We had some close calls this past week, but ultimately the needle didn't move much aside from Texas A&M's unexpectedly impressive performance against LSU. Looking ahead to this week, Penn State - Ohio State will get all the attention. Ohio State still has Indiana on their schedule, but this is the one chance for Penn State to get a statement win in the regular season. The loser could end up on the outside looking in on both the conference championship and the playoffs.
1) Oregon (8-0, LW #1, AP #1): The Ducks handled Illinois easily last week but now they have a potentially tricky road trip to Michigan.
2) Georgia (6-1, LW #2, AP #2): Idle last week. Florida, Ole Miss, and Tennessee coming up in consecutive weeks.
3) Miami (8-0, LW #3, AP #5): I think you could easily swap Miami and BYU. Both are undefeated with decent (but not great) wins and a few close calls.
4) BYU (8-0, LW #4, AP #9): BYU has the week off to prepare for a rivalry game on the road against a declining but likely motivated Utah team.
5) Penn State (7-0, LW #5, AP #3): Handled Wisconsin pretty easily on the road. Now they have a huge matchup with Ohio State with major playoff implications.
6) Texas A&M (7-1, LW #7, AP #10): What a turnaround in the second half against LSU. If they can get through a couple of tricky but manageable road games (South Carolina, Auburn), then Texas A&M could be playing for a spot in the conference championship (and maybe the playoff) in their season finale against Texas.
7) Tennessee (6-1, LW #9, AP #7): I swapped Tennessee and Iowa State even though both had the week off. Tennessee has gone 3-1 against top 40 teams (Oklahoma, Florida, Alabama, Arkansas) while Iowa State has only played one (Iowa).
8) Iowa State (7-0, LW #8, AP #11): See above.
9) Ohio State (6-1, LW #10, AP #4): Similar resume as Iowa State except they have a loss to Oregon. But Ohio State will get a big boost if they win at Penn State this week.
10) Notre Dame: (7-1, LW #12, AP #8): Their week one win over Texas A&M is looking better and better. Too bad they lost at home to NIU.
11) Alabama (6-2, LW #13, AP #14): Alabama shut out Missouri and now they get a week off to prepare for their trip to Baton Rouge. The loser probably drops out of the playoff race.
12) Pitt (7-0, LW #11, AP #18): Pitt demolished a Syracuse team that was quietly 5-1 at that point. Their road trip to SMU this week could effectively be a playoff elimination game.
13) LSU (6-2, LW #6, AP #16): The Tigers had Texas A&M on the ropes but couldn't get it done. Desperation time when Alabama comes to visit next week.
14) Texas (7-1, LW #14, AP #6): Barely beat Vanderbilt. I'm highly skeptical they'll get through Florida, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Texas A&M unscathed.
15) Kansas State (7-1, LW #15, AP #17): They just had a last-second win over Kansas. A win is a win, but they'll need to do more to impress voters.
16) Indiana (8-0, LW #16, AP #13): Still undefeated, but their wins are even less impressive than Pitt's. Assuming they get through Michigan State and Michigan, they have a huge opportunity coming up against Ohio State.
17) SMU (7-1, LW #19, AP #20): Escaped against Duke in overtime. As mentioned above, their upcoming game against Pitt could have playoff implications.
18) Ole Miss (6-2, LW #22, AP #19): They just beat Oklahoma, which isn't overly impressive - but it's a better win than any of the teams further down this list have gotten so far (with the exception of Arkansas beating Tennessee).
19) Boise State (6-1, LW #20, AP #15): Boise State survived a G5 elimination game against UNLV. They won't have the strength of schedule to compete for an at-large spot, but they just need to outrank the other G5 teams to get into the playoff.
20) Washington State (7-1, LW #21, AP #22): Washington State keeps winning, but their loss to Boise State could cap how far they rise in the polls.
21) Illinois (6-2, LW #17, AP #24): Yes they just got blown out by Oregon, but it's hard to punish them too much for losing to a top team on the road.
22) Missouri (6-2, LW #18, AP #25): Basically the same story as Illinois above, except Missouri got blown out by Alabama.
23) South Carolina (4-3, LW unranked, AP #34): Yes, they have three losses. But South Carolina has decent wins (Kentucky and Oklahoma), and their losses are respectable (LSU, Ole Miss, Alabama).
24) Arkansas (4-3, LW unranked, AP #32): Similar story to South Carolina except they have a better win (Tennessee) but a worse loss (Oklahoma State).
25) Army (7-0, LW #25, AP #21): Navy had their shot at Notre Dame and fell short. Army will get their chance in a few weeks.
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