We are finally in the final stretch. The biggest parties have arrived and the restructuring at the top is underway.
Michigan finally played a notable team, taking on Penn State in Happy Valley. Georgia crushed a top-10 Ole Miss team. Washington held on against Utah and Oregon took care of USC. They all have more big games in the next two weeks before the conference championships.
After all that, here’s a change at the top. Georgia has returned to the No. 1 spot in this week’s Athletic 133.
The two-time defending national champions have turned into form, defeating Kentucky, Florida, Missouri and Ole Miss in their last five games. Last week was a reminder that Georgia, at its best, once again looks like the best team in the country. Oh, and Brock Bowers, one of the best pass catchers in the country, is back. With back-to-back wins over top 15 teams, the Bulldogs move back ahead of Ohio State.
Even so, a place in the CFP is not yet guaranteed. Georgia finishes off with Tennessee and Georgia Tech, then has the SEC championship game against an Alabama team that has also figured things out a lot.
We have five Power 5 teams going 10-0 for the first time since the College Football Playoff began, and none of them have an easy path to the top four. Seat belt.
Here’s this week’s edition of The Athletic 133.
1-10
As I promised all season, Michigan moved into the top three after beating Penn State, the Wolverines’ first notable opponent. The win was very similar to Ohio State’s win over PSU, both in how the game played out with its lack of offensive fireworks, but also in how the Wolverines and Buckeyes spent most of the game being in control. The Buckeyes remain ahead of Michigan thanks to their win at Notre Dame, but these teams look very close right now. Their meeting in Ann Arbor in two weeks should be another classic.
Among teams with only one loss, Oregon, Texas and Alabama have a chance to be the best. Alabama has the most quality wins. Texas beats Alabama. Oregon manhandled Utah, beat USC and has the best loss, in Washington when the Ducks were two yards away from victory. Oregon finally remains at the top of the pack for now after notching a second notable victory. The Ducks are Oregon’s 10th in two weeks. While all the attention is on the 10-0 teams, these three teams have a path to the CFP. Louisville? It’s hard to say. The 9-1 Cardinals had to rally to beat Virginia and lack any notable wins, but a potential win in the ACC championship game against Florida State could make things interesting.
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11-25
Ole Miss continues to prove to be a good team that is nowhere near the best teams in the country with the nature of their losses to Georgia and Alabama, and the Rebels fall to No. 11. Oklahoma is a tough team to rank. The Sooners lost back-to-back games to Kansas and Oklahoma State, but they also have one of the best wins in the country (Texas), and their win over SMU (now 8-2) still looks better. Penn State moves back to 15th after the loss to Michigan, and the Nittany Lions’ offensive struggles resulted in the firing of offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich on Sunday.
James Madison remains the highest-ranked team in the Group of 5, up to 17th after beating UConn 44-6. The Dukes won against Troy (8-2), Virginia, South Alabama and Marshall. Tulane is the highest-ranked G5 team eligible for the New Year’s Six, but the Green Wave has had to endure four straight one-score wins against lesser opponents and remain in 21st place. Tulane is battling injuries, but keeps the goal. open for Liberty, which is now 10-0 and in 22nd place after beating Old Dominion 38-10.
Arizona moves up to 19th after beating Colorado on a last-second field goal, and North Carolina moves back into the top 25 after beating Duke in overtime. Oklahoma State and Kansas drop after losses to UCF and Texas Tech, respectively, but remain in the top 25 for now thanks to their wins.
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26-50
| Range | Equipment | Record | Former |
|---|---|---|---|
|
26 |
7-3 |
32 |
|
|
27 |
8-2 |
33 |
|
|
28 |
7-3 |
23 |
|
|
29 |
8-2 |
3. 4 |
|
|
30 |
9-1 |
Four. Five |
|
|
31 |
8-2 |
35 |
|
|
32 |
6-4 |
31 |
|
|
33 |
7-4 |
27 |
|
|
3. 4 |
6-4 |
30 |
|
|
35 |
8-2 |
24 |
|
|
36 |
8-2 |
48 |
|
|
37 |
6-4 |
37 |
|
|
38 |
6-4 |
38 |
|
|
39 |
6-4 |
39 |
|
|
40 |
6-4 |
41 |
|
|
41 |
6-4 |
47 |
|
|
42 |
8-2 |
43 |
|
|
43 |
7-3 |
51 |
|
|
44 |
8-2 |
fifty |
|
|
Four. Five |
8-2 |
28 |
|
|
46 |
6-4 |
36 |
|
|
47 |
6-4 |
40 |
|
|
48 |
5-5 |
53 |
|
|
49 |
5-5 |
42 |
|
|
fifty |
7-3 |
64 |
Iowa moves back into the top 25 after a 22-0 win against Rutgers to move to 8-2. Troy, Toledo and SMU continue to rise after wins, and Toledo has won nine straight games. Tennessee falls out of the top 25 after a 36-7 loss to Missouri, and next is Georgia.
Fresno State falls to 35th place after a surprising 42-18 loss to San Jose State. UNLV moves up to 36th after beating Wyoming, which beat Fresno State, but the Bulldogs have a win over UNLV. Miami lost 27-20 to Florida State but remains in 37th place thanks to wins against Clemson and Texas A&M. Auburn’s 48-10 win against Arkansas moves the Tigers to No. 41. Air Force drops to No. 45 after a second straight loss, this one against Hawaii. UCLA drops to 46th after losing 17-7 to Arizona State. Coastal Carolina has won five straight games and moves up to No. 50 after beating Texas State.
51-75
Virginia Tech jumps to No. 52 after a 48-22 win against Boston College. Rutgers remains ahead at No. 51 thanks to its head-to-head victory against the Hokies. Illinois’ overtime win against Indiana moves the Illini back up to No. 62. New Mexico State is 8-3 with six straight wins, securing a spot in the CUSA championship game and moving up to No. 60. .
No. 63 Colorado has lost six of seven. No. 64 TCU has lost five of six. No. 67 Washington State has lost six straight games, and No. 70 Wisconsin has lost four of five, including back-to-back losses to Indiana and Northwestern.
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76-100
Georgia State has fallen to No. 77 after three straight losses to Georgia Southern, James Madison and Appalachian State. The Mountaineers have won three straight games to move up to No. 76. Marshall beat Georgia Southern to end a five-game losing streak and move up to No. 79.
Shorthanded Arizona State beat UCLA to move up to No. 83. Purdue beat Minnesota 49-30 to move up to No. 89, Cincinnati moved up to No. 90 after beating Houston, and San Jose State jumped to No. 94 afterward. beating Fresno State. Virginia is 2-8, but continues to play close games down to the wire, most recently against Louisville, so the Cavaliers remain in 98th place.
101-133
Sam Houston is on a winning streak! The Bearkats earned their first win as an FBS team last week and earned their first FBS win against an FBS team this weekend by beating Louisiana Tech. As a result, they move out of 133rd place and jump to 128th. Navy’s 31-6 against UAB moves the Midshipmen to 108th and the Blazers behind them. Vanderbilt is the lowest-ranked Power 5 team at No. 111, losing to South Carolina 47-6.
(Photo: Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
