2020 Couch Power 10, Week 10
It was a Thanksgiving weekend unlike any other for many in our country this year, and that strange new 'normal' spread to the college football landscape as well. What is usually one of the most climactic weekends in college football, chock full of rivalry matches and de facto conference championship play-in games, was not immune to the ramifications of COVID-19. Fourteen more games were postponed and/or cancelled. Stadiums everywhere held little to no fans. As a result of both the slew of cancellations and the extended timeframe of this regular season, very few games of significant consequence were played.
But lest you find this recap gloomy and ungrateful, the sheer fact that we were able to watch college football this weekend was something I was thankful for. And besides, there were still some highlights! The Iron Bowl was still played. The whatever-the-Penn State-Michigan-rivalry-is-called was still played. On Black Friday, we were treated to a double whammy of two terrific and competitive games between ranked teams, with Iowa State pulling out a victory over Texas and Notre Dame taking on North Carolina (THE RESULT DOESN'T MATTER, IT WAS JUST A GOOD GAME). So, all things to be thankful for!
Just a reminder that this is not a definitive ranking on how good the teams are, 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 actually proved on the field to date. In this unprecedented and uncertain time, I'm adding this disclaimer: teams have to have played at least half a season to qualify for Power 10 at this point in the season. I recognize this change suddenly leaves out heavy hitters like Ohio State and every Pac-12 contender, but the truth is it's just impossible to gauge where these guys are at in comparison to other teams when you're looking at a 3-game sample size. So, despite very little movement in the college football playoff rankings, we've got some movement this week:
1. Alabama
It's not that Auburn is a particularly great team; they're not. And probably everyone short of the most ardent Auburn fans expected Alabama to win this game. But anything can happen in rivalry games, and for the Crimson Tide to beat their ranked rivals by 30 points, with their Hall of Fame coach absent due to COVID-19, is a sign of a great team hitting peak form.
2. Notre Dame
I was almost tempted to put the Irish up at the #1 spot in the wake of their victory over my Tar Heels. I ultimately decided against it because of just how comprehensively good the Tide have been but that's how highly I now think of Notre Dame, who look like an entirely different side than just a month or so ago. Few likely anticipated that UNC would pull off the upset in this one, though my reckless heart allowed me to think it possible, but the way Notre Dame's defense completely swallowed up one of the most dynamic offenses in the country was remarkable, and the double-whammy of Ian Book and Kyren Williams is going to be hard for any opponent to corral.
3. Cincinnati
The cancellation of the Temple game hurts the Bearcats' chances to beef up their record, but in reality, they would gain little from playing it. They've already had a terrific undefeated season, and they can now turn their focus to their season finale against Tulsa, which will almost surely be a primer to a rematch in the conference championship.
4. BYU
It's no secret I'm extremely high on BYU this year, but sadly, I appear to be on an island in that regard. The Cougars' slim chances at making a playoff shout were almost completely wiped out by the playoff committee's dastardly low ranking in their inaugural ranking. They have only one more chance left to get national attention, and even a comfortable win over San Diego State likely won't move the needle.
5. Coastal Carolina
Texas State are among the worst teams in the country, so Coastal's dominant win over them means little in the grand scheme of things. But this year, just getting to play a game is a big win, so improving to 9-0 on the year is worth celebrating. Worth even more celebration: for the first time in school history, Coastal Carolina will be hosting College GameDay on Saturday!
6. Clemson
Last weekend's blowout of Pitt was an impressive return from a long layoff for both Clemson and star QB Trevor Lawrence, who hadn't played in over a month. The team was clearly angered by the last-minute cancellation of the Florida State game as well as their heartbreaking loss to Notre Dame. The Tigers on the warpath is a scary thought for just about every other team in the country.
7. Texas A&M
It's been a while since Texas A&M really 'impressed,' exemplified by last week's ugly win over LSU, and their sole loss to Alabama wasn't close. But, that October win over Florida keeps aging like fine wine, and it puts them in the driver's seat for a New Year's Six bowl, if not even an outside chance at the playoff.
8. Florida
For the 2nd week in a row, Florida bounced back from an early scare against a clearly inferior team to ultimately score a convincing victory. Their much-maligned defense has now given up just 3 touchdowns in the last 8 quarters of play. If that unit continues to play well, the Gators can beat just about anybody because their offense is that good. However, their close loss to A&M could haunt them if they ultimately miss out on the playoff.
9. Marshall
Once again, Marshall's game was not played as scheduled. It was the fourth time this season that a game had to be cancelled or postponed due to COVID. With so many good Group of 5 teams this season, a New Year's Six bowl was always going to be tough for the 7-0 Thundering Herd to make, but this ongoing rash of cancellations makes that dream near-impossible for them, barring upsets everywhere.
10. Indiana
The Hoosiers rallied from a poor start to come from behind and beat Maryland, improving to 5-1 in the process. Indiana not only deserves credit for being legitimately good this season, as we see from their record and from giving Ohio State a good game, but also for keeping their shit together with regards to COVID. In a league rampant with postponements and cancellations, the Hoosiers have stayed largely negative for the virus and been able to play all six games as scheduled. Ohio State will complain until the end of time if they miss out on the Big Ten Championship due to not meeting the benchmark of games played, but should it fall to Indiana by default, they have a legitimate claim as a solid and well-coached program.
Just missed: Ohio State, USC, Washington, Iowa State, Miami, the true freshmen defensive players of UNC
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