Where do teams stand after a classic in the Red River Rivalry and a top-ten team escaping Pac-12 After Dark with a victory?
1. Georgia Bulldogs (6-0) | Last week: 1
Coming off a tight win at Auburn the previous week, Georgia looked more like the dominant back-to-back national champions in their 51-13 home win versus Kentucky, outgaining the ranked Wildcats 608-183. Carson Beck threw touchdowns to four different players, and the Bulldogs defense put a ton of pressure on Devin Leary.
2. Michigan Wolverines (6-0) | Last week: 2
Michigan started their rout at Minnesota with a pick-six by Will Johnson, and Jim Harbaugh looks like he’s having a ton of fun with his squad:
Jim Harbaugh joins the celebration after the pick six! @UMichFootball | #BigTenSaturdayNight pic.twitter.com/o44sLZo8NA
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) October 7, 2023
As an all-around team, Michigan has been right there with Georgia over the first several weeks.
3. Oklahoma Sooners (6-0) | Last week: NR
The Sooners have a winning combination rolling right now, with the defense showing improvement in Year 2 under Brent Venables to pair with experienced quarterback Dillon Gabriel leading the offense. Gabriel was perfect on the game-winning Red River Rivalry drive capped by a three-yard touchdown to Nic Anderson with 15 seconds remaining, and it feels right to have both OU and Texas good again.
4. Florida State Seminoles (5-0) | Last week: 4
Emerging from a bye week, Florida State came back strong with 22 first-quarter points in their eventual 39-17 home victory against Virginia Tech. The Seminoles defense held the Hokies to 2/13 on third downs. Penalties (12 for 99 yards) are something Mike Norvell knows his team must still get sorted out.
5. Ohio State Buckeyes (5-0) | Last week: 5
Maryland jumped out to a lead at Columbus and played Ohio State tough for most of the game, but the Buckeyes separated with a 17-0 fourth quarter to improve to 5-0. Kyle McCord threw for 320 yards and two touchdowns, and he connected with Marvin Harrison Jr. eight times for 163 yards and a score.
6. Penn State Nittany Lions (5-0) | Last week: 6
Penn State is obviously a big favorite over UMass this Saturday. They’ll look to play a clean game and build some momentum heading into the Ohio State matchup on October 21.
7. Oregon Ducks (5-0) | Last week: 7
Oregon had off last week, and it will be interesting to see what type of wrinkles both sides of the ball will have for the road matchup at Washington. Dan Lanning’s defense has allowed just 22 points the past three games, but the Huskies will be their biggest challenge yet.
8. Washington Huskies (5-0) | Last week: 9 (+1)
Washington is also coming off a bye, and both teams should bring their A games with an extra week to prepare for the critical conference showdown. With two elite quarterbacks leading great teams, it doesn’t get much better than this.
9. USC Trojans (6-0) | Last week: 8 (-1)
Caleb Williams threw on the cape in triple overtime to help USC survive at home versus Arizona—but there is obvious concern for a team with College Football Playoff and national championship hopes. The Trojans were outgained 506-365 in the win. The bottom line is they survived Pac-12 After Dark.
10. Texas Longhorns (5-1) | Last week: 3 (-7)
The loss to the Sooners was a tough one, but Texas can find themselves in a rematch—with a potential CFP berth on the line—in the Big 12 title game. That means taking care of business every week; there are no currently ranked opponents left on the Longhorns’ schedule, but we know that anything can happen particularly in conference play. Alabama drops out of the top ten after OU’s rise, but they are playing much better as of late.