2019 Couch Power 10, Week 8
It was one of the most anticipated weeks of the college football season to date, and boy, Week 7 did not disappoint.
There's a special kind of excitement that surrounds Fall Saturdays like last weekend's. Four matchups between ranked teams, spread out across the day, and more high profile matchups (USC-Notre Dame, Wisconsin-Michigan State, Boise State-Hawaii) to boot. Nearly all the biggest games of the day lived up to the billing, starting with the entertaining Red River Rivalry, continuing into yet another nighttime thriller in Iowa, and finishing up with an epic battle in the Swamp.
Oh, and that's not all. There were upsets. Several, in fact. 8 ranked teams lost over the weekend, and more than half were favored. Most noteworthy was the first real ground-shaking upset of the season: South Carolina stunned #3 Georgia on the latter's home turf, sending the Dawgs careening out of the Couch Power 10 and potentially even out of the playoff discussion.
Much movement across the board means a fairly new-look Power 10 this week!
Just a reminder, as you are preparing to shout about how your one-loss team deserves to be in this ranking, know that we are not far from the time of the year where teams with a slightly blemished record start rising to the forefront again. And if you're cheering for an unbeaten team that isn't on the Power 10, hey, thanks for reading, Appalachian State and Minnesota fans!! Again, this is not a statement on who I think have the most talent and quality, or on who I think will be/deserves to be in the playoff at the end of the year. Rather, it's more of a "What if preseason rankings and bigwig bias didn't predetermine the top teams" kind of thing, an ideal ranking of the country's teams based on what they've proved on the field.
1a. Alabama
1b. Clemson
That being said, the Saban-Dabo Rule dictates that until Clemson and Alabama lose and/or give us reeeeeeeeally good reason to drop them from the joint top spot, we're keeping them here. Why? Because drawing from every year since 2014, we're working off the assumption that it doesn't really matter how these teams look during the regular season. Alabama and Clemson will make the playoff, and one of them will win the title.
Although Clemson bounced back from their near-loss in a major way, kicking all the asses of Florida State, Bama maintains their slim lead in the wake of their road dismantling of Texas A&M. The two front runners now have a mutual opponent, and though the transitive property doesn't really work in college football, you can't deny Alabama looked better by comparison.
3. LSU
It's a shame that the Saban-Dabo rule needs to apply, because LSU has been the most impressive team this year, and it's not even close. The only two teams that have made the Tigers even push in the 4th quarter were Texas (in a humid night in Austin), and last weekend, previously unbeaten Florida. In both cases, LSU closed the win out in impressively clutch fashion. I mentioned last week how #legit the Florida defense was? Well, Joe Burrow and co. shredded them for 42 points and 511 yards. People-- myself included -- are often too quick to label a team Alabama's downfall, but if there is a downfall team for them this year, it may just be the high-flyin' Tigers.
4. Oklahoma
The Sooners had been flyin' high in the early weeks of the season, but the jury was out on how they'd measure up to stiffer competition. Now that they have played probably the best team they will play the remainder of the regular season, the verdict is: not bad. Although Jalen Hurts had his worst outing as Oklahoma's quarterback, it was the Sooner defense-- amazingly --that made the difference against a Texas team that had every reason to have the emotional advantage. It's an impressive sign that Oklahoma could control the proceedings for so much of the game against a rival who was playing for revenge and to stay alive in the playoff hunt.
5. Wisconsin
Wisconsin has played 6 games and conceded points to 2 opponents. They have outscored their opponents 255-19. I hope you realize how ridiculous that is, considering all but one of their opponents went to a bowl last year. Remember that Michigan State team that just troubled Ohio State a bit last week? Wisconsin beat them 38-0. The Badger's slight fall this weekend is not through any fault of their own, but more the result of Oklahoma's win over Texas aging a little better than Wisconsin's over the perpetually enigmatic Michigan Wolverines.
6. Ohio State
Yes, Ohio State, we still have a Big Ten team ranked ahead of you. That can all change in just a week and a half from now, though! The Buckeyes had a bye this past weekend to rest up for Northwestern. Should they avoid a trap game, a perfectly delicious matchup with Wisconsin awaits the following week.
7. Penn State
Welcome to the Power 10, Penn State! The Nittany Lions are yet to lose this season, but were waiting for a real breakthrough. An extremely tough win on the road over Top-20 Iowa, coupled with that earlier win over Pitt that is aging well, is a good indicator that PSU is ready to play Big Ten spoiler again.
8. Boise State
One week without my beloved Group of Five teams was too much. Welcome back, you Cinderellas and Sisters of the Poor! Boise State reminded me (and everyone) why they seem to be once again carrying the flag for the little guys, with a decisive victory over previously 1-loss Hawaii, who they very well may see again in the Mountain West Championship.
9. Baylor
With Wake Forest's surprising (and somewhat inexplicable) capitulation to Louisville, Baylor takes up the mantle of the totally unexpected undefeated Power 5 team. The Bears nearly lost their stake to that claim, too, though, holding on to a win at home against Texas Tech in overtime. Hey, as we saw from another green-and-yellow team on Monday night, sometimes a good team needs grit, luck, and some zebra love to get the result they're fighting for.
10. SMU
After nearly blowing things against Tulsa in their first game as a ranked team, SMU had a bye week to recuperate. Good, thing too; the back half of their schedule is loaded, with 5 of their 6 remaining opponents likely bowl-bound.
Just missed: Appalachian State, Minnesota, Florida, Auburn, Oregon, Recovery-Time Bye Weeks