The duo of USC and Georgia Tech made some incredible wins this past weekend, as the Trojans pulled off a dominating upset of the Utes in Los Angeles, and the Yellow Jackets’ blocked field goal for a touchdown as time expired lifted them to the win of a season against Florida State in Atlanta. With these games, the weekend was surely exciting in the NCAAF world, prompting highlight reels and happy fans alike.
With that, here are this week’s rankings:
1. Ohio State Buckeyes: Not much change here. J.T. Barrett is now fully established as the starter of this team, and it definitely showed against Rutgers. Barrett’s 223 yards and 101 yards of rushing were very indicative of his power and influence for the Scarlet Knights, and it was nice to see stability at quarterback after seven weeks of questionable Cardale Jones play. Barrett’s dual threat as a runner and thrower make him and the Buckeyes even more difficult against opposing teams, which lead this number 1 overall team as they take on the rest of the season. That starts next week at Minnesota, which should be a cakewalk for these Buckeyes.
2. Baylor Bears: Quarterback Seth Russell’s bone fracture will end his season, but the Bears deserve to be here until they lose based on their offensive output. As for football, the Bears scored 35 points in the first two quarters and continued a string of dominance, as they won their 20th straight home game.
3. TCU Horned Frogs: Do nothing, maintain a ranking. That is exactly what happened to the Horned Frogs, as a bye week let them have some time to rest. While Trevone Boykin and Josh Doctson are having great seasons, the team as a whole could probably use a little bit of rest after the early half or so of the season. A Thursday game against West Virginia this week will keep the rest a little shorter however, and bring the Horned Frogs back into football action.
4. Clemson Tigers: What a game for Clemson. The worst loss in Miami’s 90 year history, a 58-0 win for the Tigers in Miami prompted the Hurricanes to fire coach Al Golden in its aftermath. Meanwhile, Clemson enjoyed its biggest road margin of victory in over 100 years. The 42-0 lead at halftime was unbelievable, and sent quarterback Deshaun Watson to the bench for the second half to just relish and watch. Clemson should be proud of itself, and we will see where they go next week against NCSU.
5. LSU Tigers: Brandon Harris – who is that? The LSU quarterback threw for 286 yards in a 48-20 win for the Tigers over Western Kentucky. Don’t get me wrong, Leonard Fournette still had 150 yards and a touchdown after his SI cover stint, but those numbers are some of the worst of the season for him. The LSU Tigers are still posing themselves as a very strong threat in the SEC, and with next week’s bye can take some time to rest before the big test November 7th in Tuscaloosa against the Crimson Tide.
6. Alabama Crimson Tide: Speaking of the Crimson Tide, they rode a late touchdown run by Derrick Henry to beat Tennessee 19-14 on Saturday in Tuscaloosa. Jake Coker could not complete a two-point conversion, but it did not matter as the defense stepped up and dealt a big win to a big rival. The Crimson Tide continue to hold ground with LSU in the SEC West, making their matchup in two weeks the biggest one yet for the SEC as a whole.
7. Stanford Cardinal: In a matchup of the two Pac 12 teams that beat USC, the Stanford Cardinal came away with a 31-14 victory over the Washington Huskies in Palo Alto. Christian McCaffrey had over 300 all-purpose yards including both running and receiving touchdowns to guide the Cardinal, and Kevin Hogan’s 290 yards passing paved the way in the air. Stanford is playing top-notch football, and has given no reason why they should not be the champions of the Pac 12 North, and possibly the Pac as a whole. Look for a probable Stanford-Utah Pac 12 Championship Game.
8. Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Notre Dame took the week off after their big win against USC, but still maintain a coveted top spot due to their respectability and strengths. Look for a big week next week when they take on another ranked team in Temple.
9. Michigan State Spartans: A 52-26 win over the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday breathed life into the Spartans after multiple weeks of barely winning games. Connor Cook’s 398 yards and four touchdowns kept the Spartans undefeated and powerful, and outscored Indiana 24-0 in the fourth quarter. The first Spartan victory by double digits in Big Ten play, this game showed that it is indeed possible for the Spartans to play confident, team football. While I do think they will lose at some point during the season, I think the bye week next week will be helpful for them in terms of a rest standpoint before games against Nebraska and Maryland.
10. Iowa Hawkeyes: A bye week for Iowa was good to get some rest after a big win against Northwestern, but look for the Hawkeyes next week against Maryland. As the first time making this Top 10, the Hawkeyes are strong and only improving up. Look to them as some serious Big 10 contenders in the weeks ahead.
11. Oklahoma State Cowboys
12. Florida Gators
13. Michigan Wolverines
14. Oklahoma Sooners
15. Memphis Tigers
16. Florida State Seminoles
17. Utah Utes
18. Houston Cougars
19. Ole Miss Rebels
20. Toledo Rockets
21. Temple Owls
22. Duke Blue Devils
23. Mississippi State Bulldogs
24. Texas A&M Aggies
25. Pittsburgh Panthers
Week 9 – Key Matchups
Georgia at Florida
Notre Dame at Temple
South Carolina at Texas A & M
USC at California
Sources
ESPN
All images are from Getty Images.