1. Alabama
Nothing has really changed with this team after a 48-0 beating of Kent St. Alabama didn't play their top 2 running backs all that much, and their freshman phenom qb only really played 2 quarters, but they were already up 41-0 at halftime before they called off the dogs. Kent St is Saban's alma matar, otherwise they may have hung 70+ on this MAC bunch.
There's not going to be a whole lot different next week either, as Bama hosts Kentucky for a 6pm homecoming game on ESPN. They opened as 33 point favorites.
2. Louisville
Petrino's bunch kept on rolling, going up big before giving up three 4th quarter touchdowns at Marshall yesterday. Lamar Jackson had 7 touchdowns before the end of the 3rd quarter, en route to a 52-7 lead. This offense is really unstoppable.
This week we'll figure out whether the Florida St game was a fluke or not. They're back on Gameday with a game at Clemson on Saturday night in primetime on ABC. They could overtake Alabama's #1 ranking with a win.
3. Ohio State
The Buckeyes were off this week, but that win at Oklahoma is still in our heads. They've looked great through their first 3 ballgames, and they'll continue to roll up blowout wins with Rutgers and Indiana coming to the Horseshoe in the next two weeks before they visit Wisconsin.
4. Clemson
Clemson looked good at Georgia Tech on Thursday night. They weren't great, but any win at Georgia Tech for the Tigers is a good thing, considering they had not won there since 2003.
The defense looked lights out against Tech's triple option attack, holding them to only 95 yards rushing, and 124 yards total. The offense was on fire in the first half, en route to 3 touchdowns and a 23-0 lead, but it stalled in the 2nd half after Paul Johnson's team made adjustments and outscored the Tigers 7-3 in the 2nd half. Clemson has a chance to really prove a point with Louisville coming in this weekend.
5. Houston
Houston is going to run through the AAC, and that's going to hurt them because they don't have many more opportunities against really good football teams. Their 64-3 win over Texas St was to be expected, even on the road, and they get UConn at home this Thursday to avenge last season's only loss. They'll beat this team like a drum - we won't know anything about this team until mid-November when Louisville comes to town for a Thursday night ESPN showdown.
6. Wisconsin
Paul Chryst is the real deal in Madison, and that beatdown in East Lansing over the defending Big 10 champs proved it. Wisconsin looks really good, but this stretch is going to be very telling. They traveled to Michigan St and got a win, but next week they go to the Big House to tangle with Michigan, then get a week off before Ohio St comes to Madison... and after the big 3, they then travel to Iowa before hosting Nebraska. They're just starting possibly the most difficult stretch of games in the country.
7. Stanford
The Cardinal looked basically dead for most of the game at UCLA, and the Bruins thought they had beaten Stanford for the first time in 8 years... but a touchdown pass to JJ Arcega-Whiteside with 24 seconds left ended those hopes. Josh Rosen's fumble being returned for a touchdown on the last play of the game then got us the unbelievable cover.
Stanford has a chance to move up into the top 5 since they travel to Washington on Friday night, who came it at #11 in our poll. There are several teams ahead of them that play each other, or play teams that may beat them, or that simply play lesser competition, so there's room for Stanford if they handle Washington.
8. Texas A&M
A&M hammered on Arkansas in the 4th quarter, going into the last few minutes of the 3rd quarter tied at 17, and then getting a 4 down goal line stand against the Hogs, before Trevor Knight threw a 92 yard touchdown pass to Josh Reynolds with 1:33 left in the 3rd to lead 24-17. Trayveon Williams then rolled up a bunch of rushing yards, also grabbing a 33 yard touchdown run and a 22 yard touchdown run, blowing the game open en route to a 45-24 final.
A&M has looked great under 2 veteran coordinators: Noel Mazzone on the offense, and John Chavis on the defense. The addition of Trevor Knight has worked spectacularly... but after this week is when we really find out what this bunch is worth. Kevin Sumlin's bunch has already beaten UCLA and Arkansas, but after they play at South Carolina this week, they host Tennessee, have a bye week, then playing at Alabama before New Mexico St, at Miss St, and hosting Ole Miss.
This seems familiar - they've been in this spot several times under Sumlin... world beaters early on, and then they falter towards the end of the season.
9. Michigan
Harbaugh's boys beat up on Penn St this Saturday, and that struggle with Colorado looks a little better this week after the Buffalo went to Autzen and beat Oregon. Michigan hasn't played a very difficult schedule, but they get to prove themselves a little more this weekend when they host Wisconsin.
10. Tennessee
The Vols make their first appearance in the top 10 after their first win over Florida in 11 seasons, and it may be short lived since they travel to Georgia this week, then visit Texas A&M before hosting Alabama. Talk about a rough 4 game stretch.
The Vols looked absolutely terrible, and appeared to be playing tight in the first half, going in the locker room down 21-3 with a chorus of "boos" surrounding them in their own stadium. But something happened in the locker room and they played like a team with their hair on fire in the 2nd half, jumping on Florida and scoring 5 straight touchdowns before the Gators threw on a garbage touchdown. The fans went bananas in Knoxville after the game, rioting and setting couches on fire, etc.
They finally looked like the team everyone hyped them to be. If they can keep that up, they'll beat a weak, but decent, Georgia team in Athens this weekend and setup a top 10 matchup in College Station with Texas A&M on Oct 8th.
LSU fired Les Miles the day after the loss at Auburn
I'll admit - this one surprised me. I expected LSU to hold on to Les Miles until after Dec 31st so the buyout would decrease by over $4 million... but I think everyone knew what was going to happen. There was no sense in delaying the inevitable.
It's a bit commendable, honestly. Seeing a man lose his job because he gave his assistants too many opportunities to succeed is depressing, because everyone knows how good of a man Les really is, but he was too stubborn for his own good. When it comes down to it, everyone knew that the job was not getting done on the offensive side of the ball - and the administration in Baton Rouge confirmed as much by not only firing Les Miles, but also firing his best friend, offensive coordinator Cam Cameron.
Reports have come out that they reached out to Tom Hermann (Houston) and former Baylor coach Art Briles today after the firing, so at least they're hitting the ground running. I believe they wanted to get a head start on things before the coaching carousel begins in the next month or so, because this will not be the only big job to come over this fall.
Les shouldn't have any trouble landing on his feet. He had 11 straight seasons with 8 or more wins while he was at LSU, and he did give us some of the greatest SEC memories of our generation. He's a character, and a good man who cared deeply for his players. His players learned to be good men under his watch, and that's something that not a lot of places can claim.
Ed Orgeron has been tapped as the interim assistant for the rest of the season, and the first game post-Les will be Saturday night when the Tigers host Mizzou in Death Valley. This coaching search is going to be an interesting one to follow, and you can bet we'll be all over it.
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