When looking at the schedule for this week, it appeared to be a weak slate. Most teams would probably win against an easy opponent, and head to the final week, which for many teams is a big rivalry game. Yeah, the Lords of Chaos had something to say about that. I have to say though, when I got up today, I had a feeling that we would see some upsets. I had four teams that I thought were primed for an upset: Clemson, TCU, LSU, and Tennessee. I was right about one (Tennessee), almost right about one (TCU), and way off on the other two.
There were plenty of teams that were probably ranked in the top forty, who bounced in and out of the rankings this year (South Carolina, Illinois, Baylor, Maryland), who needed a big signature win to help give them some momentum and hype going into next season. If Illinois beats Michigan or Maryland takes down Ohio State, that puts a nice bow on the season and gives them something to build on for next year. Look at Arkansas, they were ranked during the early part of the year, but then lost to all of their ranked opponents. They needed a win against one of those ranked teams. And what happened? They come out this week and thrash Ole Miss.
- Georgia (11-0)–#1–W 16-6 Kentucky–The defense continued to carry this team. Defense wins championships, right?
- Ohio State (11-0)–#2–W 43-30 Maryland–The Buckeyes pass defense gives up way too many big plays.
- Michigan (11-0)–#3–W 19-17 Illinois–The Wolverines came very close to losing. The bad call at the end of the game (that was definitely not a catch), gave Michigan a closer field goal attempt (honestly, it would not have mattered, they would have most likely made it from back there). I am sure Illinois is kicking themselves for not putting Michigan away.
- TCU (11-0)–#4–W 29-28 Baylor–TCU kicked a field goal as time expired to win this one. Baylor was definitely a team, and them being up on TCU was not shocking at all.
- USC (10-1)–#6–W 48-45 #16 UCLA–I honestly hope USC does not end up in the CFP. I feel like this team is very good, but if they played a good defense, it would be ugly.
- LSU (9-2)–#7–W 41-10 UAB–It is hard to rank many teams above LSU, but I feel like there are probably a few teams that are better than them. Does that make sense? I cannot justify putting some teams above them.
- Clemson (10-1)–#9–W 40-10 Miami–I would like to see Clemson play LSU. Depending on which Clemson team shows up, that game could end up a coin-flip.
- Alabama (9-2)–#8–W 34-0 Austin Peay–I do not punish the Crimson Tide for playing a FCS team this late, but I also do not give them credit.
- Penn State (9-2)–#10–W 55-10 Rutgers–The game started out slow, but then there was the kickoff return by Singleton, and the Nittany Lion defense took over to give the offense some room. Why do I have PSU higher than some of the other teams with two losses? I think this defense has adjusted since Michigan and can hold down just about any other offense.
- Washington (9-2)–#12–W 54–7 Colorado–I heard something yesterday about how conference play is tough, and even the bad teams need some respect. Teams know each other, they have history, they hate each other…all of that stuff. So when you blow out a bad team in conference, that is a positive. What does this have to do with the Huskies? Nothing, Colorado is beyond bad, but winning is a good thing.
- Oregon (9-2)–#13–W 20-17 #14 Utah–The PAC-12 is confusing. Oregon has Oregon State next week, if they win then they get to play USC for the championship. If they lose…I guess it goes to Washington as long as the Huskies win against Washington State.
- Tennessee (9-2)–#5–L 63-38 South Carolina–Spencer Rattler looked like the QB who came into last season with some of the highest odds to win the Heisman. I was temped to drop the Vols lower because of Hooker’s injury, but I am not sure if he is done for the year.
- Kansas State (8-3)–#17–W 48-31 West Virginia
- Notre Dame (8-3)–#19–W 44-0 Boston College–The Irish have the chance to crush USC’s playoff dreams next week. What a crazy season for Notre Dame…
- Florida State (8-3)–#20–W 49-17 Louisiana
- Coastal Carolina (9-1)–#21–Game Canceled
- Utah (8-3)–#14–L 20-17 #13 Oregon
- UCLA (8-3)–#16–L 48-45 #6 USC–I thought for sure the Bruins were going to pull off the upset with a comeback at the end.
- UNC (9-2)–#11–L 21-17 Georgia Tech–Tar Heel fans talked a ton of smack this week about how no one was giving UNC respect and that they should be ranked in the top seven. GT had something to say about that…
- Ole Miss (8-3)–#15–L 42-27 Arkansas–Yikes. Only reason the Rebels even stayed in the top 25 is because there are just not that many teams I can justify ranking ahead of them.
- Oregon State (8-3)–#22–W 31-7 Arizona State
- UTSA (9-2)–#24–W 41-7 Rice
- Tulane (9-2)–#25–W 59-24 SMU
- Cincinnati (9-2)–HM–W 23-3 Temple
- Boise State (8-3)–NR–W 20-17 Wyoming
Honorable Mention
South Alabama (9-2)–HM–W 27-20 Southern Miss
Troy (9-2)–HM–W 34-16 ULM
Ohio (8-3)–NR–W 32-18 Ball State–Bad news for Ohio since their QB went down with an injury. Hopefully Rourke is okay and can play the rest of the season. If I were Ohio or another MAC team, I would probably try to lure Christian Veilleux away from Penn State.
Iowa (7-4)–NR–W 13-10 Minnesota–I hate ranking the Hawkeyes, but they have been playing “better.” They have won four in a row since getting crushed by Ohio State.
South Carolina (7-4)–NR–W 63-38 #5 Tennessee–This is the Gamecocks third time clawing their way into Josh’s College Football Rankings. Can they jump into the Top 25 with a win against Clemson?
Watch List
Texas (7-4)–NR–W 55-14 Kansas
Louisville (7-4)–NR–W 25-10 NC State
Purdue (7-4)–NR–W 17-9 Northwestern
James Madison (7-3)–NR–W 42-40 Georgia State–The Dukes take on Coastal Carolina this week. No matter what, I think their first year in FBS has been a success, but 8-3 would be impressive.
UCF (8-3)–#18–L 17-14 Navy
There is one game that should get all the attention this week: #3 Michigan at #2 Ohio State. One of the best rivalries in sports and for some reason Fox has decided to put it on at noon. Another huge game is #14 Notre Dame traveling to #5 USC. The Irish could ruin the Trojans season, which is probably on their yearly goal list. The #11 Ducks head to Corvallis to face their rival, #21 Oregon State. As I mentioned before, South Carolina looks to spoil #7 Clemson’s season. #16 Coastal Carolina heads to JMU, #6 LSU is on the road against Texas A&M (I would imagine everyone would have bet money on the Aggies being ranked in the top ten and preparing for a conference championship game instead of LSU before the season began). #10 Washington has their big rivalry game (Apple Cup) at Washington State, while #8 Alabama hosts Auburn in the Iron Bowl. If you are looking for a good game to watch on Friday, #23 Tulane heads to #24 Cincinnati for a big AAC matchup.
