Last Word on College Football
Top 25 Week 9
We’re down to five undefeated teams in major college football. Penn State, TCU, and USF all fell from the ranks of the undefeated this week. How will that affect the Last Word on College Football Top 25?
Even some of the remaining undefeated don’t impress our voters much. Wisconsin trails three one-loss teams, Miami comes in at ninth, and UCF, at 7-0, is even further at 13th. With the College Football Playoff committee’s first rankings coming out on Tuesday, here’s how our panel of 18 voters see the top teams in the nation after another exciting Saturday of college football.
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LAST WORD ON COLLEGE FOOTBALL TOP 25
WEEK 9
| Rank
|
Team
|
Points
|
Previous
|
|
1. |
|
448 | 1 | |
| The Tide were off this week. As if a team with this amount of depth and talent needs time off to get healthy. Alabama gets ready for the stretch run, including Mississippi State, LSU, Auburn, and the SEC Championship Game.
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2. |
|
432 | 3 | |
| The Bulldogs continued their march to an SEC East title with a 42-7 win over Florida. In handing the Gators their worst loss in the series in 35 years, Kirby Smart’s club is 8-0 for the first time since 2002. Up next the Bulldogs host South Carolina.
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3. |
|
391 | 6 | |
| The Buckeyes outlasted Penn State in an instant classic at the Horseshoe. With a chance to be a one-loss Big Ten Champion, this season is shaping up to look a lot like 2014.
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4. |
|
376 | 7 | |
| The Tigers defense smothered the Yellow Jackets 24-10. While Kelly Bryant was back in full force against Georgia Tech with 207 yards and two touchdowns. Next week the Tigers travel to NC State.
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5. |
|
370 | 13 | |
|
The Irish will likely see their name called on Tuesday, having the best loss of any of the one-loss teams in the rankings. Will their status as an Independent, and the loss of a 13th, Championship game hurt their cause?
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6. |
|
367 | 5 | |
| Playing in a weak division hurts the undefeated Badgers. Wisconsin still controls their own destiny to get the Playoffs, but they will have to handle their Big Ten West business and then go through the East champion in the conference championship game.
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7. |
|
346 | 2 | |
| A heartbreaking loss to Ohio State probably knocks the Nittany Lions out of the playoff hunt but stranger things have happened and a second straight NY6 bid still seems likely.
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8. |
|
334 | 8 | |
| The Sooners overcame another sluggish start to beat Texas Tech in convincing fashion, 49-27. Oklahoma will travel to Stillwater next week to take on Oklahoma State in the Bedlam game.
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9. |
|
314 | 9 | |
| Mark Richt‘s team continues to sneak by week in and week out. After narrowing escaping Georgia Tech last week, Miami barely survived against a woeful North Carolina team. How long can the ‘Canes keep up the Houdini act?
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10. |
|
274 | 4 | |
|
TCU fell to Iowa State 14-7. Kenny Hill was 12 for 25. TCU’s turnovers coupled with the Cyclones defense sealed the deal in Ames. Up next Texas makes the trip to Fort Worth. |
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11. |
|
271 | 11 | |
| The Huskies clobbered UCLA on Saturday. As they should have. Next up is an unpredictable Oregon squad at Husky Stadium.
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12. |
|
243 | 12 | |
| The Cowboys still have a chance to make a run at the Playoffs. With a potent offense, Oklahoma State has the potential to beat anyone. This is the team that benefits most from the resumption of the Big 12 Championship Game.
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13. |
|
229 | 21 | |
| The undefeated Golden Knights are the leader for the Group of Five NY6 bowl berth. With the shaky situation in Lincoln, UCF might keep their undefeated record longer than they keep their head coach.
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14. |
|
225 | 15 | |
| After a 24-3 win against Duke in a downpour at Lane Stadium, Virginia Tech travels to Miami to play for the ACC Coastal Division title, followed by a trip to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech. If Virginia Tech can win both, they will have quite a resumé heading into the ACC title game.
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15. |
|
191 | 19 | |
| The Tigers were on a bye week for the end of October, and will return to conference play next weekend against Texas A&M at noon.
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16. |
|
171 | NR | |
| Matt Campbell should be the unanimous Coach of the Year selection. Wins over Oklahoma and TCU have the fans in Ames thinking big things. Could Iowa State be playing in January?
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17. |
|
124 | 10 | |
| After a disaster in South Bend, USC bounced back nicely against Arizona State in Tempe. USC still leads the Pac-12 South, and can virtually lock-up the division title against Arizona next week. Harder said than done.
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18. |
|
121 | 22 | |
| The Cardinal played poorly but beat a game Oregon State team on Thursday night in Corvallis. They must play significantly better to get a win on the Palouse against Washington State next week.
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19. |
|
107 | 18 | |
| The Wolfpack went into South Bend and came back to earth a little bit. They get Clemson in two weeks after a bye. Will they fall to 0-2 against teams from South Carolina? Or make a big statement off the bye?
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20. (t) |
|
80 | NR | |
| The best team in Tennessee isn’t even from the SEC. The Tigers’ only loss is to an undefeated team, and has a nice win against Power 5 UCLA. Memphis has a chance to make some noise if UCF falters down the stretch.
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20. (t) |
|
107 | 17 | |
| As they have in recent years, the Cougars are sliding backwards late in the season. After a start that found them in our Top Ten, the Cougars have lost two of the last three. How long will the slide continue?
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22. |
|
76 | 23 | |
| LSU continues to hang around. They’ll have some chances to make some noise down the stretch against Alabama, Tennessee, and Texas A&M. Can Ed Orgeron survive a poor start and finish in the Top 25?
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23. |
|
68 | NR | |
| Khalil Tate is setting the world on fire. Arizona smoked Washington State Saturday night, 58-37, in the desert. They travel to Los Angeles for a game against USC that will likely determine the Pac-12 South Champ this weekend.
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24. |
|
58 | 16 | |
| Charlie Strong’s troopers suffered their first loss of the season against a resurgent Houston team. Quinten Flowers and the Bulls’ offense couldn’t quite out-play Ed Oliver and the Houston defense.
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25. |
|
53 | 20 | |
| Michigan State hangs on to a Top 25 spot after a triple-overtime loss against Northwestern. The Spartans now get Penn State and Ohio State in back-to-back weeks. This might be the last we see of Michigan State for the year. | ||||
ALABAMA (8-0) (17)
OKLAHOMA (7-1)
TCU (7-1)
OKLAHOMA STATE (7-1)
IOWA STATE (6-2)
MEMPHIS (7-1)
ARIZONA (6-2)
Others Receiving Votes: Mississippi State (52), Michigan (22), South Carolina (7), Kentucky (6), Toledo (5), West Virginia (1).
Looking Ahead
With the season starting the home stretch, the stakes begin to get bigger. Teams have invested an entire year to getting into and atop the charts. Next week is another chance to get closer to the goals — or lose it all. LSU and Alabama renew their modern rivalry. Virginia Tech and Miami will try to sort out the ACC Coastal picture. Arizona and USC will likely determine the Pac-12 South Championship. And Bedlam will reign as Oklahoma and Oklahoma State go at it.
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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