Last Word on College Football
Top 25 Week 12
Week 12 saw little shake up at the top of the polls. The highest ranked team from our Week 11 poll to lose was 12th-ranked Oklahoma State. And only two other teams from our Week 11 poll lost, 19th-ranked Michigan and 24th-ranked North Carolina State.
But fear not; in the era of resumes, even movement at the bottom of the polls can affect teams at the top. Quality of wins, quality of losses, and strengths of schedule all way heavily in the minds of our voters. And voters see things differently from week-to-week, as evidenced by Miami jumping Clemson in this week’s poll. That’s only a change of two points in one week — that’s how close things are at the second and third spots in our poll.
How much did a relatively quite weekend shake up our weekly poll of writers?
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LAST WORD ON COLLEGE FOOTBALL TOP 25
WEEK 12
| Rank
|
Team |
Points
|
Previous
|
|
1. |
|
449 | 1 | |
| Alabama covered half-a-hundred spread against out-matched Mercer. It was simple a prelude to next week’s Iron Bowl game against Auburn. The SEC West title and a trip to the SEC Championship Game is on the line.
|
||||
2. |
|
421 | 3 | |
| It appeared that the Hurricanes were hung over from last week’s victory. However, big plays on defense helped the Canes to rally after a sluggish first half to keep the win streak and their playoff chances alive.
|
||||
3. |
|
420 | 2 | |
| Clemson beat down The Citadel 61-3. The Tigers 10+ win seasons streak is now at seven. Up next is a trip to Columbia to take on the 25th-ranked Gamecocks. It’ll be another chance to pad their CFP resume.
|
||||
4. |
|
398 | 4 | |
| The Sooners clinched a spot in the Big 12 championship game with a 41-3 victory over Kansas. Oklahoma returns home for the regular season finale against West Virginia on Saturday.
|
||||
5. |
|
381 | 5 | |
|
The Wisconsin defense, led by T.J. Edwards & Ryan Connelly, suffocated Michigan. QB Alex Hornibrook made plays when needed, dispatched a tough Michigan squad, and delivered a blow to a few of its playoff doubters.
|
||||
6. |
|
353 | 6 | |
| Auburn got going in the second half and dispatched Louisiana-Monroe. The Tigers host top-ranked Alabama this week, with the SEC West title on the line. Auburn still looks to own its own destiny in the CFP hunt.
|
||||
7. |
|
345 | 7 | |
| The Bulldogs bounced back from their first loss of the season by defeating Kentucky 42-13. In their final home game Nick Chubb & Sony Michel combined to rush for 238 yards. They finish the regular season at Georgia Tech.
|
||||
8. |
|
313 | 8 | |
| The up-and-down season continues for the Buckeyes. They manhandled Illinios on Saturday. Coupled with Michigan’s loss to Wisconsin, the Buckeyes clinched the Big Ten East title. They travel to the Big House this Saturday.
|
||||
9. |
|
287 | 9 | |
| In one of the most respectful rivalries in sport, the Irish survived a game test from Navy on Saturday afternoon. Notre Dame travels to Stanford this weekend with a likely New Year’s Six bid on the line.
|
||||
10. |
|
274 | 11 | |
|
The Nittany Lions survived a trip to Lincoln in a game where the two teams scored 100 total points. That’s a long way from the Blackshirts and LaVar Arrington days. It’s representative of what football has become. |
||||
11. (T) |
|
266 | 10 | |
| TCU took down Texas Tech 27-3 with the help of a true freshman QB Shawn Robinson. The Frogs defense dominated from start to finish. TCU plays host to Baylor on Saturday.
|
||||
11. (T) |
|
266 | 14 | |
| Rumors are starting to swirl around head coach Scott Frost. Can the Knights stay focused as they host USF in Orlando with the American Athletic East Championship, and a likely New Year’s Six bid, on the line?
|
||||
13. |
|
249 | 12 | |
| Th Trojans made very few mistakes and thus were able to hold off UCLA 28-23 at the Coliseum Saturday night. The Trojans have already clinched the Pac-12 South and now have their first week off of the season while they await the conference championship game the first Saturday in December.
|
||||
14. |
|
221 | 15 | |
| The Cougars were off this week to get ready for Washington and the Apple Cup this weekend. A win puts Mike Leach’s squad in the Pac-12 Championship Game and a rematch with USC.
|
||||
15. |
|
178 | 16 | |
| Washington won a thriller over a game Utah team playing to gain bowl eligibility. Next up for the Huskies is the Apple Cup, where they’ll try to play spoiler to keep Wazzu from winning the Pac-12 North.
|
||||
16. |
|
148 | 20 | |
| The Cardinal ground out its eighth consecutive Big Game win over Cal. Bryce Love punched his ticket to NYC, and Stanford will root hard for UW in the Apple Cup next weekend.
|
||||
17. |
|
141 | 17 | |
| The Bulldogs overcame a 14-point deficit against Arkansas to stay in the rankings. Ole Miss has found their offensive stride, so this weekend’s Egg Bowl promises to be another chance for a great game.
|
||||
18. |
|
140 | 18 | |
| Memphis clinched a spot opposite of the USF-UCF winner in the American Athletic Conference championship game with a win over SMU. The two teams scored 111 points total in Memphis’ division-clinching win.
|
||||
19. |
|
117 | 21 | |
| The Spartans returned to winning ways against Maryland, 17-7 on a rain-soaked senior day. Next week, the Spartans travel to Piscataway, NJ to take on Rutgers and look to flip the script from 3-9 to 9-3.
|
||||
20. |
|
109 | 25 | |
| Northwestern played a complete game in a 39-0 rout of preseason darkhorse Minnesota. Sitting at 8-3, with losses to two top ten teams, Northwestern is setting itself up for another sunny New Year’s Day.
|
||||
21. |
|
102 | 22 | |
| The Tigers weathered the storm, literally and figuratively, in Knoxville and defeated Tennessee 30-10. LSU’s running game was the difference as Derrius Guice and Darrel Williams combined for 165 yards and three touchdowns.
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||||
22. |
|
85 | 23 | |
| The Bulls get the win coming off the bye week. Their upcoming matchup against the rival Knights of UCF will determine bragging rights as well as the American East division crown.
|
||||
23. |
|
82 | 12 | |
| The Cowboys dropped a disappointing loss to Kansas State on Saturday. Yet again, a promising start with CFP hopes have been dashed late in the season. You’ve got to wonder why the Pokes can’t get some defense in Stillwater.
|
||||
24. |
|
44 | NR | |
| Boise State makes their first appearance in the Top 25 this season. After a 2-2 start, the Broncos have reeled off seven straight wins, including wins against BYU and San Diego State.
|
||||
25. |
|
25 | NR | |
| The Gamecocks enter our poll for the first time after a win against Wofford. Coupled with Kentucky’s loss to Georgia, South Carolina locks up second place in the SEC East. But with Clemson this weekend, how long will it last? | ||||
ALABAMA (11-0) (17)
UCF (10-0)
NORTHWESTERN (8-3)
BOISE STATE (9-2)
SOUTH CAROLINA (8-3)
Others Receiving Votes: Virginia Tech (17), Arizona (6), North Carolina State (4), San Diego State (4), Iowa State (2), Louisville (2), Toledo (1),
Looking Ahead
Thanksgiving week is upon us. That means Turkey and Football. And with the football, it often means rivalry week. There are some big games that will go a long way to shaping the top of the rankings.
Alabama travels to The Plains to take on Auburn in a game that will determine the SEC West Champion. Ohio State makes a trip to the Big House to take on Michigan and keep their slim playoff chances alive. In a season of disappointments, Michigan would like nothing more than to ruin Ohio State’s CFP hopes. With the Pac-12 North title on the line, Washington State travels to Seattle to take on Washington in the Apple Cup. A loss there puts Stanford in the Pac-12 title game opposite of USC. Meanwhile, the Cardinal are hosting Notre Dame; the Irish looking to keep their top ten ranking resume in tact for a possible New Year’s Six Bowl.
It promises to be a weekend to be very thankful for.
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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