| Louisville | #25 | - | 10-2 | - Marshall (Harbin #26, the first spot outside the BCS standings's top 25) lost the MAC title game to Toledo (9-2): it was its 12th game and earned 0 points, so its Level 1 average fell from 4.18 to 3.83 and Toledo's 11 games went into its divisor with nothing earned; without that game Marshall would rate 22.09 instead of 20.26. This accounts for 1.83 points, more than the whole 0.14-point rating gap; other factors pull the other way.
- Louisville's wins earn more: 4.95 Level 1 points per win, against 4.60 for Marshall. 1 of its 10 wins came over top-tier teams (6.5 each: Kentucky #100); Marshall had 0 of 10, plus 8 over other FBS teams (5.0 each: Bowling Green, N Illinois, Buffalo, C Michigan and 4 more) and FCS UMass and FCS Youngstown St (3.0 each). This accounts for 0.30 points, more than the whole 0.14-point rating gap; other factors pull the other way.
- Louisville has no win over a Harbin top-25 team (best win: East Carolina #57).
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| South Carolina | #22 | #14 | 8-3 | - Against LSU (Harbin #14, the spot the BCS standings gives South Carolina), South Carolina's beaten opponents earned 210.0 Level 1 points in all (281.0 for LSU's), a Level 2 term of 17.1 to 20.8. South Carolina beat 3 teams with losing records (Kentucky 2-9, Vanderbilt 2-9 and Mississippi St 3-8) and FCS Wofford, which add little to Level 2; LSU beat 2 teams with 8+ wins (Tennessee 10-2 and MTSU 8-3). This accounts for 5.52 points, more than the whole 3.97-point rating gap; other factors pull the other way.
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| UCLA | #24 | - | 7-4 | - Marshall (Harbin #26, the first spot outside the BCS standings's top 25) lost the MAC title game to Toledo (9-2): it was its 12th game and earned 0 points, so its Level 1 average fell from 4.18 to 3.83 and Toledo's 11 games went into its divisor with nothing earned; without that game Marshall would rate 22.09 instead of 20.26. This accounts for 1.83 points, more than the whole 0.32-point rating gap; other factors pull the other way.
- UCLA's wins earn more: 6.50 Level 1 points per win, against 4.60 for Marshall. 7 of its 7 wins came over top-tier teams (6.5 each: Washington #12, Ohio State #28, Alabama #47, Oregon St #60 and 3 more); Marshall had 0 of 10, plus 8 over other FBS teams (5.0 each: Bowling Green, N Illinois, Buffalo, C Michigan and 4 more) and FCS UMass and FCS Youngstown St (3.0 each). This accounts for 1.47 points, more than the whole 0.32-point rating gap; other factors pull the other way.
- The teams Marshall played had 122 games on their schedules in all, against 121 for UCLA's, and Level 2 is divided by that total, so each team Marshall beat adds less. This accounts for 0.14 of the 0.32-point rating gap (44%).
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| BYU | #23 | - | 12-1 | - Marshall (Harbin #26, the first spot outside the BCS standings's top 25) lost the MAC title game to Toledo (9-2): it was its 12th game and earned 0 points, so its Level 1 average fell from 4.18 to 3.83 and Toledo's 11 games went into its divisor with nothing earned; without that game Marshall would rate 22.09 instead of 20.26. This accounts for 1.83 points, more than the whole 0.61-point rating gap; other factors pull the other way.
- BYU beat no team with 8+ wins, so its beaten opponents earned 234.0 Level 1 points in all (218.5 for Marshall's), a Level 2 term of 16.0 to 17.9; Marshall beat 4 teams with losing records (Ohio 1-10, Buffalo 3-8, C Michigan 3-8 and Akron 4-7) and FCS UMass and FCS Youngstown St, which add little to Level 2. This accounts for 1.17 points, more than the whole 0.61-point rating gap; other factors pull the other way.
- BYU's wins earn more: 5.25 Level 1 points per win, against 4.60 for Marshall. 2 of its 12 wins came over top-tier teams (6.5 each: Mississippi St #82 and California #112); Marshall had 0 of 10, plus 8 over other FBS teams (5.0 each: Bowling Green, N Illinois, Buffalo, C Michigan and 4 more) and FCS UMass and FCS Youngstown St (3.0 each). This accounts for 0.60 of the 0.61-point rating gap (97%).
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| Texas | #13 | #7 | 10-2 | - Against Stanford (Harbin #7, the spot the BCS standings gives Texas), Texas lost the Big 12 title game to Colorado (10-2): it was its 12th game and earned 0 points, so its Level 1 average fell from 5.64 to 5.17 and Colorado's 12 games went into its divisor with nothing earned; without that game Texas would rate 28.04 instead of 25.60. This accounts for 2.43 of the 3.31-point rating gap (74%).
- Texas's beaten opponents earned 280.0 Level 1 points in all (289.5 for Stanford's), a Level 2 term of 22.4 to 23.7. Texas beat 6 teams with losing records (Houston 0-11, Baylor 3-8, Kansas 3-8, Missouri 4-7 and 2 more), which add little to Level 2; Stanford beat 1 team with 8+ wins (Oregon 10-1). This accounts for 0.77 of the 3.31-point rating gap (23%).
- The teams Texas played had 125 games on their schedules in all, against 122 for Stanford's, and Level 2 is divided by that total, so each team Texas beat adds less. This accounts for 0.56 of the 3.31-point rating gap (17%).
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