It is very hard to go undefeated for half a season. There are only nine undefeated teams now. Fun fact, there is only one team to start 6-0 in the last three seasons…yep, Coastal Carolina. And guess what? They did not hit 7-0 this year. Almost every team has a bad game at some point. The completely dominant seasons, like LSU a few years ago or Alabama the next year, are kind of rare.
- Ohio State (6-0)–#1–BYE
- Georgia (7-0)–#3–W 55-0 Vanderbilt–Vandy was outscored by Georgia & Alabama 110-3.
- Tennessee (6-0)–#5–W 52-49 #2 Alabama–Amazing game for the Vols. Imagine if they also beat Georgia and win the conference championship. We could have a new team in the CFP.
- Clemson (7-0)–#4–W 34-28 Florida State–It was 34-14 after the third quarter. I did not watch, so I have no clue if Clemson eased off.
- Michigan (7-0)–#6–W 41-17 #10 Penn State–The Wolverines running game is legit. That offensive line is one of the best in the country.
- TCU (6-0)–#12–W 43-40 2OT #8 Oklahoma State–Big comeback for the Horned Frogs, then wins it in overtime.
- Alabama (6-1)–#2–L 52-49 #5 Tennessee–The Tide gave up a ton of points and continue to show holes in their game. I expect them to blow out their opponent next week. I feel bad for them.
- Ole Miss (7-0)–#9–W 48-34 Auburn–I thought about having the Rebels ahead of Alabama, but they gave up 34 to Auburn. They need to clean that up.
- Oregon (5-1)–#11–BYE
- UCLA (6-0)–#13–BYE
- USC (6-1)–#7–L 43-42 Utah–The Trojans defense is suspect, and it finally caught up with them. Also, Utah is still a very good team, despite the two losses.
- Syracuse (6-0)–#17–W 24-9 #15 NC State–The Orange continue to win. Their first 6-0 start since 1987.
- Oklahoma State (5-1)–#8–L 43-40 2OT #12 TCU–The Cowboys blew a lead against TCU, but this conference is tough and they are still in contention for the championship.
- Wake Forest (5-1)–#16–BYE
- Penn State (5-1)–#10–L 41-17 #6 Michigan–I am not as down on PSU over this loss as the rest of the fan-base. The score is lopsided and the rushing yards are concerning, but so much of that may just be Michigan being better than we expected.
- Kansas State (5-1)–#18–BYE
- UNC (6-1)–#20–W 38-35 Duke–Seriously, I have no clue if UNC is good or not. They keep winning games though, even if they are very close.
- Cincinnati (5-1)–#21–BYE
- Illinois (6-1)–#23–W 26-14 #22 Minnesota–The Fighting Illini are the dominant team in the West. USC/UCLA cannot wait to head to that division.
- Texas (5-2)–NR–W 24-21 Iowa State–The Longhorns have a tough road to finish out the season. If they win out…things will be interesting.
- Kentucky (5-2)–NR–W 27-17 #14 Mississippi State–Will Levis comes back, and the entire team plays better. I was a little premature in dropping them completely out of the rankings.
- Tulane (6-1)–#24–W 45-31 South Florida
- Utah (5-2)–HM–W 43-42 #7 USC–The Utes always seem to rise to the occasion against a top ranked team.
- NC State (5-2)–#15–L 24-9 #17 Syracuse–There were some high hopes for the Wolfpack this season. Syracuse did not get the memo.
- Mississippi State (5-2)–#14–L 27-17 Kentucky
Honorable Mention
Kansas (5-2)–#19–L 52-42 Oklahoma–Yikes.
Minnesota (4-2)–#22–L 26-14 #23 Illinois–Minnesota have to deal with the White Out next week, another loss would really crush what looked like a promising season.
Liberty (6-1)–HM–W 21-20 Gardner-Webb–The Flames almost lost to…hold on, let me look them up…the Runnin’ Bulldogs. Where is Gardner-Webb located? Somewhere in North Carolina…learn something new every day. Also learned that Liberty is not that good. Although GW almost beat Coastal Carolina too, and destroyed Robert Morris…
Purdue (5-2)–NR–W 43-37 Nebraska–The Boilermakers only losses have been to ranked teams (PSU & Syracuse). I was high on them coming into the season (I had them at 8-4 and finishing second in the West).
LSU (5-2)–NR–W 45-35 Florida–LSU keeps flirting with the rankings. They have a tough game next week which could bring them back into the fold.
Watch List
Pitt (4-2)–BYE
South Carolina (4-2)–BYE
UCF (5-1)–W 70-13 Temple–They can score points and their only loss was to Louisville. They did beat Georgia Tech, which is better than other teams I could mention…
Washington (5-2)–W 49-39 Arizona–No idea how to feel about this team. Penix threw for over 500 yards.
South Alabama (5-1)–W 41-34 ULM–The Jaguars only loss was against UCLA, and it was a last second FG that won it.
This week is the White Out game for #15 Penn State against Minnesota. PSU needs a win and they need the rush defense to stop the Gophers. The big game this week is #10 UCLA traveling to #9 Oregon. Chip Kelly would love to take down his former team, but I think the Ducks are going to be too much for the Bruins. #12 Syracuse heads to #4 Clemson, while #16 Kansas State will test their luck at #6 TCU. #20 Texas has a chance to keep climbing if they can head to #13 Oklahoma State and pull off a win. #7 Alabama will be looking for a bounce back victory at home against #25 Mississippi State. #8 Ole Miss heads to LSU hoping to remain undefeated. The other two games I will be paying attention to are BYU at Liberty. If the Flames are for real, this is a game they need to win. Also, I Marshall travles to James Madison. I want to see how JMU rebounds from their first FBS loss.
