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1.) LSU
The Tigers got more of a test than they would have liked at Ole Miss on Saturday, but quarterback Joe Burrow threw five more touchdown passes to bring his season total up to 38, and LSU left Oxford with a 58-37 victory. The Tigers defense is becoming a bit of a concern, especially after allowing 614 total yards including an incredible 402 on the ground. LSU’s defense is currently ranked 53rd in the nation. They’ve been content to outscore opponents all season, but should that offense run into adversity, the Tigers’ defense could be their undoing. LSU hosts lowly Arkansas next.
2.) Ohio State
After a 56-21 win over Rutgers to improve to 10-0, there’s not much to say about the Buckeyes. Quarterback Justin Fields has thrown for 31 touchdown passes, and rushed for another ten, all while throwing just a single interception this season. Up next, Ohio State hosts Penn State with a chance to clinch the Big Ten East division.
3.) Clemson
Clemson has found its groove, and the Tigers put on another whooping against an overmatched ACC foe. Clemson was utterly dominant against the second best team in their division, Wake Forest, barely breaking a sweat in a 52-3 rout. The Tigers will have a bye before traveling to South Carolina for their season-finale against the rival Gamecocks.
4.) Georgia
The Bulldogs strengthened their position within the Top 4 this past Saturday, earning their third win of the season over a ranked team. Georgia went up 21-0 at Jordan-Hare Stadium before holding on to a 21-14 win over Auburn. Up next, the Bulldogs will host a Texas A&M squad that’s coming in on a four-game win streak.
5.) Minnesota
Leaving the Golden Gophers within the Top 5 will raise eyebrows after their 23-19 loss in Iowa City this past Saturday, but Minnesota still has the best win out of any one-loss contender ranked 5 through 11. LSU is the only other program that has a win over a Top 10 program, and while Saturday’s loss shouldn’t be overlooked, it’s not hard to understand the letdown either. The Golden Gophers were coming off perhaps the biggest win in school history, and had to take a road trip to arguably the scariest stadium in the Big Ten, (more on that later). Minnesota should be able to get right this coming Saturday, traveling to Northwestern.
6.) Penn State
The Nittany Lions were in a real fight with Indiana on Saturday, but they prevailed by a score of 34-27. It was a nice bounce-back game for Penn State after their disappointing loss at Minnesota the week prior. The contest also showed that the 7-win Hoosiers should not be taken lightly. The Nittany Lions still have their goals in front of them, and they control their own destiny as they head to Columbus this Saturday to face the Buckeyes.
7.) Oklahoma
A comeback for the ages – the Sooners trailed 28-3 on the road at Baylor, and 31-10 at halftime. But the much-maligned Oklahoma defense held the Bears scoreless in the second half, and quarterback Jalen Hurts overcame three turnovers to lead the Sooners back for a 34-31 victory. It was the largest comeback in Oklahoma history. The Sooners are not the well-oiled machine they appeared to be earlier this season, but they are still very much alive for a playoff berth as they host TCU this coming Saturday.
8.) Alabama
Devastating news out of Tuscaloosa this weekend as quarterback Tua Tagovialoa was lost for the season after suffering a serious hip injury in the second quarter of a 38-7 win over Mississippi State. Tagovialoa is expected to make a full recovery, but his days wearing a Crimson Tide jersey are likely over. In a season in which the Tide has suffered several injuries, this may be the one that broke the elephant’s back. It’s unclear how the playoff committee with handle Tagovailoa’s injury, but one would assume that any chance of Alabama winning a national title went up in smoke when its quarterback went down. The Crimson Tide host Western Carolina in a glorified scrimmage this Saturday.
9.) Utah
I’ve contemplated it for a couple weeks, and it’s finally time. I’ve moved Utah ahead of fellow Pac-12 member Oregon this week after the Utes’ 49-3 win over UCLA on Saturday. With both programs carrying a loss, the fact that the Ducks had fallen to a superior opponent held them ahead of Utah up to this point, but it’s becoming too hard to ignore what the Utes are doing in conference play. Utah has outscored Pac-12 opponents 251-84 this season. The Utes have scored more points than Oregon in conference play, and surrendered fewer points than the Ducks in conference play. If this move is a head-scratcher for you, go look at the results against common opponents between the two teams. Utah travels to Arizona this Saturday.
10.) Oregon
The Ducks are still in contention for a playoff spot, and they’ll get their shot at Utah in the Pac-12 championship game. Oregon continued its roll on Saturday with a 34-6 win over Arizona, stretching its winning streak to nine consecutive games. The Ducks’ season-opening loss to Auburn continues to haunt them however, after the Tigers lost their third game of the season this past week. Oregon should have won that opener, there’s no two ways about it. The Ducks travel to Arizona State this Saturday.
11.) Baylor
A gut-wrenching loss for Baylor on a night when it appeared they were ready to prove the doubters wrong. The Bears stormed out of the gate and raced to a 25-point lead, but the offense went cold in the second half. Baylor could only sit and watch as Jalen Hurts led Oklahoma all the way back, handing the Bears their first loss of the season. It’s a defeat that will be difficult to overcome, but one that Baylor needs to move past quickly. The Bears play host to rival Texas this Saturday.
12.) Florida
Florida remains the top two-loss team in my rankings, but their best win took a hit when Auburn fell for the third time this season. But that win, combined with the fact that their two losses came against teams I have ranked in my Top 4 (LSU, Georgia) keeps them ahead of the teams ranked 13 through 15 on my list. The Gators took care of business this past Saturday with a 23-6 win over Missouri, and now enter a bye week ahead of their season-finale against rival Florida State.
13.) Wisconsin
The Badgers are nipping on the Gators heels. Wisconsin has wins over Michigan and Iowa, but a blowout loss to Ohio State and an upset loss to Illinois keep them here for now. On Saturday, the Badgers had a bit of a slow start against Nebraska, before pulling away for a 37-21 victory. In the midst of that game, tailback Jonathan Taylor passed Herschall Walker for the most career rushing yards through three years of college ball. Taylor now has 5,634 career rushing yards. Up next, Wisconsin will host Purdue.
14.) Michigan
The Wolverines reclaimed the state of Michigan in emphatic fashion with a 44-10 beatdown of the rival Spartans. It was a satisfying win, but not one that will create ripples throughout college football, due to Michigan State’s lack of competitiveness these last several weeks. The Wolverines have opportunities in front of them to make bigger statements, and that starts this week with a road trip to a surprisingly solid Indiana squad. The Hoosiers gave Penn State a real fight in Happy Valley last Saturday, and while Indiana hasn’t beaten Michigan since 1987, Memorial Stadium in Bloomington has been a scary place for the Wolverines during the last few visits.
15.) Notre Dame
The Fighting Irish were embarrassed by their rivals to the north in Ann Arbor a few weeks ago, and then played uninspired in a 1-point win over Virginia Tech the following week. However, Notre Dame looks to be back to playing really good football after back-to-back blowout wins. Beating Duke 38-7 is nothing to write home about, but crushing a one-loss, Top 25 team like Navy is a different story. The Fighting Irish wasted no time, building a 28-0 first quarter lead and never let Navy back in it, winning 55-20. Up next, Notre Dame will host another rival in Boston College.
16.) Auburn
The Tigers looked overmatched for much of the game against Georgia on Saturday, but there’s a lot of fight in this Auburn squad. Trailing 21-0 in the fourth, the Tigers got back to within seven points and had the ball with a chance to tie. Unfortunately, a poorly-thrown pass on 4th-and-2 by quarterback Bo Nix ended Auburn’s comeback chances, and the Tigers fell by a score of 21-14. Auburn’s three losses have each come from teams ranked in the playoff committee’s Top 11. The Tigers host Samford in the SEC’s traditional “pre-rivalry cupcake week” this Saturday.
17.) Memphis
The playoff committee has Cincinnati as the top Group of Five team in the country right now, and frankly I don’t get it. Memphis looks like the best team out of the Group of Five to me, and they kept things rolling this past weekend with a 45-27 win over Houston. The Tigers only loss was by a 2-point margin to better-than-you-think Temple. Memphis travels to South Florida this weekend, and then will have a chance to prove my theory right when they host Cincinnati the following week.
18.) SMU
The Mustangs fell out of the committee’s rankings last week, but they hold steady within my Top 20. SMU enjoyed a bye this past Saturday, but will return to action with a trip to the Naval Academy. The Midshipmen are licking their wounds after a humiliating 55-20 loss at the hands of Notre Dame last weekend, but are still very much alive for an American conference championship. The matchup between SMU and Navy is a de facto elimination game for the AAC’s West division.
19.) Boise State
The Broncos remain in contention for a New Year Six bowl after their 42-9 win over New Mexico this past Saturday. Boise State is unbeaten in Mountain West Conference play, and can clinch the league’s Mountain division with a win over Utah State this coming weekend.
20.) Cincinnati
The Bearcats survived another scare this past weekend, eking out a 20-17 win over South Florida with a last-second field goal. This comes two weeks after Cincinnati won by only a field goal against East Carolina (46-43). The Bearcats’ only loss came in blowout fashion via Ohio State, which is certainly forgivable, but this team will need to play better in its last two weeks if it wants to claim the Group of Five’s slot in the New Year’s Six. Cincinnati will host Temple this weekend before traveling to Memphis to finish the regular season.
21.) Iowa
Top 10 programs beware! Kinnick Stadium in late Fall is your biggest nightmare. Since 2008, Iowa has defeated five unbeaten Top 10 programs at home on October 30th or later – No. 3 Penn State (2008, 24-23), No. 5 Michigan State (2010, 37-6), No. 2 Michigan (2016, 14-13), No. 3 Ohio State (2017, 55-24) and No. 8 Minnesota this past weekend, 23-19. This was easily the biggest win of the year for the Hawkeyes, and had to be a satisfying one after losing tough games to Michigan (10-3), Penn State (17-12) and Wisconsin (24-22). Iowa has already been eliminated from contention in the Big Ten West, but has an excellent chance to finish the regular season with nine wins with upcoming games against Illinois and Nebraska.
22.) Oklahoma State
The Cowboys had little trouble dispatching Kansas on Saturday, going up big early and cruising to a 31-12 finish. Oklahoma State needs a ton of help to reach the Big 12 title game, but should reach eight wins this weekend with a road trip to West Virginia. After that, the Cowboys will have a chance to sweeten their 2019 season regardless of Big 12 standings when they face Oklahoma in the Bedlam game to end the year.
23.) Appalachian State
Why are the Mountaineers here? Because they’ve beaten a team from the ACC and a team from the SEC, and have only slipped up in conference play once. Were the two teams they beat from those two conferences very good? No. But, it’s a good story and they deserve credit for their 9-1 record through 12 weeks, and for humiliating two teams from the Power 5. Up next, Appalachian State hosts a pretty bad Texas State team.
24.) Air Force
There weren’t too many good options down here, so why not give a nod to one of the service academies? I had Navy ranked for the last couple weeks, but after they got blown out by Notre Dame, it’s time to recognize Air Force for their 8-2 start to the season. I’m breaking one of my season-long rules by having the Falcons ahead of the Midshipmen despite the fact that Navy won the head-to-head matchup between these two squads, but Air Force has a very good chance to end the season with 10 wins. Should Navy beat SMU this coming week, they’ll jump back ahead of the Falcons.
25.) Texas A&M
I’ve held off on re-ranking Texas A&M for several weeks now, because despite the fact the Aggies are now 7-3, those seven wins have come against seven teams with losing records, including an FCS program. The three times Texas A&M played a team with a winning record, they lost, and all three of those losses were by more than a touchdown. The Aggies are ranked here because the options were extremely limited, but they’ll have their chance to remain in my rankings as they close out the season with road trips to Georgia and LSU.
