Couch Power 10 + Bowl Projections, Week 9
Week 8's Power Rankings and Bowl Projections can be found here.
First of all, my apologies for publishing last week's power rankings when this week's football has already begun. This has been an unforeseen busy week between work and, ahem, social events....and by that I mean spending time witnessing a certain 108-year-old curse be broken.
But, speaking of America's pastime: college football! Let not the crazy Week 8 we had be buried amidst the other sports stories of the past week. Let's recap: last Thursday, Virginia Tech held off Pittsburgh (in Ketchup Stadium or whatever it's called) to set them up nicely to win their division. Friday, new "Group of Five" darlings Navy got the hull blown off their ship by South Florida. And on Saturday, Miami and Tennessee's seasons went into freefall mode, Houston amazingly rescued their season from going into freefall mode, The Big 12 imploded with their last two unbeaten teams falling in road upsets to Oklahoma State and Texas, Louisville almost lost to Virginia (yes, Virginia), new new "Group of Five" darlings Boise State lost to Wyoming on a last-minute safety, Washington won a huge game at Utah thanks to a late punt return touchdown, and Clemson finally avenged their ghosts in Tallahassee by somehow eking out a thrilling win over Florida State. Oh, and also the first Playoff Rankings came out on Tuesday, and featured a 1-loss team over an unbeaten Power 5 Conference leader. Oh, and also also, the Chicago Cubs are World Series Champions. I'm gonna keep typing that sentence until it feels real.
Deep breaths. Everyday week, right? To the rankings!
1. Alabama
The Tide got a well-deserved week off between their wild 3-game stretch, and their upcoming road game at LSU. Doesn't really matter because nobody's gonna beat Alabama. Next!
2a. Michigan
Contrary to what the Playoff Committee thinks, I think the post-Alabama split up nicely into two tiers of undefeated and one-loss teams. Michigan heads up the first tier in my rankings, because they are the best mix (out of these three) of solid schedule, and looking the part. The Wolverines weren't at their best against Michigan State, but have been dominant in nearly all their games, and with the surprisingly good seasons from UCF, Colorado and Penn State, it turns out played a somewhat tough schedule thus far!
2b. Clemson
Clemson barely escaped again, this time getting an extremely significant win at Florida State. The Tigers still don't look like the 2015 ACC Champions, nor does Deshaun Watson look like the 2015 QB. And that's okay; they don't need to. Considering the schedule they've had to fight through thus far, 8-0 is a good place to be. They just have to cut down on the mistakes.
2c. Washington
The Huskies have looked the most consistently good of these three teams, but their strength of schedule has been hilariously behind those of the rest of the top tier of teams. That took a step in the right direction on Saturday, getting their best win of the season in Salt Lake City. Now that they are past Utah, Washington just needs to avoid any trap games (including a potentially division-deciding rivalry match with Wazzu) to earn their way to the playoff
5a. Texas A&M
This second tier-- of one-loss, "breathing down your neck" teams-- begins with the team that the Playoff Committee actually ranked ahead of unbeaten UW. The Aggies have only looked dominant against vastly inferior teams, and haven't won in pretty fashion against most of their toughest opponents. That trend continued on Saturday, with a 42-point victory over lowly New Mexico State. Still, the impressive wins are there, and an 11-1 season is within reach for A&M.
5b. Ohio State
In terms of talent, this is still one of the best teams in the country. And fittingly, the Buckeyes still control their own destiny in the Big Ten and nationally. But it's been an underwhelming several weeks from Ohio State, who followed a close win over Indiana and a nail-biter over Wisconsin with a shock loss to Penn State. Their response to that loss? A narrow, late home victory over 4-4 Northwestern. Urban Meyer and co. are among the most dangerous in the nation, but can't be feeling too optimistic right now.
5c. Louisville
Louisville struggled mightily at Virginia, nearly losing to the Cavs before Lamar "Heisman" Jackson hurled a game-winning touchdown pass with under a minute to play. They struggled on the road against an inferior team, which everyone does. The problem is, the Cardinals have no room for error with a less-than-impressive strength of schedule.
8. Auburn
So, remember when I sad Alabama's not gonna lose again? Well, as Tanner and I discussed in the latest episode of our podcast, that may not entirely be true. Their hated rivals Auburn are on a tear right now, continuing their red-hot streak with a two-touchdown win over Ole Miss. Keep an eye on these guys.
9. Wisconsin
In a de facto elimination game for their Big Ten West hopes, Wisconsin clung on to the win at home vs. Nebraska. It was a typical Wisconsin display: physical, disciplined, and gutsy. Unless Nebraska pulls the upset against Ohio State this weekend, you have to imagine the Badgers are feeling good about their Big Ten Championship chances.
10. Nebraska
Well, they proved me wrong. Most of their 7 wins are against laughably bad teams, so I figured Wisconsin-- the first legitimate opponent they had played --would blow them out of the water. But Nebraska hung tough, and proved to be up to the fight, eventually losing in overtime. I see you, Huskers, I see you. It doesn't get easier this weekend with a game against Ohio State on the horizon.
Just missed: Western Michigan, West Virginia, LSU, Colorado, North Carolina, Bye Weeks
Bonus: New Year's Six Predictions!
Orange Bowl
Louisville vs. Wisconsin
Cotton Bowl
Auburn vs. Western Michigan
Rose Bowl
Ohio State vs. Colorado
Sugar Bowl
Texas A&M vs. West Virginia
PEACH BOWL (Semifinal)
Alabama vs. Washington
FIESTA BOWL (Semifinal)
Michigan vs. Clemson