The Couch Power 10, Week 7

After a stop-start first month or so of the season, it seems like just about every weekend now serves up an appetizing slate of hard-hitting games between ranked teams, big conference race deciders, etc. This was the end goal of all the absurd conference realignment, I fear; the corporate bigwigs wanted bigger feasts for our eyes throughout the Fall, and well, they're getting it. I would happily trade a few Fall weekends off for a return to sensible geographical conferences, but oh well. I'm still watching.

And this weekend, much like the last few before it, delivered yet again. What seemed like a day poised for wire-to-wire bangers actually started slowly, with Alabama running away from Missouri in the second half and Ohio State blowing out Illinois in two all-ranked affairs. But boy, did it pick up from there.

Simultaneously in the afternoon window:

• Preseason # 2 Penn State's freefall continued with a stunning home loss to Northwestern, a loss that saw coach James Franklin suffer the most high-profile firing in the sport in recent years

• Preseason # 1 Texas perhaps salvaged their season with an upset of previously unbeaten rivals Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry

• Iowa State's mini-freefall continued with a second consecutive loss to an unranked opponent, this time Coach Prime's Colorado

• Undefeated Ole Miss barely escaped a massive upset bid from visiting Washington State

• And in just the third matchup of Top 10 teams all season, 7th-ranked Indiana made perhaps the biggest statement of anyone this year by marching into Eugene and stunning # 3 Oregon

If all that wasn't enough, we got a hearty helping of nighttime chaos, too. Both in the form of more ranked teams losing to unranked opponents-- Michigan at USC, Arizona State at Utah, Florida State vs. Pittsburgh, and in the form of more ranked teams barely escaping a loss to an unranked team-- BYU needing two overtimes against Arizona, Texas A&M a big second half to run away from Florida, LSU a big 4th quarter to do the same to South Carolina, Tennessee needing to cling on late to avoid a mammoth comeback bid from Arkansas, and in primetime, Georgia rallying on the road in one of the more chaotic games of the season to stave off an upset bid from old rivals Auburn.

College football, huh? Bloody hell.

Just a refresher, in case you forgot: 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. Ohio State

After weeks of out-slugging easily overmatched opponents, Ohio State finally got another ranked opponent this weekend, and the ease with which they dispatched of Illinois (on the road, no less) reminded us that the reigning champs are the team to beat until proven otherwise.

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2. Indiana

It's not a stretch to say Indiana's win at Oregon might just be the most impressive win of the season to date. And it wasn't just about the 30-20 result, but the nature of the win: the Hoosiers played big boy football, flustering the Ducks on both sides of the ball, and walked out of one of the toughest places to play with a W. Indiana is for real and that win and national recognition has gotta feel good for Curt Cignetti and co. after the abuse they suffered (spearheaded by college football media, it's worth remembering) after last season's playoff-opening loss.

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3. Miami

Miami had their second bye week in 3 weeks, weirdly enough, and once again timed it poorly as just like last time, an all-Top 10 Big Ten showdown yielded a result that's overshadowed any of the Hurricanes' own thus far. With a remaining slate devoid of any ranked teams, an opportunity for another big win won't come again until the ACC Championship, should they reach it, but a different opportunity now awaits Miami: a chance to lie low and avoid the eyes of the nation for the most part. Just win, baby.

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4. Texas A&M

One week after Florida rediscovered their offense against Texas, Texas A&M’s defense got the Gators floundering again. Since their season-opening victory at Notre Dame (the jury is still somewhat out on how good that Irish team is), the Aggies hven't had a real marquee win but what they can claim is just a slew of solid wins over solid opponents. A meaty heart of their schedule awaits, where their playoff credentials will be tested. 

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5. Ole Miss

Ole Miss hadn’t had the schedule strength advantage over A&M in a while, but the Rebels' big win over LSU coupled with their continuously passing eye test kept them ahead in our rankings. Now between yet another impressive win by their SEC West rivals and their own much harder time with a mediocre opponent than anyone expected last weekend, I had to finally swap them. The good news for the Lane Train is that they have a golden opportunity to make a statement with a road win in Athens this weekend.

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6. Texas Tech

The Big 12 continues to be overlooked, even in the wake of their impressive postseason last year, and as such, little attention has been paid to Texas Tech, who’s quietly creating some distance as the Big 12 favorite after another dominant win, this one over Kansas. A big game awaits this weekend, though, as they go on the road to defending conference champs Arizona State; even with the big loss at Utah last week, the Sun Devils represent Tech's toughest test at least since they faced off with the Utes a month ago.

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7. Alabama

We’ve reached the midway point of the season, which is when I permit myself to lift the moratorium on ranking teams with losses. Apologies to the few undefeated Group of 5 minnows who thought this was their golden opportunity to sneak into the Power 10! Anyways, there's no question who the honors will go to for the first 'blemished team' to be ranked this season, and it's a familiar face: Alabama. After the Tide's season-opening loss to Florida State, fans were ready to run coach Kalen DeBoer out of town. Instead, what a turnaround we've seen since then, as his guys have not only rattled off 5 straight wins, but now 3 straight over ranked opponents. More impressive still, two of those have come in hostile road environments: the thriller against Georgia two weeks back, and this past weekend, ending Mizzou's perfect season. As they prepare for a 4th straight ranked opponent when Tennessee comes to town Saturday night, this is still a very imperfect team, but they suddenly look a lot more reminiscent of their old selves than they have at any point since Nick Saban left.

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8. BYU

BYU was overlooked and probably underrated for most of last year's 11-win season, and they’re starting this season off just as hot, though not quite as convincing. The Cougars are still perfect, but have now needed narrow overtime escapes against unranked underdogs in consecutive weeks. They'll face easily their biggest test of the season thus far in the Holy War this weekend, when archrivals Utah, who are fresh off that dominant win over Arizona State, come to town.

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9. Georgia Tech

Nobody's mistaking Virginia Tech for a world-beater, especially with an interim coach employed, but it was important Georgia Tech look the part of good team again, after a near-loss at Wake Forest was followed by a bye week. In that regard, mission accomplished. The Yellow Jackets have a sneaky hard game awaiting them this weekend with a trip to plucky Duke, but if they make it out of Durham with a win, it's gonna be pretty hard to see a loss in this schedule until the Atlanta clash with...

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10. Georgia

...Georgia! That's right, the Peach State rounds out the last two spots in our Power 10, and nobody would have imagined Georgia Tech would even be in here let alone be the higher-ranked of the Georgia schools, but hey, that's college football for you. You never really know what you're gonna get. Anyways, what a bizarre season it's been for the Bulldogs this year. I don't think even my most strident UGA alum friends would dispute my claim that not once in this half-season has Georgia played an entire game looking like a top team. And yet? Their sole loss came to # 6 Alabama, in a game in which they were the better team the last 3 quarters, and they now have thrilling, gutsy comeback wins in road cauldrons in two different rivalry games. Auburn may not be a great team, but they're a good team, and the way Kirby Smart and co. flipped the game on its head in the 2nd half in unfriendly confines after a first 28 minutes that could not have gone worse for them is support for the argument that there's a great team in there somehow. They'll at least be in the friendly confines of Sanford Stadium this weekend, but Ole Miss will be-- for my money --far and away the best team they've played this season, and the Dawgs can't get away with a subpar game against them, so we're about to find out just how good or how fraudulent this Georgia side could be.

Just missed: Oregon, Memphis, Vanderbilt, Oklahoma, South Florida, the refs for the Georgia-Auburn game

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The Playoff Picture according to The Couch:

(5) Ole Miss v (12) Memphis

(6) Texas Tech v (11) Oregon

(7) Alabama v (10) Georgia

(8) BYU v (9) Georgia Tech

ROSE BOWL: (1) Ohio State v BYU/GT winner

SUGAR BOWL: (2) Indiana v BAMA/UGA winner

ORANGE BOWL: (3) Miami v TT/ORE winner

COTTON BOWL: (4) Texas A&M v MISS/MEM winner