NCAA Football 2018 Week 3 results and Top 25

We had some interesting matchups, and some interesting results.  Most will be discussed in the conference reports, but some interesting takeaways:  both USC and UCLA are already done for the season.  Texas is recovering from their loss to Maryland, much like they did last year.  And I was very impressed how so many schools put the safety of their players and fans ahead of sales and rankings when many Top 25 schools cancelled games threatened by Hurricane Florence.  Sad we can't say the same thing about Georgia.

Top 25 [Last week's position]
1.  Alabama Crimson Tide (3-0) [1] : Big gap between the Tide and everybody else in the Top Ten
2. Ohio State Buckeyes (3-0) [4]
3. Oklahoma Sooners (3-0) [3]
4. Penn State Nittany Lions (3-0) [10] : It took their defense a game and a half to wake up, but now that they are awake, watch out!
5. Virginia Tech Hokies (2-0) [5] : Like all teams who cancelled due to Hurricane Florence, they did not move an inch on my rankings
6. Georgia Bulldogs (3-0) [21]
7. Stanford Cardinal (3-0) [6]
8. LSU Tigers (3-0) [7]
9. UCF Golden Knights (2-0) [9]
10. Washington State Cougars (3-0) [11]
11. Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-0) [NR]
12. Colorado Buffaloes (3-0) [12]
13. Oregon Ducks (3-0) [13]
14. West Virginia Mountaineers (2-0) [14]
15. TCU Horned Frogs (2-1) [15]
16. Iowa Hawkeyes (3-0) [16]
17. Clemson Tigers (3-0) [NR]
18. Duke Blue Devils (3-0) [19]
19. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (3-0) [17]
20. Cincinnati Bearcats (3-0) [20]
21. Auburn Tigers (2-1) [24]
22. Wisconsin Badgers (2-1) [2] : The loss to BYU results in one of the largest drops in the history of my rankings
23. Mississippi State Bulldogs (3-0) [23]
24. Minnesota Golden Gophers (3-0) [NR]
25. Syracuse Orange (3-0) [NR]

Dropped off: Boise State Broncos [#8], Houston Cougars [#18], Maryland Terrapins [#22], Arizona State Sun Devils [#25]
On the Edge: Fresno State Bulldogs (2-1), Michigan Wolverines (2-1), Kentucky Wildcats (3-0), Texas A&M Aggies (2-1), Texas Longhorns (2-1), North Texas Mean Green (3-0)

Big Ten Report
It was not a great week for the Big Ten, but it also wasn't as bad as ESPN reported.  Of the top teams in the conference, only Wisconsin lost.  Penn State, Iowa, Minnesota, and Michigan all won.  Michigan's defense allowed SMU to score a bit too much, but the offense was really cooking.  Ohio State did about as well as I expected.  TCU is a quick strike team, while Ohio State does better in the second half.  Indiana won as expected, too.

Rutgers lost, but that was expected.  Illinois lost, but they led South Florida 19-7 in the fourth quarter.  Like last year, the Illini have trouble closing games.  Purdue lost, but they nearly beat Missouri; the go-ahead touchdown was called back, and the Boilermakers kicked a tying field goal with enough time on the clock for Missouri to get in field goal range.

So there were only four upsets, and I figured two of those games were risky.  Northwestern had looked bad, while Akron looked good in their only appearance of the season.  Indeed, Akron proved the better team, although Northwestern led in the first half and made a valient attempt at a fourth-quarter comeback.  Nebraska looked poor in their game against Colorado, and their weaknesses were on full display in their loss to Troy.  No, the real disappointments were Wisconsin and Maryland.  Maryland's defeat was worse, as they were completed dominated.  Wisconsin kept it close, but anytime the Badgers do not have more running yards than their opponent, something is amiss.

I still think Wisconsin might have the best chance to win their division, thanks to a favorable schedule, but Iowa stands a real chance of pulling it out, especially if they beat Wisconsin this week.  Ohio State's only real challenge appears to be Penn State.  The winner of the East should win the conference.

Pac-12 Report
You want a conference that had a bad day?  Check out the Pac-12.  USC and UCLA were atrocious, and the Bruins are officially the worst team in the conference.  Arizona State suffered an upset, and both Oregon and Arizona allowed weak teams WAAAYYY too many points.  Utah lost to Washington, whose only decent previous win was to FCS North Dakota.  Even Stanford was not terribly impressive in their win over FCS UC Davis.  The most consistent performer in this conference has been Colorado.  Everyone else has faltered at some point, making it anyone's conference title.  Unimpressive wins, though, will likely keep the Pac-12 out of the playoffs.

SEC Report
Arkansas and Ole Miss were the only two teams who played disastrously this week.  Tennessee was okay, and the rest were outstanding, even in losses to Auburn and Vandy, who held their own exceptionally well.  Definitely the best week of the season so far for the SEC.

ACC Report
Hurricane Florence tore into the southeast coast, cancelling many of this conference's games.  At the same time, the Miami Hurricanes tore into Toledo and ripped apart the Rockets.  Clemson, Duke, and Syracuse were also fabulous.  The Florida State coach stated it best, "We are Florida State, and to be beaten by Syracuse is embarrassing."  While I disagree that simply being beaten by Syracuse is embarrassing, as the Orange are playing quite well this season, it IS embarrassing to be thoroughly trounced by them!  I don't care that North Carolina has the worst record right now in the conference, clearly the worst team is Florida State.

Big 12 Report
Not a bad week for most teams, even in loss.  Iowa State made things difficult for Oklahoma, and TCU hung in against Ohio State.  Oklahoma State had a massive game against Boise State, Texas demolished USC, Texas Tech knocked off Houston, and even Kansas shone.  Despite Oklahoma's ranking, I think Oklahoma State is the most impressive team in the conference right now.  We'll have to see how this one turns out in upcoming weeks.