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Alabama remains atop the poll as the consensus #1 ad nauseam. The Top 4 remain unchanged from last week. Georgia used their impressive victory over arch rival Florida to jump Michigan in the standings. Oklahoma's lopsided victory over Kansas State helpd them to skip above Central Florida, who maintains the 8th spot this week. The Buckeyes move up to 9th and West Virginia bbumps Kentucky out after the Wildcats barely survive their battle with Missouri. Week 10 promises to be a big one with two "Top 12" match ups and almost every team in the poll facing a serious challenge this week. Look for a lot of movement in the poll next week. The Poll Rank Team Points Last Week 1. Alabama 50 (5) 1 2. Clemson 45 2 3. Notre Dame 37 3 4. LSU 35 4 5. Georgia 27 7 6. Michigan 22 6 7. Oklahoma 16 9 8. UCF 12 8 9. Ohio State 9 10 10. West Virginia 5 NR Also receiving votes: Kentucky 4, Washington State 3
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Georgia cruised to a victory over Florida and Washington State beat Stanford- two games chosen in C&C as the Games of the Week and then lived up to the hype. Also, both Upset Alerts proved to be good calls as Northwestern knocked off Wisconsin 31-17 and Oklahoma State outlasted Texas 38-35. Three Games That Mattered 6 Georgia 36 Florida 17 The Dawgs out gained the Gators by 154 total yards and took advantage of 3 Florida turnovers to knock off their longstanding rival and continue to control their own destiny in the SEC East. The win sets up a big match up in Lexington next week against Kentucky with the winner of that game being crowned as the SEC East champ. 10 Kentucky 15 Missouri 14 The Wildcats stay alive in the SEC East with a late score to beat Missouri. The Cats trailed late and it looked like their Cinderella season might come to an end. But Kentucky has made a season out of doing what it takes to survive for another week. They did that on Saturday and now they face Georgia for the de facto SEC East Championship game. 5 Texas 35 Oklahoma State 38 Texas is back. Or at least they were. The Longhorns came up short in Stillwater as OSU’s walk-on turned starting QB had a career night. Native Texan Taylor Cornelius went 23/34 for 321 yds and 3 TDs. Not bad for a player who received 0 D-1 offers. The loss likely eliminates Texas from playoff contention. It may also cost them a spot in the Top 10.
Yes, Bama continues to be the consensus #1. After a stunning loss to Purdue, in which they were completely dominated in every aspect of the game, Ohio State drops from #2 to #10, receiving a total of only 3 points from two ballots. The winners all advanced in the poll, except UCF who dropped a spot in this volatile and unforgiving poll. Kentucky has eased back in at #10 The Poll
Rank Team Points Last Week 1. Alabama 50 (5) 1 2. Clemson 44 2 3. Notre Dame 38 4 4. LSU 36 5 5. Texas 20 6 6. Michigan 24 8 7. Georgia 23 8 8. UCF 12 7 9. Oklahoma 8 10 10. (Tie) Kentucky 3 NR Ohio State 3 2 Also receiving votes: Florida 2, NC State 2 Another exciting weekof college football. There were several surprises, Purdue being the biggest. The Coach called the upset this week as Washington State proved to be too much for Oregon. Let’s take a closer look. 3 Games That Mattered 8 Michigan @ Michigan State No one on the Wolverine team was around the last time Michigan beat Sparty. In fact, these players weren’t even teenagers then. Even as the favorites, Michigan was still expected by many to lose. But they put a full game together and outlasted the Spartans on their home field. It was a win Michigan desperately needed. They remain in the running to the Big Ten and even the playoff. Mississippi State @ 5 LSU The Tigers have one of, if not the most impressive resumes in college football. A win over Mississippi State might have been expected but wasn’t guaranteed. With the Ohio State loss, this win likely boosts LSU into the Top 4. It was an important win at just the right time. 2 Ohio State @ Purdue All the Buckeyes needed was to keep winning. Sitting in the #2 spot was a sure entry into the playoff. But the Boilermakers had other plans. David Blough threw for 378 yards, 170 of those to Rondale Moore. On defense Purdue had four critical stops in the Red Zone and did not allow a Buckeye TD until the 4th quarter. Far from a fluke upset, the Boilermakers seized control of the game early and then dominated both sides of the ball all night. The punctuation was a pick-6 late in the 4th. Purdue has now won 4 games in a row. Where this game matters is that it drops OSU out of the Top 4 and perhaps even the Top 10. Pollsters will have to look hard at this game if the Buckeyes finish the season on the playoff bubble.
Predictably Alabama remains atop the poll this week. While the order varies from ballot to ballot, the teams in the Top 5 are mostly consensus with only one ballot excluding LSU in favor of UCF. There are 4 teams making an appearance this week who were not in the poll last week. The consensus in the Top 5 fades toward the bottom of the poll. The variety at the bottom of ballots led to a three way tie for 10. With no reasonable tie breaker, the tie stands and we wait to see how these teams do in coming weeks. The Poll
Rank Team Points Last Week 1. Alabama 50 (5) 1 2. (Tie) Clemson 40 4 Ohio State 40 3 4. Notre Dame 37 4 5. LSU 30 10 6. Texas 20 10 7. UCF 18 7 8. (Tie) Georgia 15 2 Michigan 15 NR 10. (Tie) NC State 3 NR Oklahoma 3 NR Oregon 3 NR Also receiving votes: West Virginia 1 This week brought 4 losses and some close calls in our Top 10. Georgia, West Virginia, Washington, and Penn State lost. Of that group, only Georgia lost to a team in our Top 10. So expect big changes this coming week. 3 Games That Mattered 2 Georgia @ 10 LSU Due To injures Georgia was playing with a very young offensive line. That and 4 turnovers led to Georgia struggling against a very good LSU defense. The Tigers dominated the time of possession, holding the ball for over 7 more minutes than the Dawgs. LSU’s offense ran 81 plays to Georgia’s 64. The win should have LSU heading back up the poll and still very much in the running for a playoff bid. 8 Washington @ Oregon The Coach made this one his Game of the Week and it lived up to that selection. An Oregon TD in overtime put them up by 3 and ended the game. With 2 losses Washington is now likely out of the playoff picture, at least for now. They’d need a lot of help to get back in at this point. Michigan State @ 9 Penn State The Curator called this upset. Michigan State went into Happy Valley and stunned the Nittany Lions. Penn State is likely eliminated from the playoff and would need a lot of help to get in the Big Ten Championship Game.
A quick note to point out a few teams flying under our radar. Our poll is limited to a Top 10. That makes it a bit exclusive. There are some notable exclusions at present. Colorado, NC State, South Florida, and Cincinnati are all undefeated and unranked in our poll. Keep an eye on this bunch. With Top 10 teams facing stiff opposition and these teams laying in wait, at least one of these teams might sneak into next week's poll.
This week has some movement in the polls. Clemson found some redemption this week but also three of the Top 10 lost. Auburn has dropped out and Oklahoma went from being ranked 6th to not even receiving a vote this week. LSU falls in the poll but remains on board for now. 11 Teams are on the poll due to a tie for 10th. The Poll
Rank Team Points Last Week 1. Alabama 50 (5) 1 2. Georgia 44 2 3. Ohio State 37 3 4. (Tie) Clemson 34 7 Notre Dame 34 4 6. West Virginia 25 8 7. UCF 14 NR 8. Washington 13 10 9. Penn State 11 NR 10. (Tie) LSU 5 5 Texas 5 NR Also receiving votes: Florida 3 |
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January 2019
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