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The Oklahoma Sooners earned a huge win over Texas and Fox College Sports’ Joel Klatt thrusted OU into his top 10 after week 6.
Through the first five weeks of the season, there was a hesitancy from the national media regarding the Oklahoma Sooners.
Coming off the season they had in 2022, many folks had adjusted expectations for the Sooners.
Through six games and coming off a win over Texas, the Sooners are beginning to look like a tough, hard-nosed Brent Venables team.
Each week, Fox Sports College Football’s Joel Klatt updates his top 10. After Week 6 action, here’s a look at Klatt’s top 10.
According to the ESPN Football Power Index, the Oklahoma Sooners are one of the best teams in the nation.
Though a football program never wants to get too ahead of itself, the Oklahoma Sooners’ win against Texas opens a world of possibilities in 2023.
Coming into the season, many expected the Sooners to be a Big 12 title contender, but most preseason predictions pegged them with at least two losses. Having overcome the Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl, the Sooners have a chance to do something special this season.
This was a signature win for Brent Venables and the Oklahoma Sooners. While they have much higher expectations than simply winning the Red River Rivalry, this was an important monkey to get off the program’s back after what happened a year ago.
We’ve been saying all season that this team looked different. On Saturday in Dallas, the Sooners proved that to be the case. Brent Venables has the Sooners on a strong trajectory, and they’re just getting started.
With the win, let’s see how the Oklahoma Sooners stack up nationally in the ESPN Football Power Index.
Which teams made moves in this week’s College Football Power Rankings after week five’s action?
Five weeks into the 2023 college football season has given us quite a bit of information. There’s a lot of football to be played this season, but the contenders are beginning to separate themselves from the pack.
In the Big 12, only Texas and Oklahoma were ranked in the latest US LBM Coaches Poll. This week’s Red River Rivalry game will have huge conference title implications.
While the SEC and Big 12 have clear frontrunners, the Pac-12 and the Big Ten have a number of teams that will make some noise throughout the season on their way to contention.
Oregon, USC, Washington, and Washington State remain undefeated after week 5, and Utah and Oregon State are still very much in the mix.
In the Big Ten, Michigan may look like the best team in the conference, but Penn State and Ohio State aren’t far behind.
It’s going to be a fascinating next two months in college football.
Here are this week’s College Football Power Rankings after week 5.
Florida Gators: Lost to Kentucky
Kansas Jayhawks: Lost to Texas
Kirk Herbstreit has Texas solidly in the playoff as of Week 6.
We are almost halfway through the college football regular season. And while we will not predict with certainty that Texas will make the College Football Playoff, one analyst sees the Longhorns as a team with a strong chance.
Former Ohio State quarterback and longtime analyst for ESPN’s College GameDay Kirk Herbstreit has the ‘Horns solidly in the playoff picture. Herbstreit ranks Texas second behind No. 1 Georgia. He reasoned that with the emergence of running back Jonathon Brooks, the Longhorns can now deploy a balanced attack.
Brooks’ emergence took pressure off of starting quarterback Quinn Ewers the last two weeks. As a result we have seen some of Ewers’ best football. The second-year signal caller has raised his completion percentage from 58% to 66% due in large part to his complete supporting cast.
The Washington Huskies and Florida State Seminoles rounded out Herbstreit’s playoff picture, with the Michigan Wolverines and Ohio State Buckeyes as his first two outside the playoff.
My updated top 4 after WEEK 5
1-@GeorgiaFootball (young QB Carson Beck grew up yesterday)
2-@TexasFootball (Horns found their RB (Jonathon Brooks) to make this offense balanced)
3-@UW_Football (Most explosive offense of the group)
4-@FSUFootball (team playing with an edge &…
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) October 1, 2023
Some people say Oregon is Washington’s top rival. Others will tell you road games in Arizona are UW’s biggest rival.
Before the weekend, Trojans Wire wrote about the University of Washington’s football history in the state of Arizona:
“Last year, Washington was a far better team than Arizona State. Yet, the Huskies lost in Tempe to the Sun Devils, a crazy result which prevented UW from playing USC in the Pac-12 Championship Game.
“When Washington plays in the state of Arizona, weird things often happen. The Huskies haven’t won in Tempe against Arizona State since 2001, which is absolutely crazy. They have won their past several meetings against Arizona in Tucson, but some of those games have not been easy or comfortable.”
Saturday night, Washington played another uncomfortable game in the desert, scraping by with a 31-24 win in which Michael Penix did not play especially well.
Caleb Williams of USC did not play his best in the state of Arizona a week ago when USC slid past Arizona State in an ugly game.
Is there something about the state of Arizona which makes other Pac-12 teams stumble? Oregon and Utah have also had problems playing in Arizona in the past. This time, though, it was time for Washington fans to sweat again in the desert.
See how they dealt with this close shave in Tucson:
Washington lost at Arizona State last year. Will the Grand Canyon State trip up the Huskies yet again?
Washington is a far better team than Arizona. No one would dispute this.
Last year, Washington was a far better team than Arizona State. Yet, the Huskies lost in Tempe to the Sun Devils, a crazy result which prevented UW from playing USC in the Pac-12 Championship Game.
When Washington plays in the state of Arizona, weird things often happen. The Huskies haven’t won in Tempe against Arizona State since 2001, which is absolutely crazy. They have won their past several meetings against Arizona in Tucson, but some of those games have not been easy or comfortable.
Should UW be on upset alert?
We asked our Pac-12 panel:
Ducks Wire analyst Don Smalley said, “The Huskies are favored by 17.5. I expect Washington to cover and then some. If they show up, UW rolls.”
Ducks Wire editor Zachary Neel told us, “Did Arizona’s defense magically get better? Not good enough to slow down Penix and the Huskies. Washington gets a blowout.”
Matt Wadleigh of Trojans and Buffaloes Wire offered this comment: “Cal put up 32 points against the Huskies last weekend, but Arizona nearly lost to Stanford. Who knows, but I anticipate Washington winning by at least 20.”
I know Washington is a lot better than Arizona, but that weird Grand Canyon state voodoo is hard to shake. I love Arizona plus the 19 points. Washington’s record in Tucson is better than it is in Tempe, but the games are still usually competitive and weird, kinda like when Washington plays on the road at Stanford.
Washington 34, Arizona 24.
Follow Buffaloes Wire for complete coverage of Deion Sanders and Colorado, as CU prepares to play USC on Fox Big Noon Saturday.
USC win over ASU felt like a loss in many ways.
Alex Grinch is not quieting his critics, and bigger tests await.
Washington impresses in win over Michigan State and Tennessee suffers huge drop in this week’s College Football Power Rankings.
Three weeks into the season, we’re getting a better idea of who teams are in the 2023 college football season.
Some still have a great deal to prove, even some in the top 10 of our power rankings. Others are showing they’re a legitimate force to be reckoned with in the College Football Playoff race.
Across the college football landscape, the contenders are beginning to emerge while the pretenders step to the side.
With another week in the books, here’s a look at this week’s college football power rankings.
Kansas State: Lost to Missouri
The Texas Longhorns experienced the biggest jump of the week after their win over Alabama in this week’s College Football Power Rankings.
The 2023 college football season has already provided some fantastic games just a few weeks in. In week one, Florida State and LSU provided the entertainment in their top 10 matchup. In week two, Texas and Alabama took center stage.
Texas beat the Crimson Tide 34-24 in Tuscaloosa, giving Steve Sarkisian his biggest win since taking over as head coach in Austin, and perhaps in his career.
If the Texas hype hadn’t already reached the stratosphere, it’s jumping into hyperspace after their 10-point win over the Tide.
It sets up the potential for an undefeated collision course when the Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners make the I-35 trek to Dallas to meet in the Cotton Bowl in a few weeks.
They’ll each have challenges to navigate, but Texas’ win gave the Red River Rivalry a little more juice.
Here’s a look at the College Football Power Rankings after week 2.
Texas A&M Aggies: Lost to Miami
Wisconsin Badgers: Lost to Washington State
Washington vs Michigan was a matchup of top-four teams. It was one of the most hyped #RoseBowl games ever. The Pac-10 dominated.
As we say goodbye to the Pac-12 and lament its passing, we recall the great moments in the conference’s football history. USC obvious created many of them, and we are remembering the unbeaten teams in USC history, such as 1928 and 1932, among many other seasons.
It is also important, in reflecting on the full history of Pac-12 football, to recall the moments when non-USC schools stood tall and represented the West in grand style on the national stage. Few examples were more impressive, significant, or memorable than what the Washington Huskies did on January 1, 1992.
A crowd of over 103,000 in Pasadena witnessed a battle of teams ranked in the top four. The Rose Bowl had epic games with national championship significance in the 1960s and 1970s, when USC was at its height and Ohio State and Michigan ruled the Big Ten. The 1980s came and went without a huge Rose Bowl. The 1979 season gave us a 3-versus-1 Rose Bowl between USC and Ohio State, but there wasn’t another top-four Granddaddy until the 1991 season, when Washington — No. 1 in the coaches’ poll — faced No. 3 Michigan. The teams were No. 2 and No. 4 in the Associated Press Poll leading into the game.
Don James and Washington finished No. 2 in 1984. They wanted the big prize in 1991. They got it with a 34-14 smackdown of a very good Michigan team led by future NFL quarterback Elvis Grbac. The beatdown gave Washington the coaches’ poll national championship and a split with Miami.
Even now, more than 30 years later, we all wish Washington could have played Miami in a winner-take-all battle. Still, U-Dub got one of the biggest “dubs” in Pac-10 history.
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USC and Washington are picked by most experts to play for the #Pac12 title. Their WRs are the best in the conference.
The Pac-12 Conference is absolutely loaded with pass catchers every season. The 2023 campaign is no different, and who knows where to begin? One has to start somewhere.
Jack Follman of SuperWest Sports ranked the Pac-12’s best wide receiver and tight end groups together as one unit. He has the USC Trojans as No. 2 behind the Washington Huskies.
“(Dorian) Singer had the best stats of a receiver in the Pac-12 last season, arguably, and getting him to USC was a huge score. (Mario) Williams and (Tahj) Washington should be really good No. 2 and 3 targets, and (Zach) Branch is a five-star who could be a standout quickly.”
Arizona, Oregon, and Arizona State round out the top five, which is surprising since the Wildcats lost Singer, their top option, to USC via the transfer portal. However, adding Colorado transfer Montana Lemonious-Craig certainly helped in that matter for the Wildcats.
The quarterbacks are talented in the Pac-12, and it always helps having a bevy of options to throw to on any given play. USC has a pitch-catch combo which is the envy of the rest of the Pac-12 … except in Seattle.
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