Texas replaced Georgia. Then Georgia humbled Texas. Now, Oregon is poised to rise to No. 1 in the US LBM Coaches Poll for the first time since 2012.
Ranked No. 2 in last week’s poll after a thrilling win against Ohio State, the Ducks will step in the for Longhorns after the Bulldogs’ 30-15 victory in Austin. The only other unbeaten competitor for the top spot is Penn State, but the Nittany Lions should receive few if any first-place votes from the Coaches Poll panel.
Georgia has a case built on Saturday night’s dismantling of the previously unblemished Longhorns, but the Bulldogs are carrying a loss to Alabama that looks worse given the Crimson Tide’s struggles in October.
Alabama is one team set to plummet in the rankings after losing to Tennessee. The Tide have two losses before November for the first time since 2007, former coach Nick Saban’s debut season.
With Oregon leading the way, here’s how the Coaches Poll should look when the new Top 25 is released later today:
The Ducks didn’t have to break a sweat during Friday night’s 35-0 win at hapless Purdue. It’s worth comparing how Oregon has hit the ground running in the Big Ten alongside the three other former Pac-12 programs that came along: Washington, Southern California and UCLA are a combined 4-10 in conference play.
The win at Texas was a reminder of how imposing Georgia can be when aimed in the right direction. That hasn’t been the case all season, especially when falling into a deep and eventually insurmountable hole at Alabama. But taking the Longhorns apart piece by piece shows that Georgia may very well be the best team in the country, as expected in August.
HIGHS AND LOWS:Georgia, Alabama headline Week 8 winners and losers
After an off week, the Nittany Lions return this Saturday with a suddenly intriguing road trip against Wisconsin. The Badgers have shaken off some early rust with three lopsided wins in a row against Purdue, Rutgers and Northwestern. In other words, Penn State can’t get caught looking ahead to that huge matchup with Ohio State to open November.
This feels like the right landing spot for Texas. Coming in behind the two unbeaten Big Ten leaders and Georgia would recognize the team’s dominance in winning six in a row to open the year. But the fact is that the strength of schedule isn’t very good: Michigan is probably the Longhorns’ best win, followed by Oklahoma.
You’ve got to feel bad for Nebraska, and not just for Saturday’s 56-7 loss at Indiana. Matt Rhule’s team is next up for OSU, which will have two weeks to stew over that loss at Oregon. Look for the Buckeyes to take out some frustration on the Cornhuskers.
In a perfect world, Miami’s unbeaten record would be enough to move the Hurricanes above at least two one-loss teams. But the series of close calls in ACC play will make it difficult for voters to move Miami higher than No. 6. Clemson’s strong play gives them a potential marquee win in the conference title game.
Beating Alabama should move the Volunteers up three spots from last week’s ranking and ahead of LSU, which looked pretty good in beating Arkansas 34-10. Another contender here is Clemson, which was No. 9 last week and won going away against Virginia. While not perfect, Tennessee is an overtime against the Razorbacks away from being unbeaten and potentially ranked No. 1.
Beating Arkansas by 24 points is notable given the recent history in this series. The previous four meetings, three won by LSU, had been decided by a field goal. This one seemed headed that way for most of the first half before the Tigers started to pull away in the third quarter. That it was coming off the emotional high of last weeks defeat of Mississippi makes it more impressive.
The Tigers are averaging 41.2 points per game despite scoring just a field goal in the opener against Georgia. Since then, the average leaps to 48.5 points per game, with a high of 66 points against Appalachian State and a low of 29 points against Florida State. While still under the radar, Clemson is looking like a legitimate national championship contender.
It’s been a steady climb back to this point for Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish were No. 7 in the preseason poll. They were still No. 7 after beating Texas A&M but plummeted to No. 19 after the loss to Northern Illinois. Then No. 18. Up to No. 14. Then No. 13, then No. 12. Ranked No. 11 heading into Saturday, the Irish are set to move up a spot after taking care of business against Georgia Tech.
