1) Mississippi Rebels (5-0, 3-0, +504) - Last year, the SEC got 3 teams into the 12-team playoff (Georgia, Texas, and Tennessee). That is probably the bare minimum that the conference will get this year, and it could be as many as 6. But who will it be? Any team that finishes 10-2 or better will probably be considered as a de facto auto bid, but is it possible that one or more 9-3 teams could make the field? There are ten teams with 1 or 0 conference losses at the moment, with Mississippi leading as the only 3-0 team. They still have upcoming trips to Georgia and to Oklahoma, but it’s possible that the Rebels could drop BOTH of those games and still make the playoffs.
Mississippi had a bye week this week. Next week they host Washington State. It would be funny if they lost that.
2) Texas A&M Aggies (5-0, 2-0, +437) - The Texas A&M Aggies had been living dangerously, with a 1-point win over Notre Dame and a 6-point win over Auburn. They righted their ship in a 31-9 win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs, running away in a game that was close at only 7-3 at halftime. Texas A&M is now co-leaders, along with Mississippi, atop the SEC, but, to be honest, I don’t trust either one of them. Maybe I’m reading too much into the brand names, the names on the front of the jerseys. The Aggies have six more SEC opponents, and none of them are Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, or Oklahoma.
3) Miami (FL) Hurricanes (5-0, 1-0, +426) - Miami rushed out to a 28-3 lead against the Florida State Seminoles on Friday before they took their foot off the gas, letting FSU get back into the game, before finally holding on for the 28-22 win. The Hurricanes were once again led by their elite defense. Florida State was eventually able to total 404 yards of total offense, but more than half of that came in the fourth quarter, when they were trying to stage a massive quarterback. Despite some serious game management concerns, Miami should be considered the ACC favorites for now, and they don’t play another AP ranked team for the rest of the season.
4) Ohio State (5-0, 2-0, +408)
5) Alabama Crimson Tide (4-1, 2-0, +356) - Reports of Alabama’s demise have definitely been pre, once again. The Crimson Tide outlasted the Vanderbilt Commodores 30-14 on Saturday, and have re-emerged as an SEC powerhouse even after their opening season loss to Florida State. I still have some major concerns about the Tide, especially their offensive line, which allowed four sacks and six tackles for loss against Vanderbilt. However, their defense seems up to the task, as they forced three turnovers, and held Vanderbilt scoreless in the second half. Alabama remains undefeated in SEC play, so they theoretically could take another loss and still make the conference championship game.
6) Oklahoma Sooners (5-0, 1-0, +319) - After their 44-0 win over the Kent State Golden Flashes, the Oklahoma Twitter account started tweeting out team stats, including receiver Isaiah Sategna III having 97 punt return yards, the most by any Sooner since 2012. Against Kent State. In my opinion, the Sooners should lose scholarships for this. They play some team called Texas next week.
7) Texas Tech Red Raiders (5-0, 2-0, +319) - My opinion so far this season has been that the Big 12 has a lot of good teams in it, but no really elite teams. That opinion may be starting to change. The Red Raiders defeated the Houston Cougars 35-11 in Houston, their second consecutive 24-point road win over a previously undefeated Big 12 opponent. Houston had been averaging 29 points per game, so Tech’s ability to relatively shut them down is impressive. The Red Raiders still have some significant challenges ahead, including a trip to Tempe in two weeks to play the Arizona State Sun Devils, but I’m considering them to be the best Big 12 team for now.
8) Georgia Tech (5-0, 2-0, +315)
9) Iowa State (5-1, 2-1, +291)
10) Vanderbilt Commodores (5-1, 2-1, +282) - Despite their loss to Alabama, the Vanderbilt Commodores are still a very good football team who will continue to have an impact on the SEC title race. Quarterback Diego Pavia had maybe the worst game of his career against the Crimson Tide, going 21/35 for 198 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception, and one costly fumble in the red zone. To add insult to injury, Pavia got into a verbal altercation with an Alabama fan after the game, telling the fan “I do whatever the fuck I want.” Add this to the file of “Fans Behaving Badly.”
11) Duke Blue Devils (4-2, 3-0, +279) - I don’t know what to make of the Duke Blue Devils. They’re 3-0 in the ACC, with quality wins against (62) North Carolina State, (61) Syracuse, and (50) Cal. Their two losses are to (22) Tulane and (23) Illinois. It’s that “No Scrubs” schedule that has them ranked this highly, excepting FCS Elon. Could Duke make a run at the ACC championship? I mean, yeah, in the sense that really anyone could. A big showdown against undefeated Georgia Tech awaits them next week.
Meanwhile, another complete fucking mystery are the California Golden Bears. They have shown big improvement this season by reaching 4-2, but to be fair, two of their wins are against probably the two worst Power teams, Boston College and Oregon State. (Yes, I’m still counting Oregon State.) Cal also could make a run in the ACC, and they should be favored in their next two games against North Carolina and Virginia Tech.
12) Virginia (5-1, 3-0, +277)
13) Arizona State (4-1, 2-0, +274)
14) Indiana (5-0, 2-0, +261)
15) Cincinnati (4-1, 2-0, +254)
16) LSU (4-1, 1-1, +237)
17) Memphis (6-0, 2-0, +229)
18) Oregon (5-0, 2-0, +227)
19) Missouri (5-0, 1-0, +224)
20) Washington (4-1, 1-1, +209)
21) TCU (4-1, 1-1, +203)
22) Tulane (4-1, 1-0, +201)
23) Illinois (5-1, 2-1, +201)
24) BYU Cougars (5-0, 2-0, +200) - Brigham Young started the season not considered a contender in the Big 12 Conference, but BYU coach Kalani Sitake has done miracles with a roster that is mostly rebuilding. They mostly dominated a (bad) West Virginia team on Friday night, winning 38-24 despite committing three turnovers, including one particularly egregious fumble that set up West Virginia with a first and goal right before halftime.
Meanwhile, the Big 12 has fined the University of Colorado $50,000 for their fans' inappropriate behavior towards BYU players last week. According to Newsweek, the conference “publicly reprimanded the university (of Colorado) for a derogatory chant directed at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints by Buffaloes fans during the BYU game.” It will be interesting to keep tabs on this story, both for instances of fans behaving badly, and for any continued anti-LDS sentiments in college football.
25) Houston (4-1, 1-1, +199)
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