2018 College Football Power Rankings Week 7

Three top-ten losses made it a crazy first weekend of October for college football, and there’s a lot of uncertainty in the power rankings behind the top four teams.

 

1. Alabama (6-0) | Last week: 1

Alabama has simply been on another level from everyone they’ve played to this point, and their 31 points allowed to Arkansas was the most they’ve allowed through six games. The Crimson Tide have 45+ points in each of those games, as the offense is first in scoring and fifth in yardage. Missouri shouldn’t be an issue this weekend.

 

2. Georgia (6-0) | Last week: 2

Georgia hasn’t been quite as dominant as Alabama, but they’re right in that mold. Kirby Smart’s squad takes care of business every week, and Jake Fromm continues to play great at quarterback for the Bulldogs. Georgia is fifth in scoring defense (tied with Alabama) and sixth in total defense (ahead of Alabama).

 

3. Ohio State (6-0) | Last week: 3

Indiana made it a bit of a game into the second half, but as they’ve done over the years, Ohio State turned it on and separated at the end of the game. As it stands now, the Buckeyes have five straight unranked games before ending the regular season against Michigan.

 

4. Clemson (6-0) | Last week: 4

It was good to see Trevor Lawrence back in action after he left the previous weekend’s game against Syracuse, and the freshman quarterback went a cool 20-for-25 with a couple of touchdowns in Saturday’s 63-3 win against Wake Forest. After an off week, they’ll have a huge ACC matchup against fellow undefeated NC State.

 

5. Notre Dame (6-0) | Last week: 8 (+3)

A night matchup in Blacksburg was probably Notre Dame’s toughest remaining test of the season, and they pulled away in the second half to remain undefeated. It’ll be interesting to see where Notre Dame is ranked in the first College Football Playoff ranking released in a few weeks, as they should be heavy favorites in their games from here on out.

 

6. Penn State (4-1) | Last week: 9 (+3)

Penn State had an off week, and now they’ll head to East Lansing to face a Michigan State team coming off a loss. With losses by Oklahoma, Auburn, and LSU, the Nittany Lions are in a better position despite not playing a game on Saturday.

 

7. Washington (5-1) | Last week: 10 (+3)

UCLA put up a fight, but Washington survived to improve to 5-1. Senior quarterback Jake Browning displayed his experience by making enough plays to help the Huskies get the win, and he’ll need to have another good game this Saturday afternoon against the Ducks in Eugene.

 

8. West Virginia (5-0) | Last week: NR

After the Sooners’ loss, West Virginia is now the highest-ranked team in the Big 12. Not that their games were easy, but the Mountaineers have their toughest games toward the end of the season, and this Saturday’s game at Iowa State is one to keep an eye on.

 

9. Texas (5-1) | Last week: NR

Texas won the Red River Showdown, which vaults them up into the top ten. They’ve been a different team since their opening game loss to Maryland, and they only have on remaining ranked game (at home against West Virginia) left on the regular season schedule.

 

10. LSU (5-1) | Last week: 5 (-5)

The final spot in the top ten could’ve gone to several teams including Florida, UCF, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Oklahoma; but LSU gets the nod despite their loss on the day of Tim Tebow’s Ring of Honor induction. It was a tough environment for the Tigers, and they’ll have opportunities to bounce back—including this weekend at home against No. 2 Georgia.