It was an eventful day of college football, as the top ranked team in the playoff standings went down at Auburn, and Miami crushed Notre Dame. Those were the big stories, while Wisconsin kept plugging along and Oklahoma got a big win over TCU. For the contenders, it is all about surviving, which is so tough week to week.

 

1. Alabama – The Crimson Tide just did what they do, they found a way to win. It looked like overtime was coming, but two big pass plays from Jalen Hurts pulled it out. Bama hosts Mercer Saturday and then goes to red-hot Auburn.
 
 
2. Miami – The Hurricanes are rolling. After that near miss against survival against North Carolina, “The U” has steamrolled Virginia Tech and Notre Dame. Miami must be careful not to look ahead to Clemson as Virginia heads south and then comes a trip to chilly Pitt.
 
 
3. Wisconsin – The Badgers rolled past Iowa to make it 10-0 for the first time in program history. Now comes one of the biggest game in Camp-Randall Stadium history, with Michigan coming to town, the week before Ohio State.
 
 
4. Georgia – It was a beat down by Auburn on the Plains, as Georgia got outplayed and suffered from a slew of self-inflicted wounds. A very good Kentucky team comes to Sanford Stadium, as the Wildcats try and spring the upset.
 
 
5. Oklahoma – Boomer Sooner put up an impressive win over TCU and really enhanced its Big XII Championship Game and potential playoff aspirations. Oklahoma should steamroll Kansas in Lawrence.
 
 
6. Clemson – Of the one-loss contenders, Clemson has the loss to the least talented team, Syracuse. They have some mighty impressive wins and held off Florida State and then pulled away against the ‘Noles. Clemson hosts The Citadel, then heads to Williams-Brice.
 
 
7. Auburn – The Tigers put it all together and took down Georgia on the Plains to make it 8-2. It should be easy with Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday, and then Bama comes to Jordan-Hare. The LSU loss still stings, but with some help, the playoff talk is alive.
 
 
8. Central Florida – It was another win for the Golden Knights, as Central Florida’ quest for an undefeated season remains on track after crushing UConn. Scott Frost is THE hot name on the coaching carousel, but this UCF team can do something special this season.
 
 
9. Notre Dame – Everything fell apart for the Fighting Irish in South Florida, as Miami rolled past Notre Dame. Navy will be tough and then comes the trip to Stanford. This could be a tough regroup for the Irish.
 
 
10. Ohio State – The Buckeyes bounced back from the spanking applied to them by Iowa with a clubbing of riding high Michigan State. Figure Ohio State to do the same to Illinois and then it’s on to The Big House in Ann Arbor.
 
 
11. Penn State – The Nittany Lions handled Rutgers 35-6 and now Nebraska comes to town. These two played some monster contests back in the 1980’s. Their two losses are crushers, but with a trip to Maryland on deck, 10-2 is well within reach.
 
 
12. Washington State – It was a big test passed for the Cougars, who held off Utah 33-25. Mike Leach has WSU sitting at 9-2 with an open date. Next up is a huge Apple Cup with PAC-12 Championship Game implications in Seattle.
 
 
13. TCU – It was a tough night for the Horned Frogs, as Oklahoma turned it on. Gary Patterson has had another excellent season in Fort Worth and wants to close out strong. It could be tough at Texas Tech Saturday.
 
 
14. Southern Cal – The Men of Troy got an impressive win in the cool and the altitude of Boulder against Mike McIntyre’s Buffaloes. UCLA comes to the Coliseum now, as the Trojans play for a 12th straight week.
 
 
15. Washington – The Huskies lost a tough one at Stanford to fall to 8-2. Next up is Utah in Seattle. That won’t be easy. The Apple Cup will be huge, as Washington State comes to town Thanksgiving weekend.
 
 
16. Oklahoma State – It was a second straight shootout for the high scoring Cowboys, who pulled out a 49-42 thriller at Iowa State on the heels of that 62-52 loss to Oklahoma. The ‘Pokes host Kansas State Saturday.
 
 
17. Memphis – The Tigers had this past Saturday off and now turn the focus to the SMU Mustangs, who comes to town Saturday. Mike Norvell is an excellent coach and has kept it going. He is one hot commodity.
 
 
18. South Florida – The Bulls are 8-1 and had this past week off. They host Tulsa on Thursday night and then comes the “War on I-4” against Central Florida. Charley Strong has a very good team, and the recruiting in the sunshine state is much tougher with these mid-major powers.
 
 
19. Kentucky – The Wildcats head to Athens with a 7-3 record and try to knock Georgia down. Kentucky came so close against Florida and South Carolina. The Wildcats aren’t far from being 9-1 and playing for the SEC East.
 
 
20. South Carolina – The Gamecocks took care of Florida to improve to 7-3 on the year. That’s a big deal for South Carolina to beat Tennessee and the Gators in the same season. Wofford comes to Williams-Brice for a tuneup for the Tigers.
 
 
21. Michigan – The Wolverines try and spoil Wisconsin’s dream season. Michigan has hung around and won three straight. If they could beat Wisconsin in Camp Randall and then the Buckeyes in Ann Arbor, what a close to the year it would be.
 
 
22. Stanford – The Cardinal picked up a huge win over Washington, a victory that has national implications. David Shaw has turned out another fine team on The Farm. Now comes Cal and “The Big Game,” and then the Irish.
 
 
23. LSU – The Fightin’ Tigers avoided an upset trap and took care of business against Arkansas. Now it’s off to Tennessee for a battle that in most years would likely be the game of the day. LSU has a good shot at 9-3.
 
 
24. Michigan State – It was a brutal day for Michigan State, as the Spartans got blasted by the Buckeyes in Columbus. Next up is Maryland, as Sparty tries to bounce back and make it 8-3 on the year.
 
 
25. Tech – Yes, the Yellow Jackets have four losses, but two are by one point, one by four, and a 14-point loss to Clemson. The Yellow Jackets looked really good taking down Virginia Tech 28-22. It’s off to Duke then the Dogs come to town for the biggest game of them all.

 
 
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