This past weekend was a tough one for several programs. Penn State was awfully close to a bad loss at Minnesota but they escaped. Elsewhere, seven teams from our 18S rankings came away with a defeat after week 13. Ouch! I’m glad it wasn’t Notre Dame.
Here’s the latest 18 Stripes Top 20 Poll:
18 Stripes Top 20 Poll
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | NEXT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oregon | 11-0 | vs. Washington |
| 2 | Ohio State | 10-1 | vs. Michigan |
| 3 | Texas | 10-1 | at Texas A&M |
| 4 | Georgia (+1) | 9-2 | vs. Georgia Tech |
| 5 | Notre Dame (+1) | 10-1 | at USC |
| 6 | SMU (+2) | 10-1 | vs. California |
| 7 | Penn State (+3) | 10-1 | vs. Maryland |
| 8 | Miami (+3) | 10-1 | at Syracuse |
| 9 | Tennessee (+3) | 9-2 | at Vanderbilt |
| 10 | Indiana (-6) | 10-1 | vs. Purdue |
| 11 | Boise State (+2) | 10-1 | vs. Oregon State |
| 12 | BYU (-5) | 9-2 | vs. Houston |
| 13 | Clemson (+4) | 9-2 | vs. South Carolina |
| 14 | Arizona State (+5) | 9-2 | at Arizona |
| 15 | Alabama (-6) | 8-3 | vs. Auburn |
| 16 | Tulane (+4) | 9-2 | vs. Memphis |
| 17 | Iowa State (NR) | 9-2 | vs. Kansas State |
| 18 | Ole Miss (-3) | 8-3 | vs. Miss State |
| 19 | South Carolina (NR) | 8-3 | at Clemson |
| 20 | UNLV (NR) | 9-2 | vs. Nevada |
OUT:
#14 Army
#16 Texas A&M
#18 Colorado
This week’s AP Poll has these teams at 25th (Army), 20th (A&M), and 23rd (Colorado) respectively. There’s probably a couple more losses coming in the regular season for this group too, I think.
First round bye watch (if they win their conferences):
#1 Oregon
#3 Texas
#6 SMU
#11 Boise State
Can we just take a second to appreciate how weird things are for Boise State right now? This isn’t the nationally prominent Broncos from a decade ago. I don’t think they’ll ever actually get the first round bye over the Big 12 champion if said champion has only 2 losses. It might happen if the Big 12 champion has 3 losses, though. What if I told you Boise State would get a first round bye in the pre-season with their schedule and a top win of…UNLV?
National Storylines
Kent State lost 38-17 to last Tuesday to drop to 1-11. Head coach Kenni Burns is 1-20 with the Golden Flashes.
UNLV came from behind with 17 unanswered in the 2nd half to beat San Jose State 27-16.
Ohio State proved too much for previously undefeated Indiana dropping the Hoosiers 38-15 in the Horseshoe.
Texas took care of business at home with a 31-14 win over Kentucky.
Penn State beat Minnesota by a single point 26-25 in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
The Oklahoma defense suffocated Alabama leading to a 24-3 win in Norman. The Tide are a shocking 4-3 in SEC play now.
Miami started slow then ran away from Wake Forest easily 42-14.
Count Florida as one of the better playing teams in the country right now after they upset Ole Miss 24-17 in the Swamp.
Boise State needed a 4th quarter touchdown to keep their perfect Mountain West season alive. They beat Wyoming 17-13 in Laramie.
Arizona State is so hot right now. Despite late drama, the Sun Devils beat BYU 28-23 and stormed the field twice.
You can also count Kansas as one of the better teams right now as they dumped Colorado 37-21 in Kansas City.
Iowa State is still hanging around following a narrow 31-28 win at Utah.
The same goes for Missouri who are 8-3 after a 39-20 win at Mississippi State.
Nebraska is bowl eligible following a 44-25 win against visiting Wisconsin.
The Pac-12 belongs to Oregon State! The Beavers beat Washington State 41-38 in Corvallis.
LSU is back to winning ways beating Vanderbilt 24-17 in Death Valley.
Duke is quietly 8-3 and 4-3 in the ACC following a home 31-28 over Virginia Tech.
Opponent Watch
Texas A&M (8-3): Convince me this won’t be a 8-5 team by the end of the season, please. The Aggies lost a 4 overtime thriller to Auburn 43-41 and have Texas coming to town this weekend.
Northern Illinois (6-5): Chuck Martin won this one for the Irish as Miami (OH) beat NIU 20-9 for some revenge.
Purdue (1-10): Hey, a competitive game! Purdue only lost 24-17 at Michigan State. Will their coach be fired in less than a week, though?
Miami [OH] (7-4): There’s a 3-way tie atop the MAC standings with the Red Hawks, Ohio, and Bowling Green all 6-1 in league play. Miami has already beaten Ohio and travels to Bowling Green this weekend.
Louisville (7-4): Well, the Cardinals took last week’s frustrating loss to Stanford out on Pittsburgh on Saturday. It was never close as Louisville won 37-9.
Stanford (3-8): One big oof for Stanford as they collapsed late to lose their rivalry game to California 24-21 in Berkeley.
Georgia Tech (7-4): A late touchdown run gave the Bees a 30-29 win over NC State.
Navy (7-3): The Middies had a bye this week.
Florida State (2-9): That winning feeling is so back as the Noles beat a real football team Charleston Southern 41-7 in Tallahassee.
Virginia (5-6): Another ugly loss for UVA as they get hammered by league-leading SMU 33-7.
Army (9-1): Bryson Dailey just carried the ball another time as I type this.
USC (6-5): Back-to-back Big Ten wins for USC! They scored 10 unanswered in the 4th quarter to beat cross-town rival UCLA 19-13 in the Rose Bowl.
