2023-10-16 16:16:18
Welcome to the halfway point: seven weeks down, seven weeks to go. Snap a photo. This is the standard schools will be held to for the remainder of the season.
Will Georgia fulfill its three-peat destiny? Will Washington finish the last season of the Pac-12 the way it finished Saturday — undefeated and on top of the conference? Are one-loss Texas and/or Oregon out of it? Who will be the College Football Playoff surprises, if any?
Halfway through, 11 undefeated teams remain. Eliminate the Group of Five (James Madison, Air Force, Liberty) and there are eight Power Five programs in the best positions possible. Five of those eight (Georgia, Florida State, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Washington) do not face the possibility of playing another undefeated team the rest of the regular season.
That might create a possible log jam at the end, but these things always seem to work themselves out. An undefeated Power Five champion has never been left out of the CFP. Could this be the year?
There are more or less 13 teams that might reach the playoff as everything stands through seven weeks. Add or subtract if you wish. Georgia, Ohio State, Alabama and Penn State have the toughest remaining schedules out of that extended group, at least according to the NCAA.
In this last year of the four-team playoff, will this be the same old, same old or will we see some new blood like we did with Cincinnati and TCU recently? The midseason edition of the College Football Power Rankings has old blood: Georgia, Michigan, Florida State and Oklahoma. Those four have combined for nine CFP appearances and two national championships in this era.
Will they survive? That’s what the second half is regarding.
College Football Power Rankings
Biggest Movers
Rk
Teams
Chg
Rcrd
1
—
7-0
Biggest news out of the rout of Vanderbilt is the injury to Brock Bowers, who will be out of action for at least a month. Bye this week before playing Florida with UGA missing its leading receiver (41 receptions, 567 yards, four TDs).
2
2
7-0
Make your case for Michigan being No. 1. The Wolverines have scored at least 45 points in three straight games for the first time. Little Brother awaits this week.
3
1
6-0
This is as good as the Seminoles have been since their 2013 title season. They are 6-0 for the first time since 2015 and have outscored opponents 80-20 in the last two games. Twelve straight wins in which FSU has scored at least 30 points.
4
1
6-0
Bye. We have an old saying at the Power Rankings: If you don’t play, you are subject to movement. In this case, OU drops behind Michigan, which has won its games by a combined 226 points.
5
2
6-0
You witnessed Michael Penix Jr.’s Heisman moment when he hit Rome Odunze with 98 ticks left to beat Oregon. Penix was on the field for 33 seconds of the last 6:33 in the game. That’s how valuable he is.
6
1
6-0
Bye. This game gets a lot of hype each year. Yet each year Penn State fails to deliver. Will this be different? James Franklin has to start with stopping Marvin Harrison Jr., who posted his fourth game of 100-plus yards receiving in the last five.
7
1
5-1
Bye. One of the most low-key hate rivalries in the country this week once morest Houston. Orangebloods for years have looked down their noses at the Cougars. Cue the junior college jokes from Austin, but the Cougars are on a roll hosting the Longhorns following the Hail Mary winner vs. West Virginia.
8
1
6-0
Keep telling yourself it was only UMass, but Daequan Hardy became the first Penn State player to return two punts for touchdowns. He had never returned a punt in his career. The organized scrimmage was a tune-up for Ohio State.
9
3
6-0
Miami didn’t tank following last week’s debacle, but it didn’t win, either. Omarion Hampton (197 yards rushing) made sure of it. How did Mack Brown make it this far without Tez Walker (six catches, 132 yards)? At least 31 points in six straight games for the first time since 1914.
10
—
6-1
Don’t focus on the end-game letdown once morest Arkansas. The Crimson Tide once led 24-6. Kicker Will Reichard quietly became the SEC’s all-time leading scorer. The Tide seem like a team that can reach the SEC Championship Game and the Sugar Bowl but no more. Would that be a disappointment?
11
3
5-1
Not to drive home a point, but the Ducks got inside Washington’s 25 three times and came away with 0 points on those trips. Coach Dan Lanning went 0 for 3 on fourth-down gambles. That was the difference in the game and, yes please, we’d love to see the matchup once more in the Pac-12 Championship Game.
12
2
6-1
The Beavers made the second-biggest Pac-12 impression Saturday in handling UCLA. Don’t look now: Oregon State just might be the second-best team in the Pac-12. Fast forward to the Nov. 18 game once morest Washington.
13
3
5-1
The Volunteerss had been 0-6 under Josh Heupel scoring 17 or less. No worries. Against punchless Texas A&M, the Vols tacked on two field goals in the final 3:48 to win 20-13.
14
1
5-1
Bye. The Rebels are still involved in the jump ball that is the SEC West. They have that crippling loss to Alabama but still have Texas A&M, Georgia and Mississippi State ahead. Visiting Auburn next.
15
2
5-1
His name is Henry Belin IV. Subbing for the injured Riley Leonard, Belin threw 12 times and completed four of them once morest NC State. Two went for touchdowns. Talk regarding efficiency. A Jordan Walker 83-yard TD run sealed the deal in a 24-3 win. The Blue Devils are one of three undefeateds in ACC play.
16
5
6-1
There’s not much worse that a huge upset following a huge win. The Cardinals are probably asking themselves what went wrong following Pittsburgh scored the last 24 points of the game. Injured running back Jawhar Jordan lasted only a couple of plays.
17
6
5-1
The Utes’ starting strong safety — you read that right — ran for 158 yards in an easy win over Cal. The last time a Utah defensive back run for a touchdown? Eric Weddle in 2006.
18
5
6-1
It was only a matter of time. The defense melted down once more, but this time, Caleb Williams contributed throwing three picks. The meat of the schedule is still ahead: Utah, Washington, Oregon, UCLA. The D allowed at least 40 points in three consecutive games for the first time in program history.
19
3
6-2
How do you feel now, Fighting Irish? Tired, probably, but renewed. At the end of eight straight weeks without a bye including the last four once morest ranked teams, Notre Dame bounced back with its biggest win over USC since 2017.
20
1
5-2
Jayden Daniels now leads the nation in passer rating and total offense following throwing for three more touchdowns in a win over Auburn. The Nov. 4 Alabama game is getting more interesting by the day.
21
NR
6-1
Down 14-0 at Kentucky, the Tigers went on a 38-7 run following a fake punt sparked … something huge. A matchup of two of the top SEC receivers this week: South Carolina’s Xavier Legette and Mizzou’s Luther Burden III.
22
NR
5-2
Might as well call him Graham F. Mertz. The Wisconsin transfer threw for a career-high 423 yards in beating South Carolina. Fellow transfer Ricky Pearsall had his own career day catching the go-ahead TD with 47 seconds left. Is Georgia watching?
23
NR
6-0
Troy Calhoun is a national treasure. On the biggest heater of his head coaching career, Calhoun led the Falcons to a late win over Wyoming. He is 20-3 since Nov. 2021 having won 11 in a row.
24
NR
6-0
Now that there are only 11 undefeated teams, it’s time to give the Dukes their due. They can’t go to a bowl. They can’t win the Sun Belt. But they are 6-0 while “transitioning” to FBS. Right now, JMU might win half the FBS leagues.
25
NR
5-1
Sorry, Iowa (6-1!), you mightn’t elbow your way in with that slop once morest Wisconsin. Meanwhile, the Green Wave are 5-1 in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1973-74. The win Friday was the first at Memphis since 1998.
Out: Wyoming, Kansas, Kentucky, Washington State, UCLA
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