2021 college football season – Page 3

AFCA Coaches Poll: How SEC teams rank after week 12 action

The updated USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches poll after week 12 action.

The LSU Tigers were able to hold on against the ULM Warhawks in week 12 action. It comes down to one final game. The College Football Playoff picture is becoming clearer. Georgia is clearly the class of FBS with Alabama, Cincinnati, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan, and Oklahoma State trying to close in.

USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll was released on Sunday. Once again there is the Georgia Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide sitting at the top. How high will the Texas A&M Aggies be ranked ahead of their matchup with the Tigers? What happens to Oregon after they were blasted by Utah and did Ohio State do enough to jump Cincinnati?

A look at the full coaches poll after this week’s slate of games.

Full USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll:

Rank	Team	Record	Points	Change
1	Georgia	11-0	1,550 (62)	–
2	Alabama	10-1	1,450	–
3	Ohio State	10-1	1,428	+1
4	Cincinnati	11-0	1,388	-1
5	Notre Dame	10-1	1,258	+1
6	Michigan	10-1	1,250	+1
7	Oklahoma State	10-1	1,210	+2
8	Ole Miss	9-2	1,049	+2
9	Oklahoma	10-1	1,010	+2
10	Baylor	9-2	977	+3
11	Oregon	9-2	864	-6
12	Iowa	9-2	722	+2
13	Michigan State	9-2	698	-5
14	Texas A&M	8-3	683	+2
15	BYU	9-2	675	–
16	Houston	10-1	572	+1
17	Pittsburgh	9-2	507	+2
18	Wisconsin	8-3	485	+2
19	Utah	8-3	478	+6
20	UTSA	11-0	475	-2
21	Wake Forest	9-2	404	-9
22	San Diego State	10-1	257	+1
23	UL-Lafayette	10-1	236	-1
24	NC State	8-3	196	–
25	Kentucky	8-3	91	+1

Dropped from the rankings:

No. 22 Arkansas

Others receiving votes:

Arkansas 67; Clemson 56; Mississippi State 42; Penn State 22; Appalachian State 20; Purdue 10; Coastal Carolina 9; Air Force 9; Oregon State 2

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Patrick on Twitter: @PatrickConnCFB

College Football Playoff Rankings Daily Cavalcade: Think, Know, Believe On The Top 25

After the latest round of the College Football Playoff rankings, here’s what I think, what I know, and what I believe about the top 25

College Football Daily Cavalcade: What I think, what I know, and what I believe after the latest round of College Football Playoff Rankings.

College Football Playoff Rankings: Daily Cavalcade on the Top 25

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Sorry if this take sucks, it’s not my fault …

Like the College Football Playoff, this has yet to expand to include everyone.

I’ve been through the experience. The ranking process in Grapevine is whatever, but the spread of fine meats and cheeses is top drawer …

I think … Michigan State beat Michigan a few weeks ago. Wait a minute …

I know … Michigan State beat Michigan a few weeks ago.

I believe … it can’t still be the one major head-to-head inconsistency in the top 25 over the last two weeks, because if you do that …

I think … the Oregon loss to Stanford is among the worst by any team in the top 25.

I know … Ohio State has crushed it since the loss to the Ducks.

I believe … Oregon should be ranked ahead of Ohio State, but considering the Michigan-Michigan State thing, a mediocre performance against Washington State would’ve dropped Oregon behind Ohio State.

I think … if the one loss by Michigan State was so egregious that it pushed it behind Michigan, and …

I know … the committee blew off losses to Notre Dame, Minnesota, and Wisconsin in last week’s rankings, then …

I believe … losing at Ohio State – even 59-31 – shouldn’t have been enough to knock Purdue out of the top 25 with wins over now-17 Iowa and now-7 Michigan State.

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I think … it doesn’t matter because …

I know … Oregon and Michigan State control their respective destinies.

I believe … Georgia, Alabama, Oregon, Ohio State, and Michigan State are the only five teams that can plan on being in – OSU and Michigan State play this weekend – by winning out.

I think … Cincinnati will be in the top four at some point.

I know … the committee cares about 12-1 or unbeaten Power Five conference champions over anything else.

I believe … the committee will do a 2014 TCU and yoink Cincinnati out of the top four if there are four viable Power Five teams.

I think … someone in that room in Grapevine argued the merits of ranking Notre Dame higher than 8.

I know … Notre Dame’s only loss was to Cincinnati.

I believe … if you really believe Cincinnati is the fifth-best team in the country based on just one win that overcomes a slew of mega-meh performances against awful teams, then the team that lost that game should be ranked one spot at the 6 behind UC.

I think … Oklahoma State is the underground indie band team the mainstream is just starting to get into.

I know … it’s going to beat Oklahoma in the regular season finale.

I believe … Oklahoma State will probably play Baylor in the Big 12 Championship, not Oklahoma.

I think … Oklahoma State will be 12-1 with its lone loss coming in a tasteful fight at Iowa State.

I know … the committee loves its 12-1 Power Five conference champions.

I believe … Oklahoma State – if it comes down to it – will get in over 13-0 Cincinnati, but …

I think … Oklahoma isn’t out of this yet.

I know … it has lost regular season games before and gone on to win Big 12 Championships and make College Football Playoff appearances.

I believe … Oklahoma finds its way in if it wins out over Iowa State and Oklahoma State twice to finish as the 12-1 Big 12 Champion.

I think … Oregon loses at Utah this weekend.

I know … Ohio State is more beatable than it seems.

I believe … Notre Dame is lurking in this more than people think.

I think … Notre Dame will be 11-1 because …

I know … it’ll destroy Georgia Tech and win at Stanford and …

I believe … it’s going end up 5 in the final rankings.

I think … being in the 2/3 this year really, really, really matters because …

I know … you do NOT want to be the 4 and deal with Georgia, however …

I believe … if Alabama is the 12-1 SEC Champion, it gets the 1 seed, 12-1 Georgia gets the 2, and then getting the 3 is the sucker spot instead of – at least this year with this Bama team – the 4.

I think … Houston, San Diego State, and UTSA are more in the mix for a New Year’s Six bowl game than it might seem.

I know … it’s going to end up being Houston vs Cincinnati in the American Athletic Conference Championship.

I believe … the winner will get the New Year’s Six cookie the committee throws the top Group of Five champion.

I think … no one on the committee has seen San Diego State play, because …

I know … San Diego State plays until the wee hours of the AM for most of the country.

I believe … really, there’s no way, no how, no chance any of the committee members watched the games against San Jose State, Hawaii, or Fresno State. With that said …

I think … UTSA and Houston can’t make this argument.

I know … San Diego State beat Utah, Air Force, Arizona – it has a conference win and Indiana doesn’t – and Nevada, with every game essentially on the road with the team playing its “home” games this season in Carson, California.

I believe … if San Diego State wins the Mountain West championship – and if Utah wins the Pac-12 title – even with the loss to Fresno State, resumé-wise a case could be made that it’s the most deserving Group of Five team even if Cincinnati goes 13-0.

I think … Georgia will beat Alabama in the SEC Championship in an epic-close game.

I know … there will be two other viable Power Five options that have to get in.

I believe … it would be a glorious come-to-Bill-Hancock moment for the future of the College Football Playoff if the raging national debate – and in the committee room – is over 11-2 Alabama vs 13-0 Cincinnati for that fourth spot.

I think … Georgia beats Alabama, Oregon loses to Utah or Oregon State, Wake Forest loses at Clemson.

I know … the Because It’s Alabama clause sits in a box in the corner of the CFP committee meeting room.

I believe … it’s going to end up being Georgia, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, and Cincinnati, in that order.

I think … I know it’s all going to be okay.

I know … I believe it’s all going to be okay.

I believe … I think it’s all going to be okay.

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AFCA Coaches Poll: How SEC teams rank after week 11 action

The updated USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches poll after week 11 action.

It came down to another late possession with the opportunity to win the game for the LSU Tigers but they came up short for the second week in a row. The Bayou Bengals have just two games left in which they need to win both for a shot at the postseason. Sitting at 4-6 after 10 games, it doesn’t look great. They get a reprieve this week with UL-Monroe coming to town.

USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll was released on Sunday. Once again there is the Georgia Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide sitting at the top. How high would Ole Miss climb after knocking off Texas A&M?

A look at the full coaches poll after this week’s slate of games.

Full USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll:

Rank	Team	Record	Points	Change
1	Georgia	10-0	1,550 (62)	–
2	Alabama	9-1	1,464	–
3	Cincinnati	10-0	1,401	–
4	Ohio State	9-1	1,363	+1
5	Orgeron	9-1	1,320	+1
6	Notre Dame	9-1	1,181	+1
7	Michigan	9-1	1,153	+1
8	Michigan State	9-1	1,139	+1
9	Oklahoma State	9-1	1,102	+1
10	Ole Miss	8-2	948	+2
11	Oklahoma	9-1	878	-7
12	Wake Forest	9-1	847	+1
13	Baylor	8-2	826	+5
14	Iowa	8-2	637	–
15	BYU	8-2	605	–
16	Texas A&M	7-3	560	-5
17	Houston	9-1	541	–
18	UTSA	10-0	528	-2
19	Pittsburgh	8-2	446	+3
20	Wisconsin	7-3	407	+4
21	UL-Lafayette	9-1	239	+4
22	Arkansas	7-3	212	+4
23	San Diego State	9-1	210	+4
24	NC State	7-3	138	-5
25	Utah	7-3	133	+5

Dropped from the rankings:

No. 20 Auburn; No. 21 Coastal Carolina; No. 23 Penn State

Others receiving votes:

Kentucky 113; Southern Methodist 45; Coastal Carolina 34; Appalachian State 31; Mississippi State 26; Penn State 20; Auburn 18; Utah State 9; Purdue 7; Louisville 5; Kansas State 4; Fresno State 4; Clemson 4; Arizona State 2

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Patrick on Twitter: @PatrickConnCFB

ESPN Analyst Kirk Herbstreit puts the Oklahoma Sooners outside his top four

The Oklahoma Sooners still have a lot to prove to people, including ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who ranked OU outside his top 4 teams.

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The motivation for the Oklahoma Sooners to put their best foot forward continues to come from all angles. Last week the College Football Playoff committee slotted the Sooners eighth in their initial rankings. Basically, as a reaction to it, all but one of ESPN’s college football analysts projected the Oklahoma Sooners to miss the playoffs in their latest projections.

Now, as they get set to play the No. 18 ranked Baylor Bears, the Oklahoma Sooners are getting more bulletin board material. This time, ESPN College Gameday’s Kirk Herbstreit placed the Sooners outside the top four after week 10 of the season.

My Top 4 after WEEK 10
1-@GeorgiaFootball

2-@AlabamaFTBL
3-@oregonfootball
4-@OhioStateFB
Next 2@UMichFootball @OU_Football

— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) November 7, 2021

Oklahoma comes in behind the Georgia Bulldogs, Alabama Crimson Tide, Oregon Ducks, Ohio State Buckeyes, and the Michigan Wolverines. Keeping count, that’s four one-loss teams the Sooners slide in behind. Only Oklahoma and Georgia have undefeated records in Herbstreit’s top six.

Losses aren’t a problem, and neither are close wins unless you’re the Oklahoma Sooners.

Noted.

Herbstreit is the latest in a series of analysts to discount the Oklahoma Sooners undefeated record. They’re forgetting that this team is trending in a different direction than they were through the first five weeks of the season. Oh, and they’re still undefeated.

The defense is healthier, the offense is more explosive, and the quarterback play has been more dynamic. Did I also mention that they’re undefeated?

The Oklahoma Sooners will have their chance to silence the doubters this week when they go on the road to face the No. 18 Baylor Bears in Waco. Come away with a win against a tough team on the road, and analysts and voters will have to give the Oklahoma Sooners the respect they deserve.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions.

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Where LSU opponents rank after week 10 in USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll

The updated USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches poll after week 10 action.

It was a close call for the LSU Tigers this week as they faced off with the No. 3 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday. They gave it their all but fell short against a team vying for a spot in the College Football Playoffs. Alabama would climb to No. 2 this week.

USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll was released on Sunday. Once again this week the Georgia Bulldogs kept their stranglehold on the top spot after knocking off Missouri on Saturday.

The lone remaining game against a ranked opponent comes on Nov. 27 when the No. 11 Texas A&M Aggies roll into Baton Rouge.

A look at the full coaches poll after this week’s slate of games.

Full USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll:

Rank	Team	Record	Points	Change
1	Georgia	9-0	1,600 (64)	–
2	Alabama	8-1	1,483	+1
3	Cincinnati	9-0	1,430	-1
4	Oklahoma	9-0	1,423	–
5	Ohio State	8-1	1,356	–
6	Oregon	8-1	1,291	+1
7	Notre Dame	8-1	1,182	+1
8	Michigan	8-1	1,099	+2
9	Michigan State	8-1	1,074	-3
10	Oklahoma State	8-1	1,045	+1
11	Texas A&M	7-2	1,023	+1
12	Ole Miss	7-2	862	+3
13	Wake Forest	8-1	769	-4
14	Iowa	7-2	636	+2
15	BYU	8-2	552	+5
16	UTSA	9-0	525	+2
17	Houston	8-1	472	+2
18	Baylor	7-2	449	-5
19	NC State	7-2	445	+3
20	Auburn	6-3	382	-6
21	Coastal Carolina	8-1	335	–
22	Pittsburgh	7-2	293	+3
23	Penn State	6-3	249	–
24	Wisconsin	6-3	177	+7
25	UL Lafayette	8-1	164	+1

Dropped from the rankings:

No. 17 Kentucky; No. 24 Southern Methodist

Others receiving votes:

Arkansas 116; San Diego State 103; Purdue 77; Kentucky 74; Utah 34; Iowa State 21; Appalachian State 19; Southern Methodist 18; Minnesota 10; Nevada 3; Fresno State 3; Clemson 3; Tennessee 2; Arizona State 1.

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Patrick on Twitter: @PatrickConnCFB

Oklahoma’s Caleb Williams on the rise in latest Heisman rankings

With a stellar week nine, Caleb Williams is seeing his stock rise in USA TODAY Sports’ latest Heisman rankings.

Caleb Williams took the college football world a month ago when he helped the Oklahoma Sooners overcome an 18 point halftime deficit. He hasn’t looked back, amassing 18 total touchdowns on the season and completing 70.9% of his passes, good for seventh in the nation among quarterbacks with at least 94 dropbacks on the season.

That completion percentage is better than every other quarterback in Heisman contention for 2021. And believe it or not, Caleb Williams is in Heisman contention.

In USA TODAY Sports college football analyst Paul Myerburg’s latest Heisman rankings, Caleb Williams has moved up one spot from last week to fifth.

The freshman phenom keeps stacking monster Saturdays, the latest a six-touchdown performance in the Sooners’ rout of Texas Tech. In 99 attempts since replacing Spencer Rattler midway through the Red River Shootout against Texas, Williams has thrown for 1,097 yards and 14 touchdowns against one interception. – Myerburg

Last week, Caleb Williams was ranked sixth in Myerburg’s rankings, but his performance over Tech gave him a bump over Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder and Wake Forest’s Sam Hartman.

Williams is the highest graded quarterback through week nine of the season according to Pro Football Focus. Things appear to be heating up for the true freshman quarterback who just threw for 402 yards and six touchdowns in an offensive domination of Texas Tech last Saturday.

His passer rating of 142 (NFL) is second only to Coastal Carolina’s Grayson McCall.

At this point, games played might be the only thing keeping Caleb Williams from being higher on lists for college football’s most prestigious award.

Even if Williams doesn’t end up a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, what he’s done in such a short time is pretty remarkable. He’s helped transform the Oklahoma Sooners back into the big-play offense that we’ve grown accustomed to.

Oklahoma’s scored 50 points in three of their last four games since Williams took over as the starting quarterback. Though they were blanked in the first half of their win against Kansas, Williams orchestrated a 35 point second half to help Oklahoma to the win.

The following month of the season will tell the tale for Caleb Williams and the Oklahoma Sooners. How he and OU perform in games against Baylor, Iowa State, and Oklahoma State will go a long way toward getting Williams to New York and the Sooners into the College Football Playoff.

Though they’re on a bye week, the stakes are higher now than they’ve been all season after the College Football Playoff committee ranked the Oklahoma Sooners eighth in their initial playoff rankings.

The Oklahoma Sooners will need “Superman” to be heroic over the final three games of the regular season and the Big 12 championship. Caleb Williams will have plenty of opportunities to create his signature Heisman moment over the last month of the season. The question is, will it be enough to put him in serious contention for the Heisman.

After the bye, we’ll find out.

Where LSU opponents rank after week 9 in USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll

The updated USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches poll after week 9 action.

No game this week for the LSU Tigers as they were on a bye. On Saturday they will head to Tuscaloosa for a showdown with the Alabama Crimson Tide. Much like the Tigers, their opponents were on a bye.

USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll was released on Sunday. The Georgia Bulldogs remained as the consensus No. 1 team in the country collecting all 64 first-place votes. The top five teams remained in their spots with movement among the other 20 teams in the poll.

Alabama is ranked No. 3 and Texas A&M comes in at No. 12. Those opponents will sandwich the Arkansas and UL-Monroe games for the LSU Tigers.

A look at the full coaches poll after this week’s slate of games.

Full USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll:

Rank	Team	Record	Points	Change
1	Georgia	8-0	1,600 (64)	–
2	Cincinnati	8-0	1,460	–
3	Alabama	7-1	1,453	–
4	Oklahoma	9-0	1,423	–
5	Ohio State	7-1	1,336	–
6	Michigan State	8-0	1,325	+1
7	Oregon	7-1	1,198	+1
8	Notre Dame	7-1	1,095	+3
9	Wake Forest	8-0	1,051	+4
10	Michigan	7-1	1,050	-4
11	Oklahoma State	7-1	922	+4
12	Texas A&M	6-2	910	+2
13	Baylor	7-1	815	+5
14	Auburn	6-2	802	+7
15	Ole Miss	6-2	680	-6
16	Iowa	6-2	512	-6
17	Kentucky	6-2	497	-5
18	Texas-San Antonio	8-0	401	+4
19	Houston	7-1	349	+10
20	BYU	7-2	310	+6
21	Coastal Carolina	7-1	301	+3
22	NC State	6-2	265	+3
23	Penn State	5-3	215	-6
24	SMU	7-1	192	-8
25	Pittsburgh	6-2	162	-6

Dropped from the rankings:

No. 20 San Diego State; No. 23 Iowa State

Others receiving votes:

UL Lafayette 156; Fresno State 73; San Diego State 65; Arkansas 65; Minnesota 29; Wisconsin 26; Mississippi State 20; Utah 10; Appalachian State 10; Air Force 9; Liberty 4; Iowa State 4; Clemson 4; Arizona State 1.

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Patrick on Twitter: @PatrickConnCFB

Where does Oklahoma land in the latest FiveThirtyEight College Football Playoff projections?

After a subpar performance against Kansas, where do the Sooners land in FiveThirtyEight’s latest College Football Playoff projections?

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The Oklahoma Sooners apparently enjoy a flair for the dramatic. That’s just how the 2021 season has gone. In order to keep things interesting against Kansas, they decided to spot them a 10 point lead going into halftime.

Quite generous of the Sooners, really.

Oklahoma’s poor play against one of the worst teams in college football is still one of the hottest topics in college football. Though it was a win and that’s ultimately what matters most, at some point, it would be nice to see the Oklahoma Sooners put together a complete game.

They aren’t going to be able to have a performance like that against any of their remaining opponents — including anyone they might face IF they make the College Football Playoff — and expect the outcome to be favorable.

With anticipation building for the initial College Football Playoff rankings, let’s take a look at some playoff projections from FiveThirtyEight.com.

FiveThirtyEight, led by Nate Silver, uses statistical analysis for polling and predicting results. ESPN has used its analysis to predict the College Football Playoff participants, college football predictions, and bowl games for years. Today, FiveThiryEight released its College Football Playoff Projections, and the Oklahoma Sooners come in with the second-best chance to make the College Football Playoff.

After getting a big bump in the projections last week after a 21 point win over TCU, the Oklahoma Sooners dipped a bit in this week’s projections. Oklahoma slides from a 52% chance of making the College Football Playoff to 45%. Replacing them with the second-best odds is the Alabama Crimson Tide who now has a 52% chance of making the playoff.

The Georgia Bulldogs remain the top Dawg, but see their chances of making the playoffs dip a bit with renewed faith in the Crimson Tide. The Ohio State Buckeyes rejoin the playoff pack and bumped in-state mate Cincinnati out of the top four.

For Oklahoma, it’s simple, win the rest of your games and make the playoff. Of course, winning has been anything but simple for the Sooners who’ve decided to make every game interesting in 2021.

Things get tougher in the month of November. They have Texas Tech this week, but after the bye, the Oklahoma Sooners get three ranked opponents to close out the season. Can they navigate Championship November undefeated and in the driver’s seat to make the College Football Playoff?

With the way they played this week, it’s anyone’s guess.

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Where LSU opponents rank after week 8 in USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll

The updated USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches poll after week 8 action.

The LSU Tigers fell to the then-ranked No. 12 Ole Miss Rebels on Saturday in a game that wasn’t even as close as the final score indicated.

Following their touchdown in the first quarter, LSU was outscored 31-0 in the next two quarters. It wasn’t until a field goal drive led by backup quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, did they even respond. Following the opening drive, the Tigers drive chart ended with turnovers three times and one missed field goal. They will take the bye week to get healthier and try and fix some of their issues.

USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll was released on Sunday. The Georgia Bulldogs seem to be the only consistent team in the rankings. They hold onto the top spot and everyone else seems to fluctuate on a week-to-week basis. The Tigers schedule will feature two ranked opponents in the final four weeks. Alabama, who knocked off Tennessee on Saturday night and Texas A&M, who throttled South Carolina.

A look at the full coaches poll after this week’s slate of games.

Full USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll:

Rank	Team	Record	Points	Change
1	Georgia	7-0	1,600 (64)	–
2	Cincinnati	7-0	1,469	+1
3	Alabama	7-1	1,439	+1
4	Oklahoma	8-0	1,430	-2
5	Ohio State	6-1	1,338	–
6	Michigan	7-0	1,313	–
7	Michigan State	7-0	1,208	–
8	Oregon	6-1	1,139	+2
9	Ole Miss	6-1	1,019	+3
10	Iowa	6-1	1,008	+1
11	Notre Dame	6-1	950	+2
12	Kentucky	6-1	857	+1
13	Wake Forest	7-0	838	+2
14	Texas A&M	6-2	736	+3
15	Oklahoma State	6-1	684	-6
16	SMU	7-0	535	+3
17	Penn State	5-2	517	-9
18	Baylor	6-1	509	+2
19	Pittsburgh	6-1	487	+4
20	San Diego State	7-0	431	+1
21	Auburn	5-2	418	+1
22	UT-San Antonio	8-0	219	+3
23	Iowa State	5-2	190	+3
24	Coastal Carolina	6-1	134	-8
25	North Carolina State	5-2	73	-7

Dropped from the rankings:

No. 24 Clemson

Others receiving votes:

UL Lafayette 42; Brigham Young 42; Arkansas 41; Houston 27; Arizona State 27; Virginia 23; Oregon State 13; Florida 13; Fresno State 10; Air Force 9; Appalachian State 5; Texas 3; Liberty 3; Utah 1

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Patrick on Twitter: @PatrickConnCFB

The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman connect 2 coaches with OU ties to Washington State vacancy

The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman connect 2 coaches with OU ties to the Washington State head coaching vacancy.

There’s been quite a shakeup in the coaching landscape in college football over the last week. First was the news that LSU and Ed Orgeron would part ways following a poor start for the Tigers and some controversial happenings inside the program. Then yesterday, Washington State made a move to fire head coach Nick Rolovich and several assistants after they refused to take the COVID-19 vaccination, which had been mandated for all state employees in Washington.

All of a sudden, there are two head coaching jobs available in the Power Five.

As media members begin to speculate about who could fill these openings, Oklahoma assistants will inevitably be in the crosshairs. Bruce Feldman of The Athletic listed two coaches to fill Washington State’s job. That is former co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Jay Norvell and current defensive coordinator Alex Grinch.

One of the coaches Washington State might target is Norvell. The 58-year-old has done very well at one of the tougher jobs in the Mountain West. He’s also spent some time in the Pac-12 at Arizona State and UCLA. He knows the terrain and is a proven leader. His program is 12-3 over the past two years and he’s 27-14 the past four years. – Feldman

Norvell has been the head coach at Nevada since 2017 and has amassed a 30-23 record for Wolf Pack. After starting his tenure with Nevada 3-9 in 2017, Norvell went 8-5 in 2018, and he and the Wolf Pack have earned bowl bids each of the last four seasons. In the COVID shortened 2020, Norvell and Nevada went 7-2, finishing second in the Mountain West Conference and winning the Idaho Potato Bowl.

Norvell’s offense has helped quarterback Carson Strong gain consideration as one of the top quarterback prospects in the 2022 NFL draft. Nevada is currently 26th in the nation in scoring at 36.3 points per game, and they hold wins over California and Boise State.

That would be a solid direction for Washington State to go if they didn’t pursue a coach they are familiar with. Alex Grinch. Though Feldman’s skeptical that Grinch would leave the Sooners for a job like Washington State. However, it’s a name that connects to the Cougars, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him get an interview for the gig.

Grinch spent three seasons at Washington State as the defensive coordinator under then-head coach Mike Leach.

In his best year as defensive coordinator under Leach, the Cougars allowed just 24 points per game in 2017. An up and down season saw Washington State shut out Montana State and Colorado but allowed 40 or more points four times.

Grinch helped improve Ohio State’s defense before moving on to Oklahoma after the transition from Urban Meyer to Ryan Day. Before Grinch arrived in Norman, the Oklahoma Sooners were allowing 33.2 points per game under a combination of Mike Stoops and Ruffin McNeil. Oklahoma has improved each year under Grinch and is allowing just 24.85 points per game in 2021.

As time goes on, it becomes more and more likely that head coaching positions will begin to target Alex Grinch. He’s having success on the field despite injuries to key starters on defense, and he’s having success in recruiting as the Sooners continue to add five and four-star recruits in the 2022 recruiting cycle.

The time will come when Alex Grinch leaves for a head coaching opportunity. It’s inevitable. You can’t keep good coordinators at the coordinator level forever. However, he doesn’t have to be in any rush. Grinch can take his time and wait for the job that he wants.