College football rankings 2023: Projected Week 7 AP Top 25 after Oklahoma stuns Texas, Georgia routs Kentucky
- Oklahoma turned the Horns Down in Texas' dream of perfect season
- Georgia, Michigan showed exceptionally dominant form
- Louisville ended all of Notre Dame's hopes, keep their own alive
Projected AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 6: No. 6-5
6. Penn State Nittany Lions
Penn State was off in Week 6 after going on the road to Northwestern last week and beating the brakes off of the lowly Wildcats. Through their 5-0 start to the season, the Nittany Lions have only played one game in which they won by fewer than 23 points (Week 3 at Illinois, a 30-13 victory).
We still haven’t seen a true breakout game from quarterback Drew Allar, but that actually should make Penn State seem even more dangerous. They’ve largely been winning games on the back of an elite defense and a stout, multi-faceted rushing attack. If Allar can continue to get more comfortable and make more plays late in the season, the Nittany Lions could legitimately be one of the best teams in college football and in line for a Top 4 Playoff spot.
They’ll face UMass next week before the massive clash in Columbus with Ohio State.
5. Florida State Seminoles
There was a moment right out of halftime when it seemed like Florida State might be heading into another hairy situation, this time shockingly against an ailing Virginia Tech team. The Hokies returned the opening kick of the second half 99 yards for a touchdown to cut the Seminoles lead to 22-17. From there, however, it was all about Trey Benson and FSU asserting their dominance.
Benson reeled off touchdown runs of 62 and 85 yards on Saturday afternoon in the second half, ending his day with 200 yards rushing and two scores on just 11 carries. Jordan Travis, meanwhile, was efficient in his 18-of-24 for 170 yards and two touchdowns on the night.
Florida State’s defense remains slightly concerning in terms of playoff or title potential. Having said that, the Noles are still extremely potent offensively and should be able to outscore almost anyone they play when they have everything clicking – which we actually may not have seen for more than a few quarters this season.