The Couch Power 10, Week 7
I texted someone in anticipation of this last college football weekend that it was "a sneaky good slate" of games. Last Saturday didn't get quite the amount of anticipation or wall-to-wall coverage that say, Week 4 did. But it did feature 5 games between ranked teams, a couple maruqee showdowns within those, and a slew of other games that provided upset potential. And-- are we surprised? -- it delivered on that promise.
For the second consecutive week, THE game of the week kicked off around Noon local time, and for the second consecutive week, that was kind of a shame because it absolutely lived up to the billing, and then some. Oregon at Washington didn't provide the same amount of pure chaos that Oklahoma-Texas did the week prior, but it was an equally high-level and thrilling classic, with a late Husky touchdown and missed Duck field goal giving Washington the win. In the primetime slot, North Carolina, Oregon State and Notre Dame pelted their ranked rivals Miami, UCLA and USC, respectively. But while that was happening, five different ranked team, including the Louisville side that had beaten Notre Dame one week prior, suffered losses to unranked foes.
Just a refresher, since it's been nary a year since you've heard from this ranking: 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. Don't be mad cuz I'm doin' me better than you doin' you:
1. Washington
I said this just one week ago: "Both [Washington and Oregon] entered the year with quietly high hopes for a great season, and have wholly looked the part of contender, without yet reeeaaally playing and beating anybody significant. The good news is, that will change for one of them this weekend, as the two face each other with a perfect season, a driver's seat in the conference race, and an eye on the College Football Playoff all on the line." Well, when all was said and done, at the tail-end of one of the best college football games we've seen in recent years, Washington stood tall. They've looked the part all year, but I needed to see them play a legitimately good team to accurately assess where they were at. Mission accomplished; Oregon weathered the storm well, and gave Washington all they had, and the Huskies and Michael Penix were able to engineer some late-game magic to pull out the huge win. Eye test leaders + terrific win on their resume now = new #1 team.
2. Oklahoma
A week after their biggest win of the season, and what will likely remain their toughest test of the season unless and until they play Texas again, Oklahoma had a bye week.
3. Florida State
Much like North Carolina had the week prior, Florida state dominated poor Syracuse with superior athleticism on both sides of the ball to maintain their perfect start. The Seminoles get Duke this week in likely their last "primetime" game and possibly their last ranked matchup until the ACC Championship, should they get there.
4. North Carolina
Pundits and Carolina fans (myself being one of them) alike had liked what they saw from the Tar Heels thus far this season, but despite the solid resume, still really needed to see how they matched up in a big game against a good team. Miami's brain fart against Georgia Tech notwithstanding, they are a good team, and this was a big game. After an incredibly sloppy first half that saw them getting destroyed at the line of scrimmage, the Heels exploded out of the locker room and asserted their dominance to notch a significant win for their ACC and even playoff hopes.
5. Ohio State
Ohio State had barely been scraping by this season, but in the last 6 quarters, have finally started to look like a team worthy of their ranking, between closing off a good Maryland side and last weekend, dominating Purdue for all 4 quarters. The competition kicks up considerably this weekend with Penn State coming to town, and their level of play will have to as well if they are to remain unbeaten.
6. Georgia
One week after finally looking like the best team in the land against Kentucky, Georgia reverted to their early 2023 (and early 2022, for that matter) selves in a lackluster win over SEC bottom-feeders Vanderbilt. Maybe they're just not that good this year. But maybe, like last season, they just decide to play their best when the lights shine brightest. Regardless, chances are we won't know until their likely SEC Championship date with Alabama.
7. Michigan
With Oklahoma and Washington moving the needle in the last two weeks by picking up big wins, the mantle now falls to Michigan as the #1 "team that looks really good but just hasn't really played anyone." My friend and fellow college football fan David thinks Michigan is the best team in the country, and I'm sure my college friends in Michigan agree. And I'm not sure I disagree! But unfortunately, I don't know that we'll know for sure until their closing stretch to the season against Ohio State and...
8. Penn State
...Penn State! The Nittany Lions also have looked good without really beating anyone of note (their win over Iowa is more impressive than anyone on Michigan's schedule, to be fair, but that's not saying a whole lot). James Franklin has talked about Penn State needing to go from great to elite, and if they're going to make that jump, it needs to start this weekend by upsetting Ohio State in Columbus and putting not just Michigan, but the rest of the country, on notice.
9. Texas
We have now crossed the midway point of the season, which by my self-instituted, needless rulebook, means that I am allowed to rank teams with a number other than 0 in the L column in my Couch Power 10. And there can be little doubt who the best 1-loss team is in the country, really; Texas had looked hardly beatable in a start to the season that included Alabama, Kansas, Wyoming and Baylor. The fact that their one loss came to a fellow unbeaten rival on a touchdown with 16 seconds left? That's not going to count against them a whole lot, especially if they can get revenge in their last Big XII championship appearance.
10. Oregon
That said, if you were going to protest Texas being the best of the blemished, the only team you could make a good case for in their stead would be Oregon. The Ducks don't have quite the resume that Texas have put together, but also have looked like one of the best and most balanced teams in the country, even through their first loss, which was a back-and-forth battle for the ages. The fact that their one loss came to a fellow unbeaten rival on a touchdown with 90 seconds left? That's not going to count against them a whole lot, especially if they can get revenge in their last Pac-12 championship appearance.
Just missed: Air Force, Alabama, Ole Miss, James Madison, Duke, Tez MF Walker
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