Alabama has overtaken Clemson as the new No. 1 in the Week 6 AP Poll but should it be Ohio State as the No. 1? Let’s look at the winners and losers.
Well, that was fun! Clemson played a game best described as white dude blinking dot gif. The Pac 12 showed more depth than we thought at the beginning of the year. The ACC had a chance to dispel the notion that it is a one-team conference … and failed.
Over in the Big Ten, it’s looking more and more likely that Wisconsin and
the
Ohio State will meet in the Big Ten Championship. Penn State remains in the mix after drubbing a listing Maryland team that was ranked just two weeks ago. Sure, Ohio State hasn’t beaten a ranked opponent either, but they also haven’t stubbed their toes on a team like Pitt. Until Penn State proves it on a big stage, the East is Ohio State’s world and everyone else is just living in it.
Meanwhile, the state of Alabama proved to the better of the two states most easily confused on a map without rivers. Auburn routed a feisty Mississippi State and Alabama dropped 59 points on Ole Miss. Combined, Mississippi, the state, lost 115 to 54. That’s right. The combined state of Mississippi would have lost to either Alabama or Auburn. In the SEC East, the only team of consequence was off and the best team in Florida only looks competent against an FCS team or worse.
Here’s a look at the Week 6 AP Poll.
Week 6 AP Poll
- Alabama
- Clemson
- Georgia
- Ohio State
- LSU
- Oklahoma
- Auburn
- Wisconsin
- Notre Dame
- Florida
- Texas
- Penn State
- Oregon
- Iowa
- Washington
- Boise State
- Utah
- UCF
- Michigan
- Arizona State
- Oklahoma State
- Wake Forest
- Virginia
- Southern Methodist
- Texas A&M
Winners
No. 1 Alabama (previously No. 2) — Alabama has looked unstoppable on offense this year. This move honestly seems like it’s been a long time coming the way that they have been playing, and Clemson’s stumble at UNC cleared the way. It doesn’t really matter, as both the Tide and the Tigers should still be in the top two at the end of the season. Nevertheless, as long as Alabama looks like this, they will be tough to beat.
No. 20 Arizona State (previously unranked) — This one should come with an asterisk, as Cal lost their quarterback in the first half. Still, the Sun Devils went into Berkeley and came out with a win against a top 15 team. And the defense continues to look impressive.
No. 21 Oklahoma State (previously unranked) — The Pokes have been tiptoeing around the Top 25 for some time now. They looked very good in their loss to Texas and followed that performance up by dominating the freshly minted No. 24 Kansas State who made it interesting late. The bottom of the Big 12 is still a one-team race, but the middle of the pack is as interesting as ever.
No. 22 Wake Forest (previously unranked) — Wake Forest has quietly managed to go 5-0 and, despite beating two ACC teams, is now 1-0 in the ACC. This week they beat an increasingly one-dimensional Boston College in Chestnut Hill. Could they be the ACC squad that knocks off Clemson??? No. Well, after today’s performance, maybe. But no. Still, fans of the ACC, and Clemson for that matter, should hope that the Deacons run the table until they meet the Tigers in Death Valley mid-November
No. 24 Southern Methodist (previously unranked) — The Mustangs are undefeated, and quite frankly, the more Mike Leach disciples in the Top 25 the better. These offenses are a gift from the football gods. Seriously, SMU is out here putting up points like Alabama (through three quarters) with, um, SMU players. If anyone tells you they don’t like a Mike Leach offense, eject them from your orbit. You don’t need that kind of negativity in your life.
Losers
No. 2 Clemson (previously No. 1) — Paul Finebaum is certainly skipping around ESPN’s campus today. Clemson, despite being dominant in their first four games this year didn’t look impressive enough in their win against UNC to keep the voters on their side this week. Does it matter? Not really. If Clemson wins out the rest of the year, they will be in the top 4. Still, we want Alabama-Clemson IV! Step it up.
No. 23 Virginia (previously No. 18) — Was it a lot to ask of Virginia to go on the road and beat a Notre Dame team coming off a heart breaker? Yeah. Does Virginia need to win this game to level up? The biggest all-caps, shouting from the rooftops yeah. Notre Dame is a very good team this year, but far from perfect. If Virginia wants to be a big boy program, they need to beat big boy teams.
California (previously No. 15) — Justin Wilcox’s squad looked primed to make a run at the Pac 12 North, but after an injury to Chase Garbers (what a name), that may not happen. They have a leg up on Washington, but if Garbers can’t get healthy, this offense will continue to struggle as they did against Arizona State. The Bears travel to Oregon next week, and that spells trouble.
USC (previously No. 21) — It’s hard to win in Washington. It’s harder still to win when you’re on your third-string quarterback. One week after going beast mode on Utah, Matt Fink looked like a third-string quarterback playing on the road in his first start. The poor guy threw three picks as the Huskies rolled. Washington didn’t even need to unleash (big, big pun intended) Jacob Eason.
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