Each week, before the college football rankings come out, we at The Comeback will give you a look at our predictions for upcoming rankings. These aren’t just based on our opinion of what the Top 25 will look like. It’s also based on trends regarding how the voters have treated similar teams in the past.
Here’s a look at college football’s rankings after Week 3 action.
Biggest risers
Wisconsin (No. 11 to No. 6)
Others rose more from a sheer numbers standpoint, but Wisconsin did more than any other team to assert itself near the top of the rankings. The Badgers dominated Michigan State, 30-6, in East Lansing, with freshman quarterback Alex Hornibrook making his first ever start. Yes, the Badgers’ schedule is brutal, with games at Michigan, Ohio State, Nebraska and at Iowa still to come. But this team is for real.
Tennessee (No. 14 to No. 8)
It didn’t look pretty at first for Tennessee, but the Volunteers overcame a big halftime deficit to comfortably beat Florida, 38-28. The SEC East is a heaping pile of garbage this year, but Tennessee is good and the Vols showed why they should have little problem winning the division. The tougher task: beating Alabama.
Ole Miss (No. 23 to No. 16)
Ole Miss came into this week 1-2, but the Rebels were better than their record indicated, as they blew big leads to both Florida State and Alabama in the second half. That’s not a good thing, but it shows Ole Miss is actually capable of playing with the country’s best teams. That much was obvious when the Rebels throttled Georgia, 45-14. Nobody’s beating out Alabama in the SEC West, but this is still a very good team.
Biggest fallers
Georgia (No. 12 to No. 21)
In reality, Georgia had no business ever being ranked No. 12. The Bulldogs came into this week 3-0, but that included a two-point win over Nicholls State and a one-point win over Missouri. UGA’s luck got exposed against Ole Miss.
Michigan State (No. 8 to No. 15)
Michigan State should probably drop more than this, and maybe it will, but the Spartans could stay in this spot based on still having an okay record. However, MSU looked terrible on offense against Wisconsin, looking much more like the tentative offense that struggled against Furman than the one that lit up Notre Dame. And now the Notre Dame win doesn’t look as good, because the Irish lost to Duke.
Arkansas/Florida/LSU
There are not that many options of teams to include in the final spot of the top 25, so perhaps one of these underperforming SEC teams will grab that spot, but absolutely none of them deserve it.
Projected rankings
- Alabama (no change from previous AP poll)
- Ohio State (no change)
- Louisville (no change)
- Michigan (no change)
- Clemson (no change)
- Wisconsin (+5)
- Stanford (no change)
- Tennessee (+6)
- Texas A&M (+1)
- Houston (-4)
- Washington (-2)
- Florida State (+1)
- Baylor (+3)
- Miami (+1)
- Michigan State (-7)
- Ole Miss (+7)
- Nebraska (+3)
- Texas (+3)
- Utah (+5)
- San Diego State (+2)
- Georgia (-9)
- Oklahoma (+3)
- TCU (+3)
- North Dakota State (+2)
- Arkansas? Florida? LSU? (- lots)
5 games to watch next week
1. No. 3 Louisville at No. 5 Clemson
Louisville can all but wrap up the ACC Atlantic, and in turn, possibly a College Football Playoff spot, with a win. The Cardinals’ high-flying offense faces a Clemson team that looked sluggish to start the season but dominated Georgia Tech last week. If the Tigers win, they’ll also have an inside track to an ACC Atlantic title.
2. No. 6 Wisconsin at No. 4 Michigan
Wisconsin is very good, but it also seems that Michigan State and LSU — its two premier wins — aren’t as good as we thought they were. If the Badgers win at Michigan, then they’ll have gone 3-0 through the first part of a brutal schedule.
3. No. 7 Stanford vs. No. 11 Washington
Is this the year Washington actually wins the Pac-12 North? The Huskies better show up for this one, because it’s going to be tough to catch Stanford if they lose it. Washington has the better offense, but Stanford can keep it close with a defensive battle.
4. No. 22 Oklahoma at No. 23 TCU
It’s unlikely any Big 12 team gets into the College Football Playoff this year, unless Baylor is able to go on a run, but this game will still go a long way toward determining the Big 12 race. Oklahoma has the offense to win this game, but the defense, which has been shaky all year, needs to find a way to stop Kenny Hill and the Horned Frogs.
5. No. 8 Tennessee at No. 21 Georgia
Tennessee is the better team, but Tennessee is also very capable of losing as the better team, as we saw from its near-losses to Appalachian State and Ohio. Georgia is better than both of those teams. The Vols are the clear SEC East favorites, but if Georgia wins this game, the Bulldogs will have the inside track to a division title.
