6 days Ago By USA TODAY Sports
The Big Ten should occupy four of the top five spots in this week’s US LBM Coaches Poll while a logjam of two-loss SEC teams jostle for position in the top 10. Oregon will remain No. 1 after escaping against Wisconsin, followed by Ohio State.
Next will be No. 3 Texas, the only SEC team with fewer than two losses, and then No. 4 Penn State and No.
5 Indiana. The Hoosiers and Buckeyes meet next Saturday. After that group, voters will have to compare Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee.
It won’t be easy. The Tide beat the Bulldogs but lost to the Volunteers. The Volunteers beat the Tide but lost to the Bulldogs.
The Rebels beat the Bulldogs but lost to Kentucky at home, which makes no sense. Here’s our guess for how the top 10 will look in this week’s poll, set to be released later on Sunday: After , Oregon will take a breather and return to action against rival Washington to end November and then prepare for one of Ohio State, Indiana or Penn State to decide the Big Ten championship. The Ducks are 11-0 for the first time since 2010.
The Buckeyes started a little slowly against Northwestern but stepped on the gas late in the first half, scoring three times in the final seven minutes of the second quarter to head into the break ahead 21-7. Running back Quinshon Judkins had two short touchdown runs, doubling his scoring output in Big Ten play. Up next: Indiana.
Getting past Arkansas 20-10 keeps Texas on track for an epic rivalry renewal with Texas A&M to end the regular season. As of now, that game will decide which team plays for the SEC championship and will very likely dump the loser all the way out of contention for an at-large playoff bid. Quinn Ewers had another two scores, giving him seven without an interception this month.
The Nittany Lions didn’t break much of a sweat in rolling past hapless Purdue 49-10. That’s still a good sign for two reasons. One, Penn State didn’t get caught napping by an inferior opponent in advance of a huge road trip to Minnesota and the season finale at home against Maryland.
And two, this is the second walkover in a row for the Nittany Lions after three tight games against Southern California, Wisconsin and Ohio State. The Hoosiers didn’t play on Saturday, giving them another week to prepare for the biggest regular-season game in program history. This unprecedented start and likely playoff berth led Indiana to reward first-year coach Curt Cignetti with an eight-year contract with an average annual compensation of $8 million, along with an annual $1 million retention bonus.
Knocking off Virginia gives Notre Dame six wins against opponents with a non-losing record ahead of next weekend’s neutral-site matchup against No. 17 Army. The Irish are virtually guaranteed of a playoff berth should they finish with one loss, even if that inexplicable loss came to Northern Illinois.
It’s pretty much all downhill from here for the Crimson Tide, who vaulted back into the playoff mix with wins against Missouri and LSU. Saturday’s 52-7 win against Mercer is followed by Oklahoma and Auburn. Jalen Milroe had three touchdowns in just over two quarters of play Saturday, giving him 32 scores on the year.
The Bulldogs will rise a bit in this week’s poll but will see a nicer bump in Tuesday night’s playoff rankings. Beating the Volunteers is a good reminder of how good this team can be and protecting the football, something he did extraordinarily well last season but has struggled with as a senior. Beck had 340 yards and two scores without a turnover and carried Georgia’s offense.
It’s not hard to make the case for Ole Miss being ahead of Georgia – after all, it topped the Bulldogs earlier this month. Georgia’s win against Tennessee negates any shot the Rebels had to move ahead in this week’s rankings, but climbing into the top 10 reflects how good they’ve been since losing to LSU last month. Look for Miami to come in ahead of Tennessee due to the Volunteers’ weak quality of wins outside of the victory against Alabama.
While the Miami hasn’t beaten any team close to the Tide’s caliber, it does have wins against six teams with a non-losing record. The Volunteers have four such wins..
