College football rankings 2022: Projected Week 7 AP Top 25 after Alabama barely escapes, Tennessee, Ohio State & Georgia cruise

Projected AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 6: No. 6-5

6. USC Trojans

Another week, another passed test for USC. The argument could be made that the Trojans were going up against the best opponent they’ve seen this season on Saturday night as they welcomed Washington State to the Coliseum and they absolutely stepped up to the plate and delivered a strong overall performance.

Against a dynamic player like Cameron Ward, the defense showed its moxie with a huge performance that really gives hope for the ceiling of the Trojans. And while Caleb Williams and the offense were far from perfect, they made enough plays to get the job done and secure a convincing win with the 30-14 win over the pesky Cougars. Now it’s time for another test as the Trojans will be on the road at Utah in Week 7.

5. Clemson Tigers

Dabo Swinney had to be preaching all week that the Clemson Tigers couldn’t fall asleep on their Saturday trip to Chestnut Hill, even if Boston College has been pretty bad this season. Even with that, it was a tough environment awaiting them and a team with plenty of talent at their disposal. Thus, it was a trap game that Clemson could very well lose if they fell into bad habits from their tough start to the season.

Though the Tigers didn’t come out firing on all cylinders, they found their groove, particularly on defense, and were able to pull ahead early in the second half and then never look back. Now comes the reason this was a trap game as Clemson has matchups against both Florida State and Syracuse directly ahead. If the Tigers are true CFP contenders again, they’ll show us as much over the next couple of games.