Okay, I decided to do this every week. Screw it. Someone needs to compete with the Associated Press and the coaches.
Normally I will talk about the Penn State game before jumping into the rankings (or another game if it had huge ranking implications). Since they were off, I want to mention that I was pulling for Will Levis and the Wildcats. It sucks that he left, especially when you lose a game because your backup sucked. However, I understand his decision and I hope he does well. It was also nice to see Justin Shorter have a good game. The former Penn State WR transferred to Florida and against LSU he had his first 100+ yards receiving day and his first multi-touchdown game of his career. Crazy to think that he was the top rated WR coming out of high school.
- Georgia (7-0)–nothing changed about them. They continue to dominate.
- Cincinnati (6-0)–a beatdown of UCF helps make them look even better. It would be hilarious if the Bearcats make the CFP after UCF complaining for a few years about not being included in the conversation.
- Oklahoma (7-0)–they made the switch to Caleb Williams and if he continues to play this way, the Sooners could jump to #2.
- Alabama (6-1)–I thought that maybe Mississippi State could put up some points on that Crimson Tide defense…I was wrong.
- Michigan (6-0)–bye week!
- Penn State (5-1)–bye week!
- Ohio State (5-1)–bye week!
- Iowa (6-1)–they got smacked around at home by Purdue. It was the must non-surprising upset ever. I will not be shocked if they lose two more games.
- Oklahoma State (6-0)–they beat Texas on the road by coming back (maybe the Longhorns need to work on holding a lead), they jump a few spots for proving they are for real.
- Michigan State (7-0)–the Spartans struggled with Indiana, maybe they are not quite as good as I thought.
- Coastal Carolina (6-0)–bye week!
- Kentucky (6-1)–they lost to Georgia, that was expected, but they could win out the rest of the way.
- Ole Miss (5-1)–they hung on to win at Tennessee despite a delay due to rowdy fans.
- Notre Dame (5-1)–bye week!
- Oregon (5-1)–almost lost to Cal, c’mon Ducks, ya gotta be better!
- Wake Forest (6-0)–bye week!
- NC State (5-1)–easily handled BC.
- Baylor (6-1)–they ran all over BYU, at least now they can say they beat someone.
- Texas A&M (5-2)–I think they are going to finish in the top ten if they continue playing this well.
- Pitt (5-1)–they had no problem with VA Tech, who almost beat Notre Dame. If the Panthers are not ranked by the other two this week, that is just insanity.
- BYU (5-2)–two losses in row is never good. They need a win against Washington State next week to right their ship.
- SMU (6-0)–bye week! And hey, they jump into the rankings just because everyone else lost.
- Auburn (5-2)–back in the rankings after taking down Arkansas.
- San Diego State (7-0)–double OT against San Jose State? Meh.
- Arizona State (5-2)–first half looked like it was going to be a dominant win for the Sun Devils…then came the second half.
Honorable Mention: Louisiana-Lafayette, Clemson, Virginia, Minnesota, Purdue, UTSA, UCLA, Utah
Next week is a fairly weak slate. The big games for ranking purposes are Oregon/UCLA, Ole Miss/LSU, Oklahoma State/Iowa State, and finally Notre Dame/USC. That final game is big for Cincinnati. They need the Fighting Irish to win out and it would probably be helpful if they had a big win or two.
I suggest tuning into the Appalachian State vs. Coastal Carolina game on Wednesday night. App State was smacked around by Louisiana-Lafayette last week. The game is in Boone, so Coastal could be in for a tough one. If the Chanticleers want to prove they are a dominant force, a big win against the Mountaineers would go a long way.
