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CFB Rankings: What a Saturday!

USC Storming Field
USC fans storm the field after the Trojans upset Stanford 20-17. (Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports)

I’m still trying to get over what all took place yesterday. There were incredible come backs, incredible plays, incredible upsets. It was everything that makes me glued to the teevee on Saturdays.

First there was Central Florida at Temple. UCF is ranked in the AP poll and undefeated in the American (nee Big East) Conference. If they win out, they get likely Orange Bowl berth. Lose and things get complicated in the conference. Meanwhile Temple is awful. They lost to Fordham, a I-AA team. Here’s the ending:

As this was ending, Maryland was at Virginia Tech in a game that really meant nothing. Maryland has fallen on hard times while Virginia Tech has been circling the drain. The game got into overtime, Virginia Tech kicked a field goal in their possession and Maryland scored a touchdown! Maryland beat Va Tech! Eh. I guess you had to be there.

In the afternoon session, there was Georgia and Auburn. Georgia are fighting for their SEC East lives. Auburn is still vying for BCS Championship consideration. Auburn had a 37-17 lead with 12:39 left in the game. Then their defense reared its ugly head.

Georgia scored three touchdowns to take the 38-37 lead with 1:49 left, and this happens:

Then, of course, there was Stanford at USC. Lee Corso predicted a USC win in his headgear pick for ESPN. I had a hunch that USC could pull it off. Well, here (it gets good at the 2-minute mark):

It was quite the day from morning to night. Unless you’re from these schools, who cares about BCS implications? This was great drama.

By the way, we shouldn’t forget about Duke. They beat Miami 48-30 and lead the ACC Coastal Division. In the new AP Rankings, Duke is no. 25. This is the first time they have been ranked since the final regular season poll in 1994 when they were also no. 25.

Rank Last Week School Record AP Rank Comments
1 1 Alabama 10-0, 7-0 SEC 1 I was very tempted to drop Alabama a notch because they really struggled against Mississippi State. But you look at everyone below, and you can see why doing that would have been wrong.
2 2 Florida State 10-0, 8-0 ACC 2 Jameis Winston is being investigated for raping a girl. I really doubt he did it, but I’ve got to say for all of the evil things Johnny Manziel has done, he was never investigated for rape.
3 5 Auburn 10-1, 6-1 SEC 6 Maybe it’s an over-reaction of their win over Georgia, but it is setting up to be one hell of an Iron Bowl in two weeks.
4 4 Ohio State 10-0, 6-0 Big Ten 4 Early in the fourth quarter, the Buckeyes only had a 12-point lead over Illinois. Illinois is a really shitty team.
5 7 Oregon 9-1, 6-1 Pac-12 5 Last week, Oregon looked destined for the Holiday Bowl. Today everything has changed. They will probably host the Pac-12 Championship Game and have a very outside shot for the final BCS Championship Game.
6 6 Baylor 9-0, 6-0 Big 12 3 That defense that was impressive over Oklahoma last week? It disappeared. Poof! Next week’s game in Stillwater against Oklahoma State should prove very interesting. A win there, I’ll be convinced.
7 10 Oklahoma State 9-1, 6-1 Big 12 11 The final weekend in September, the Cowboys went to West Virginia and got punched in the mouth. They appeared dead but slowly started to rebuild their resume. Win out against Baylor and Oklahoma, they win the Big 12.
8 8 Missouri 10-1, 6-1 SEC 8 Let’s call their win in Lexington a warmup to next week’s game at Ole Miss.
9 9 Clemson 9-1, 7-1 ACC 7 For three weeks in a row, I have nothing to say about this team.
10 — Michigan State 9-1, 6-0 Big Ten 13 Sparty got their win over Nebraska ever, and they did it in Lincoln no less. They are setting up for a showdown in the Big Ten Championship Game against Ohio State. By the way, I never understood the Legends and the Leaders divisions in the conference. I never knew who was in what division.