Not very many surprises this week, and that caused little rumbling in the rankings. The big upset was LSU's defeat of Ole Miss in a classic 10-7 defensive battle. That leaves only three unbeaten teams. Now the Egg Bowl gets interesting. If Ole Miss wins, the only team from a Power 5 conference who is unbeaten would be Florida State, unless they falter before then (always a possibility, as they have been playing mediocre ball for most of the season).
A less noticeable upset occurred in my own Big Ten, as Illinois gained their first Big Ten conference victory in two years, and did it by knocking off division leading Minnesota. Now Nebraska leads the Big Ten West, and controls their destiny in that division.
Two games had surprising results. West Virginia wiped out Oklahoma State, which may remove the Cowboys from any reasonable chance at the conference title. Arizona State outplayed Washington, knocking the Huskies out of the Top 25 and making the Pac-12 South race very interesting.
Top 25 [Last week's position]
1. MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS (7-0) [2] : One team from Mississippi is replaced with another
2. Alabama Crimson Tide (7-1) [3] : Great win over a young Tennessee squad
3. Ole Miss Rebels (7-1) [1] : Despite the loss, still the best defense in the SEC
4. Georgia Bulldogs (6-1) [4]
5. Auburn Tigers (6-1) [5]
6. Ohio State Buckeyes (6-1) [6] : It should not have taken two overtimes to beat Penn State, but they still maintain a tenuous lead over Nebraska and Michigan State in the rankings
7. Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-1) [7] : Now a division leader and favorite to reach the conference title game
8. Michigan State Spartans (7-1) [8] : They spanked their in-state rival and are bracing for Ohio State
9. Florida State Seminoles (7-0) [9]
10. TCU Horned Frogs (6-1) [10] : Now that score was just mean, leaving in their starters for so long
11. Baylor Bears (6-1) [11]
12. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-1) [12]
13. Oregon Ducks (7-1) [13] : Nice game, but not quite nice enough to move up
14. LSU Tigers (7-2) [15] : They beat the top team, but still languish below one-loss teams
15. Oklahoma Sooners (5-2) [14]
16. Arizona Wildcats (6-1) [16]
17. Marshall Thundering Herd (8-0) [17]
18. Duke Blue Devils (6-1) [18]
19. Kansas State Wildcats (6-1) [19]
20. Utah Utes (6-1) [21] : Knocked off USC to challenge the two schools from Arizona for division title
21. East Carolina Pirates (6-1) [24]
22. Louisville Cardinals (6-2) [23]
23. Missouri Tigers (6-2) [25]
24. Arizona State Sun Devils (6-1) [26] : Back in the Top 25 and chasing a division title
25. USC Trojans (5-3)
Dropped off: Washington Huskies [#22]
On the Edge: Wisconsin Badgers (5-2), Colorado State Rams (7-1), Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (6-2), Clemson Tigers (6-2), Boise State Broncos (6-2), West Virginia Mountaineers (6-2), Stanford Cardinal (5-3)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment