STATE COLLEGE, PA – OCTOBER 22: Garrett Sickels #90 of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrates after a sack on 4th down in the fourth quarter during the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes on October 22, 2016 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
NCAABy Kevin Trahan on

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 the outlook on college football’s rankings after Week 7 action.

Biggest risers

Auburn (No. 21 to No. 14)

Remember when Gus Malzahn was on the hot seat? That seems like ages ago, as Auburn absolutely pummeled Arkansas, 56-3, in what will be one of the most impressive SEC performances of the year. The Tigers still face an uphill battle in the SEC West — they have a loss in the conference and have yet to play Alabama — but they’re clearly on the upswing.

LSU (No. 25 to No. 19)

Les Miles might be out of the picture, but here comes LSU. We all knew the Tigers were talented heading into the season and they were even a lot of people’s dark horse national championship contender. Now, under interim coach Ed Orgeron, they’re starting to play like it, with a 38-21 win over Ole Miss. Alabama looms in two weeks. The Tigers could pull off the upset.

Colorado (unranked to No. 23)

Colorado is going bowling for the first time since 2007 and perhaps even more impressively, the Buffaloes could win the Pac-12 South before that. They out-slugged Stanford, 10-5, and thanks to a fairly easy schedule, Colorado has a chance to beat out Utah for the division title.

Biggest fallers

Houston (No. 11 to No. 25)

Uhh… has Tom Herman already taken another job or something? Once a College Football Playoff dark horse, Houston now has two losses, including a 38-16 blowout at the hands of SMU. SMU! Something is wrong in H-Town.

Arkansas (No. 17 to unranked)

Arkansas looked like the third-best team in the SEC West after beating Ole Miss last week, but then the Razorbacks had to go and lose to Auburn by a whopping 53 points. That will get you dropped out of the rankings in a hurry.

Ohio State (No. 2 to No. 6)

Yes, Ohio State still has a route to the Playoff. There have always been six teams that theoretically do. But now, the Buckeyes are one of the two with a loss, and they’ll have zero margin for error after losing to Penn State. The offense has to get much more consistent if OSU is going to have any chance of beating Michigan.

Projected rankings

  1. Alabama (no change from previous AP poll)
  2. Michigan (+1)
  3. Clemson (+1)
  4. Washington (+1)
  5. Louisville (+2)
  6. Ohio State (-4)
  7. Nebraska (+1)
  8. Baylor (+1)
  9. Wisconsin (+1)
  10. West Virginia (+2)
  11. Florida State (+2)
  12. Texas A&M (-6)
  13. Boise State (+1)
  14. Auburn (+7)
  15. Florida (no change)
  16. Oklahoma (no change)
  17. Tennessee (+1)
  18. Utah (+1)
  19. LSU (+6)
  20. Western Michigan (no change)
  21. North Carolina (+1)
  22. Navy (+2)
  23. Colorado (+3)
  24. Virginia Tech (+2)
  25. Houston (-14)

5 games to watch next week

1. No. 3 Clemson at No. 11 Florida State

Florida State will need some help to win the ACC Atlantic, but the Seminoles have the talent to beat a Clemson team that has been off for much of the year. This game has been a classic for each of the past few years, and expect this one to be no different.

2. No. 7 Nebraska at No. 9 Wisconsin

Nebraska is undefeated, but the Huskers have no good wins. This game starts the tough part of their schedule, and they’ll have to be much better than they were in recent close wins against bottom-feeders Illinois and Purdue. Wisconsin simply has to keep playing like it has been, with its only losses to Michigan and Ohio State. The winner of this one wins the Big Ten West.

3. No. 4 Washington at No. 18 Utah

Is Utah for real this season? The Utes have a nice record, but a number of their wins (vs. UCLA and BYU, for instance) haven’t been all that convincing. Beating Washington would change the perception of this team. On the other hand, this is a chance for Washington to show just how far it is ahead of the rest of the Pac-12.

4. No. 8 Baylor at Texas

Baylor is ranked eighth, thanks to a back-loaded schedule. The Bears probably aren’t the eighth-best team in the country, and they’ll lose at some point with Oklahoma, West Virginia and TCU all left on the schedule. But they’re probably better than Texas and that drives Texas fans crazy. Watch to see if Baylor can live up to its billing, and if this will be Charlie Strong’s last game with Texas.

5. No. 15 Florida at Georgia

Florida controls its destiny in the SEC East for now, but the Gators don’t have the tiebreaker against second-place Tennessee, which beat UF earlier in the season. There are few tough games left on the Gators’ schedule, but this is probably the second-highest hurdle left. This one will help shape the SEC East race.

About Kevin Trahan

Kevin mostly covers college football and college basketball, with an emphasis on NCAA issues and other legal issues in sports. He is also an incoming law student. He's written for SB Nation, USA Today, VICE Sports, The Guardian and The Wall Street Journal, among others. He is a graduate of Northwestern University.

View all posts by Kevin Trahan