The Big Ten has taken a big step back this year as the ACC has been vastly improved, thanks in large part due to the inclusion of Notre Dame.
All five Power 5 conferences are playing games this weekend in major college football. Not since the bowl season have we had all five Power 5 conferences in action on the gridiron. With the triumphant return of the Pac-12, hopefully, the entire country is a bit more engaged in this thrilling college season. Going conference-only has led to so many exciting games, but it has made the College Football Playoff picture even more jumbled than normal. Here is to a great November.
College football conference power rankings through Week 9
Even though the Big 12 has four teams ranked inside of the latest AP Top 25, they are the only Power 5 conference we can safely cross off from getting a team into the College Football Playoff. Thanks to the Oklahoma State Cowboys falling at home to the Texas Longhorns, there are no undefeated teams left in the Big 12. Oklahoma State needed to go undefeated to get in.
While the Big 12 has a handful of quality teams besides Oklahoma State and Texas, including the Oklahoma Sooners and the Iowa State Cyclones, it does not have the benefit of the doubt anymore to get a team in. Every team but Oklahoma State has lost at least twice. Sadly, the winner of the Big 12 Championship game in Arlington will have to settle for a Cotton Bowl Classic invitation.
With the Pac-12 set to play ball for the first time this season this weekend, we will finally get to see what its top teams have to offer. Though the Pac-12 only has two ranked teams in the latest AP Poll, the Oregon Ducks are capable of making the playoff if they go undefeated. The only other team that has a semi-realistic shot of getting in is the other ranked team in the USC Trojans.
While the Pac-12 has a few other teams to keep an eye on, such as the Arizona State Sun Devils, the California Golden Bears and the Utah Utes, this really feels like a two-team race for conference supremacy. What the Pac-12 needs is for the Ducks and the Trojans to play fantastic out of the gate. If it happens or it happens for one of those teams, maybe they have a snowball’s chance?
The Big Ten is in a tough spot already only two weeks in. While they have four ranked teams, only one of them has a great shot of getting into the playoff. Fortunately for the Big Ten, that team is the juggernaut Ohio State Buckeyes, who may not lose a game all season. When your second-best team in the Wisconsin Badgers are dealing with a coronavirus outbreak, the league has problems.
The two other teams that find themselves in the latest AP Poll are the Indiana Hoosiers and the Michigan Wolverines. While Indiana is a surprising 2-0, Michigan is 1-1 after a bad loss to the Michigan State Spartans. Fate would have it the Hoosiers and the Wolverines play each other on Saturday for the right to be the second-best team in the Big Ten East after obviously Ohio State.
Despite having the best team in the country in the Clemson Tigers, they will be without their star quarterback Trevor Lawrence for a second consecutive week after testing positive for the coronavirus. His backup D.J. Uiagalelei played well vs. the Boston College Eagles last week at home. Looks like he will have to do it again vs. the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on the road.
Yes, this will be the featured game this week between the No. 1 and No. 4 teams in the land. No doubt the Tigers and the Irish are two of the very best
With four teams ranked inside of the top 10, the SEC holds onto its No. 1 overall ranking for yet another week. Though teams like the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Texas A&M Aggies will presumably stay in the top 10, the loser between the Florida Gators and the Georgia Bulldogs will drop into the teens with their second defeat of the season. The winner wins the SEC East in 2020.
Once you get past the top four teams in the SEC, things get a little dicey. Sure, the Auburn Tigers are 4-2 and cracking the top 25, but nobody outside of Auburn, Alabama thinks they are anything special this year. While cannibalization has impacted every Power 5 conference this year, it has not negatively impacted the SEC as badly as it has in other leagues. The SEC remains the top dog.
For the ACC to claim the top spot, Georgia and Texas A&M will need to lose and fall out of the top 10. Florida will move up, but that won’t be enough. What needs to happen is for Notre Dame to beat Clemson in South Bend. The Tigers won’t fall further than fourth, while the Irish would move up, probably to No. 2 behind only Alabama. As we’ve seen thus far, anything can happen this year.
Will the SEC be able to stay atop the conference power rankings through Week 10?
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