In Week 6 of college football, fans were treated to upsets, mayhem, and chaos in what was the best week of games in recent memory. The rankings have been completely shaken up, and with the first half of the regular season now in the books for most teams, we have a great idea of where a ton of teams stand.
Check out last week’s edition of the College Football Top 25 here.
1. Georgia (6-0) (4-0 SEC)
Last week: at Auburn (W 34-10) | This week: vs Kentucky (5-0)
After the upset of the year in the Alabama game, Georgia is our new number 1. This Bulldog team is at the top of the list for teams with the most injuries, and yet, they continue to dominate. Without J.T. Daniels, Stetson Bennett stepped up once again and the defense was dominating. This was a game that many thought Georgia would have trouble with, but they proved this theory wrong early on.
2. Cincinnati (5-0) (1-0 American)
Last week: vs Temple (W 52-3) | This week: vs UCF (3-2)
Let’s get right to our first controversial take on this list. Cincinnati moves up to No. 2 after a thrashing of Temple, but we’ll get more into why others are moving down in a second. After beating Notre Dame two weeks ago, many thought Temple would play this team a lot closer, because they always tend to. Cincinnati had different ideas, though, and blew the Owls out of the water.
3. Iowa (6-0) (3-0 Big 10)
Last week: vs Penn State (W 23-20) | This week: vs Purdue (3-2)
Many fans throughout college football think this team should be number two but when you look at their play under a deeper scope, they don’t deserve it over Cincinnati. The game against Penn State was really ugly, and Nittany Lions’ Sean Clifford getting hurt mid-game really opened the doors for the Hawkeyes. The 23 points are honestly a bit flattering based on how their offense played. Quite frankly, it was morbid, but with all the craziness in college football this year, they stay at the number three spot.
4. Oklahoma (6-0) (3-0 Big 12)
Last week: vs Texas (W 55-48) | This week: vs TCU (3-2)
In the first half of the Red River Rivalry, Oklahoma looked like a team that shouldn’t even be in the top 25. In the second, with Caleb Williams at the helm over Spencer Rattler, they looked like a playoff team. It’ll be really interesting from now on to see who Lincoln Riley goes with next week, but if Rattler is chosen, this is not a top 10 team. If it’s Williams, and he can be as good as he was against Texas, this team has a fighting chance at a playoff appearance.
5. Alabama (5-1) (2-1 SEC)
Last week: at Texas A&M (L 38-41) | This week: at Mississippi State (3-2)
Somehow, someway, Alabama lost to an unranked opponent, and a former Nick Saban assistant. This Tide didn’t even play that bad, they were probably the better team besides some small mistakes that cost them, especially in that brutal environment. You may ask? Why do they drop only four spots when they lost to an unranked team. Well, the answer is simple. They looked good in the loss and they’ve looked great all year. I was tempted to even throw them higher, but they’ve got to earn it back now, which they almost certainly will.
6. Ohio State (5-1) (3-0 Big 10)
Last week: vs Maryland (W 66-17) | This week: BYE
One of the most tumultuous teams in the rankings, Ohio State sees their highest spot to date since losing to Oregon. After that loss to the Ducks, the Buckeyes have looked better and better every week, and the slaughtering of Maryland just proves that their offense is now clicking.
7. Michigan (6-0) (3-0 Big 10)
Last week: at Nebraska (W 32-29) | This week: BYE
Going to Nebraska in that hostile environment was definitely a trap game for the Wolverines, and they almost fell into it. However, the team is still playing with an attitude that we haven’t seen once in Jim Harbaugh‘s tenure. The Big 10 East schedule is only going to get tougher, but it seems if Michigan’s passing offense can get going a little more, they’ll be set up to be right in the thick of a potential postseason run.
8. Penn State (5-1) (2-1 Big 10)
Last week: at Iowa (L 20-23) | This week: BYE
Obviously, with Clifford’s injury, this is a hard loss to evaluate. Penn State’s defense is certainly top-five in the country, but they are still looking for a signature win. This bye week will allow them to evaluate where to go with things before facing Illinois, and then heading into Columbus to square off with Ohio State on October 30th.
9. Michigan State (6-0) (3-0 Big 10)
Last week: at Rutgers (W 31-13) | This week: at Indiana (2-3)
The Spartans stay red-hot with another calm Big 10 win. Kenneth Walker IV went crazy out of the backfield again and is a clear Heisman candidate. This is our fourth and final team in the top 10 from the Big Ten East which will make some great football, but can this Michigan State team keep it up with a seemingly less talented squad? Only their coaching over the next few weeks can give us the answer.
10. Oregon (4-1) (1-1 Pac 12)
Last week: BYE | This week: vs California (1-4)
Coming off a bye, there’s not much to discuss about Oregon. They still have that big-time win against our sixth-ranked Ohio State but they’ve looked worse and worse since that game, while the Buckeyes continue to get better. California should be a walk in the park, but it would be nice to see Oregon come out and just blow the Bears out of the water early on.
11. Kentucky (6-0) (4-0 SEC)
Last week: vs LSU (W 42-21) | This week: at Georgia (6-0)
What did Kentucky do after beating their rivals on their home turf? Only blow out LSU. Now, since we know this team is legit, we turn our attention to this Georgia game. It looks like Georgia should run away with this one, but they have struggled at home before. It’s rare, but it could happen and Kentucky could potentially make this a game, especially if JT Daniels is out again.
12. Ole Miss (4-1) (1-1 SEC)
Last week: vs Arkansas (W 52-51 OT) | This week: at Tennessee (4-2)
In any other week, this would be the game of the week. It’s already locked up a spot in the top five for games of the year because it was just wild. Arkansas scored a touchdown as time expired, and the Ole Miss defense, which was horrible all day, made one stop on a two-point conversion. This was a really nice response for an Ole Miss squad that got blown out by Alabama the week before.
13. Oklahoma State (5-0) (2-0 Big 12)
Last week: BYE | This week: at Texas (4-2)
Coming off of a bye and straight into a game against a Texas team with so much to prove. For the Cowboys, this is an absolute must-win here. They take this game, they can advance to the conference championship, even with a slipup in between. If they lose, though, the race gets a whole lot tighter.
14. Coastal Carolina (6-0) (2-0 Sun Belt)
Last week: at Arkansas State (W 52-20) | This week: at Appalachian State (4-1)
Dare I say this year’s Coastal Carolina team is even better than last year’s? They’ve been absolutely dominant the last couple of weeks and fully deserve their ranking in the top 15. This week’s game against Appalachian State, however, will be their hardest to date.
15. Notre Dame (5-1)
Last week: at Virginia Tech (W 32-29) | This week: vs North Carolina (3-3)
This is by far the weirdest team to rank. They have yet to have an impressive win, considering how bad Wisconsin is, and the loss to Cincinnati weighs in obviously. On the other hand, the environment at Virginia Tech was absurd, and there’s no way Notre Dame could’ve dominated. Still, another game-winning field goal against a weaker team doesn’t really improve their ranking.
16. Arkansas (4-2) (1-2 SEC)
Last week: at Ole Miss (L 51-52 OT) | This week: vs Auburn (4-2)
Sure, it’s a really hard loss to take if you’re Arkansas but the head has to be kept up. They played great on offense, and it was really just the defensive scheme that was awful. This Auburn matchup will be really fun to watch as we can get our final judgment on this Razorback squad.
17. Wake Forest (6-0) (4-0 ACC)
Last week: at Syracuse (W 40-37 OT) | This week: BYE
The single-handed most surprising team of the season so far is the Demon Deacons. They have yet to lose and are still the favorites in the ACC. The schedule starts to get tougher now, so let’s see if they can handle some of the better teams in the conference.
18. Baylor (5-1) (3-1 Big 12)
Last week: vs West Virginia (W 45-20) | This week: vs BYU
Baylor’s only loss has come against 13th ranked Oklahoma State but otherwise they’ve looked really solid. With BYU being the very next team in our rankings, we get a wonderful top 20 matchup this week, one of few on Week 7’s slow slate. This game will be a big factor in each team’s ranking and will be played with serious intensity, even though it’s a non-conference game for Baylor
19. BYU (5-1)
Last week: vs Boise State (L 17-27) | This week: at Baylor
BYU’s loss to Baylor was a pretty bad one. They still have that ranked win over Arizona State, so that’s why they remain in the Top 20 but it’s got to be better if they want to contend for a New Year’s Six Bowl. We already touched on the matchup with Baylor, and it will be the best game of the week besides Georgia-Kentucky.
20. Arizona State (5-1) (3-0 Pac 12)
Last week: vs Stanford (W 28-10) | This week: at Utah (3-2)
An 18-point victory versus unranked Stanford may not seem too impressive, but the Cardinal has been a unit with upset on their minds all year. Arizona State still the remains favorite to make it to the conference championship game against Oregon, but Utah is sneakily 2-0 in the Pac-12, so a win this week would go a huge way for the Sun Devils.
21. Texas (4-2) (2-1 Big 12)
Last week: vs Oklahoma (L 48-55) | This week: vs Oklahoma State (5-0)
It’s still mind-boggling how Texas lost last week’s game. To the opposite point of Oklahoma, Texas in the first half looked like a playoff team, and in the second did not at all. If they can’t beat Oklahoma State this week, the season is basically over and we’ll have another disappointing year from the Longhorns, just as they started looking good with Casey Thompson at the helm.
22. Texas A&M (4-2) (1-2 SEC)
Last week: vs Alabama (W 41-38) | This week: at Missouri (3-3)
The Aggies had lost two in a row coming into their historic upset over the Tide, and that includes a loss to Mississippi State. This week, they just looked great for about three and a half quarters. They haven’t been phenomenal this season, but whenever you beat a surefire number-one team in the nation, you deserve to be ranked.
23. SMU (6-0) (2-0 American)
Last week: at Navy (W 31-24) | This week: BYE
Struggling against a triple-option team is understandable to a point. SMU wasn’t great and they’ve slowed down as of late. They still are undefeated, they still are ranked but they do have to show improvement for it to stay this way, and they’ll have a nice week to get some rest before going up against an underwhelming Tulane team.
24. NC State (4-1) (1-0 ACC)
Last week: BYE | This week: at Boston College (4-1)
NC State will move down this week coming off their bye, just because of all the craziness that has taken place. This is a team that could, and should, be unbeaten in the ACC by the time they face Wake Forest on November 13, which would make for a thriller in the ACC Atlantic division.
25. Florida (4-2) (2-2 SEC)
Last week: vs Vanderbilt (W 42-0) | This week: at LSU (3-3)
Look, we are not going to complain about a 42-point win, nor are we going to reward the Gators for beating Vanderbilt. This was essentially a bye week for this team, but it was good for them to get some confidence back after losing to Kentucky the week before.
Outside looking in: San Diego State, Oregon State, Clemson, UTSA, Pittsburgh
New teams: Texas A&M (23)
Dropped out: Auburn
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