It was the biggest collection of games thus far this season in college football, as the first month of the regular season is in the rear-view mirror. The winners of the big battles this past weekend bought themselves a lot of margin for error in the race for those 12 coveted spots in the College Football Playoff. A reminder, in these rankings, the 12th-place team is the group of five front-runners.
1. Ohio State – The Buckeyes were very impressive in a 24-6 win over Washington in Seattle. That is a tough place to play, and the defending champs delivered to remain undefeated. The tough Golden Gophers of Minnesota head to Columbus Saturday.
2. Oregon – The Ducks went into Happy Valley and took a double overtime thriller from Penn State. That was mighty big, and buys Oregon some of that margin for error. Oregon is off this week, then hosts another big one in conference against Indiana.
3. Miami – The Hurricanes have a bunch of talent and look very strong. Their hit list includes Notre Dame, South Florida and the Gators. Off an open date, it’s off to Tallahassee, where the Seminoles, smarting from a double OT loss at Virginia, await.
4. Ole Miss – The Rebels picked up an enormous win over LSU this past weekend in a matchup of old rivals. Lane Kiffin once again has the offense humming, and the defense has playmakers. Ole Miss is 5-0, 3-0 in the SEC with this coming week off.
5. Oklahoma – The Sooners had this past weekend off to enjoy their big win over Auburn. They should handle Kent State this weekend, then the schedule gets ramped right back up, as Oklahoma will battle Texas in Dallas. They’re hoping to get healthy at QB.
6. Texas A&M – The Aggies held off Auburn for a 16-10 at Kyle Field. Texas A&M is 4-0, and 1-0 in the SEC. Next up is one of the surprise teams not just in the league, but all of college football, as resurgent Mississippi State will visit College Station.
7. Texas – The Longhorns are 3-1, with three easy wins since falling in the opener to the Buckeyes. Texas heads to Florida this weekend, where the Gators will be looking for that signature win. They’ll have to be careful not to be looking ahead to the Sooners.
8. Tech – The Yellow Jackets got quite a scare from Wake Forest, tying the game in the closing seconds, then winning 30-29 in overtime. Brent Key’s team is now 5-0 and 2-0 in the ACC. They’ll have this week off and then host struggling Virginia Tech.
9. Alabama – The Crimson Tide went into Athens and beat Georgia 24-21 to make it 3-1 on the season. Now Alabama turns its attention to Vanderbilt, which beat the Crimson Tide a year ago. Ty Simpson is having an excellent season at quarterback for Alabama.
10. Georgia – It was a heartbreaking loss for the Bulldogs at home against Alabama. The Bulldogs are now 3-1 on the season and the SEC record 33 game home winning streak comes to a close. The Bulldogs host Kentucky Between the Hedges on Saturday.
11. Texas Tech – The Red Raiders look like the class of the Big XII and they are dreaming about the College Football Playoff. Texas Tech is 4-0 and scoring a bunch of points. Next up is a big one at Houston, which is undefeated after an OT win over Oregon State.
12. Memphis – The Tigers rolled past Florida Atlantic 55-26 on Saturday night, following up the win over Arkansas. Memphis is a perfect 5-0 and they’ll play under the lights Saturday night against Tulsa, which has a big win over Oklahoma State.