No Saban, no problem for the Tide in the Iron Bowl, Trevor Lawrence returned with authority for Clemson, Northwestern falls on their face, Iowa State moves closer to a Big 12 regular season title, and the Ducks lose to their in-state rivals. All that, plus more in the recap after our latest 18 Stripes Top 20 Poll.

18 Stripes Top 20 Poll

RANK TEAM RECORD NEXT
1 Alabama 8-0 42-13 Win vs. Auburn
2 Notre Dame 9-0 31-17 Win at North Carolina
3 Clemson (+1) 8-1 52-17 Win vs. Pitt
4 Ohio State 4-0 BYE
5 Cincinnati 8-0 BYE
6 Texas A&M 6-1 20-7 Win vs. LSU
7 Florida 7-1 34-10 Win vs. Kentucky
8 BYU 9-0 BYE
9 Coastal Carolina (+1) 9-0 49-14 Win at Texas State
10 Marshall (+1) 7-0 BYE
11 USC (+1) 3-0 BYE
12 Indiana (+2) 5-1 27-11 Win vs. Maryland
13 Miami (+2) 7-1 BYE
14 Iowa State (+4) 7-2 23-20 Win at Texas
15 Oklahoma (+1) 6-2 BYE
16 Northwestern (-7) 5-1 29-20 Loss at Michigan State
17 Wisconsin 2-1 BYE
18 Georgia (+1) 6-2 45-16 Win at South Carolina
19 Oklahoma State (+1) 6-2 50-44 Win vs. Texas Tech
20 Louisiana (NR) 8-1 70-20 Win at Louisiana-Monroe

 

OUT: Oregon

IN: Louisiana

Week 13 Recap

The Iron Bowl was not close as quarterback Mac Jones moves closer to a Heisman with a 302-yard performance, including a season-high 5 touchdown passes.

Trevor Lawrence finally returned to the field and did not disappoint leading Clemson to 31 points in the first quarter on his way to a 403-yard performance while blowing Pitt’s doors off.

Texas A&M and LSU actually gained the same amount of yards (267) in a very ugly affair while we witnessed Aggies quarterback Kellen Mond really struggle. It’s just, LSU makes way more mistakes while going -3 in turnovers with a back-breaking pick six to boot.

As they so often do this season, Florida eventually pulled away from Kentucky after a tight contest early on. Another efficient day for Kyle Trask at quarterback who remains in the Heisman race.

Coastal Carolina didn’t trip up on the road and earned themselves an ESPN GameDay invite this weekend.

Indiana was happy to put away Maryland but lost the war as quarterback Michael Penix, Jr. is out for the season after suffering a leg injury.

Texas continues to be Not Back as they fall to 4th place in the Big 12 standings. Due to Covid issues, Iowa State may not get the chance to finish their regular season against West Virginia. Matt Campbell may have won the Big 12, ya’ll.

That whole sub-300 total yards thing that we mentioned for Northwestern last week, well they did it again against Michigan State and this time they lost. Shocker.

***

AP Top 25: Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Clemson, Texas A&M, Florida, Cincinnati, BYU, Miami, Indiana, Georgia, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Coastal Carolina, Marshall, Northwestern, USC, Wisconsin, Oklahoma State, Louisiana, Oregon, Tulsa, Washington, Iowa, Liberty.

CFB Top 25: Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Florida, Cincinnati, Georgia, Iowa State, Miami, Oklahoma, Indiana, BYU, Northwestern, Oklahoma State, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Coastal Carolina, Iowa, USC, Marshall, Washington, Oregon, Tulsa, Louisiana.

*The 18S poll and CFB Playoff poll have the same top 7 in order. For some reason, the committee has Georgia 8 spots higher than us as the top 2-loss team in the country. That seems extremely absurd.

Week 14 Games to Watch

Louisiana (+2.5) at Appalachian State

The Ragin’ Cajuns have already clinched the Sun Belt West division but are sure to take some umbrage at being underdogs coming up on Friday night in Boone, North Carolina.

Texas A&M (-7) at Auburn

This is the likely last shot at Texas A&M dropping a game during the regular season unless Tennessee can pull off something special next weekend. Should the Aggies lose, Notre Dame’s playoff chances go up a few notches.

Northwestern at Minnesota Cancelled

Liberty (+7) at Coastal Carolina

Liberty is an independent so this is a heck of a late-season OOC matchup outside the Power 5. I just checked and it’s so weird not to see Notre Dame in those pointless independent standings. A win here and Coastal head coach Jamey Chadwell’s stock is going to be in white hot fire mode.

Indiana (+14) at Wisconsin

This spread has remained steady through the week which surprises me. I’d think the Hoosiers are going to be demoralized without their quarterback and Wisconsin’s stout defense should have a big day.