Couch CFB Power 10, Week 3
Week 2's Power 10 can be found here.
After a fairly boring Week 2, Week 3 saw a return to some big, postseason-affecting games. Michigan State played at Notre Dame. Oklahoma hosted Ohio State. And neither of those heavyweight bouts were even the biggest game, nor was Alabama vs Ole Miss. That honor fell to Louisville vs. Florida State, in a rare national platform for the ACC. This fact, combined with some unforeseen upsets (sorry Hawkeyes), means that needless to say, there's a whole lot of shifting in our Power 10...
...starting at the top.
1. Ohio State
The Buckeyes were supposed to have a down year of sorts, after losing much of the loaded roster that gained them a National Championship and a combined 26-2 record the last two years. If this is a down year, I'd hate to see an up year. It's one thing for Ohio St. to look untouchable against Tulsa and Bowling Green; it's another entirely for them to waltz into Norman and dismantle an extremely talented (albeit perhaps a little overrated) Oklahoma team, who was in need of a victory to keep their playoff hopes alive. I know my Michigan peers will hate reading this, but their hated foes might just be the team to beat this year.
2. Louisville
In a similar vein to Ohio State, Louisville went from looking fantastic against two lightweights, to absolutely torching a heavyweight. The Cardinals' (and new Heisman frontrunner Lamar Jackson's) performance against Florida State on Saturday was nothing short of jaw-dropping. The only FSU loss that seems reminiscent was Oregon's Rose Bowl victory two years ago, and perhaps that's fitting. With a stud quarterback, and lightning speed at almost every position, 2016 Louisville looks a whole lot like the Oregon teams of Chip Kelly and Marcus Mariota.
3. Alabama
As long as Nick Saban is the coach in Tuscaloosa, Alabama should be favored to be in the playoff. Plain and simple. That being said, there's two ways to look at Bama's season so far. On the one hand, they've opened up their schedule with three difficult opponents, and have managed to: demolish the defending Pac-12 South champion (at a neutral site), beat the defending Conference USA champion, and now avenge their bogeyman with a comeback win at Ole Miss. On the flip side, USC very well may turn out to have been overrated, Western Kentucky is still Western Kentucky, and Ole Miss doesn't play defense. And yet, in all 3 games, the defending champions have appeared beatable, on a scale ranging from somewhat to very. For this reason, they slip to 3 this week.
4. Houston
Houston entered a classic trap-game scenario in Week 3: riding the hype train, short interim between games, nationally-televised road game in front of a packed house, and by the way, a pretty decent opponent in Cincinnati. And for 3.5 quarters, it appeared Houston might just get trapped, as they trailed by 4 heading down the stretch. Then, in a blink of an eye, the Cougars were up 40-16 and the game was over. They did what great teams do: changed the tide of a tough game when it mattered most.
5. Michigan State
I was not sold on the Spartans this year, and a sluggish victory over Furman to start the season didn't help that. But what they did on Saturday was mighty impressive: headed in to South Bend at night and started dominating the favored Fighting Irish, and perhaps most impressive of all, held on to the lead when it seemed they might miraculously let it slip. Looks like MSU will factor in the Big Ten race yet again.
6. Texas A&M
Look who's a surprise player in the SEC West! The Aggies were unranked in the preseason for the first time in Kevin Sumlin's tenure, but have proved to be much more of a force than anticipated. They followed their season-opening upset of UCLA with a 67-point victory, and now, a gritty road win at Auburn. Might they be able to knock off Alabama yet again?
7. Wisconsin
Generally, any team who needs a late touchdown to beat Georgia State at home will not find their way into my Power 10. But Wisconsin's hard-fought win over LSU still remains one of the more impressive upsets of the season, and they look tough as usual on defense, and more dynamic than expected on offense. This weekend should tell us a lot more, as the Badgers face Michigan State!
8. Stanford
No West Coast bias here! Ok, maybe a little. They just play their games so late, GAH. No, but really, though Stanford haven't looked like World-beaters, Kansas State and USC is a tougher than usual one-two punch to start the season. McCaffrey and co. have looked every bit up to the task so far!
9a. Michigan
I guess? Honestly, from here down begins a slew of 3-0 teams that haven't really proven much. Or, that have one good win but have otherwise looked unimpressive (*cough* Georgia and Nebraska *cough*). Michigan takes this spot based on pure potential, even though they struggled to beat Colorado.
9b. Clemson
And Clemson takes this spot based on pure potential, even though they struggled with Troy. Troy!
Just missed: Nebraska, Georgia, Arkansas, Miami, San Diego State, Mitch Trubisky's QBR