In our NCAA Ranking Averages we look at the traditional two polls (the AP and Coaches) as well as the median computer rankings and the BlogPoll, average them all out and see how the chips fall. Not surprisingly each poll has noticeable differences from the other.

The Sooners take the number one spot by virtue of being ranked first in three of four polls. The lone dissenter? The BlogPoll, as bloggers were impressed by LSU's victory over Oregon and voted the Tigers into the top spot. The computers meanwhile were less impressed, leaving LSU at fourth.

The computer rankings are not surprisingly the most different from the others in part due to a lack of data for them to work with in determining their rankings. The computers rank Texas A&M, Nebraska, Michigan State, Penn State, Baylor, Texas, Georgia, Houston, and Northwestern all considerably below the average from the other polls. Meanwhile they rank Maryland, USC, and Missouri below their human counterparts. But nowhere is the simple fact that the computers are in fact, computers and not people, is in their ranking of Ohio State and Auburn. The computer ranking for Ohio State is sixth; for all the other polls, 15th. Clearly suspensions and a new coach aren't factored into the computers evaluation of the Buckeye's performance. The computers also value Auburn higher than the human polls, ranking them 18th as compared to 22nd in the Coaches, 27th in the AP, and 33rd in the BlogPoll. Auburn struggled mightily and lucked out to beat Utah State; their poor performance is most reflected by the bloggers, who were most likely to have watched the actually game.

The BlogPoll mirrors the major polls pretty closely with a few exceptions, which makes sense at this point in the season. The BlogPoll punished TCU more for their loss and consequently awarded Baylor more so than their older 'established' counterparts. And as previously mentioned, the BlogPoll really punished Auburn for their sloppy narrow win.

Despite the lack of marquee matchups this weekend there are still enough games to shake up the polls, and particularly the computers. Games between top 40 opponents include:

No. 39 Arizona @ No. 8 Oklahoma State
No. 19 Missouri @ No. 24 Arizona State
No. 16 Mississippi State @ No. 22 Auburn
No. 3 Alabama @ No. 25 Penn State
No. 13 South Carolina @ No. 31 Georgia
No. 34 BYU @ No. 27 Texas