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Editor’s note: This article was originally published by USA TODAY Sports and has been republished below in its entirety.
Northwestern soared into the top 10 in this week’s USA TODAY Sports NCAA Re-Rank 1-127 and Oklahoma continued to rise after beating rival Oklahoma State, as the Sooners begin to look more and more like the team to beat in the Big 12.
The Wildcats are up to No. 8 after defeating Wisconsin 17-7, in the latest standout performance from what may be college football’s best defense. Northwestern held an opponent scoreless in the second half for the fourth time in five games and forced five turnovers, the most Wisconsin had committed in a game since 2015.
This gives the Big Ten three teams in the top 15 of the Re-Rank in No. 3 Ohio State, Northwestern and No. 11 Indiana. The Hoosiers didn’t budge after climbing back from a 28-point hole in narrowly losing to the Buckeyes 42-35. With No. 1 Alabama, No. 6 Texas A&M and No. 7 Florida, the SEC is the only other conference with three teams in the top 15.
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No. 19 Oklahoma has now won five in a row after starting 1-2 and can secure a spot in the Big 12 championship game with wins against West Virginia and Baylor. That would likely set up a rematch with No. 18 Iowa State, which beat the Sooners 37-30 in early October. The Cyclones blanked Kansas State 45-0 behind quarterback Brock Purdy’s three touchdown passes.
For the third week in a row, there were few changes near the top and bottom of the rankings. It was the same top seven: Alabama, No. 2 Notre Dame, Ohio State, No. 4 Clemson, No. 5 Cincinnati, Texas A&M and Florida. And the last four remained the same: No. 124 Florida International, No. 125 Kansas, No. 126 Massachusetts and No. 127 Louisiana-Monroe.
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