Before I dive into the latest top 25, I can't help but touch on the most entertaining coaching hot seat of the season. At this point, Butch Jones' head coaching career is like a drunk guy running on the field at a sporting event; it's clear he's not supposed to be there, it's clear that the end is both near and lacks glory, yet you can't help but cheer him on to keep going for as long as possible.
Butch and his Tennessee Volunteers are 3-4, with all losses coming to SEC opponents (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama). I thought we'd all be saying, "smell ya later" to Butch Jones after Georgia shutout the Vols 41-0 in Neyland stadium. But this guy just keeps on chuggin' along, and it's just the best. He even still has a job after losing 45-7 against Alabama on Saturday. Like I said, we all know the fate of Butch's career as head coach in Knoxville, but it's absolutely awesome to watch and wonder when one of these stadium security guards will inevitably lay the hit stick on the drunken sprinter.
- Alabama (8-0)
- Penn State (7-0)
- Georgia (7-0)
- TCU (7-0)
- Wisconsin (7-0)
- Ohio State (6-1)
- Clemson (6-1)
- Miami (6-0)
- Notre Dame (6-1)
- Oklahoma (6-1)
- Oklahoma State (6-1)
- Washington (6-1)
- Virginia Tech (6-1)
- NC State (6-1)
- Washington State (7-1)
- Michigan State (6-1)
- South Florida (7-0)
- UCF (6-0)
- Auburn (6-2)
- Stanford (5-2)
- USC (6-2)
- West Virginia (5-2)
- LSU (6-2)
- Memphis (6-1)
- Iowa State (5-2)
However, No. 3 Georgia's hot 7-0 start could alter Alabama's usual path a bit this year in the SEC Championship game. Georgia's remaining schedule includes: vs. Florida (3-3), vs. South Carolina (5-2), @ Auburn (6-2), vs. Kentucky (5-2), and @ Georgia Tech (4-2). Those remaining games certainly aren't a walk in the park, with the road game at Auburn posing the biggest threat to the Bulldogs. But as far as SEC East opponents go, Georgia should be able to easily handle all of them. There is one stat and one stat only to prove that prediction: the SEC East is hot garbage.
Georgia's a good team, there's no doubt about it. I'm assuming somewhere in my preseason predictions I said that Georgia wouldn't do a damn thing this season, which has clearly been proven wrong. The Bulldogs have put on an excellent defensive display this season, allowing only 12.6 points per game (4th best in the country) and 237 total yards allowed per game (3rd best in the country). On the offensive side of the ball, Georgia is more reliant on the run game than throwing the ball. But wouldn't you do the same if you had a running back like Nick Chubb who has seemingly been playing college ball for about a decade and a half? Georgia has averaged 282.9 rushing yards per game (10th best in the country), with Nick Chubb averaging just shy of a hundo at 98.2 rushing yards per game. Despite all of these impressive numbers, I am still 100% convinced that Alabama would beat this Georgia team by at least two touchdowns. Who knows what that would do to the playoff picture if both teams went into that game undefeated, but just enjoy it all for now Georgia fans. The conference championship embarrassment is inevitable.
Speaking of Georgia, their most impressive win this season has been over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who currently sit at the No. 9 spot in the newest rankings. I feel like when everyone expects ND to have a great season, they suck. And when you expect them to suck, they have a season like this. The Irish sure have bounced back from last season's 4-8 disaster. They're coming off of a very impressive thrashing of USC, beating the Trojans 49-14 in South Bend on Saturday night. I think USC will continue to spiral downward and at the end of the day, this win for ND won't be as significant come playoff times as it seems now. A one-point loss to the No. 3 team in the country is still a playoff campaign booster though, which reminds me of Notre Dame's two-point loss to Clemson in 2015 as a major selling point for the Irish. What also can't be forgotten is the 38-18 road victory over now No. 16 Michigan State. Is it safe to say that ND is back?
If the Fighting Irish win out, it will cause absolute chaos for the College Football Playoff committee, which is what it's all about. However, Notre Dame fans can't get too ahead of themselves. This team has proven plenty of people wrong so far, but we're really going to find out what this team is all about in the coming weeks. Their remaining schedule is as follows: vs. No. 14 NC State (6-1), vs. Wake Forest (4-3), @ No. 8 Miami (6-0), vs. Navy (5-2), and finishing off @ No. 20 Stanford (5-2).
Notre Dame has looked more complete than they have in awhile, but that stretch is as rough and tough as a Tonka truck. I think the toughest matchup might be this weekend against NC State, as the Wolfpack's defensive line is capable of disturbing the Irish offensive line and running game. Although that'll be tough with how well Josh Adams has been playing combined with Wimbush's mobility. Wake Forest isn't quite the cupcake they typically have been in the past, and I don't think Miami is as good of a team as many may think. Still, numerous obstacles stand in the way of Notre Dame finishing with only one loss, and these next few weeks will truly let us know what kind of team this is.
Another team's true identity will be formed within the next few weeks, and that is No. 2 Penn State. The Nittany Lions have been absolutely outstanding so far, with much thanks to the current Heisman favorite Saquon Barkley. In August I wrote that Barkley's 7/1 Heisman odds would be dependent on a "remarkable" stat line against Penn State's schedule (Barkley's current Heisman odds are -275). So far, Barkley has achieved those remarkable numbers, tallying 757 rushing yards (18th in the country), eight rushing touchdowns, 448 receiving yards (already eclipsing his 2016 total of 402 reception yards) and three receiving touchdowns. On top of all that, Barkley has returned nine kickoffs for 273 total yards, one of which was a 98 yard touchdown:
And for what it's worth, Barkley threw for a touchdown against Indiana, giving him a passer rating of 564.4. Take that, Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield.
So Saquon Barkley has been outstanding, and he's not the only spectacular aspect of this year's Penn State squad: They've allowed the 10th fewest total yards in the country with 1,980, which translates to an average of 283 per game (9th best in the country). The Nittany Lions defensive unit ranks at No. 7 for pass yards allowed per game with 167.6, and has allowed the fewest points per game of any team with a mere 9.6.
Penn State's success so far has been statistically incredible, and they're coming off of a huge 42-13 win against Michigan. But the Nittany Lions need to stay buckled in for the next couple of weeks as they have back-to-back road trips to visit No. 6 Ohio State and No. 16 Michigan State. If they can get through those two battles, it should be smooth sailing to the BIG 10 Championship with the tail end of their regular season featuring Rutgers, Nebraska, and Maryland.
Some other quick thoughts on a few ranked teams:
- No. 7 Clemson's loss to Syracuse was embarrassing, there's no doubt about that. But let's not forget the Tigers dropped a regular season, in-conference loss to Pitt last season. The Tigers were fortunate enough to have a bye this past weekend after losing to 'Cuse, so they can fully recover for Saturday's matchup vs. Georgia Tech. Every game is obviously a must-win for Clemson from here on out, but the biggest target is on No. 14 NC State, who the Tigers visit on November 4th. If Clemson played Miami in the ACC Championship, I just don't see them losing to the 'Canes. The U is a quality team this year but they are not elite.
- I'm a huge Wisconsin guy, love those Badgers. I love seeing them in the top ten. I think they're capable of winning out in the regular season, with their remaining opponents being Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Minnesota, who are all unranked. But they'd eventually have to face-off against Penn State or Ohio State which would be quite the challenge. So as awesome as it would be, I wouldn't get any hopes up for the Badgers in the final four. Regardless, Freshman running back Jonathan Taylor is an absolute thrill to watch. He's averaging 7.5 yards per carry, has ran for eleven touchdowns, with a total of 1,112 yards on the ground. No freshman in college football history has reached 1,000 rushing yards at the rate he did, seven games. He was 14 yards short of doing it in six games.
- I've ragged on the Big 12 forever, sometimes it gets out of hand I'll admit. TCU has undoubtedly exceeded my expectations by a long shot. They actually have a defense, which many Big 12 teams traditionally lack. Credit where credit is due. But when it's all said and done, I don't think TCU, Oklahoma, or Oklahoma State would compete with any of the four best teams in the country when playoff time rolls around.
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