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Week 8 has been Survival Saturday for most of the top 10.
Washington escaped Arizona State, thanks to a pick-up flag and a late pick six. Oklahoma escaped UCF by stopping a late two-point conversion. Texas escaped Houston with a fourth down. Florida State came back to beat Duke, a game that turned around when Duke quarterback Riley Leonard was injured again.
As a result, there was a shakeup at Athletic 133 this week and new No. 1: Ohio State. The Buckeyes defeated Penn State by a score of 20-12, holding the Nittany Lions to a 1-for-16 performance on third down. That gives Ohio State two wins over current top-15 teams, enough to catapult the Buckeyes to the No. 1 this week.
Does this mean Ohio State will beat Michigan? I do not know. The Wolverines have won the last two against Ohio State and have been a buzzsaw against weak competition this year. They look good again. The escapes of the other top 10 teams help the case for Michigan, which has had no such struggles. But as I get ahead of myself explaining every week, I can’t put a team whose current best win is Rutgers any higher. When Michigan played Penn State on Nov. 11, that will change. I have Michigan in my CFP predictions. But these rankings are not predictions. They are an attempt to evaluate what you have done. The margin of victory is important, but who you play weighs more.
DEEP
Behind the AP Top 25 ballot: Michigan’s weak schedule doesn’t mean it can’t be voted No.
Here’s this week’s Athletic 133.
1-10
Georgia remains at No. 2 while doing nothing. Florida State moved up to No. 3 thanks to his win and Washington/Oklahoma scraping by. Michigan jumped Texas after the Longhorns barely made it out of Houston. Oregon and Oregon State slide into the top 10. The Ducks beat Washington State 38-24, while Oregon State is idle. The Beavers handed Utah their only loss early in the season.
11-25
| Rank | Team | Record | Past |
|---|---|---|---|
|
11 |
6-1 |
16 |
|
|
12 |
6-1 |
8 |
|
|
13 |
6-1 |
17 |
|
|
14 |
6-1 |
13 |
|
|
15 |
6-2 |
14 |
|
|
16 |
6-2 |
19 |
|
|
17 |
7-1 |
20 |
|
|
18 |
6-1 |
10 |
|
|
19 |
5-2 |
15 |
|
|
20 |
7-0 |
21 |
|
|
21 |
6-1 |
23 |
|
|
22 |
7-0 |
24 |
|
|
23 |
5-2 |
25 |
|
|
24 |
6-2 |
18 |
|
|
25 |
5-2 |
26 |
Utah jumped to No. 11 after defeating USC. Both Penn State and North Carolina fell out of the top 10 after losses. The Nittany Lions fall to No. 13 because they lack notable wins, but the Tar Heels fall to No. 18 after losing to a 1-5 Virginia team at home. Duke was in a battle with Florida State until quarterback Riley Leonard re-injured his right ankle, an unfortunate turn of events. The Blue Devils fell from No. 15 to No. 19. USC remains in the top 25 after another loss to Utah, and Kentucky slips into the top 25 while idle, on the strength of its earlier win over Florida.
DEEP
Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Is the Big Ten’s ‘Big Three’ just a ‘Big One’?
26-50
Iowa was the only team to fall out of the top 25, falling to No. 27. Yes, a dodgy refereeing decision changed what would have been a winning game, but it was an ugly engagement against a struggling Minnesota team. Oklahoma State turned things around with three straight wins over Kansas State, Kansas and West Virginia to jump to No. 28. Tennessee sits at No. 29 after losing a halftime lead against Alabama. I remain surprised that the Vols are ranked in the polls because of their loss to Florida and their best win coming against Texas A&M.
Miami’s overtime win over Clemson saw the Hurricanes rise to No. 30. Tigers fall to No. 37. TCU lost to Kansas State, 41-3, and BYU beat Texas Tech, but both the Horned Frogs and Cougars remain in their spots thanks to TCU’s blowout of BYU just last week. Georgia State enters the top 50 after going 6-1.
51-75
UNLV is 6-1 and bowl-eligible for the second time since 2000 after beating Colorado State to climb to No. 57. Boston College has won three straight games since an ugly start to the year and now sits at 4-3 overall and No. 58 in the ranking. UTSA is 3-0 since quarterback Frank Harris returned, beating FAU 36-10 to jump to No. 60. Jacksonville State jumps to No. 63 after defeating Western Kentucky. Like James Madison, Jax State can only reach a bowl game without enough 6-6 teams.
DEEP
Saturday Superlatives: Another Utah-USC classic, upsetting and scary
76-100
There isn’t a ton of movement in this group. Old Dominion’s 28-21 win over Appalachian State moved the Monarchs up to No. 88. FAU was blown out by UTSA and USF beat UConn, but FAU remains ahead of USF after the Owls’ win over the Bulls last week. Northern Illinois has won three straight games to climb to No. 91. A week after Stanford beat Colorado, the Cardinal lost to UCLA 42-7 and dropped back to No. 95. Michigan State’s 49-0 loss at Michigan dropped the Spartans down to No. 97.
101-133
Nevada ended their 16-game losing streak with a 6-0 win over San Diego State, moving the Wolf Pack out of the bottom spot. The new No. 133 is Sam Houston, who is 0-7. The Bearkats are 1:11 away from a loss at Jacksonville State, three yards away from a loss at Liberty and a fourth-and-18 stop from a loss at FIU. Alas, they have yet to get their first FBS win. Elsewhere in this group, East Carolina dropped to No. 126 after a 10-7 loss at Charlotte, and New Mexico State moved up to No. 108 for the third win in a row.
The Athletic 133 Rankings series is part of a partnership with AllState.
The Athletic maintains complete editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
(Photo: Ben Jackson/Getty Images)
