Team rankings 55-40

With 55 teams encompassing the Sun Belt, WAC, MAC, MWC, Conference USA, Army, BYU and Navy, here is the first look at a full ranking. Today we focus on teams 55-40 heading towards #1. 

55. UCF--With the sanctions on the program, UCF will not be put into the weekly ranking.

54. UTSA--With a 2011 schedule that saw no FBS teams, UTSA struggled to a 4-6 record with their best win coming versus future Sun Belt team Georgia State.

53. South Alabama--The Jaguars went 6-4 last season facing a FCS schedule that also saw trips to North Carolina State and Kent State. USA held their own versus Kent State only losing by 8 points. The best win of last season was over UTSA in overtime.

52. Texas State--The Bobcats faced a FCS schedule with Texas Tech and Wyoming being their FBS opponents. Those games were disasters losing a combined 95-20 in those games. The Bobcats finished 6-6 with a season ending loss to Sam Houston State.

51. Massachusetts--The Minutemen played a FCS schedule that also included a trip to in-state foe Boston College. The Boston College game was a blowout losing 45-17. The Minutemen struggled to finish the season losing 4 of their final 5 games to finish 5-6.

50. New Mexico--The Lobos went 1-11 last season with their only win coming versus UNLV. New Mexico lost 8 of those games by 20 points or more.

49. Florida Atlantic--The Owls went 1-11 in 2011 with their only win coming versus UAB. FAU was shut out 3 times and failed to even record a single first down in a game versus Michigan State.

48. Akron--The Zips went 1-11 last fall with their only win coming versus FCS' Virginia Military Institute. The Zips lost by 20 or more points in 7 games on the season.

47. Memphis--The Tigers went 2-10 last fall with 6 losses by 20 points or more. One of the two wins was versus FCS opponent Austin Peay.

46. UNLV--The Rebels struggled to a 2-10 season in 2011 with 8 losses by 20 points or more. Both win were unexpected versus Colorado State and Hawaii. The Rebels lost 41-16 to FCS opponent Southern Utah.

45. UAB--The Blazers went 3-9 in 2011 with 6 straight losses to start the season. UAB won 3 of their final 6 games but lost all momentum with a season ending loss to FAU giving the Owls their only win of the season.

44. Tulane--The Green Wave went 2-11 in 2011 getting to play an extra game with a road trip to Hawaii to end the season. The Green Wave lost 6 games by 20 points or more including a 73-17 thrashing by the hands of the high flying Houston Cougars.

43. Middle Tennessee--The Blue Raiders went 2-10 with wins versus Memphis and Florida Atlantic, a duo of teams that went 3-21 last fall. 6 of the 10 losses were by 20 points or more with the Blue Raider defense giving up 20 points or more in 11 of 12 games.

42. Central Michigan--The Chippewas went 3-9 in 2011 with a head scratching win over MAC champion Northern Illinois. The Chippewas lost 6 games by 14 or more points capped by a 44-14 drubbing by rival Western Michigan.

41. North Texas--The Mean Green went 5-7 with alternating wins and losses for the final 8 games of the year. There is slight reason for optimism with all 4 conference losses coming versus the top teams in the Sun Belt. The bad news is that none of the 4 games were particularly close affairs so North Texas has a hill to climb to compete in the Sun Belt.

40. Rice--The Rice Owls went 4-8 in 2011 with the best win on the schedule versus a not so good Purdue team. 5 of the 8 losses were by 20 or more points including giving up 73 points to Houston in a 73-34 loss.