By Collin Stevens of The ROAR
With the updated College Football Playoff rankings, the Georgia Bulldogs (No. 1) sit-atop the rankings with a dominant 27-13 win over rival Tennessee. The Georgia defense suffocated Hendon Hooker and the Volunteer offense, holding the Vols without a touchdown for three quarters. While Hooker lacked a passing play of 20+ yards, the speed and physicality of the dawgs seemed to be unsurmountable on both sides of the ball, removing rocky top from the ranks of the unbeaten. Ranked two and three are the long-time Big 10 rivals Ohio State (No.2) and Michigan (No.3). The Buckeyes come off of a 21-7 win over Northwestern, a game plagued by adverse weather and a stifling effort from the Wildcats. With heavy rainfall and wind gusts upwards of 30 mph, the Buckeye ground-game won out, spearheaded by Miyan Williams’ 111 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Michigan cemented the No. 3 spot with a decisive 52-17 win over Rutgers. Moving on, fans of the Horned Frogs will be happy to see their TCU team secured both the Saddle Trophy and the No. 4 seed against lone-star competitors Texas Tech. This TCU squad improves to 9-0, still getting it done without star wide-receiver Quentin Johnson (Ankle). The Horned Frogs are set to take on No.18 ranked Texas this weekend (Saturday, November 12), which could prove dangerous to their spotless record. Closing out the Top Five is Tennessee, still suffering from the wounds delivered to them in Athens. The Vols look to bounce-back against a 4-5 Missouri team that has been plagued by a lack of offensive production despite an underrated defense. A one-loss Oregon team is on the outside looking in at the Volunteers at No.6. Both programs suffered their only losses of the season thus far at the hands of the Bulldogs, posing an interesting question as to which is more deserving of cracking the Top 5. The LSU Tigers moved to No. 7 after a big win over Alabama, whose playoff chances have dwindled, falling to No.9 in the rankings and 7-2 for the year. The 8-1 USC Trojans are squarely between the two at No. 8, moving up from No. 7 following a win over Cal. Finally, rounding out the Top 10 of the AP Playoff Rankings is our Clemson Tigers, who fell from No.4 to No.10 after suffering a 35-14 loss to the Notre Dame fighting Irish. Turnovers plagued the Clemson offense, and the Irish put up 263 yards on the ground despite the Tiger defense being ranked seventh nationally against the run going into the game. This is the only loss of the season for Clemson however, and the Tigers still have a chance to make a push to improve their standings. While fans everywhere may have to face the grim reality of being bounced from playoff contention for the moment, the odds of bowl-placement look promising. Moving forward, the Tigers have a good chance to reaffirm themselves against Louisville this Saturday, November 12th, in Death Valley.
-
Come back each week for CFP Ranking reaction.
