These rankings are
100% based on what I have seen watching college football to this point of the
season. These are not projections for
what I think the committee rankings will be or should be.
1. Georgia Bulldogs (9-0) Georgia was
once again dominant in their 24-10 win over South Carolina on Saturday. The 14-point win was the smallest margin so
far this season for Georgia, but they were never in any danger of losing. The Bulldogs have their stiffest SEC
challenge yet, coming this Saturday as they travel to #13 Auburn (3:30pm, CBS).
2. Alabama Crimson Tide (9-0) Just like
Georgia, the Tide keep rolling (pun sadly intended). Alabama also was a 24-10 winner on Saturday,
when they hosted LSU. Bama won, despite
being outgained (306-299) by the Tigers.
It was the 1st time this season that Alabama was outgained in
a game. Alabama goes on the road this
Saturday to take on Mississippi State (7pm,
ESPN).
3. Oklahoma Sooners (8-1) Once again
the Sooners come out victorious in their rivalry Bedlam game with #10 Oklahoma
State, winning in a shootout 62-52, in this year’s edition. OU now can claim the two best road wins in
the country this season when you also include their 31-16 win in Columbus over
Ohio State in Week 2. The Sooners sit in
the driver’s seat to represent the Big XII in the College Football Playoff. However, if they stumble this week when they
host #7 TCU (8pm, FOX) the Big XII
may be without a representative once again.
4. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8-1) Not the
best performance from the Irish on Saturday in their 48-37 win over Wake
Forest, but every team has a hiccup over a 12-week schedule. The difference is that Notre Dame still won
when they weren’t playing their best.
Lots of teams can’t get away with that.
ND will need to bring their “A” Game on Saturday when they travel to #6
Miami (8pm, ABC)
5. Clemson Tigers (8-1) Chalk up
another impressive win for Clemson to add to their resume. The Tigers won on the road in Raleigh, taking
down NC State in a battle for 1st place in the ACC Atlantic
division, 38-31. The Tigers had already
beat #13 Auburn & #15 Virginia Tech this season. Next up for the Tigers, Florida State (3:30, ESPN). And even though the Seminoles are down this year,
this game has grown into a big rivalry in the ACC Atlantic.
6. Miami Hurricanes (8-0) The Hurricanes
finally impressed me this season. The defense came to play Saturday, forcing 4
Virginia Tech turnover and limiting the 15th ranked Hokies to just
299 yards. Miami will have to play
better offensively if they want to beat Notre Dame Saturday, turning it over 3
times like they did against the Hokies won’t be good enough. Win or lose vs ND, the Canes are on a
collision course with Clemson to play for the ACC Championship.
7. TCU Horned Frogs (8-1) TCU does
something that is unheard of in the Big XII, they win with defense. The Horned Frogs have held their last 4
opponents to 14 points or less, including a dominating 24-7 against Texas on
Saturday. The old saying that “Defense
travels” will be put to the test Saturday when TCU goes to Norman to face the high-powered
Oklahoma offense. The winner of this
game will sit alone atop the Big XII standings with just 1 conference loss.
8. Washington Huskies (8-1) Washington
remains to be the PAC 12’s last hope at claiming a playoff berth. The Huskies lead the nation in yards per play
defense, which says something considering some of the offenses that come out of
the PAC 12. The Huskies will have
another challenge this week as they go to Stanford (10:30pm, FS1) and face the leading rusher in the Power 5, Bryce
Love.
9. Wisconsin Badgers (9-0) Like
Washington being the PAC 12’s last playoff hope, Wisconsin has become the Big
Ten’s last hope. The Badgers still have
not beaten anyone of note this season.
They will face the best team they have seen to this point on Saturday
when they host Iowa (3:30pm, ABC) who
is coming off a big upset win over Ohio State.
10. Oklahoma State Cowboys (7-2) The
Cowboys are my highest ranked 2-loss team simply because they have lost to 2
teams in the Top 7. I have been driving
the Ok State bandwagon all season and still believe that they could beat anyone
on their schedule any given week. I can
promise you that neither Oklahoma or TCU would want to see the Cowboys in a
rematch in the Big XII Championship Game that 1st weekend in
December. The Cowboys would have to win
out for that to happen however, starting this week in Ames, when they face Iowa
State (NOON, ABC).
11. Central Florida Knights (8-0) UCF
has proven to be the cream of the crop in the Group of 5 this season as their
offense continues to pile up the points.
With cake-walk games upcoming against UCONN (NOON, ESPNU) and Temple, the Knights should enter their season
finale against 8-1 South Florida unbeaten.
If they come out of that game and win the AAC Championship Game the
following week they will get a NY^ Bowl Game as their reward.
12. Ohio State Buckeyes (7-2) So how do
you follow up your biggest win of the season?
If you are the Buckeyes, you lay an absolute dud to a 2-3 Big Ten team,
thus knocking yourself out of any real chance of making the playoffs. Ohio State does still have a chance to win
the Big Ten East and therefore the Big Ten Championship Game. They will need to bounce back this week to do
so however, when they host #14 Michigan State (NOON, FOX). Both teams are
currently tied atop the Big Ten East standings at 5-1.
13. Auburn Tigers (7-2) Auburn has the
best chance of any 2-loss team to make the Playoff. It is all in front of the Tigers, as they
host #1 Georgia this week and then go to #2 Alabama for the Iron Bowl to end
the regular season. If they win both of
those they will once again face Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. If the Tigers win all 3 of those games, plus
beat Louisiana-Monroe in 2 weeks, it would be tough to keep them out of the Playoff,
2-losses or not.
14. Michigan State (7-2) The Spartans
got blasted by Notre Dame in week 3.
Since then their lone loss was a 3OT thriller vs Northwestern. They have one last hurdle this week to
reclaim the top spot in the Big Ten East, and that is the Ohio State
Buckeyes. A win in Columbus will certainly
bolster their stock more, but more importantly, it will likely put Sparty in
the Big Ten Championship Game.
15. Virginia Tech (7-2) We mentioned
Oklahoma State having two losses to teams in the Top 7, well VT can do one
better. They have 2 losses this season
to teams with a combined 16-1 record and both (Clemson/Miami) rank in the Top
6. Unfortunately for the Hokies, unlike
Oklahoma State, they have been outmatched in their losses. VaTech looks to get back to their winning
ways in Atlanta when they face Georgia Tech (12:20, ACC Network).
16. USC Trojans (7-2) I admit it, I
wrote off the Trojans after they got run over by Notre Dame a few weeks
back. Stepping back and looking at the
big picture, their losses came to #4 ND and #18 Washington State, not
terrible. The Trojans also have already
clinched the PAC 12 South Title, which means they are still alive for the PAC
12 Championship. USC goes to Colorado (4pm, FOX) on Saturday.
17. Penn State Nittany Lions (7-2) For
the 2nd straight week, the Nittany Lions faced a tough opponent, and
for the 2nd straight week the Nittany Lions failed their test. Penn State will likely end the season without
beating a ranked opponent. A 3rd
straight loss on Saturday against Rutgers (NOON,
BTN) would drop Penn State behind the Scarlet Knights in the Big Ten East
standings.
18. Washington State (7-2) The Cougars kept
their PAC 12 Championship hopes alive last week beating Stanford 24-21. Washington State would have to win their
final 2 games to win the PAC 12 North and get a bid into the Championship Game. It will not be easy however, as both games
come on the road, where WSU is just 1-2 this season. First up is Utah (5:30, PAC12 Network) on Saturday, then comes the Apple Cup against
rival Washington.
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