With what all happened in Week 8, Joel Klatt had an all-new Top-10 earlier this morning.
Only two teams remained in their same standing as last week with most of the top-five and top-ten being now different, if even just by a spot or two. That includes two new teams, one being back and another appearing for the first time, in the ranking. That naturally led to two exiting the rating, including one very notable one.
With that, the Big Ten and SEC make up eight of the ten slots with the remaining two going to the ACC. When including the five honorable mentions, the Southeastern Conference takes that lead with six in total along with one independent and two more from the Big 12.
Here’s how Klatt rated the top teams in college football after the results of this last week:
Due to a loss in a top-five matchup in Austin, the Oregon Ducks took the No. 1 spot this week after moving up to No. 2 last week. They were also the No. 1 team in the AP Poll, Coaches Poll, and several other projections and rankings nationwide for the regular season as well as the College Football Playoff.
After their one-point, highly-rated win the week prior, Oregon winning in a 35-0 shutout over Purdue on Friday might have been lost after yesterday. Still, the Ducks are now at 7-0 and in a tie for first place in their debut season in the Big Ten.
Speaking of that top-five game on The 40 Acres, Georgia is back up as high as No. 2 after their 30-15 victory over Texas.
In a meeting between two of the best in the SEC, the ‘Dawgs reasserted their dominance with a 23-0 start as they allowed just 259 yards, including only 29 rushing, and won the turnover battle by forcing four. That kept their postseason plans alive both for the conference title and for the playoff.
Ohio State didn’t move at all with them on bye this week.
The Buckeyes lost their first true challenge of this season with that one-point loss in the final second in Eugene. Their remaining schedule will now feature several quality opponents in their conference like Nebraska this week, Penn State, Indiana, and then Michigan in The Game.
Penn State was also idle this week but went up a spot to No. 4 for Klatt.
The Nittany Lions are one of the remaining undefeated teams this season, including wins over Illinois and then their latest one at USC. They’ll now return this week with two key matchups at Wisconsin before the highlighted one when they’ll host those previously mentioned Buckeyes in Happy Valley.
Texas took one of the bigger tumbles this week as they went from the top spot to taking the final spot of the top-five.
The Longhorns are more than alright with what they did for themselves in the first half of the fall. The second half, though, started with the shot they just took ahead of some decent opponents down the stretch, especially with the loss now currently impacting their chances of being in the SEC Championship.
With their win streak continuing to six straight, LSU stepped up two spots to No. 6 for Klatt.
Maybe openers just aren’t the Tigers thing? After a third-straight loss to start under Brian Kelly, they’ve had their best start yet in his tenure now at 6-1, including their 34-10 win yesterday at Arkansas. However, we’ll really know how good they are and if they’re headed for another ten-win finish over their final five, which starts specifically with the next two at Texas A&M and against Alabama.
Another team who lost their opener and has had success ever since is the Clemson Tigers. With that said, they’re actually down a spot this week in the ratings by Klatt.
Still, despite that loss, he has them rated higher than another noteworthy team in the ACC. Much of that has to do with their offensive improvement as they’ve posted 48.5 points in their six games since, which has led to an average margin of victory of 27.3 points with five being against conference competition.
The Third Saturday in October has been good as of late to the Volunteers, especially when they’ve hosted it on Rocky Top.
Tennessee won at 24-17 over Alabama for their second straight win over the Crimson Tide and a second straight field-storming when the rivalry game has been in Knoxville. That got the Vols back vying in this season and back into the Top-10 for Klatt.
How about the Hoosiers? Indiana hopped into Top-10 for Klatt after he called their 56-7 blowout win over Nebraska this weekend in Bloomington.
IU is off to one of the best starts in school history as they have yet to trail this season through seven wins behind the nation’s top offense that’s posting an average of 48.7 ppg.. That has them in legitimate contention both for the Big Ten and for a potential berth in the CFP.
Despite still being undefeated this season, Miami is at No. 10 still, including being second to a one-loss team in their league, for Klatt.
Still, while that’s accurate, the last three weeks have become an issue for The ‘U. The Hurricanes have been living on the edge in their last three with one-score outcomes or less against Virginia Tech, California, and Louisville. That, although having an easier schedule, has them needing to be much less risk-averse over their final five from here.
Honorable Mentions
Alabama Crimson Tide
Texas A&M Aggies
Iowa State Cyclones
BYU Cougars
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
