … 49 … 40 … 45 … 37)
21. UNLV – 77.15 (24 … 24 … 32 … 41 … 48 … – … – … – … –)
22. Kentucky – 74.77 (11 … 17 … 15 … 25 … 20 … 21 … 33 … 35 … 44)
23. Pepperdine – 72.38 (28 … 32 … 42 .. – … 34 … – … – … – … –)
24. Texas Tech – 71.95 (29 … 29 … 30 … 28 … 28 … 34 … 32 … 33 … –)
25. Cal State Fullerton – 71.44 (21 … 21 … 14 … 17 … 8 … 4 … 4 … 1 … 1)
26. Mississippi State – 70.86 (22 … 14 … 18 … 24 … 17 … 10 … 10 … 5 … 4)
27. San Diego – 70.37 (27 … 46 … 47 … 21 … 31 … 27 … 37 … 36 … 33)
28. Clemson – 68.93 (17 … 13 … 19 … 16 … 18 … 17 … 12 … 16 … 16)
29. Liberty – 68.17 (34 … 38 … 46 … 50 … – … – … – … – … 45)
30. Arizona State – 66.88 (30 … 28 … – … – … 43 … 36 … 27 … 20 … 21)
31. Tennessee – 66.14 (26 … 26 … 20 … 18 … 21 … 31 … 46 … – … –)
32. Georgia Tech – 63.81 (– … 31 … – … – … – … – … 38 … 38 … 35)
33. Oklahoma State – 62.06 (32 … 36 … 39 … 29 … 27 … 22 … 19 … 19 … 20)
34. Dallas Baptist – 61.74 (36 … 48 … – … 48 … – … – … – … – … –)
35. UC Irvine – 61.01 (42 … – … – … – … 35 … – … – … – … –)
36. Indiana State – 59.99 (35 … 44 … 41 … 40 … 49 … – … – … – … –)
37. Seton Hall – 58.85 (– … 37 … 29 … 26 … 33 … 35 … – … – … –)
38. UCLA – 57.63 (33 … 23 … 22 … 20 … 22 … 11 … 14 … 11 … 11)
39. New Mexico – 57.46 (43 … 49 … 49 … 34 … – … 46 … 45 … 50 … 40)
40. TCU – 56.67 (49 … – … – … 35 … 32 … 26 … 20 … 22 … 22)
41. VCU – 56.41 (46 … 33 … 26 … 33 … 40 … 41 … – … – … –)
42. Mercer – 56.03 (38 … 42 … 48 … – … – … 50 … 41 … 41 … 46)
43. Maryland – 55.00 (41 … 45 … 25 … 46 … 50 … 48 … – … – … –)
44. San Diego State – 51.71 (40 … 41 … 40 … 38 … – … – … – … – … –)
45. Nebraska – 51.57 (– … – … – … – … – … – … 35 … 39 … 39)
46. Georgia – 50.59 (– … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … –)
47. North Carolina State – 50.41 (39 … 34 … 24 … 13 … 6 … 7 … 9 … 10 … 8)
48. Arkansas – 49.64 (31 … – … – … – … 44 … 29 … 25 … 28 … 30)
49. Sam Houston State – 49.57 (– … 43 … 44 … 19 … 24 … 25 … 41 … 41 … 46)
50. Oklahoma – 49.39 (37 … 30 … 34 … 44 … – … – … 50 … 40 … 34)
dropped out of top-50:
44. West Virginia – 50.64 (44 … 40 … – … – … – … – … – … – … –)
45. Kansas – 50.50 (45 … – … – … 31 … 42 … 32 … – … – … –)
47. Florida International – 49.36 (47 … 39 … 28 … 39 … 26 … 28 … 48 … – … –)
48. Illinois State – 48.79 (48 … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … –)
50. Wake Forest – 47.40 (50 … – … – … – … – … – … – … – … –)
Other teams that have dropped out of the CNR top-50 so far in 2014:
• North Carolina – 53.18 (#13 preseason & after week-1, then 17–15–13–9–21–34)
• Kansas State (#18 preseason, #27 after week-1, #28 after week-2)
• TCU (#22 preseason & after week-1, #20 after week-2, #26 after week-3, #32 after week-4, #35 after week-5) – has returned to current top-50
• Texas A&M (#25 preseason, then 23–22–37–30-43–38 after week-7)
• Alabama (#26 preseason … #25 after week-1 … #26 after week-2 … #38 after week-3) – has returned to top-50
• Arizona (#28 preseason, #29 after week-1 & week-2)
• East Carolina (#29 preseason, #32 after week-1, #34 after week-2)
• Arkansas (#30 preseason, #28 after week-1, #25 after week-2, #29 after week-3, #44 after week-4) – has returned to top-50
• Florida Atlantic (#31 preseason, also after week-1 & week-2, #33 after week-3, #39 after week-4)
• Oklahoma (#34 preseason, #40 after week-2, #50 after week-2) – has returned to current top-50
• Georgia Tech (#35 preseason, #38 after week-1 & week-2, later #31 after week-7) – has returned to current top-50
• UNC Wilmington (#36 preseason, #37 after week-1, #36 after week-2)
• Western Carolina (#38 preseason, #48 after week-1, #44 after week-2, #45 after week-3)
• Nebraska (#39 preseason & after week-1, #35 after week-2)
• New Mexico (#40 preseason, #50 after week-1, #45 after week-2) – has returned to current top-50
• Wichita State (#41 preseason, #46 week-2, #47 after week-2)
• Stanford (#42 preseason and #47 after week-1)
• Coastal Carolina (#43 preseason)
• Liberty (#45 preseason) – has returned to current top-50
• UNLV (#46 preseason and #34 after week-1) – has returned to current top-50
• Mercer (#46 preseason, #41 after week-1 & week-2, #50 after week-3) – has returned to current top-50
• Sam Houston State (#46 preseason, then 41–41–25–24–19–44 and 43 in week-7 – has returned to current top-50
• Washington State (#49 preseason and #41 after week-1)
• North Florida (#50 preseason and #48 after week-1)
• Baylor (#49 after week-2, #49 after week-5, #36 after week-6)
• Tennessee Tech (#42 after week-3
• USC (#39 after week-2, #42 after week-3)
• Pepperdine (#34 after week-4) – has returned to current top-50
• UC Irvine (#35 after week-4) – has returned to current top-50
• Fresno State (#23 after week-3, #37 after week-4)
• California (#40 after week-3, #38 after week-4)
• Georgia Southern (#41 after week-4)
• Memphis (#39 after week-3, #36 after week-4 and week-5)
• College of Charleston (#30 after week-3, #47 after week-4, #47 after week-5)
• Ohio State (#45 after week-6)
• Creighton (#50 after week-6)
• Auburn (#37 after week-5, #23 after week-6, #31 after week-7)
• Seton Hall (#35 after week-3, then 33–26–29 and #37 in week-7) – has returned to current top-50
• UAB (#46 after #4 and #47 after week-7)
• Duke (#49 after week-7)
Note – 15 teams that were in the top-50 of the final 2013 CNR, at end of the regular season, were not in the 2014 preseason CNR top-50: (17) South Alabama, (19) Virginia Tech, (23) Troy, (29) Pittsburgh, (30) Campbell, (37) South Florida, (41) Seton Hall, (42) Gonzaga, (43) Michigan State, (44) Austin Peay, (45) Maryland, (46) UC Irvine, (47) Notre Dame, (48) Illinois and (50) Ohio State.
COMPOSITE NATIONAL RANKINGS (CNR) CRITERIA: Teams receive points based on their standings in each poll/rating/projection (60 pts for #1; 59 for #2, etc.). For polls involving voting points (coaches and CB) and the various RPI-type ratings, the CNR adjusts to reward teams that have larger margins in the voting/point totals (whereas two teams with nearly the same voting-point total will be closer in the CNR allotment for that poll). Note that strength-of-schedule typically is factored into RPI formulations … thus the actual SOS numbers only are used early in the season (SOS are not used in the CNR when RPI already are in the mix). For the NCAA field projections, teams are awarded CNR points based on their respective seedings, “last in” and “last out,” etc.
The polls/ratings/projections are averaged, with 40 points typically then added to each total in order to yield the 100-point benchmark. Early in the season (projected SOS) and late in the season (final-10 games), a maximum bonus/penalty of 0.3 (SOS) or 0.5 points (final-10) is factored into the formula (in that case, 39.7 or 39.5, rather than 40, is added to the poll/rating/projection avg.).
Here are links to the eight criteria currently used in the CNR:
• National Coaches Poll (USA Today/ESPN)
• National Collegiate Baseball Writers poll
• Baseball America rankings and midseason projection for NCAA field
• Collegiate Baseball magazine rankings
• Perfect Game rankings and midseason projection for NCAA field
• Official NCAA RPI