Some of the top teams struggled, but they held on. Upsets plagued other teams, so we have some new developments in the lower portion of the Tip 25.
Top 25 [Last week's position]
1. OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (11-0) [1]
2. Georgia Bulldogs (11-0) [2]
3. Michigan Wolverines (11-0) [3] : Illinois knocked Blake Corum out of the game, setting them up poorly for Ohio State this week
4. USC Trojans (10-1) [4] : They beat their rival to win the division
4. TCU Horned Frogs (11-0) [5]
6. Penn State Nittany Lions (9-2) [7] : Perhaps the strongest team with no shot at the playoffs
7. Alabama Crimson Tide (9-2) [9] : Should we even COUNT a win over Austin Peay?
8. Clemson Tigers (10-1) [10]
9. Oregon Ducks (9-2) [11]
10. Tennessee Volunteers (9-2) [6] : They were blown away by South Carolina
11. Utah Utes (8-3) [8]
12. Florida State Seminoles (8-3) [15]
13. Washington Huskies (9-2) [17] : Mammoth win for the Huskies!
14. LSU Tigers (9-2) [14]
15. UCLA Bruins (8-3) [12]
16. Texas Longhorns (7-4) [20]
18. Cincinnati Bearcats (9-2) [19]
19. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8-3) [25]
20. Tulane Green Wave (9-2) [24] : Way to bounce back!
21. Minnesota Golden Gophers (7-4) [16]
22. Oregon State Beavers (8-3) [29]
23. Illinois Fighting Illini (7-4) [22] : Great job of holding Michigan back
24. Ole Miss Rebels (8-3) [13]
25. Louisville Cardinals (7-4) [NR]
On the Cusp : Boise State Broncos (8-3), Mississippi State Bulldogs (7-4), Washington State Cougars (7-4), Kansas State Wildcats (8-3)
Dropped off: North Carolina Tar Heels [#18], UCF Golden Knights [#21], Duke Blue Devils [#23]
Upsets and Surprises
The SEC was the source of many of this week's upsets. First,Vanderbilt surprised the Florida Gators. Then Tennessee suffered the offensive fury of Gamecocks QB Spenser Rattler. To top it off, Ole Miss fell to Arkansas.
Both Tennessee and Ole Miss were ranked, but they weren't the only ranked teams to face the upset bug. UCF lost their Top 25 ranking by losing to Navy and then North Carolina fell to Georgia Tech, which also dropped them from the Top 25.
Big Ten Report
While both Illinois and Maryland played their Top Five opponents tough, the favorites emerged victorious. The only two surprises were Iowa and Indiana. Iowa's win gives them an interesting advantage, as will be discussed later.
MAC Attack
Once again,lots of unexpected results, including a loss to the conference leader Toledo. Due to a snowstorm, Buffalo has postponed their game, so there are some interesting question marks about the conference standings.
Conference and Division races
I'll only discuss the races that were clinched or still up for grabs, although I will list known matchups for conference title games.
AMERICAN: UCF's loss will award the title to the winner of the Cincinnati - Tulane battle this week
ACC: Clemson vs North Carolina
BIG TEN EAST: It will be decided by the Big Game, which now clearly favors Ohio State over a Corum-less Michigan team
BIG TEN WEST: Iowa now holds the lead, as they have the tiebreaker over Purdue. A win, or a Purdue loss, puts Iowa into the conference title game.
MAC EAST: This one has gotten easy. The winner of the Bowling Green - Ohio game this week wins the division
MOUNTAIN WEST MOUNTAIN: BOISE STATE has clinched
MOUNTAIN WEST WEST: FRESNO STATE has clinched
PAC-12: USC is done with conference play and leads the conference. However, they didn't play Oregon, so if the Ducks beat Oregon State the two face off in a Conference Championship. If Oregon loses, USC wins the title outright, regardless of the then "pseudo"championship.
SEC: Georgia v LSU
SUN BELTEAST: With the cancellation of the Chanticleers game this past week, this division will be awarded to the winner of the Coastal Carolina - James Madison game this week
SUN BELT WEST: Troy wins the division with a win or a South Alabama loss. If the Trojans lose and the Jaguars win, South Alabama wins
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