[ad_1]
It was a week with conference championship implications across the country, but those are starting to become clearer – and congrats to Alabama and Georgia for clinching their divisions and booking a ticket to the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta – there is still a Your football ranks at the top of the college football rankings.
Alabama will be on the top in the new AP Top 25, and Clemson will remain in the second place. should remain in that No. 3 spot on when the new poll is released on Sunday. Goal After That Begins the Shake Ups, and the Shrink College Football Playoff picture as losses are accumulated across the country.
No team had more to gain from Week 10 than West Virginia. The Mountaineers are set to crash the top 10, possibly even jumping Oklahoma as they have solidified their spot in the Big 12 championship picture. Will Grier's two-point conversion to win not only provided a big head-to-head lead in the Big 12 title race, but it also gives the conference a second one-loss team for consideration in the College Football Playoff.
Here's how we think AP Top 25 will look on Sunday:
1. Alabama (Last week – 1): SEC on CBS lead analyst Gary Danielson mentioned it on the broadcast, and I think it's worth repeating: Alabama is playing with the arrogance of old Florida State, Miami and USC teams. It's earned its swagger in spades and thrives off not just winning but dominating every aspect of every game.
2. Clemson (2): Louisville is the worst team in the ACC, the impression that Clemson beat the Cardinals could convince at least a couple of voters to move their first-place vote from the Tide to the Tigers. No one seems confident that Clemson has reached Alabama's level yet, but it seems to be moving in that direction at the right time of the year.
3. Our Lady (3): Survival is the name of the game for Notre Dame, and has 31-21 win at Northwestern counts as a survival win. Ian Book finally settled down after halftime and two second touchdowns to help the Irish pull away late.
4. Michigan (5): Don Brown's defenses at Michigan have always been ranked among the best in the country, but this year's group is playing at a ridiculously high level and could carry the Wolverines to a Big Ten title. It was a day of statement wins among the top six and Michigan had quite a win with a 42-7 win against Penn State that was never in doubt thanks to that lights-out defense.
5. Georgia (6): The Bulldogs clinched the SEC is a national championship-contending team. The Bulldogs are not quite at Alabama's level yet, but they have a good time at the Tide in Atlanta.
6. Oklahoma (7): Outlasting Texas Tech in a 51-46 shootout keeps the Sooners in the playoff conversation, and this game probably best exemplified the good and bad when considering Oklahoma stacks up against its peers as one of the best teams in the country. If the primary argument against OR being in the playoff is tied to the defense, Saturday night's win did not do much to silence those critics.
7. West Virginia (13): Dana Holgorsen told reporters he felt good putting "the fate of the game" in Will Grier's hands, and the Mountaineers' star quarterback delivered in the clutch moments of the most impressive win of the week. West Virginia is now on top of the Big 12 Oklahoma standings with Oklahoma tour. Grier and the West Virginia may have gotten away from their Iowa State, but they have been enormously out of touch Texas on its home turf.
8. LSU (4): Oklahoma and West Virginia. The Tigers had a very good argument as the best one-loss team in the country, but the voters are not going to be able to justify the Georgia win as a reason to keep a two-loss team in the top five.
9. Ohio State (8): Escaping with a close win against Nebraska is not the most encouraging result since it was presumably going to fix some of the issues that plague the Buckeyes in the loss at Purdue. Ohio State's profile still leans heavily on its early season results, but until there's a second loss it's tough to see any further moves down in the polls.
10. UCF (9): McKenzie Milton's return keeps UCF's ceiling for 2018 high, but the close call against Temple Kick starts what's going to be the toughest stretch of the season for the Knights.
11. Washington State (10): Now 8-1 for the first time in 16 years, Washington State could see its stock after last minute 19-13 win against unranked Cal. The selection committee was stronger than the AP voters had been, so it is any major move up I'd guess it's more a reaction to the committee than a reaction to Saturday night's win.
12. Kentucky (11): It was just a matter of time before the Wildcats found themselves in an early deficit, and the Bulldogs went on to early, it was going to be an uphill battle for Kentucky to respond. Do not expect the voters to penalize the Wildcats too much, and losses by Florida, Penn State and others.
13. Syracuse (22): A 41-24 win at Wake Forest has pushed Syracuse from an "upset alert" team to a legal top-15 foe worthy of consideration for a top bowl game at the end of the season. The Orange, now 7-2 and only behind Clemson in the ACC standings, will face off against Notre Dame in Yankee Stadium in two weeks.
14. Utah State (18): The Aggies are in Honolulu this week, playing late against Hawaii.
15. Fresno State (20): An early blocked punt set for a total dominating performance at UNLV for the Bulldogs, now 8-1 overall and 5-0 in conference play.
16. Boston College (24): Steve Addazio recorded his third win against Virginia Tech in six meetings as Boston College's coach, and getting it done in Lane Stadium only adds to the confidence of the Eagles will get this win. Up next: Clemson comes to Chestnut Hill for a primetime game with College Football Playoff implications.
17. Florida (13): A win over LSU keeps Florida in the mix as one of the best three-loss teams in the country, but the way Missouri, 0-4 in conference play before Saturday, go through the Gators at home where this team stands among the best in the nation.
18. Mississippi State (21): The Bulldogs took care of the Louisiana Tech, locking in the bowl and building the momentum heading into next week's clash with Alabama.
19. Texas (15): A second straight loss will send the Longhorns even more. The Longhorns also lost control of their West Virginia or Oklahoma from the top two spots in the standings.
20. Washington (NR): After a really tough week, Jake Browning had a great response against Stanford in a must-win game for the Huskies. Washington went up early Stanford, as you might expect, made a charge back and had a chance to win in the final minute. Washington still has a Pac-12 championship potential after holding off the cardinal in a 27-23 win.
21. Penn State (14): On the other hand, the Nittany Lions should not fall too far because of their loss to the best teams in the country. On the other, the losses are piling up and Penn State is one of the best teams in the country.
22. Utah (16): An apparent in-road to the Pac-12 title is a little bit more than a little bit more than a head-to-head to Arizona State with two conference games left to play. Next week's game against Oregon in Salt Lake City has become a must-win if the Utes are going to represent the division in early December.
23. Michigan State (NR): Just when you are close to writing off this Spartans' team, Mark Dantonio is happily waiting to prove us all wrong. Michigan State showed up in the Others Receiving Votes on the edge of the top 25 a week ago, so I'm guessing they moved up as a result of Virginia and Texas A & M's losses.
24. Purdue (NR): There is more than just a few losses in the country for a national ranking than Purdue, currently holding wins against Boston College, Ohio State and Iowa. With five wins in the last six games, the Boilermakers have made a difference in the history of the game.
25. Cincinnati (NR): A 42-0 shutout win against Navy is going to raise some eyebrows among voters looking to fill the bottom of their nerd. It's really hard to distinguish between some of these teams outside of the top 15, and the Bearcats 8-1 record is worthy of getting back into the rankings ahead of some three-loss teams.
Projected to drop out: Houston (17), Iowa (19), Virginia (23), Texas A & M (25)
[ad_2]
Source link
