Another week, another new No. 2 in the rankings! You know, because Alabama is apparently never going to yield that No. 1 spot to anyone.
Ohio State fell in a 24-21 thriller to Penn State on Saturday, and that means the Buckeyes have fallen from their lofty No. 2 spot in our FanBuzz power rankings. Who takes over? Let's find out how things shook out after another fantastic week of college football!
1. Alabama — SEC, 8-0
LW: 1 — Result: W, 33-14 vs. Texas A&M
Alabama opened as a ridiculous 19-point favorite against Texas A&M... the No. 6 team in the nation! I don't know what is more absurd: that, or the part where — depending on your sports book — they actually covered that. They did suffer a major injury to Eddie Jackson though, and we will see if secondary depth is something that can become an Achilles heel for the Tide.
One thing is for sure, though: that Achilles heel is NOT the defensive front. My goodness!
2. Michigan — Big Ten, 7-0
LW: 3 — Result: W, 41-8 vs. Illinois
I'm not completely sold on Michigan's strength of schedule so far, but they literally keep killing half of their opponents. Their schedule doesn't get any more difficult until a game at Iowa in a few weeks, and then their annual game vs. Ohio State to close the regular season.
3. Washington — Pac-12, 7-0
LW: 4 — Result: W, 41-17 vs. Oregon State
Washington did exactly what they needed to do in this game coming off a BYE week. They took a huge 31-0 lead into halftime and then laid off the gas to give their starters even more rest for a big game at Utah next week. The Pac-12 gets their first GameDay of the season next week!
4. Clemson — ACC, 7-0
LW: 6 — Result: BYE
After a close overtime win over N.C. State last week, Clemson got a much needed BYE here to rest up for their the final major game on their regular season schedule: at Florida State. A win there and Clemson really only has Pitt to clear on Nov. 12 in order to get to the ACC title game as an undefeated for the second year in a row.
5. Louisville — ACC, 6-1
LW: 7 — Result: W, 54-13 vs. N.C. State
Haha, some stupid idiot actually put Louisville on upset alert this week! Oh wait, that was me... WELP!
Lamar Jackson was fantastic (as always), but what separated this week from Louisville's close game against Duke last week is that we saw the combined effort of the Cardinals' offense and defense. Sure, Jackson can win you a game by himself, but it is the combination of his ability to strike and a good defense that really sets Louisville apart from most teams.
6. Baylor — Big 12, 6-0
LW: 8 — Result: BYE
Weird Big 12 scheduling means Baylor got their second BYE of the season this week. They play at Texas next week, which... does Charlie Strong even make it to that game for Texas? Oh dear...
7. Texas A&M — SEC, 6-1
LW: 5 — Result: L, 14-33 vs. Alabama
Well A&M, you gave it your best shot and you actually had a lead over Alabama in the third quarter! That is something that can somewhat be a moral victory if you believe in those kind of things. The Alabama front-7 was simply too quick for the Aggies, but thankfully for Kevin Sumlin and co., A&M will have a couple of easy games before their next major text against Ole Miss is Week 11 of the season.
By the way, that win at Auburn is looking better and better every week for A&M. Unfortunately for both of them, most likely, Alabama is just an unstoppable juggernaut looking to cause destruction across college football.
8. West Virginia — Big 12, 6-0
LW: 12 — Result: W, 34-10 vs. TCU
West Virginia? West Virginia! Mountain momma! Take me home..., okay, enough of that.
TCU was the biggest test of the season for the Mountaineers, and it is safe to say that they knocked it out of the park. Quarterback Skyler Howard was fantastic, and West Virginia even played this little thing called defense. What a novel concept, huh Big 12?
Oh, we will get to that...
9. Ohio State — Big Ten, 6-1
LW: 2 — Result: L, 21-24 vs. Penn State
This might be a little harsh dropping them to No. 9 considering they have a couple of big wins on their resume this season, but the Buckeyes just looked awful in that game against Penn State; Penn State was pushing around Ohio State's offensive line like it was nobody's business.
There are upsets where it looks like the lesser opponent rises to the the top competition, and then there are upsets where it looks like the top team plays down. This looked like the latter, which is a rare look for Urban Meyer.
10. Wisconsin — Big Ten, 5-2
LW: 10 — Result: W, 17-9 vs. Iowa
It wasn't a pretty win over Iowa, but the Hawkeyes are still a good team. (loss to NDSU notwithstanding) It can be really hard for a team to come back from such an emotional loss like Wisconsin suffered last week against Ohio State, but the Badgers battled it out and beat Iowa in a good ol' game of field position-dominated, Big Ten football.
11. Nebraska — Big Ten, 7-0
LW: 9 — Result: W, 27-14 vs. Purdue
Being undefeated is great. Trailing at halftime to Purdue is not great!
Nebraska did pitch a shut out in the second half to move to 7-0, but they have gotten to the point where mediocre-looking wins over bad teams isn't going to move you up too much. Luckily for them, they get a real test in the form of Wisconsin next week; that game will tell us if the Cornhuskers are actually a threat in the Big Ten.
12. Florida — SEC, 5-1
LW: 11 — Result: BYE
They move down simply because West Virginia looked great while Florida had a BYE. Florida has a date next week against Georgia in Jacksonville for the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, which is always a game that can produce crazy results.
13. Auburn — SEC, 5-2
LW: 16 — Result: W, 56-3 vs. Arkansas
We needed some Jim Ross-style "Will somebody stop the damn match?!?" commentary about halfway through this one. Jeez, Auburn...
The Tigers have looked like a completely different team ever since Gus Malzahn gave up play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee. The defense was always there, but there was a point where Malzahn was micro-managing and over-extending himself on offense. Remember when they tried rotating three separate quarterbacks against Clemson? It looked stupid then, but now it looks even worse... and I didn't think that was possible!
14. Western Michigan — MAC, 8-0
LW: 13 — Result: W, 45-31 vs. EMU
Eastern Michigan is actually pretty good, but Western Michigan could have used a slightly better showing on defense here. It didn't even look like the same defense that pitched a 41-0 shutout last week.
On the plus-side, Broncos quarterback Zach Terrell was great with a 398-yard passing performance that only saw six incomplete passes. P.J. Fleck and the boat keep on rowing for yet another week.
15. Florida State — ACC, 5-2
LW: 17 — Result: BYE
Florida State had a BYE this week. They have Clemson next week, and it looks like the Seminoles will still be without one of the top defenders in the nation for that game.
16. Oklahoma — Big 12, 5-2
LW: 15 — Result: W, 66-59 vs. Texas Tech
Remember when I said that I would get to that later about the Big 12? This is that time.
This game was entertaining, sure, but good lord, Oklahoma; you should have more talent than this on defense. The Sooners are giving up an average of 41.4 points over their last five games, and this isn't just because Big 12 things; their defense is actually that bad.
Thankfully they have one of the best offense to help make up for it, but this isn't like the Chip Kelly/Oregon days where they had a competent defense to go with the high-powered offense. This is just insulting.
17. Tennessee — SEC, 5-2
LW: 19 — Result: BYE
This was a dreadfully needed BYE for Tennessee. They literally have all of the injuries right now, so hopefully some of their players can get healed up before their game at South Carolina next week.
18. LSU — SEC, 5-2
LW: 24 — Result: W, 38-21 vs. Ole Miss
Welcome back, Leonard Fournette. In case you had forgotten that Fournette is potentially the top running back in college football, he happily reminded you by having 249 yards on seven carries at one point in the Ole Miss game.
This team looks pretty scary right now, and they have a real chance of doing some damage in the SEC West.
19. Boise State — MW, 7-0
LW: 20 — Result: W, 28-27 vs. BYU
They needed a blocked field goal to beat BYU, but they stay undefeated nonetheless. While none of Boise's wins have been super-great this season, their victory over Washington State is really starting to age well. They will need that win to continue aging well, too, as nothing else on their schedule is going to impress anyone.
20. Utah — Pac-12, 7-1
LW: 22 — Result: W, 52-45 vs. UCLA
The most impressive 7-1 team in the country! They are also the least impressive 7-1 team in the country, because they are the only one in that group.
It was nice to see Utah light up the scoreboard, and for formerly retired running back Joe Williams to break a school record, but... you can't let UCLA throw up 45 on you when they don't even have Josh Rosen at quarterback. This is something that Utah can get away with here, but it won't work next week against a great defense like Washington.
21. Navy — AAC, 5-1
LW: 21 — Result: W, 42-28 vs. Memphis
Navy needed a game to show off that they were more than a fluke victory over Houston. Of course, that win over Houston doesn't look so great now, but the Midshipmen still got a solid win over Memphis this week. They've got a major test at South Florida next week.
22. North Carolina — ACC, 6-2
LW: 23 — Result: W, 35-14 vs. Virginia
A win at Virginia keeps North Carolina near the top of the ACC Coastal division. This could be a similar case to last season, where they are almost a "last-man standing" for that division, and gain a berth into the ACC title game. They have a BYE week next, which will give them time to prepare for the option-attack of Georgia Tech.
23. Penn State — Big Ten, 5-2
LW: NR — Result: W, 24-21 vs. Ohio State
Some have already referred to this as a job-saving win for head coach James Franklin, and it is hard to disagree with that assertion. Franklin was 0-19 as a head coach against AP Top 25 teams heading into this, and now Penn State may be able to cruise to a 10-win season with Michigan and Ohio State already behind them.
24. Washington State — Pac-12, 5-2
LW: NR — Result: W, 37-32 vs. Arizona State
Who knew that a team that lost to Eastern Washington to open the season would be able to crack back into our rankings?
Mike Leach may be crazy, but he's assembled another good team that now looks like it could be the second-best squad in the Pac-12. Their schedule is pretty lenient for a few weeks, but they will have a chance to really make a statement when they play Colorado and Washington to close the regular season.
25. Pittsburgh — ACC, 5-2
LW: NR — Result: BYE
They creep back into the rankings thanks to multiple losses this week. They play Virginia Tech on Thursday in some sweet Thursday-ACC action.
DROPPED FROM THE RANKINGS: Houston (14), Arkansas (18), South Florida (25)
