The top six teams in my poll remained static this week: LSU, Ohio State, Clemson, Alabama, Georgia, Oregon. The first change came at No. 7, where Minnesota dropped four spots following its 23-19 loss at Iowa.
Ranking the 4-12 spots is fascinating, because it’s all one-loss teams plus two-loss Florida, whose losses are to teams ranked higher than the Gators.
I’ve kept Alabama ahead of Georgia based on the eye test and comparative scores. Georgia certainly has the better defense, but Alabama’s comeback in the LSU game was gritty and the Crimson Tide has done a good job of masking and overcoming some of their flaws. Now with Tua Tagovailoa out, Alabama vs. Georgia would be a compelling head-to-head matchup that we’re not likely to see.
I was tempted to leave Minnesota ahead of Penn State based on their head-to-head result, but the Nittany Lions won at Iowa where the Gophers could not and all the scores in those matchups were close.
The Oklahoma-Baylor game was fascinating. Without the Hurts turnovers, maybe it’s a three-touchdown game. But Baylor’s resolve in the Bears’ many tight wins has been repeated enough to be part of their DNA. A rematch could be forthcoming and hopefully equally as entertaining. I kept Baylor ahead of teams like Michigan, Auburn and Wisconsin, so the Bears actually went up a spot to No. 12, while Oklahoma moved up one to 9.
How about the Group of 5 watch? I moved Memphis to the top of that sub-set at No. 17, followed immediately by Cincinnati, Boise State and SMU. That race for the guaranteed New Year’s Six bowl berth among those teams will make for another lively argument for the College Football Playoff committee.
I dropped Wake Forest, Louisiana Tech and Navy out of my poll after each took a hammering.
Iowa is the top yo-yo team for me this season, with the Hawkeyes back in with their home victory over Minnesota. Texas A&M is back in at No. 21. The Aggies kind of fell out of the national dialogue after early losses to Clemson, Alabama and Auburn, but they’re very solid. Fourth in the SEC West keeps you out of conference title talks, but it doesn’t keep you out of the top 25.
1 LSU (hosts Arkansas this week)
2 Ohio State
3 Clemson
4 Alabama
5 Georgia
6 Oregon
7 Utah
8 Florida
9 Oklahoma
10 Penn State
11 Minnesota
12 Baylor
13 Michigan
14 Auburn
15 Wisconsin
16 Notre Dame
17 Memphis
18 Cincinnati
19 Boise State
20 SMU
21 Texas A&M
22 Iowa
23 Oklahoma State
24 Appalachian State
25 Indiana
Dropped out: Wake Forest, Louisiana Tech, Navy