Clemson coach Dabo Swinney watches from the sideline during the second half of the team's NCAA college football game against Syracuse, Friday, Oct. 13, 2017, in Syracuse, N.Y. Syracuse upset No. 2 Clemson, 27-24. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)

FanBuzz college football Top 25: The "what the heck just happened?" edition

There's a lot to talk about from this week of college football!

No seriously, what the heck just happened?

Four Top 10 teams fell in Week 7. FOUR! And that wasn't all, as several teams that could have benefited from all of those losses looked terrible in games that they managed to win.

Get ready, ladies and gentlemen, we have some hot takes about the season coming right up.


1. Alabama — SEC, 7-0
LW: 1 — Result: W, 41-9 vs. Arkansas

Alabama scored on their first offensive touch of the game.

Game over.

No need for nuance here. In case you didn't notice, we have some upsets to talk about this week.

2. Penn State — Big Ten, 6-0
LW: 3 — Result: BYE

Well Penn State, welcome to the land of even higher expectations.

Penn State was off this week, which judging by how everyone else did during Week 7, it could prove to be the best scheduling decision they've ever made. They get Michigan in at home this upcoming week, though.

3. Georgia - SEC, 7-0
LW: 4 — Result: W, 52-28 vs. Missouri

Missouri has been awful this year, but this game was tied at 21 during the second quarter. Really made you think that there was no way ANOTHER upset was about to happen.

But it didn't, as the Bulldogs seemingly scored a billion points in a row to easily ice the game. (it was actually 32 unanswered, but who's counting) Georgia had nearly 700 yards of offense in this game, and they got what proves to be a key win while four other Top 10 teams fell.

4. TCU — Big 12, 6-0
LW: 6 — Result: W, 26-6 at Kansas State

This game was seemingly delayed several times due to rain and lightning in the area, but once the game was actually underway, it proved to be no problem at all for TCU. The TCU offense was a little bit underwhelming, but the defense only allowed 216 total yards of offense, so it was more than enough to get the job done.

TCU has Kansas next before they travel to Ames to take on what appears to be a good Iowa State team.

5. Wisconsin — Big Ten, 6-0
LW: 7 — Result: W, 17-9 vs. Purdue

No, it's not the 2000 Rose Bowl, but Wisconsin fans will probably enjoy the 17-9 score just as much with what happened to everyone else this weekend.

Wisconsin didn't score at all in the second half, which looks bad on paper, but they didn't stop moving the ball completely; they did chew up the game clock with a long drive that took up over half of the fourth quarter. Regardless, an ugly win is still filed under the win column, and the Badgers are a benefactor in the power rankings with how many teams lost ahead of them.

6. Clemson — ACC, 6-1
LW: 2 — Result: L, 24-27 at Syracuse

Clemson is at No. 6 for now, but boy... this ranking could get ugly in a hurry.

If the Tigers get quarterback Kelly Bryant back and he is completely healthy for when they play Georgia Tech in two weeks, then everything will probably be fine and Clemson will probably still be the top team in the ACC. However, if Bryant isn't able to stay healthy for the rest of the season... Well, you saw how tht worked out for them on Friday night. Not great.

7. Oklahoma State — Big 12, 5-1
LW: 11 — Result: W, 59-16 vs. Baylor

This was another game that looked interesting early, as it was tied at 7 heading into the second quarter. Oklahoma State then scored 28 in the second quarter to laugh off any chance at a potential upset.

The Pokes jump a few spots in the rankings here not just because of teams losing, but because that loss to TCU is looking better and better every week. Most folks knew that TCU was good before that game, but the Frogs are likely to take over the No. 4 spot in most major polls this week.

A lone loss to the No. 4 team while you are destroying pretty much everyone else isn't a bad resume to have right now.

8. Ohio State — Big Ten, 6-1
LW: 8 — Result: W, 56-14 at Nebraska

Ohio State fans are probably going to want to be higher here, and I understand that, but we all saw last year what destroying Nebraska meant: nothing.

Don't you dare be sour, though, Buckeyes. You have Penn State, Iowa, Michigan State, and Michigan left on the season. That's a damn good schedule, and if Ohio State wins all of those games, then they have nothing to worry about with regards to the College Football Playoff.

9. USC — Pac-12, 6-1
LW: 12 — Result: W, 28-27 vs. Utah

I just want to make this one clear: at least right now, there is a significant drop off from that No. 8 spot to here.

USC came back from down 21-7 to get the victory, and in the end, winning is what matters. But goodness gracious, can this team control an entire game? They did it against Stanford earlier in the year, and it looks like that game took everything they had. They haven't looked like a dominant team since then at all, and it took a botched two-point conversion for the Trojans to beat a Utah team on its backup quarterback.

10. Miami — ACC, 5-0
LW: 14 — Result: W, 25-24 vs. Georgia Tech

Speaking of teams snatching victory from the jaws of defeat...

Georgia Tech is good, so Miami should be happy with the win here, but like USC ahead of them, they really didn't look like much of a top team at all, and it took a miracle fourth-down catch for Miami to set up the eventual game-winning field goal.

So yes, we can save the "U IS BACK" talk for a bit later if Miami keeps winning games. For now, though, it might be best to take a cautious approach on the Hurricanes.

11. Oklahoma — Big 12, 5-1
LW: 15 — Result: W, 29-24 vs. Texas

Another game that probably could have "looked prettier" than it actually did, but after last week's loss to Iowa State, I had my doubts that Oklahoma would even win this game at all. The defense showed up when they needed to, and that was most important when Texas had the ball late while trying to drive for the go-ahead score. The Sooners stopped them in their tracks.

12. Michigan — Big Ten, 5-1
LW: 13 — Result: W, 27-20 at Indiana

This game had no business going to overtime, but... it did.

Indiana scored 10 unanswered in the fourth to force the extra period as it looked like Michigan was going to waste an amazing performance from running back Karan Higdon. Higdon would not be denied, though, breaking a tackle to score on the first play of the overtime period. The defense then held to get win.

In most weeks, this would be unimpressive, but it this week? Hey, it's a win, right?

13. Virginia Tech — ACC, 5-1
LW: 16 — Result: BYE

What a wonderful week to have a BYE, right?

14. Washington — Pac-12, 5-1
LW: 5 — Result: L, 7-13 at Arizona State

This won't be a fun week in the film room.

While losing by six may not qualify as "embarrassing" to some, this was an embarrassing game for Washington. Arizona State had one of the worst defenses in the Pac-12 over the past two seasons — they had given up at least 30 points in 11 consecutive games — and the Huskies managed 42 yards in the entire first half.

Of all the ranked teams that lost, this was probably the worst performance

15. Washington State — Pac-12, 6-1
LW: 9 — Result: L, 3-37 at Cal

So, this loss wasn't as bad as the score makes it look. That's not really much consolation because it was still really bad.

If quarterback Luke Falk — dealing with an apparent hand injury — can get healthy, then Mike Leach's team should be fine... so long as their offensive line isn't permanently Swiss cheese after giving up *checks Geiger counter* nine sacks in the game.

I don't know why I checked a Geiger counter there, but it seemed appropriate after that meltdown.

16. South Florida — AAC, 6-0
LW: 18 — Result: W, 33-3 vs. Cincinnati

It's incredible how quickly South Florida went from "Goodness, their wins are all terrible" to "Finally, someone that beat a bad team like they were supposed to!" This may have been the best combined performance from Charlie Strong's offense and defense in one game, and with San Diego State losing, South Florida is now in the driver's seat for that Group of 5 New Year's 6 bowl spot.

17. Notre Dame — ACC adjacent, 5-1
LW: 19 — Result: BYE

According to ESPN, no one is talking about Notre Dame enough right now. Everyone can have fun with that as the Fighting Irish take on USC at home this upcoming week.

18. Auburn — SEC, 5-2
LW: 10 — Result: L, 23-27 at LSU

The curse of Baton Rouge has struck again.

Auburn still has won there since 1999, a fact that I'm sure Auburn fans heard enough of over the past week and probably don't want to hear again.

Considering that Gus Malzahn had essentially gotten himself off the hot seat in recent weeks, this was a great way for him to jump right back on it.

19. N.C. State — ACC, 6-1
LW: 20 — Result: W, 35-17 at Pitt

It took a little bit of a late run to get the win at Pitt, but the Wolfpack were able to do it.

The craziest thing? N.C. State controls their own destiny in the ACC Atlantic division. Crazy for a team that nearly fired their head coach in the offseason.

20. Central Florida  — AAC, 5-0
LW: 21— Result: W, 63-21 vs. East Carolina

We will get a much better read on UCF once they play at Navy next week, but goodness, they just keep dropping ridiculous point totals on poor, unsuspecting AAC opponents. They are now averaging over 50 points per game on offense.

Remember when UCF was 0-12 in 2015? What a helluva turnaround.

21. Stanford — Pac-12, 5-2
LW: 23 — Result: W, 49-7 vs. Oregon

Bryce Love didn't rush for 10 yards per carry in this game. That might have been the only positive for Oregon.

Stanford has now rattled off four-straight wins after starting off the season 1-2, and they could be the best two-loss team in the country right now. Not a high-bar to clear seven weeks into the season, but with how everyone else in the Pac-12 performed this week... Stanford is definitely right back in the chase for the conference title.

22. Michigan State — Big Ten, 5-1
LW: 24 — Result: W, 30-27 at Minnesota

Michigan State won, but none of their fans can really be happy about it after nearly blowing a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter.

On the positive side, running back L.J. Scott is healthy and he rushed for a career-high 194 yards. Michigan State is going to need him badly to have any shot against Penn State and Ohio State in the East.

23. West Virginia — Big 12, 4-2
LW: NR — Result: W, 46-35 vs. Texas Tech

West Virginia has two losses by a combined 14 points to two teams ahead of them in the rankings (TCU and VT), and they beat a pretty good Texas Tech team on Saturday.

Exactly how good are the Mountaineers? We won't have to wait long to find out, as they get Oklahoma State in two weeks.

24. San Diego State — MWC, 6-1
LW: 17 — Result: L, 14-31 vs. Boise State

REALLY bad loss at home on a night where they set an attendance record.

I'm not ready to drop the Aztecs out of the rankings just yet, as that seems a bit unfair with how everyone else performed this week, but lackluster play — even in wins — against a really bad remaining schedule could easily take care of that.

25. Texas A&M — SEC, 5-2
LW: NR — Result: W, 19-17 at Florida

After that Week 1 loss to UCLA where A&M gave up 8,000 points in the fourth quarter, who would have thought that Kevin Sumlin wouldn't even be in the Top 3 of SEC coaches on the hot seat this week?

A&M could very easily win all of the remaining games on their schedule, and even if they end up 4-1 in those five games, that should be enough for Sumlin to get another year, right? I get teams want championships over nine win seasons, but unless A&M thinks they can get some surefire coach after Sumlin, they should probably be patient.

DROPPED FROM THE RANKINGS: Georgia Tech (22)