2018 College Football Power Rankings Week 6

Ohio State gets into the top-four of the college football power rankings after a huge win over Penn State in Happy Valley, and Notre Dame lands in the top-ten for the first time this year.

 

1. Alabama (5-0) | Last week: 1

Saturday’s win could have been a lot worse for Louisiana-Lafayette than 56-14, as Tua Tagovailoa went a quick 8-for-8 for 128 yards and two touchdowns. Jalen Hurts ended his redshirt eligibility, insuring the Crimson Tide have the best backup quarterback situation in the nation. Hurts deserves a ton of credit for the way he’s handled everything since last season’s National Championship Game, and he’s been an ultimate team player that’s foregoing an extra season of eligibility by sticking with his team this year.

 

2. Georgia (5-0) | Last week: 3 (+1)

Georgia again dominated at home against Tennessee, improving to 5-0. They’re simply a dominant team that shouldn’t have much trouble against Vanderbilt this weekend before heading to Baton Rouge in a couple of weekends. The Bulldogs are looking at five straight ranked SEC matchups after this Saturday.

 

3. Ohio State (5-0) | Last week: 5 (+2)

The Buckeyes were getting dominated by the Nittany Lions in a whiteout on Saturday night, but Urban Meyer’s squad stayed composed and staged an impressive comeback in one of the toughest environments in college football. The win puts them in the driver’s seat for a spot in the College Football Playoff.

 

4. Clemson (5-0) | Last week: 2 (-2)

Chase Brice did an excellent job stepping in for an injured Trevor Lawrence in a tight win against Syracuse, and Travis Etienne certainly helped with 203 yards and three touchdowns in the win. The team is without Kelly Bryant moving forward, so it was good that Brice was able to gain some experience and confidence in some critical game action. Hopefully Lawrence is feeling better soon and can remain on the field for the Tigers.

 

5. LSU (5-0) | Last week: 4 (-1)

LSU took care of business at home against Ole Miss, and now they’ll go on the road for a ranked matchup in “The Swamp” against Florida. They’ll have three home SEC matchups after this one—including a huge potential top-five matchup versus Georgia—but they obviously cannot look past this Saturday.

 

6. Oklahoma (5-0) | Last week: 7 (+1)

Through two seasons as Oklahoma’s head coach, Lincoln Riley has shown he’s not afraid to discipline his star players if he feels they should be disciplined, and Kyler Murray responded with seven touchdowns after missing one drive for the Sooners. This week, it’s the Red River Showdown with Texas, which shouldn’t be easy.

 

7. Auburn (4-1) | Last week: 9 (+2)

Auburn’s win over Southern Miss was probably closer than they would have liked, but the Tigers improved to 4-1. Auburn must get the running game on track to get to where they want to be at the end of the season. This weekend on the road against Mississippi State is a major challenge.

 

8. Notre Dame (5-0) | Last week: NR

The Fighting Irish probably benefited from a Stanford team coming off an emotional high from the week before in a comeback win in Euguene over the Ducks, but it was a convincing win in South Bend to remain undefeated. This Saturday’s primetime matchup at Virginia Tech might be their toughest remaining agme on the schedule.

 

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

Penn State controlled much of the game against Ohio State, but they couldn’t quite defend homefield in their first loss of the season. The loss was the first at home in Trace McSorley’s career, but McSorley did his part. The Nittany Lions still have a lot of big games in front of them and can work their way back into the Playoff conversation.

 

10. Washington (4-1) | Last week: 10

In a ranked matchup with an upset-minded BYU team, Washington was clearly the better team that night on their homefield. Jake Browning went 23-for-25 in the victory, and the running game did damage against the Cougars. Washington is a heavy favorite against a winless UCLA team this weekend.