and you are undefeated, the pollsters generally give you the benefit of the doubt after 7-0 or 8-0. Teams like Washington and TCU were safely in the top ten by this point in the season. Can anyone find an example in history of a power conference team being 7-0 and ranked lower than Pitt is right now? Same with Indiana. I'm not saying they should be ranked higher, I'm just saying it's a departure from what typically happens. In 2021 week 10, Wake Forest was 8-0 and ranked #10 in the AP poll (#9 in the CFP rankings). They really had no quality wins to speak of, but what used to happen is if you were undefeated and a member of a power conference, the pollsters just sorted you near the top even if you haven't played a strong schedule.

I don't really think this matters too much this year, because we control our own destiny with the expanded playoff and the CFP rankings are what matters anyway, but I am curious about what is causing this. Is it conference realignment? Is it the expanded playoff?