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College Football Rankings 2016: Projected Top 25 after Week 9

By Rob Wolkenbrod

Oct 15, 2016; Akron, OH, USA; Western Michigan Broncos wide receiver Corey Davis (84) tosses the ball after scoring a touchdown during the third quarter against the Akron Zips at InfoCision Stadium. Western Michigan Broncos won 41-0. Mandatory Credit: Jason Mowry-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 15, 2016; Akron, OH, USA; Western Michigan Broncos wide receiver Corey Davis (84) tosses the ball after scoring a touchdown during the third quarter against the Akron Zips at InfoCision Stadium. Western Michigan Broncos won 41-0. Mandatory Credit: Jason Mowry-USA TODAY Sports /
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How could the upcoming college football rankings look after Week 9?

The 2016 college football season is about three-quarters of the way through already. The season has seen plenty of teams stake their claim for the College Football Playoff with the first official rankings coming out before Week 10 gets underway.

As for Week 9, a handful of upsets happened, including West Virginia and Baylor both going down. They were the last of the Big 12’s unbeaten schools so how will this affect their standing in the ranking?

Before the College Football Playoff rankings come out, here is how everything could shape up after Baylor, West Virginia, and others went down.

  1. Alabama – The Crimson Tide were idle in Week 9, but that won’t affect their top spot. Their next game is against LSU on Saturday, November 5.
  2. Michigan – After beating Michigan State, the Wolverines should keep the No. 2 position in the rankings. They probably will remain here until the November clash with Ohio State.
  3. Clemson – Beating Louisville and now Florida State makes the Tigers one of the nation’s toughest teams.
  4. Washington – In their toughest game of the season, Washington went on the road and beat Utah. It has to mean something to cement them as a top team.
  5. Louisville – They barely knocked off Virginia but Louisville still remains one of college football’s best teams.
  6. Texas A&M – Losing to Alabama hurt, but the Aggies came back and thrashed New Mexico State.
  7. Ohio State – The loss to Penn State hurts and going down to Northwestern could have stung more. They remain in the top 10, though, with Nebraska lingering.
  8. Wisconsin – Beating Nebraska could make Wisconsin the only top 10 team with two losses.
  9. Nebraska – They had seven perfect weeks, which the Badgers ended on Saturday night. This shouldn’t cause a large drop in the ranking.
  10. Florida – The Gators beat Georgia and saw five teams ahead of them lose, so they’re moving up.
  11. Auburn – Don’t look now, but Gus Malzahn has quietly led the Tigers to a 5-2 record. A convincing win over Ole Miss places them just outside the top 10.
  12. Oklahoma – The Sooners are red-hot and should move up after starting the year 1-2. They will also benefit from so many ranked teams losing.
  13. Baylor – The Bears lost to an average Texas team after staying unbeaten for seven weeks. No. 13 isn’t a bad spot, but they will have a difficult time climbing the rankings for the rest of the year.
  14. West Virginia – The Mountaineers had been riding high until Oklahoma State routed them.
  15. LSU – Remember when LSU started 2-2 and fired Les Miles? They haven’t lost since.
  16. Penn State – James Franklin has this team rolling and they should benefit from all the chaos after this week’s slate of games.
  17. Florida State – A loss to Clemson makes them 5-3, but they still remain in the top 25.
  18. Western Michigan – Western Michigan is sneaking up on everyone should get a top 20 spot in the polls despite not playing on Saturday.
  19. North Carolina – UNC stayed idle this weekend, but should be able to move up, similar to teams above them.
  20. Boise State – The loss to Wymong will hurt the Broncos and end their chances of getting into a marquee bowl game.
  21. Virginia Tech – The Hokies beating Pittsburgh should move them up a few spots.
  22. Oklahoma State – The Cowboys knocked off Baylor and will likely be ranked again.
  23. Utah – Losing to Washington hurts, but going down to a top team will not move them down too much.
  24. Colorado – Colorado stayed idle this past week.
  25. Tennessee – Remember when Tennessee kept coming from behind to win games and stay undefeated? Yeah, they are not doing that anymore.

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The college football season is starting to wind down, so the upcoming ranking will mean everything to these teams. It should make for a few wild final weeks.

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