Couch Power 10 + Bowl Projections, Week 6
Week 5's rankings and projections can be found here.
The wildest year of College Football just keeps getting zanier and zanier! A brief rundown of what transpired last weekend: Oklahoma may have salvaged their season by sinking their rivals' season, outgunning Texas in a crazy Red River Showdown. Pitt beat fellow division contenders Georgia Tech on a deflected TD pass and a ricocheting field goal. North Carolina State, Duke, Wake Forest, and North Carolina all played home games in the middle of Hurricane Matthew (and that's ALL I'm saying about that). Houston's run at crashing the playoff party ended with a stunning loss to Navy. Washington State whopped Stanford, stunning the Cardinal and possibly ending their conference contention already. Speaking of huge Pac-12 wins, Washington beat Oregon (Oregon! The team that was the national runners-up two years ago!) 70-21, and that wasn't even the most lopsided conference matchup of the weekend, as Michigan beat Rutgers 78-0. Finally, Tennessee almost pulled off yet another miracle, rallying from a late 2-touchdown deficit and taking the game to OT via a shanked chip shot field goal from Texas A&M's kicker. However, A&M then rallied to win a classic in double overtime, and finally put a blemish on Tennessee's dream season.
Woof. Ready for the rankings? Me too.
1. Alabama
The Tide passed their first test on Murderer's Row with flying colors, by smacking Arkansas in Fayetteville, 49-30. It seems strange to watch an Alabama team whose strength is their offense, and whose potential weaknesses are their defense, but that's where they're at now. Their schedule only gets harder now, with back-to-back matchups against Tennessee and Texas A&M.
2. Michigan
How do you jump up three spots in the rankings after beating undoubtedly the worst team in your conference? By winning 78-0, that's how.
3. Clemson
The Tigers seem to have reverted (or at least to be in the process of reverting) to last season's form, following their incredible victory over Louisville with an easy win at Boston College, who has given them trouble in the past.
4. Ohio State
Though Buckeye fans probably weren't too nervous, it wasn't Ohio State's best outing. Pesky Indiana stuck around most of the game, before J.T. Barrett and company finally closed them out in the 4th quarter. They have a massive chance to prove themselves again this weekend, though, with a trip to Wisconsin.
5. Texas A&M
They're not the sexiest team, but the Aggies have to have had one of the most impressive first half's of the season. Wins over UCLA, Auburn, and Arkansas had already been noteworthy, but holding off Tennessee this weekend was their best win yet. They may have nearly lost it, but they did what all of Tennessee's opponents haven't been able to do so far this season: stave off a furious rally.
6. Washington
This team just seems to be getting better and better. Though the quality of the Pac-12 is suspect this year, I don't think anyone could question the one-two punch of a 40-point victory over Stanford and a 50-point victory over Oregon.
7. Louisville
The Cardinals had a week off after their tough loss at Clemson, and have a chance to right the ship against Duke this weekend.
8. Wisconsin
The Badgers had a week off after their tough loss at Michigan, but have a HUGE chance to right the ship against Ohio State this weekend. Side note: if you're perceptive, you'll notice that I jumped Wisconsin 5 spots in the rankings during a bye week. Please rest assured that this is not me saying they deserve to jump 5 spots, but rather acknowledging that I should not have dropped them to 13th in the first place.
9. Tennessee
The Vols' luck finally ran out, but they're not out of playoff contention yet. Not even close. If I'm not going to give them too much credit for their myriad close wins, I also can't give them too much discredit for their razor-thin loss.
10. Baylor
The Bears had a Bye Week, but remain in the driver's seat in the Big 12. They don't play their first ranked opponent for another month, also, so there's a good chance they'll remain in said seat.
Just missed: Nebraska, Boise State, Houston, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, Nazair Jones and the UNC D-Line
Bonus: New Year's Six Predictions!
Orange Bowl
Louisville vs. Wisconsin
Cotton Bowl
Tennessee vs. Nebraska
Rose Bowl
Ohio State vs. Boise State
Sugar Bowl
Texas A&M vs. Baylor
PEACH BOWL (Semifinal)
Alabama vs. Washington
FIESTA BOWL
Michigan vs. Clemson