2018 Couch Power 10, Week 4
Despite all early indications to the contrary, this college football season is starting to get fun. We got a taste of it last week with some eyebrow-raising results, but nothing could have prepared us for previously winless Old Dominion beating #14 Virginia Tech, with a backup quarterback, no less. It was the biggest stunner of the season, and one of the biggest college football upsets in modern history. The drama continued into the evening and night, too, where Oklahoma came thisclose to losing to Army on their home field, Wisconsin beat Iowa in thrilling de facto Big Ten West championship, and Stanford somehow got out of Oregon with a win. And, the result on everyone's minds, Carolina somehow started 1-0 in the ACC! But I'll tell you all what I've been telling myself: don't get your hopes up. The most predictable 4 teams will still reach the playoff, and Alabama will still win it all. To the Power 10!
1. Alabama (LW: #2)
Remember LSU's brief spell at the top of the Power 10? That was fun. Anyway, Bama got back to doing Bama things on Saturday, demolishing a ranked Texas A&M team in a game that was close and entertaining for about 1.5 quarters.
2. LSU (LW: #1)
The Louisiana Tigers gave their fans some mild angst on Saturday, keeping little brothers Louisiana Tech in the game for a while before putting them away in the 4th quarter. But for one, La Tech is not a pushover, and more importantly, LSU remains unbeaten and every bit the biggest threat to Alabama's SEC West dominance.
3. Ohio State (LW: #3)
Sure, Ohio State's win over TCU last week doesn't hold quite as much weight, now that the Horned Frogs were thwamped by Texas. That doesn't change how impressive Dwayne Haskins and the Buckeye offense looks. Also, welcome back, Urban Meyer. Hope your wrist is fully healed from the slap it took from school administrators.
4. Clemson (LW: #5)
Because I think Clemson and Georgia are essentially at the same level, I'm enjoying ping-ponging them back and forth the 4-5 spots. This week, the South Carolina Tigers jump up thanks to their comfortable road rout of Georgia Tech, a bogey team of years past.
5. Georgia (LW: #4)
See above. Georgia returns to the 5 spot for their slightly-less comfortable win over the Missouri Tigers.
6. Stanford (LW: #8)
Had it not been for Old Dominion, the biggest story out of Saturday would have been Stanford's ability to snag victory from the jaws of defeat. There were about 4 different times in their game against Oregon where it looked like the Ducks were about to finish them off for good, and yet each time, the Cardinal managed to find a way to stick around, ultimately winning in overtime in front of a stunned Autzen Stadium. Stanford is yet to look good for 4 quarters this season, but perhaps that doesn't matter. They'll get another stern test (perhaps their hardest one yet) this weekend, from none other than...
7. Notre Dame (LW: #10)
...the Irish, who continued their unbeaten start to the season with their best performance yet. No, Wake Forest is certainly not Michigan, nor arguably even Vanderbilt. But they're not the walkover they used to be, and the Irish weren't daunted by their first road test. The Stanford game will represent a huge jump in quality, but so far Notre Dame's resume is Top-10 worthy, love it or hate it.
8. Kentucky (LW: NR)
Please welcome to the Power 10, for probably the first time since 2007, the Kentucky Wildcats! UK really could have had an argument to earn a shoutout earlier, given their 3-0 start and their first-ever win over Florida. But 4-0 is even better, especially when win #4 came over a Top 20 foe in Mississippi State. RB Benny Snell was the main story from the victory, and deservedly so, but QB Terry Wilson was also effective and their defense is no joke. It's hard to see them beating out Georgia for the SEC East, but it's not hard to see, say, a 10-win season?
9. West Virginia (LW: #10)
The Mountaineers haven't had the toughest schedule thus far, but it's not entirely their fault. A road game against a decent NC State team got drowned out by Hurricane Florence, and nobody could have predicted the dumpster fire Tennessee would be (okay, everyone could have, but you know what I mean). Still, they haven't showed anything to quell the preseason hype train, and they steamrolled a decent Kansas State side in their Big XII opener.
10. Penn State (LW: NR)
I was high on the Nittany Lions coming into the year, but their near-loss to Appalachian State scared me off. Now, after romps at Pittsburgh and Illinois, I might be ready to start believing them again. More than anything, I believe in James Franklin. At any rate, here Penn State is in the Top 10, right on time for Ohio State's visit this weekend. If the Nits are still in the Power 10 next week, it means something went very right this coming Saturday night.
Just missed: Duke, Oklahoma, UCF, Cal, Auburn, speed sensation Dazz Newsome