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Do you ever look at the AP Poll or some other poll and wonder which college football team they were watching to have them ranked where they do? Me too. We have a feature here at RotoBaller this year in which we will have a rundown of the NCAA college football power rankings every week. This is just like a top-25 poll anywhere else except I probably watch more football than most of them. That's why my rankings are a little different.
This is also going to be far different than traditional polls because I will only look at what has been done on the field so far, not what is expected of a specific team. That had a significant effect on the rankings early in the year, but it is starting to stabilize now. No, Georgia is still not my number-one team. Neither is Michigan. There is no excuse for that weak schedule.
The number of unbeaten teams is now in single digits (eight). Two of those are James Madison and Liberty. We're going to have a lot of teams with losses ranked now.
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Last week: W 45-13 at Cincinnati
Yes, I know that they lost to South Alabama. It's still better than losing to Virginia at home. And let's face it...Ollie Gordon is must-see TV at this point. Find me a better back in college than Gordon. I'll save you the research. You can't!
(24) Liberty (8-0) ⇔
Last week: W 42-29 at Western Kentucky
Liberty has some solid wins, but nothing to really hang their hats on. Not like the win over BYU last year. They won't get one either. Liberty is going to be favored against every team they face from here on out.
(23) James Madison (8-0) ⇔
Last week: W 30-27 vs. Old Dominion
Teams are adjusting to James Madison, but the Dukes are still undefeated. For now...
(22) Tulane (7-1) ⇔
Last week: W 30-28 at Rice
Living dangerously is not a good thing when you don't have the marquee wins to back it up.
(21) Iowa (6-2) ⇔
Last week: Bye
I'm not going to penalize Iowa for the officials stealing the game from them. That's the worst call I've seen since the Oregon/Oklahoma game in 2006...
(20) USC (7-2) ⇓3
Last week: W 50-49 at California
USC was lucky to win this game. That defense is a gaping wound at this point.
(19) Kansas (6-2) (NR)
Last week: W 38-33 vs. (4) Oklahoma
The two losses are to Big 12(14) heavyweights Oklahoma and Texas. The Jayhawks were far too reliant on Jalon Daniels last year, so they were toast when he went down. This year, they have guys that have stepped up on both sides of the ball and the experience that Jason Bean gained last year is invaluable.
(18) Air Force (8-0) ⇑1
Last week: W 30-13 at Colorado State
Not only that, but the Falcons are 8-0 for the first time since 1997. None of the players on the team were even alive at that time.
(17) Oregon State (6-2) ⇓5
Last week: L 24-27 at Arizona
Arizona is better than a lot of ranked teams right now and they are only getting better. That wasn't a bad loss for the Beavers.
(16) Utah (6-2) ⇓7
Last week: L 6-35 vs. (11) Oregon
I don't usually drop teams this far for a loss, but the Utes got destroyed by Oregon which suggests that I might have been a little too high on them to begin with.
(15) Notre Dame (7-2) ⇑2
Last week: W 58-7 vs. Pittsburgh
The hard part of the schedule is over for the Irish. Now they need others to stumble in conference play.
(14) Louisville (6-1) ⇑6
Last week: W 23-0 vs. (18) Duke
Riley Leonard was nowhere near healthy, but that Louisville defense completely dominated this game. I don't think it would have mattered if he was. Jawhar Jordan and that defense could take the Cardinals even higher.
(13) Missouri (7-1) ⇑2
Last week: Bye
A huge road win in Lexington has the Tigers on a collision course with a Georgia team that they probably should have beaten in 2022. South Carolina wasn't even a speed bump.
(12) LSU (6-2) ⇑2
Last week: Bye
Both LSU losses are to ranked teams and they beat the team ranked just below them on the road. Seems fitting, right?
(11) Mississippi (6-1) ⇑2
Last week: W 33-7 vs. Vanderbilt
It was a boring win, but most wins over Vanderbilt are. They might be heading in the right direction, but the defection of Re'Mahn Davis to Kentucky set the 'Dores back a year.
(10) Alabama (7-1) ⇔
Last week: Bye
See, Alabama fans? The sky wasn't falling. The sky still isn't falling. In fact, your star is Jalen Milroe and he's still on the rise. He led this team back after Tennessee came out swinging.
(9) Oklahoma (7-1) ⇓5
Last week: L 33-38 at Kansas
The Jayhawks have been waiting for this for a generation. There are a lot of reasons Oklahoma lost this game. We can blame it on losses of key pieces during the game. We can blame it on fourth-quarter play-calling. I choose to lay blame on those who deserve it: It was Kansas's fault that we lost this game. They showed up believing they could win and they went out there and executed their game plan.
This is exhibit A on why the NFL will never be as entertaining as college football. As far as "scientists" proving the goalpost experiment, they were some tanked scientists if they were in fact science majors.
(8) Oregon (7-1) ⇑3
Last week: W 35-6 at (9) Utah
Utah doesn't lose at home and they damn sure don't get blown out at home. That used to be true. Oregon thoroughly dominated the Utes in Salt Lake City. It has been a long time since a team has done something like that to Utah.
(7) Penn State (7-1) ⇔
Last week: W 33-24 vs. Indiana
The best loss award still goes to Penn State. Struggling with bottom-feeder Indiana isn't a good look. It is worth noting that the Hoosiers played by far their best game of the season.
(6) Texas (7-1) ⇑2
Last week: W 35-6 vs. BYU
The Longhorns are still hanging that ten-gallon hat on a win in Tuscaloosa. If it's so easy, why is no one else doing it? Texas gets the jump on other one-loss teams because that Alabama win keeps looking better and better.
(5) Michigan (8-0) ⇑1
Last week: Bye
I have no idea how it's possible to have this easy of a schedule in the year of our Lord 2023. Things get tough for Michigan in November, and not just off the field.
(4) Georgia (8-0) ⇑1
Last week: W 43-20 vs. Florida
Georgia's wins are getting really close to the quality of Washington's wins. See? I told you that it would all work itself out. Carson Beck getting comfortable in this offense should be terrifying for the rest of the SEC.
(3) Washington (8-0) ⇓1
Last week: W 42-33 at Stanford
Ugly wins are still wins, but that doesn't mean I need to reward teams for it. Washington's offense is too reliant on the big play right now. They best team they could possibly face right now would be USC. Well! What do you know...scheduling Gods do exist.
(2) Florida State (8-0) ⇑1
Last week: W 41-16 at Wake Forest
Yeah, Wake isn't very good. Neither is Stanford. Washington struggled for the second straight week. FSU is winning like they are supposed to. That counts in my rankings.
(1) Ohio State (8-0) ⇔
Last week: W 24-10 at Wisconsin
Beating Wisconsin isn't what it used to be, especially when the team was absolutely gutted. QB Tanner Mordecai is done for the year. So is RB1 Chez Mellusi. Braelon Allen left the game in the first half. I'm not taking anything away from Ohio State, but this win would have resonated differently a month ago. Not that it matters. OSU has the best schedule among undefeated teams.
Others Receiving Votes
- UCLA
- Arizona
- Tennessee
- Kansas State
- Toledo
Stay tuned for the college football rankings here at RotoBaller throughout the entire season!
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