College Football Top 25 Week 13 - Central Florida Makes a Statement - The Big XII Does Not
Well that was one heck of a weekend of college football. On paper, it looked like a bit of a snoozer of a week, with most of the SEC and ACC locked into "cupcake" games before rivalry week, and the Big Ten and Pac 12 offering nothing in terms of compelling matchups. That wasn't the case however, as even the top team in the land stumbled for a half of football before regrouping and handling their business in the second half. Central Florida got a huge statement win, and the Big XII had a weekend to forget. So before the CFP committee releases their fourth set of rankings tonight, check out our updated top 25 for week 13. Without further ado let's jump right into it, as there is a lot to cover as always:
We start at the top, where #1 Alabama welcomed FCS foe The Citadel to Tuscaloosa, but someone forgot to tell the Bulldogs that they were 52-point underdogs. They ran their triple option attack to perfection in the first half, eating up clock and yardage while keeping QB Tua and company off the field. When the dust settled and the teams headed into the locker room at the half, the college football world was in complete shock as The Citadel actually went into halftime tied 10-10 with the best team in the land. The Tide made some adjustments and quickly took care of business in the second half, scoring 27 points in the 3rd quarter, en route to outscoring the Bulldogs 40-7 in the second half. The Tide pulled away in the second half, but maybe teams should take a hard look at the triple option - Army outplayed Oklahoma earlier this year in Norman for a full 60 minutes, only to lose by a touchdown in overtime, and for a half, the Citadel did the unthinkable @ Alabama. In the end, the Crimson Tide got the W, and remain atop the rankings heading into their showdown with rival Auburn.
#2 Clemson hosted a 7-3 Duke squad, and although they also struggled in the first half, and only led 14-6 at the half, they outscored the Blue Devils 21-0 in the second half on their way to a 35-6 victory. The Tigers stay locked in the second spot behind the Crimson Tide. Notre Dame played one of the few marque games of the weekend when they headed to New York and dispatched of previously #12 Syracuse in dominant fashion, 36-3 at Yankee Stadium. The first takeaway is that I hope we never have to see the Irish wear those hideous uniforms again, there is a reason those pinstripes are worn exclusively on baseball uniforms, hopefully we can keep it that way going forward, and secondly, the defense was especially dominant in this one as the Orange could only muster a field goal very late in the game. The victory comes with an asterisk, however, as do-everything Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey was knocked out of the game early with an injury and was unable to return, significantly handcuffing what Cuse could do with the ball. That being said, give the Irish credit, they dominated the game and are now just one victory away from finishing the season unbeaten and almost certainly punching their ticket to the playoff.
#4 Michigan struggled a bit with Indiana, actually trailing at the half, before coming out in the second half and quickly taking the lead and never looking back, as they pulled away for a 31-20 win that wasn't the Wolverines most dominant performance of the season. #5 Georgia rounds out the top 5, as the Bulldogs hosted UMass and thrashed the Minutemen, 66-27 in Athens. Georgia remains at #5 this week, although I thought long and hard about bumping UGA up a spot ahead of Michigan, and into the top 4, but ultimately left the top 5 unchanged.
The changes to this week's rankings start right outside of the top 5, at #6 where Central Florida checks-in, up two spots, after a getting a much-needed statement victory on Saturday night on national TV. ESPN took the 'Gameday' crew and everything to Orlando for UCF's showdown with previously 9-1 and #19 ranked Cincinnati, who came into the contest with a legitimate, solid defensive unit. The Knights dominated the Bearcats, 38-13, in a game that wasn't even as close as the final score. Heisman contender McKenzie Milton accounted for four touchdowns, and UCF finally did something to put pressure on the CFP committee.
Behind the Knights, are the Washington State Cougars, checking in at #7, up a spot in this week's rankings after completely annihilating the Arizona Wildcats, 69-28. The Cougars scored 55 in the first half alone and could have scored 90 if they really wanted to. While the Pac-12 is experiencing a massive down year as a whole, the Cougars resumé actually looks significantly better than Oklahoma's at the moment, and WSU has looked much better over the past couple of weeks in general. It was easy to bump the Cougars up, as they are the only chance the Pac 12 has at salvaging something out of what has been a disappointing season for the conference.
Speaking of the Sooners, they slid down two spots to #8 this week. They got past last-place Kansas, 55-40 but it wasn't pretty. Giving up 40 points (23 in the 4th quarter!) and over 500 yards of offense to the 3-8, last-place Jayhawks at home is not a good way to make an impression on the committee. Over the past three weeks, Oklahoma has now given up, 46, 47, and 40 points respectively, to a trio of teams whose combined record is just 14-19. They are surrendering 35.3 points per game in conference play, and over 30 per game for the season. That kind of "defense" if you want to call it that, makes it increasingly difficult to keep the Sooners ahead of either UCF or WSU. Combine that with the fact that OU's best win is now at 6-4 Iowa State, (or if you prefer their 28-21 OT win at home against Army) and that is it. It all adds up to the Sooners dropping to the #8 spot in this week's rankings.
Rounding out the top 10 are LSU, up two spots and back into the top 10 at #9 after defeating Rice, 42-10. It was a joke of a game for the Tigers, but none-the-less they took care of business. They now have a chance to finish the season with 10 wins - a mark they have not hit since 2013 - if they can take care of Texas A&M this coming Saturday. Rounding out the top 10 are the Ohio State Buckeyes, who survived giving up 45 points on the road in regulation to a 5-6 Maryland team, and were able to pull out a 52-51 victory in overtime, when the Terps came out and scored and went for two. They didn't get it, and OSU took advantage to squeak out the win. Another struggle for the Buckeyes, and they stay put at #10. Despite a less-than-stellar second half to the season, Ohio State can still play their way into the playoff by knocking of rivals Michigan at home this Saturday, and then taking care of Northwestern in the Big TEN title game. Neither of those scenarios seem all that likely with how they've played as of late.
West Virginia had their CFP chances go out the window, after they surrendered 14 points in the final 6 minutes at Oklahoma State. The Mountaineers blew a 17-point halftime lead, and a 41-31 lead in the 4th quarter. The theme in the Big XII this year has been has been no defense, and WVU's lack of defense came back to hurt them significantly in this one. The loss didn't eliminate the Mountaineers from the Big XII title race, but it did take care of their chances of reaching the playoff. The loss dropped them two spots and outside of the top 10 to #11.
Texas moved up two spots to #12 after getting a big win in conference play over Iowa State, 24-10, eliminating the Cyclones from the Big XII title race in the process. Utah State stayed put at #13, after improving to 10-1 on the season, thanks to a closer-than-expected 29-24 victory at Colorado State. Washington took care of Oregon State, 42-23, and moved up two spots to 14, and are followed by the Florida Gators, rounding out the top 15, following their 63-10 shellacking of Idaho. Penn State is at #16, also up two spots after taking care of Rutgers, 20-7.
Kentucky is up to #17, following their 34-23 win over Middle Tennessee State. They are followed by Boise State, who also moved up three spots to #18 this week after taking care of New Mexico, 45-14. Utah checks-in at #19, up four spots after winning at Colorado, 30-7. They are followed by Syracuse at 20, who was the big tumbler of the week, dropping 8 spots after their loss to Notre Dame. The Orange are followed by the Army Black Knights, who are now 9-2, and up four spots this week as well, to #21. Rounding out the top 25 are Big TEN West Division Champions, Northwestern, into the rankings for the first time this year at 22, Mississippi State, back into the rankings yet again, at #23, Iowa State, who remains in the top 25 at #24, and Texas A&M, who is back in the rankings after jumping in earlier in the season, rounding out this week's top 25 at #25.
TOP 25
1 ALABAMA (11-0)
2 CLEMSON (11-0)
3 NOTRE DAME (11-0)
4 MICHIGAN (10-1)
5 GEORGIA (10-1)
6 UCF (10-0)
7 WASHINGTON ST. (10-1)
8 OKLAHOMA (10-1)
9 LSU (9-2)
10 OHIO ST. (10-1)
11 WEST VIRGINIA (8-2)
12 TEXAS (8-3)
13 UTAH ST. (10-1)
14 WASHINGTON (8-3)
15 FLORIDA (8-3)
16 PENN ST. (8-3)
17 KENTUCKY (8-3)
18 BOISE ST. (9-2)
19 UTAH (8-3)
20 SYRACUSE (8-3)
21 ARMY (9-2)
22 NORTHWESTERN (7-4)*
23 MISSISSIPPI ST. (7-4)*
24 IOWA ST. (6-4)
25 TEXAS A&M (7-4)*
Dropped out: 19 Cincinnati, 22 UAB, 24 Boston College
* - New to the rankings this week
ACC Coastal Division Champs Pittsburgh (7-4), N.C. State (7-3), Auburn (7-4), Georgia Tech (7-4), Wisconsin (7-4), Iowa (7-4), and Cincinnati (9-2) are the next group of teams just outside of the top 25. Pitt is certainly deserving of a spot in the top 25, having punched their ticket in the ACC Title game, but find themselves just outside of the rankings - for now…
Looking ahead to this weekend, the ramifications are huge with the season-ending matchups we have on-tap. Thanksgiving weekend serves up a full plate of quality games starting on Thanksgiving night with Mississippi State visiting Ole Miss in their in-state rivalry showdown. A full Friday slate of action starts with #6 UCF visiting 7-4 South Florida, #8 Oklahoma visiting #11 West Virginia in a marque game in the Big XII, and the Apple Cup showdown between #14 Washington and #7 Washington State. Saturday features #1 Alabama as they look to get revenge on Auburn after the Tigers gave the Crimson Tide their only loss a season ago. #5 Georgia will host in-state rival Georgia Tech, #4 Michigan visits #10 Ohio State in "The Game", in what has turned into an elimination game for the CFP, #20 Syracuse visits Boston College, #2 Clemson hosts South Carolina in another rivalry showdown, and #9 LSU visits #25 Texas A&M in another SEC showdown. Notre Dame will try to punch their ticket to the playoff, if they can get past USC in Los Angeles, and finally, a showdown in the Mountain West conference between #13 10-1 Utah State, and #18 9-2 Boise State. We have a heck of a weekend of football ahead of us, where much will be decided in terms of the college football playoff, and who will represent the Big XII, Pac 12, and Big Ten in their respective conference title games.
Be sure to check back again next week for another updated top 25 heading into Conference Championship week. There is sure to be plenty of movement throughout the rankings once again with the full slate of the above action ahead of us this holiday weekend. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy all of the great football that this weekend has in store, and see you again next week!
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