The Pac-12 is down to just USC as its lone hope for making the College Football Playoff after both Oregon and UCLA were dropped in late-night action on Saturday. Ole Miss is also uninvited to the party after losing to Alabama and Tulane can kiss their New Year's Six Bowl goodbye after a home loss to UCF. While Ohio State and Michigan were both big winners on the field, their path became even more apparent when Illinois choked again to drop out of the rankings and all but force the Wolverines and Buckeyes to go win out if they want to join the party.
After their wins, it is guaranteed that the winner of The Game will win the Big Ten East even if they both lose next Saturday because of their tie-breaker with Penn State. Clemson and UNC will meet in the ACC Championship, Georgia will face LSU in the SEC title game, and TCU punched its ticket to the Big 12 Championship. Coastal Carolina (Sun Belt), UTSA (CUSA), and Toledo (MAC) have also taken care of business in their group of 5 conferences.
This week's poll welcomes just two newcomers in South Alabama and Notre Dame, who replace NCST and Illinois, who both continue their freefall from the rankings. 64 teams have now earned a bowl bid for the 82 spots available, while 15 more teams, including Texas A&M, are guaranteed a losing season. 20 more teams will get a shot to clinch and that list includes surprises like Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and BYU. 17 teams will be on red alert as their bowl dreams could be dashed next week.
Here's a look at this week's rankings that saw a lot of internal movement throughout.
Last Week (Rank-1): 17-10 win over Texas
Up Next: Baylor (6-4, No. 44)
The Word: TCU puts the horn in "horns down" as they knocked off yet another Top 25 team. I don't know who keeps saying Texas is back, but all roads lead through Fort Worth and not Austin for the Big 12 Championship.
2. Georgia (10-0, 65.4, 0)
LW(4): 45-19 Bulldog on Bulldog crime against Mississippi State
Up Next: Kentucky (6-4, 48)
The Word: Georgia keeps on rolling and finds itself in the fifth SEC Championship in six years. They'll get to demoralize a Kentucky team that is fading fast and is really down after being the first SEC team to lose to Vanderbilt in over three years.
3. Ohio State (10-0, 66, 0)
LW (2): 56-14 waltz in a winter wonderland over Indiana
Up Next: Maryland (6-4, 57)
The Word: The Buckeyes will get one more test run to get their offense in high gear for the Wolverines as they should not expect much resistance from Maryland who was blanked by Penn State last week.
4. Michigan (10-0, 69.8, 0)
LW (3): 34-3 ragdolling of Nebraska
Up Next: Illinois (7-3, 29)
The Word: The score could have been much worse if the Wolverines could hit on big plays in the passing game, but somehow you could've told the Cornhuskers which way you were going to run and they still wouldn't have stopped Blake Corum, and Co. This Illinois game looked harder a few weeks ago, but the Illini are heading in the wrong direction and have blown a once secure lead in the West.
LW (6): 31-16 over Louisville
Up Next: Miami Hurricanes (5-5, 84)
The Word: Clemson failed to impress again but wins against an ACC that continues to collapse with the exception of North Carolina, who they'll face in three weeks.
6. Tennessee (9-1, 57.2, 6)
LW (5): 66-24 annihilation of Missouri
Up Next: South Carolina (6-4, 56)
The Word: Tennessee is poised to be the at-large team that didn't play in their conference championship and there doesn't seem to be anyone left to stop them with the Gamecocks and Commodores left.
7. UNC (9-1, 77, 88)
LW (11): 36-34 escape of Wake Forest
Up Next: Georgia Tech (4-6, 89)
The Word: The Tar Heels tried really hard to blow it, but history has told us that Wake Forest will be the one that always blows this match-up. They'll be favored in the next two games before facing Clemson.
8. USC (9-1, 84, 47)
LW (9): 55-17 Friday night beatdown of Colorado
Up Next: UCLA (8-2, 18)
The Word: The Trojans are truly the only team left in the Pac-12 to have a shot, as they should have games against two ranked teams in the next few weeks and if they were to defeat Notre Dame, that would all but eliminate Clemson from the conversation. Unfortunately, UCLA took a dive and this game will not have as much at stake. Also not great, running back Travis Dye, who transferred from Oregon, is now out for the rest of the season.
9. Coastal Carolina (9-1, 86.9, 93)
LW (14): 26-23 clipping of Southern Miss
Up Next: Virginia (3-7, 111)
The Word: The Chanticleers escaped yet again and are the only Group of 5 team with just one loss after Liberty and Tulane were both knocked off. They get a chance to upend an ACC bottom feeder to get to 10 wins and potentially set up a New Year's Six Bowl.
10. Alabama (8-2, 40.9, 3)
LW (16): 30-24 SEC title shot crushing of Ole Miss
Up Next: Austin freakin' Peay...seriously (FCS-132)
The Word: Great, you play in the toughest conference in college football, but why does the SEC schedule these cupcake games in the second to last week of the regular season? This is Week 2 fodder, and while the Crimson Tide aren't the only ones this week, this is certainly the most egregious example.
The Rest of the Best:
11. LSU (8-2, 45.4, 28.5)
LW (15): 13-10 edging of a snowy Arkansas
Up Next: UAB (5-5, 70)
12. Penn State (8-2, 51.3, 6.5)
LW (17): 30-0 blanking of Maryland
Up Next: Rutgers (4-6, 95)
13. Washington (8-2, 64.1, 70)
LW (20): 37-34 victory upending Oregon's playoff hopes and home win streak
Up Next: Colorado (1-9, 127)
14. Oregon (8-2, 71, 10.5)
LW (7): 34-37 loss to Washington
Up Next: Utah (8-2, 19)
15. UCF (8-2, 72.3, 85.5)
LW(23): 38-31 win in American showdown with Tulane
Up Next: Navy (3-7, 108)
16. Troy (8-2, 74.4, 36)
LW(18): 10-9 rally past Army
Up Next: Louisiana Monroe (4-6, 92)
17. Ole Miss (8-2, 76.4, 21.5)
LW(8): Loss to dad (Saban)
Up Next: Arkansas (5-5, 66)
18. UCLA (8-2, 82.1, 66)
LW(10): Shocked by Arizona 34-28
Up Next: USC (9-1, 8)
19. Utah (8-2, 83.8, 33.5)
LW(22): 42-7 romp of Stanford
Up Next: Oregon (8-2, 14)
20. Tulane (8-2, 85.8, 69)
LW(12): 38-31 loss to UCF
Up Next: SMU (6-4, 62)
21. UTSA (8-2, 86.5, 45.5)
LW(24): 51-7 dropping of La Tech, clinched a share of CUSA title
Up Next: Rice (5-5, 72)
22. Cincinnati (8-2, 88.6, 28.5)
LW(25): Narrow escape of ECU 27-25
Up Next: Temple (3-7, 120)
23. Liberty (8-2, 88.6, 45.5)
LW(13): Stunned by UConn 36-33 to earn the Huskies their first bowl bid since 2015.
Up Next: Virginia Tech (2-8, 123)
24. South Alabama (8-2, 95.3, 41)
LW(26): 38-21 win over Texas State
Up Next: Southern Miss (5-5, 73)
25. Notre Dame (7-3, 35.7, 62.7)
LW(28): 35-32 near collapse against Navy
Up Next: Boston College (3-7, 106)
Waiting List: Kansas State, Oklahoma ST, NCST, Illinois, Florida State, Oregon State, Duke, Air Force, Boise State, Wyoming, Ohio, Minnesota, Toledo, James Madison, and San Jose State
Newly Gone and Certainly Forgotten (Bowl-Ineligible Teams After This Week): Texas A&M, Old Dominion, Boston College, Nebraska, Navy, Cal, Indiana, Virginia, Texas State, Arizona State, Louisiana Tech, Stanford, Tulsa, Western Michigan, and Temple
No comments:
Post a Comment