We lost another unbeaten this week. However, this was a much calmer week for most of the rest of the Top 25, as fewer ranked teams suffered upsets.
Top 25 [Last week's position]
1. Georgia Bulldogs (10-0) [1]
2. Cincinnati Bearcats (10-0) [2]
3. Ohio State Buckeyes (9-1) [3]
4. Alabama Crimson Tide (9-1) [4]
5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-1) [6]
6. Michigan State Spartans (9-1) [7]
7. Michigan Wolverines (9-1) [8]
8. Oregon Ducks (9-1) [9]
9. Oklahoma State Cowboys (9-1) [10]
10. UTSA Roadrunners (10-0) [11] : All of the unbeatens are now in the Top Ten
11. Oklahoma Sooners (9-1) [5]
12. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (9-1) [14]
13. Baylor Bears (8-2) [18]
14. Houston Cougars (9-1) [15]
15. Texas A&M Aggies (7-3) [12]
16. SMU Mustangs (8-2) [23]
17. Iowa Hawkeyes (8-2) [19]
18. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (8-2) [13]
19. NC State Wolfpack (7-3) [17]
20. Louisiana Ragin Cajuns (9-1) [21]
21. Wisconsin Badgers (7-3) [NR]
22. Ole Miss Rebels (8-2) [24]
23. Pitt Panthers (8-2) [25]
24. Penn State Nittany Lions (6-4) : Four losses in a row, but they keep playing ranked opponents close
25. San Diego State Aztecs (9-1) [26]
On the Edge: Utah Utes (7-3), Air Force Falcons (7-3), Appalachian State Mountaineers (8-2), Iowa State Cyclones (6-4), BYU Cougars (8-2), Marshall Thundering Herd (6-4), Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-4)
Dropped off: Iowa State Cyclones [#20], Marshall Thundering Herd [#22]
Big Ten Report
Not much to report this week. All games went pretty much as expected, although I thought Purdue might keep it a bit closer against Ohio State, and Wisconsin's total dominance was a bit of a surprise.
Unbeaten and Playoff Contenders
We now have three unbeatens. Georgia is everyone's favorite for the top. The Playoff Committee has Alabama at Number Two, but they still have the Iron Bowl and the SEC Championship against Georgia, so their hopes are dim. Oregon still has tough games ahead, and the Pac-12 Championship. Ohio State faces two 9-1 teams in their final two games (the Big Ten Championship should be a breeze after that), but I favor them in both. The Spartans offense sputters, and Michigan hasn't beaten the Buckeyes under Coach Harbaugh.
With Alabama going out soon and Oklahoma already out, I think Cincinnati will see themselves reach the cherished Final Four. If Oregon falls, I think Notre Dame stands the best chance of gaining a spot. I think the only possibility for a different team is if either Michigan State or Michigan beats Ohio State, but then that team would simply replace Ohio State in the playoff hunt, so Notre Dame would still need Oregon to lose to advance into the playoffs.
Conference and Division races
American Athletic : HOUSTON has clinched a spot in the championship game. Cincinnati clinches with a win over SMU this week.
ACC Atlantic : Wake Forest clinches with a win over Clemson. Even if Clemson wins, they would need Wake Forest to lose their final game as well, which seems unlikely.
ACC Coastal : Pitt clinches with a win over Virginia this week
Big XII : Well, this one has gotten more interesting! Baylor has beaten Oklahoma but lost to Oklahoma State. If the Cowboys win Bedlam, they clinch, regardless whether they win this week's game or not. The Sooners now need to win out, which makes Bedlam even more important. Baylor has an outside chance if Oklahoma loses this week but wins Bedlam.
Big 10 East : Ohio State leads the division, and wins if they win out. If they lose to either Michigan State and Michigan, and that winner wins their other game, then that team wins the division.
Big 10 West : Wisconsin is in the driver's seat. They have already beaten contenders Iowa and Purdue. If they beat Minnesota in the final week, and win this week's game prior to that, then they win. The others need Wisconsin to lose, and both Minnesota and Purdue need both Wisconsin and Iowa to lose.
Conference USA East : Western Kentucky wins if they win out. Marshall still has a chance. They'd need to win out, which would include a win over Western Kentucky. Florida Atlantic has a slim chance, but they would need to win out and have Marshall lose once and Western Kentucky lose twice. Not likely.
Conference USA West : A win against UAB this week will clinch it for UTSA
MAC East : This division is interesting. Miami Ohio wins if they win out. If Kent State wins this week and then beats Miami Ohio the final week, then Kent State goes. However, if both Kent State and Miami Ohio lose once, and Ohio wins out, then the Bobcats win the division.
MAC West : Northern Illinois clinches with one more win
Mountain West Mountain : Utah State wins if they win out. If Utah State loses a game and Air Force wins out, then the Falcons win. If they both lose one game, and Boise State wins out, then the Broncos take it.
Mountain West West : The Aztecs need to win out, since they lost to Fresno State. If they lose a game and the Bulldogs win out, then Fresno State wins the division.
Pac-12 North : OREGON has clinched
Pac-12 South : The Utes need to win one more game. That might be their season ender against Colorado, but they might upset Oregon this week.
SEC East : GEORGIA has won
SEC West : Alabama clinches with one more win
Sun Belt East : Appalachian State wins if they beat Georgia State in the final week, regardless of how they play this week. If Georgia State loses this week and the Mountaineers win, then App State clinches.
Sun Belt West : LOUISIANA has clinched
Upset Report
Obviously, the biggest (and earliest) was Baylor's upset of Oklahoma. Their defense just dominated the Sooners. Speaking of dominance, the two games of note were not upsets, but the margin was victory was shocking in Louisville's defeat of Syracuse. On the other end, Florida squeaked out a victory against FCS Samford, but Samford scored over 50 points on the Gators, a massively shocking development!
Top 25 teams did suffer some upsets. Georgia State knocked off Coastal Carolina, UAB beat Marshall, and Texas Tech outscored Iowa State. The evening upsets didn't affect Top 25 teams, but they were shocking results anyway. North Texas beat UTEP, UNLV dominated Hawaii, and Big XII doormat Kansas outplayed Texas, totally pulling the rug out from under their season.
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