By Jonathan Sawyer
Sports Editor
The college football season has been up and down all year, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Having competitive games week in and week out makes for some great college football and even better shake-ups in the Associated Press and College Football Playoff rankings.
This past week has been one that was especially up in the air, as the number two, three and four ranked teams all went down with losses. This happened last in 1985. The college football rankings came out Tuesday, and what a shake-up it was.
Outside Looking In:
6. Washington Huskies
In last week’s College Football rankings, the Huskies broke into the top four at number four. They sit at six this week, because they were one of the teams that suffered their first loss of the season. The drop out of the top four isn’t as bad as it may seem, as there are still two weeks left in the season, plus the Huskies will have the PAC-12 Championship game from which they can pull some votes from the committee. The Huskies being at six is a good spot because of their strength of schedule and them getting beat by a ranked team in the USC Trojans.
5. Louisville Cardinals
The Cardinals sit at five, which is one spot out of the College Football Playoff. They moved up one spot from last week and I don’t believe they will go any further. The Cardinals suffered their one and only loss in week five versus the Clemson Tigers, who sit at four. The Cardinals have a potential Heisman Trophy winner in quarterback Lamar Jackson, but will need to win out and hope for another Clemson loss. The Cardinals sit atop the ACC-Atlantic division but that could change in the next two weeks.
College Football Playoff:
4. Clemson Tigers
The Tigers should be inside the top four because of the opponents they have beat, including the Florida State Seminoles and the Cardinals. The Tigers will need to win out the rest of the season, including this week’s matchup versus the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. If they win this game, they and the Cardinals will sit at 7-1 in the Atlantic division, and the Tigers will hold the tie-breaker, since they defeated the Cardinals.
3. Michigan Wolverines
The Wolverines’ loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes was shocking but not surprising to a lot of fans. The Hawkeyes are notorious for knocking off big-time opponents, especially on their home field. With a hurt quarterback in William Speight, the Wolverines loss wouldn’t have hurt them. The BIG 10 this year has been one of the best conferences, if not the best conference. A loss inside conference play doesn’t do them much harm. They will have two weeks to prove if them being inside the playoff is right, especially an end-of-the-year matchup versus long-time rival the Ohio State Buckeyes. Michigan will stay in the playoff come the end of the season and will represent the BIG 10.
2. Ohio State Buckeyes
The Buckeyes’ week seven loss to the now-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions did them harm. The Buckeyes, picking up three straight victories, helped their case for being the number-two team in the playoff. If the rankings stay this way come next weekend, when they take on the Wolverines, that game will mean even more than just the historic rivalry. Not only will it be a battle, but they get to do it on their own turf at the Horseshoe in Columbus, Ohio. The Buckeyes and the Wolverines should both stay in the playoff regardless of what happens next weekend due to their strength of schedule and the opponents to which they have lost.
1. Alabama Crimson Tide
The Crimson Tide are rolling as of right now and will continue to roll until the College Football Playoff. The Tide have two games left on the season and the SEC Championship game, in which they should do well. The Tide have done nothing but prove people wrong and continue to dominate their opponents week in and week out. If everything goes as planned, they should take on the Florida Gators in the SEC Championship game, although the Gators have had vast improvements all around and they are just a few pieces away from being at the caliber of the Crimson Tide. Alabama will continue to be the number one overall seed into the final College Football Playoff game.
sawyerjp15@bonaventure.edu
