In my second rankings of the year, we don’t get a huge shake up in the top 10 outside of Wisconsin. The Badgers loss to Illinois is probably the worst a top 15 team is going to have this season. I think its pretty clear there’s only a few team that have a shot at the national championship. All in all I fell about the same this week as I did last week about most of these teams. You can read more in depth thoughts about most teams here. https://bellyupsports.com/2019/10/ncaaf-real-top-25-week-8/
1)LSU
LSU with a for real offense is the scariest thing I have ever seen in college football. Joe Burrow is a superstar, that’s surrounded by play makers and the defense is still filled with pro players and elite athletes. Freshman Derek Stingley Jr. is the best DB in the country. He absolutely shuts down one side of the field. The Tigers have Auburn this week and then the Crimson Tide after that. If they go 1-1 in those games and go undefeated the rest of the season, I think they’re in the playoffs.
2)Ohio State
Same thing different week with the Buckeyes. They beat everyone by 50. They’re making Big Ten opponents look like division three schools. They get Wisconsin this week in the Horseshoe, it should be the toughest test of the regular season for the Buckeyes. But who knows they might just be to big, too strong, too fast and too good for the Big Ten.
3)Oklahoma
The Sooners rolled West Virginia last week. They have Jalen Hurts, Ceedee Lamb and Charleston Rambo. This is a really good football team. Expect them to roll without any hiccups until a tough game against Baylor in week 12.
4)Alabama
Alabama probably shouldn’t be number four but the teams ahead of them have better wins. There ranking right now doesn’t matter. The week 10 game against LSU decides who the number one team in the country is.
5)Clemson
Clemson beat up on a pretty solid Louisville team last week. With all the talk about how Clemson doesn’t look great this, they’ve blown a lot of teams out. The Tigers are going to continually get better throughout the year. They lost a lot of high end talent to the NFL last year. If they start to gel and Lawrence gets rolling, I think they could be the third best team in the country still.
6)Penn State
I still don’t love this Penn State team but at the end of the day they’re undefeated with some pretty good wins. Including two pretty good wins in a row against Iowa and Michigan. I would still make them underdogs against any other team in the top 10, but who I am and what do I know.
7)Florida
I officially think Florida is better than Georgia. So I guess I think they could win a national championship? They’re not going to but I guess they could. They beat a pretty good Auburn team and lost to the number one team in the country. The only things that’s holding them back is Kyle Trask is an above average QB and there’s a lot of great quarterbacks in the top ten.
8)Baylor
Baylor just keeps winning. So far they have wins against Oklahoma State and Kansas State on the road and won a close one against Iowa State at home. To me its pretty clear that them Texas and Oklahoma are the class of the big 12. Baylor gets both of them later in the year. Giving them a chance to cement the fact they’re a top ten team.
9)Oregon
The Ducks jumped a few teams in my latest rankings. I know Washington might not be a great team this year, but they are a good football team with one of the best home field advantages in college football. I know Oregon lost to Auburn in the first week of the season but that doesn’t mean much to me anymore. I personally don’t think they were outplayed in that game but at the end of the day I have no problem with flipping Oregon and Auburn.
10)Auburn
Auburn travels to LSU this week. One of the main things I’m trying to figure out is how far do I drop Auburn next week. I really don’t count losses on the road to LSU as losses, so I guess we’ll see. In all seriousness this is a really good football team with a great defense. The only problem is that I think Florida’s defense is slightly better and LSU hung 42 on them. Auburn of course gets Alabama later in the season so the Tigers probably end up as the best three loss team in the country, congratulations?
11)Georgia
Georgia got away from Kentucky with an ugly win last week. They get a bye week before the game against Florida which is always nice. Especially since the game against Kentucky was played in bad conditions and was a hard fought old school football game. If Georgia can beat Auburn and Florida they’re right back into the playoff race.
12)Notre Dame
When the Fighting Irish beat Michigan this week it’s going to be looked at as a big win. I don’t know if it is but I do know Notre Dame is legit. Ian Book https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/ian-book-1.html is still the most underrated player in college football. I think Brian Kelly is a solid coach. After the SEC shakes itself out and Notre Dame runs the table, I see them finishing the season ranked about number seven.
13)Wisconsin
What a loss. https://bellyupsports.com/2019/10/illinois-fighitng-illini-skin-the-badgers/ Good teams lose heart breakers every year, people seem to forget that. The Badgers are still a good team with an elite offensive line and running back. They were never a true title contender anyway. After the tough loss this week they get The Ohio State Buckeyes, yikes.
14)Utah
I’ve been pretty tough on the Utes this year. For some reason they just don’t pass the eye test for me. The schedule the rest of the way is pretty soft but they do have to travel to Seattle to face the Huskies. Utah has a legit chance to be a one or two loss team this year.
15)Minnesota
I don’t know if I’m being disrespectful to Minnesota or not. They haven’t beaten anyone noteworthy and this week they get a disappointing Maryland team. Tanner Morgan is one of the most underrated players in the country. The Gophers QB has been playing lights out this year. Even if Minnesota wins this one expect them to be in the same spot next week.
16)SMU
SMU absolutely dominated a really good Temple team this week. The AAC is one of the deepest conferences in the country. I personally have three AAC teams in the top 25 and a couple knocking on the door. SMU may be the cream of the crop when it comes to group of five teams. No team in the country should want to play the Mustangs.
17)Appalachian State
Another group of five team with an elite QB. Personally these are my favorite teams to watch and write about. The back end of the Top 25 is filled with really interesting teams. Personally this is as low in I see Appalachian State getting in the top 25. I think all these group of five teams would be competitive in any conferences. Spend some more time watching these teams, they have some pretty good athletes and play entertaing styles of football.
18)Texas
Texas squeaked passed Kansas in 50-48 thriller. I know beating Kansas isn’t the greatest win in the world but any win this point is going to move the Longhorns up in the polls. The only job Texas has is to win out the rest of the year and get themselves to a big time bowl. They have the talent to do it and I personally think they do win out.
19)Cincinnati
I know my millions of readers already know how much I love Luke Fickell and the Bearcats. This team is a legitimate top twenty team in the country. They have the quality wins to go with a great coach, great quarterback and they recruit at an elite level for their conference. Every college football fan should be watching the AAC race unfold its one of the most interesting in the country.
20)Wake Forest
Who would’ve thought the Demon Deacons would be sitting at 6-1? Is this actually a good football team? I don’t know if I’m super comfortable with saying they are. Four out of there six wins are one score football games. So there could be regression coming Wake Forest way. As of right now though they are a 6-1 football team with an explosive offense.
21)Boise State
The Broncos got handed their first lose of the season last week, to the hands of BYU. Honestly I wanted to drop Boise State out of the top 25. The only problem is no other team jumped out at me enough to take their spot though. This isn’t a great football team, frankly no one is the mountain west is. If Boise State gets a second loss this year they will be for sure out of my top 25.
22)Iowa State
Brock Purdy is a really good quarterback and Iowa State is a really good football team. Honestly they shouldn’t have lost to Iowa and that loss is going to keep them out of a top-notch bowl. They still have to play Oklahoma and Texas. I think they have a chance to beat Texas at home. But this is probably a 9-3 football team.
23)Arizona State
ASU is a young football team with a lot of talent. Inconsistency has been there biggest issue but that’ll fade as the season goes on . I think Jayden Daniels is a future Heisman candidate and Herm Edwards is the coach to bring this team into the national spotlight. This is a team that finishes in the back end of the top 25 this year and has a real shot at being a top 15 team next year.
24)Michigan
I hate this team.
25)Memphis
You know I had to round out the top 25 with the AAC. If there’s one player I could tell you to watch its Freshman running back, Kenny Gainwell. The kid is crazy explosive and the main cog in one of the nations best offenses. Memphis is a legit football team but honestly I see them picking up a couple losses in the AAC and ending the season right outside the top 25.
We’re finally getting into the thick of things. This is the best time of the year by far. Every games importance is amplified, were getting a ton of rivalry games and the Heisman race is getting competitive. If I had to give a list of title contenders I would say LSU, Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Clemson, Florida, Georgia and I guess Oregon. But honestly in my eyes the list is really only three teams LSU, Alabama, Ohio State. If it was up to me no matter how the rest of the season went the playoff would be LSU, Alabama, Ohio State and Oklahoma. That would be a hell of a playoff. Over the next couple of weeks expect a lot more shake up in the top 25.
