As Halloween approaches, that means one thing for college football fans: the final month of the regular season is upon us, and the push for the playoffs is heating up. The final month will show us which teams get king-size chocolate bars in their bag and which teams will have to settle with toothbrushes and raisins. While this past week saw several top teams on bye, there still was some shakeup for the playoff landscape and some close calls for some of the top contenders this season.
While the top ranked Georgia Bulldogs were on bye, the two teams that followed them in the rankings had close calls and narrowly escaped to keep their respective undefeated seasons alive. Cincinnati held on late to squeak by 1-6 Navy, which was unexpected for Cincy, considering they have won every other game this season by double digits. A week after their most dominant performance of the season, Oklahoma came
dangerously close to losing to Kansas of all teams. These close calls are much more common for Oklahoma as five of their eight wins have come by one possession. With the College Football Playoff Selection Committee releasing their first rankings next Tuesday, the debate will be between spots two and six. How will the committee view undefeated Oklahoma and Cincinnati compared to a one loss Ohio State, Alabama, and whoever comes out of the Michigan-Michigan State matchup. While Oklahoma and Cincinnati are undefeated, the Sooners haven’t looked like a true playoff contender for much of the season, and we don’t know how the committee will view Cincinnati. The playoff system has historically not favored Group of Five teams, so it will be interesting to see where the Bearcats wind up in the rankings that actually matter. Oklahoma can keep getting away with these close wins and are a lock for the playoff as long as they win out, however the same might not be true for Cincy. The Bearcats’ remaining schedule is fairly weak outside of a couple of matchups with SMU. Not only do the Bearcats need to win out to get in, they need to win convincingly and can’t have more slip ups like last Saturday against Navy.
The biggest shakeup from last Saturday’s action was Penn State’s historic nine-overtime loss to Illinois which all but eliminated the Nittany Lions from playoff contention. Not only does this loss signal the end of Penn State’s championship hopes, it could very well be a sign that the James Franklin era could be coming to an end. Franklin has been linked to both the USC and LSU openings, and who says he wouldn’t take either job? Franklin has done a remarkable job bringing this program back to national prominence and Franklin has nothing left to prove as the Nittany Lions’ head coach. There is an argument to be made that Franklin already hit a ceiling at Penn State and he may want to go to a program where he has a better shot at winning a national title.
LSU and USC are both intriguing jobs and if Franklin chooses to leave State College, he could have either of those jobs. The question is which job would you rather have, and this is a question any candidate has to ask themselves. In my opinion, the LSU job is the superior coaching position, considering that LSU is much more committed to its football program, and you would be set up with great fan support and recruiting. LSU is a program that is the right hire away from being right back in the championship discussion, you can get to a playoff a lot quicker at LSU than USC. With that being said, there is an upside to USC’s more fair-weather approach to their football program. USC gives their coaches more time to get the program going, and the fanbase won’t be calling for your job nearly as soon as they would at LSU. The Pac-12 South is also a cakewalk compared to the murderer’s row that is the SEC West, which can make it easier to get the program rolling. The coaching
carousel is one of my favorite parts of college football and this year’s could be one of the best in recent history.
With all that being said, here are my rankings after Week 8.
College Football Top 25 Rankings
Georgia Bulldogs (7-0) Bye Week, last week – 1 Cincinnati Bearcats (7-0) W vs Navy 27-20, last week – 2 Oklahoma Sooners (8-0) W vs Kansas 35-23, last week – 3 Ohio State Buckeyes (6-1) W vs Indiana 54-7, last week – 4 Alabama Crimson Tide (7-1) W vs Tennessee 52-24, last week – 5 Michigan Wolverines (7-0) W vs Northwestern 33-7, last week – 7 Michigan State Spartans (7-0) Bye Week, last week – 8 Iowa Hawkeyes (6-1) Bye Week, last week – 10 Ole Miss Rebels (6-1) W vs LSU 31-17, last week – 13 Oregon Ducks (6-1) W vs UCLA 34-31, last week – 11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-1) W vs USC 31-16, last week – 14 Kentucky Wildcats (6-1) Bye Week, last week – 15 SMU Mustangs (7-0) W vs Tulane 55-26, last week – 17 Wake Forest Demon Deacons (7-0) W vs Army 70-56, last week – 18 Oklahoma State Cowboys (6-1) L vs Iowa State 24-21, last week – 9 Texas A&M Aggies (6-2) W vs South Carolina 44-14, last week – 19 Pittsburgh Panthers (6-1) W vs Clemson 27-17, last week – 24 Penn State Nittany Lions (5-2) L vs Illinois 20-18, last week – 6 Auburn Tigers (5-2) Bye Week, last week – 20 Baylor Bears (6-1) Bye Week, last week – 21 UTSA Roadrunners (8-0) W vs Louisiana Tech 45-16, last week – 23San Diego State Aztecs (7-0) W vs Air Force 20-14, last week – 22 Iowa State Cyclones (5-2) W vs Oklahoma State 24-21, last week – unranked Arkansas Razorbacks (5-3) W vs Arkansas-Pine Bluff 45-3, last week – 25 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (7-1) L vs Appalachian State 30-27, last week – 12
Dropped out of rankings – NC State