Last Word on College Football
Top 25 Week 7
Friday the 13th turned in to a nightmare for Clemson and Washington State. And Saturday proved to be just as ominous for many of the remaining teams in the Last Word On College Football Top 25.
Only four teams remain in the same position this week as last, including top ranked Alabama, a unanimous selection atop the rankings from our 18 voters. The chaos this weekend was evident. We have seven teams in our rankings, that were on every ballot, that had a ten-spot or greater difference between highest and lowest ranking. Chaos reigns in college football, as it always does.
As we start looking towards the Playoffs, it’s clear that Alabama, Penn State, and Georgia control their own path. There’s still plenty of teams with clear paths — TCU, Ohio State, Clemson included.
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LAST WORD ON COLLEGE FOOTBALL TOP 25
WEEK 7
| Rank
|
Team |
Points
|
Previous
|
|
1. |
|
450 | 1 | |
| The Crimson Tide got back to their dominate fashion by crushing Arkansas in front of a home crowd. Our voters were unanimous this week with voting Alabama the best team in the nation. It’s their title to lose.
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2. |
|
425 | 3 | |
| The Nittany Lions were off this week but will move further into College Football playoff contention after a rash of upsets in week 7.
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3. |
|
413 | 4 | |
| After a close first half the Bulldogs got their offense cranking to beat Missouri 53-28. Kirby Smart’s club finished with 696 yards, second most in school history with 370 of those yards coming on the ground. Following a bye this week the Bulldogs head to Jacksonville to play Florida.
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4. |
|
379 | 6 | |
| TCU remains undefeated after a quick trip to Manhattan, Kansas. The multiple weather delays did not slow TCU down. They beat Kansas State 26-6. Next up on the to-do list is the Kansas Jayhawks.
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||||
5. |
|
370 | 7 | |
|
Wisconsin grinded out a 17-9 victory over a well coached Purdue squad. This game had trap written all over it, and while the Badgers didn’t perform at their best, Coach Paul Chryst and co will be pleased to move to 6-0 amidst a weekend of chaos.
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||||
6. |
|
355 | 9 | |
| J.T. Barrett and the rest of the Buckeyes offense is finally hitting their stride. In a season shaping up similar to the 2014 championship season, it looks like the game against Penn State might be a play-in for the Big Ten Championship Game and the College Football Playoff.
|
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7. |
|
348 | 2 | |
| Clemson was upset by Syracuse Friday night. They also lost Kelly Bryant to a concussion at the end of the first quarter. Clemson failed to capitalize and was out played. They get a much needed bye week to regroup.
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8. |
|
311 | 12 | |
| The Sooners took a commanding lead early only to hang on for a 29-24 victory over the Texas Longhorns. Oklahoma travels to Manhattan next week to take on the Kansas State Wildcats.
|
||||
9. |
|
310 | 11 | |
| The Hurricanes were able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat with a late game-winning drive against Georgia Tech. Sitting at 5-0, Miami now finds themselves at the top of the ACC and will look to carry that momentum as they face a confident Syracuse coming off an upset of Clemson..
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10. |
|
269 | 13 | |
|
Sam Darnold led three scoring drives in the second half to propel the Trojans to a 28-27 come-from-behind win over Utah. The Utes played for the win by going for a two-point conversion after scoring a touchdown with 42 seconds left in the game but were stopped one yard short of the end zone. |
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11. |
|
259 | 5 | |
| The Huskies laid an egg in Tempe, losing to 2-3 Arizona State. Washington gets the week off to regroup before welcoming UCLA in two weeks. CFP hopes aren’t dead, but they just made it much harder.
|
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12. |
|
243 | 15 | |
| The Cowboys got back to their offensive dominance this week against winless Baylor. While not out of the race yet, the Pokes have no room for error in the second half of the season.
|
||||
13. |
|
208 | 16 | |
| In a reversal of normality, the Irish are quietly moving up the rankings. They have a quality win against Michigan State and maybe the best loss in the Top 25 against Georgia. Next week against USC will settle a lot of the questions.
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14. |
|
198 | 14 | |
| The Wolverines survived a scare against Indiana. This team needs to find an offense, fast. It can’t live off its defense alone against Penn State or Ohio State, later in the season.
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15. |
|
179 | 17 | |
| Not only were the Hokies off this week to avoid the chaos surrounding the Top 25, but they took advantage of the turmoil to move up two spots in our rankings.
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16. |
|
171 | 18 | |
| Another dominant but quiet win for the Bulls. USF continues to rise up the ranks as they keep their stranglehold on the American conference. With Navy and San Diego State losing, the Bulls’ path to a NY6 Bowl is clear.
|
||||
17. |
|
167 | 8 | |
| A Friday night road game in Berkeley turned into a nightmare for Luke Falk and the Cougars. It doesn’t matter who you are — seven turnovers will doom even the best of teams.
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18. |
|
166 | 20 | |
| The season-opening loss to South Carolina notwithstanding, the Wolfpack are living up to their preseason status as a surprise team. Can the Wolfpack challenge for a divisional title?
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||||
19. |
|
138 | 10 | |
| The Tigers regressed after three weeks of progress on offense. Auburn blew a 20-point lead in Baton Rouge to an LSU team coming off a loss to Troy. Consistency, not talent, is what’s missing from this team.
|
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20. |
|
118 | 23 | |
| Michigan State is another under-the-radar team that has a pretty strong resume at this point of the season. They still have Penn State and Ohio State on the schedule, so don’t expect them to stay stagnant in the rankings.
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21. |
|
107 | 21 | |
| The Knights are putting points up in large numbers. A match-up against USF could determine the Group-of-5 representative in to the New Year’s Six Bowl. Is it too early to start thinking about Tempe or Atlanta?
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22. |
|
103 | 22 | |
| The Cardinal clobbered Pac-12 North rival Oregon and gets a much needed bye week, if only for Heisman hopeful Bryce Love’s sprained ankle to heal.
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23. (T) |
|
34 | NR | |
| Orgeron lives. After an ugly loss to Troy of the Sun Belt Conference, the Tigers bounced back with an impressive come-from-behind win against Auburn. Can LSU salvage what’s left of 2017, or was Saturday a last gasp of life?
|
||||
23. (T) |
|
34 | NR | |
| Will Grier led the Mountaineers on a historic come-from-behind win against a ranked Texas Tech team. West Virginia continues to show that they can play with some of the top teams in the nation. They could have a major impact on the Big 12 championship race.
|
||||
25. |
|
19 | NR | |
| The Aggies got their first win in the state of Florida in 100 years on a last minute field goal. Texas A&M sneaks back into the Top 25 after an opening season melt-down to UCLA and playing Alabama tougher than anyone else has. | ||||
ALABAMA (7-0) (18)
CLEMSON (6-1)
OKLAHOMA (5-1)
USC (6-1)
OKLAHOMA STATE (5-1)
MICHIGAN (4-1)
AUBURN (5-2)
MICHIGAN STATE (5-1)
UCF (5-0)
STANFORD (5-2)
LSU (5-2)
WEST VIRGINIA (4-2)
TEXAS A&M (5-2)
Others Receiving Votes: Virginia (17), Boise State (14), South Carolina (13), San Diego State (13), Navy (7), Kentucky (7), Memphis (4), Utah (3).
Looking Ahead
We haven’t had a weekend go to script yet this season. Will Week 8 be our first snoozer? Unlikely — there are rarely quiet weekends in college football. That’s why we love it so much.
About the Poll: Eighteen LWOCFB writers rank the Top 25 teams across the nation weekly to determine the best teams from around the country.
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