It was a big week of college football, despite several postponements. The big winners of the week were Notre Dame, Brigham Young and Florida. The Clemson – Notre Dame was an instant classic. Ohio State has created a wide gulf of separation in the Big Ten.
1. Alabama – The Crimson Tide had this past week off, and now battle LSU in Baton Rouge. The Tigers obviously lost a whole bunch of talent off of last year’s championship team. Alabama’s offense is dynamic, and the Tide has loads of talent.
2. Notre Dame – It was an all-time great win for Notre Dame. Yes, even with the Fighting Irish’s unparalleled history, the 47-40 overtime triumph over Clemson was absolutely incredible. The Irish will have to be on upset alert at Boston College.
3. Ohio State – The Buckeyes once again appear to have no peer in the Big Ten. Michigan, Penn State and Michigan State are a combined 2-7. Ohio State took down Rutgers 49-27 and now goes to Maryland, which has shown some good flashes these last two weeks.
4. Brigham Young – The Cougars put together one of the most impressive victories of any team in the country this season, storming past Boise State 51-17 on the Blue turf. BYU is off this week and then hosts North Alabama.
5. Texas A&M – It was a rout of South Carolina for the red hot Aggies, who rolled the Gamecocks 48-3 in Columbia. Next up is struggling Tennessee, which has lost four in a row. Kellen Mond is playing great at quarterback.
6. Florida – In what has to be the biggest win of Dan Mullen’s tenure at Florida, the Gators beat Georgia 44-28 in Jacksonville to grab firm control of the SEC East race. Arkansas comes to the swamp Saturday. The Gators can flat out score.
7. Clemson – The Tigers were on the short end of the game of the year thus far. Maybe it was the lore and history of South Bend. Clemson had struggled some the two previous games. The Tigers are off Saturday, then go to Florida State.
8. Cincinnati – The Bearcats are the best team in the American at this point. With a perfect 6-0 record, the march to the conference title game continues Friday night with a home date against East Carolina.
9. Miami – It was a thriller for Miami, as the Hurricanes held off North Carolina State 44-41 in Raleigh. Manny Diaz has a team capable of earning a spot in the ACC Championship Game. The offense has some juice.
10. Oklahoma State – The Cowboys bounced back from their loss to Texas with a tough 20-18 win at Kansas State. There is an open date and then a trip to Oklahoma, which has gotten the offense rolling.
11. Indiana – The Hoosiers are the second best team in the Big Ten right now. Talk about historically significant, Indiana has beaten both Penn State and Michigan. The Hoosiers head to East Lansing and then Columbus these next two weeks.
12. Georgia – The Bulldogs fell to Florida 44-28 in Jacksonville. Georgia has been bitten badly by the injury bug and is struggling with the passing game. It will be tough Saturday at Missouri, which was off this past weekend.
13. Coastal Carolina – The Chanticleers defense has given up a total of 20 points in the last three weeks. Coastal took down South Alabama 23-6 this past week. They’ll have a tough one at Troy on Saturday.
14. Liberty – Hugh Freeze has the Flames rolling. Liberty picked up what has to be the most significant win in school history, winning 38-35 at Virginia Tech. Next up is a visit from Western Carolina.
15. Auburn – It was surely an enjoyable week for the Tigers after their 48-11 thrashing of LSU. Auburn is 4-2 and hits the road for Mississippi State. It’s a big race to see who the second best team in the SEC West is.