Except for the upset in Ames we saw a lot of favorites win this weekend which led to a lot of the same teams in the rankings just shuffled up in a different order. Things are getting a little clearer with plenty of football remaining.
Top 11
1 Georgia (+1, 8-0, 42-7 W vs. Florida)
The Gators are now 90th(!) in S&P but the Dawgs moving up to the top spot has more to do with the ascendancy of Notre Dame as their best win.
2 Alabama (-1, 8-0, Bye)
The Tide currently haven’t faced a ranked team. As always, they control their destiny and face 3 ranked teams to finish the season.
3 Ohio State (+6, 7-1, 39-38 W vs. Penn State)Â
The Buckeyes are right in the driver’s seat to win the Big Ten after passing their toughest league test.
4 Notre Dame (+2, 7-1, 35-14 W vs. NC State)
Three wins over currently ranked teams and no bad losses make the Irish our best 1-loss team.
5 Oklahoma (+5, 7-1, 49-27 W vs. Texas Tech)
Their best loss and best win got an upgrade this weekend.
6 Clemson (-1, 7-1, 24-10 W vs. Georgia Tech)
Still carrying a bad loss but a pair of quality ranked wins keep them in the hunt.
7 Oklahoma State (+4, 7-1, 50-39 W at West Virginia)
Survived a tricky game in Morgantown to set up a huge Bedlam on Saturday.
8 TCU (-5, 7-1, 14-7 L at Iowa State)Â
Upended at Ames and now everyone in the Big 12 has at least 1 loss in league play.
9 Penn State (-5, 7-1, 39-38 L at Ohio State)
Significantly out-played at the ‘Shoe in a score that flatters the Nittany Lions.
10 Wisconsin (-3, 8-0, 24-10 W at Illinois)
Quietly played pretty poorly when no one was watching early on Saturday afternoon.
11 Miami (-3, 7-0, 24-19 W at North Carolina)
Looked very mediocre in a yawn-fest at the Tar Heels.
Next 2
Virginia Tech (E, 7-1, 24-3 W vs. Duke)Â
Easily took care of Duke and look forward to an important weekend coming up.
Washington (NR, 7-1, 44-23 W vs. UCLA)
The Huskies schedule is so weak they may not be able to overcome it even if they win the Pac-12.
Dropped out: NC State
G5 Top 3
1 UCF (E, 7-0, 73-33 W vs. Austin Peay)
Here’s your country’s No. 5 team according to S&P, also still with a healthy lead as the highest scoring offense.
2 Memphis (+1, 7-1, 56-26 W vs. Tulane)
Mike Norvell continues to Do Good Thingsâ„¢ for the Tigers.
3 USF (-1, 7-1, 28-24 L vs. Houston)
A not unexpected loss that snaps their nationally leading streak of scoring 30 points.
You Were Bad
Stanford
Nearly upset by perhaps the country’s worst Power 5 team in Oregon State.
Florida State
Perhaps the worst FSU team of my lifetime (’82) is within reach following a 35-3 loss at Boston College.
Florida
Well, they fired their now didn’t they?
Ole Miss
Blew a 31-14 lead to Arkansas.
Baylor
Super determined to finish win-less, now 0-8 after being blown out by Texas.
Indiana
Once a trendy pick to make some noise in the B1G they’re 0-5 now following a loss to Maryland.
Western Kentucky
Out-scored 22-0 in the 4th quarter to lose to Lane Kiffin.
Utah
The once sneaky good team out west is now 1-4 in the Pac-12 after a loss at Autzen.
Texas A&M
Kevin Sumlin’s seat warms up for nine millionth time following a 21-point home loss to Miss State.
Tennessee
Off to a 0-5 start in the SEC and Butch Jones may be fired by the time you read this.
Week 10 Preview
Enemy Watch
Miami
Navy (-8) at Temple
#7 Penn State (-7.5) at #24 Michigan State
South Carolina (+24.5) at #2 Georgia
#6 Clemson (-7.5) at #20 NC State
#18 Stanford (+2.5) at #25 Washington State
#13 Virginia Tech (-3) at #9 Miami
#23 Arizona (+7.5) at #17 USC
This is probably it for Chuck Martin and his chances to turn Miami, Ohio around. If he loses the Redhawks will fall to 3-6 and be 2 games behind the division leaders.
Navy is a solid 5-2 but on a 2-game losing streak. This is also their easiest game remaining and they might not be favored for their other 4 games.
Super interested to see State’s defense against Penn State, plus this line isn’t all that high. Both are coming off tough losses, too.
Be on the lookout for a little tiny bit of a letdown for Georgia this week. Gamecocks to cover could be interesting.
Clemson’s offense has been secretly closer to mediocre than great. That defense is just so stifling, though. I can’t see NC State covering when Finley is bound to be under pressure all game long. This could be very low scoring.
The Modern Stanford History says they win this game on the road and are still in the thick to play for the Pac-12 title. They’re like a cockroach who won’t die.
Lots of people are giving up on Miami lately. I’ve realized I’ve watched almost 3 full games of theirs and I couldn’t tell you much about them. Not a good sign. I feel the same way about Virginia Tech, although I haven’t watched them much this year outside of the West Virginia game. This is pretty much a Coastal division championship game.
Arizona (where Khalil Tate just ran for 850 yards in the month of October) visiting USC is our 5th ranked vs. ranked matchup just from our opponents! This weekend is going to be awesome!
Too Close for Comfort
Northern Illinois (+9) at Toledo
The MAC has been down in recent years but don’t think I haven’t been keeping my eye on Toledo for the G5 Top 3 rankings. They’ve only lost a competitive game to Miami and should win their conference. However, NIU has been playing really well, especially defensively.
Upset Pick of the Week
UCLA (+5) at Utah
You could jump on this line while Chosen Rosen is questionable. The Utes are on a 4-game losing streak.
National Spotlight
#16 Auburn (-15) at Texas A&M
#14 Iowa State (+2.5) at West Virginia
#8 Oklahoma (+3) at #11 Oklahoma State
#15 UCF (-13.5) at SMU
#19 LSU (+21.5) at #1 Alabama
I’m being kind by including the Auburn-A&M game. However, the SEC needs the Tigers to win to provide some depth in the conference and a more hyped Iron Bowl. Also, Sumlin dropping to 5-4 has the hot seat meter turning up.
Iowa State is a Top 15 team! Win this and 9-3 is a clear reality for the first time since 2000.
I believe before the season I had Oklahoma winning Bedlam only to turn around and lose to Oklahoma State in the Big 12 title game. If the Sooners win that could be tough for the Cowboys to finish second in the conference but there’s a lot of time remaining to find out.
SMU has been pretty solid and could offer some quality competition to a UCF team that has to be thinking about losing their head coach soon.
I’ve been calling for the Tide not to cover some of these huge spreads and why stop now?
“Ole Miss
Blew a 31-14 lead to Arkansas.”
–This is true, they also blew a 31-7 lead in the same game.
(And in the line above the quoted one, Florida is missing a coach – pun intended.)
Lol, Ole Miss.
This week’s Enemy Watch is *insane*.
😲😲😲
7 ranked matchups this week! Any of the 3 top big ten teams could go down this weekend and Clemson too, maybe even Bama. I’d take 1 of those 5 losing, would be thrilled with 2.
Miami, Stanford. Trying to fully engage the jinx, but is there a top 10 and top 20 team you would rather have on the schedule right now? Wisconsin for the top 10 maybe, Iowa state or Lsu for the top 20?
I think that, if for whatever reason we happen to get into a non-playoff bowl game, Swarbrick should do all he can to try to match up with Wisconsin. Might get a Stanford-Iowa 2016 Rose Bowl situation there.
Or, even better, the 2-3 playoff matchup with Wisconsin!
Bama loses to Auburn, Georgia lose to Bama, we win out, Wisconsin beats Rutgers (who wins out while OSU and PSU lose out) by 1 on a blocked field goal as time expires. Boom, 1 ND vs 4 Wisconsin playoff matchup!
Nah, I like where the projections have us right now. Cotton Bowl vs TCU. I think we could crush Kenny Hill AND run all over that defense. Even in a de-facto home game for the Frogs. Either that or an Orange Bowl or Fiesta Bowl vs Penn State would be fun. Similar styles clash.
If not in the playoff, I’d like to play a team that (a) would get us some pub if we win – so, basically, not UCF – and (b) I think we could handle pretty easily. Wisconsin fits both bills, particularly if they don’t get killed in the Big 10 champ game (and I think Ohio State might crush them, so this could be a moot point). Agree that TCU is probably second there. I’d prefer Oklahoma over Penn State, though, as I think we’d run all over OU.
But I, for one, don’t want Bama or Ohio State in a non-playoff bowl game. With regard to Ohio State, we’ve seen how that plays out enough.
Penn State would probably get the most non-playoff hype because of our two histories together. And their fans HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE us.
I think Baylor is tanking this season to hopefully get the #1 draft pick this year.
If this is true, “Three wins over currently ranked teams and no bad losses make the Irish our best 1-loss team,” then how are we ranked as the second best 1-loss team behind Ohio State?
Murtz ain’t here to play consistency
Among the student-athlete division, I mean.