Do we need to start questioning whether the Tide’s defense is as good as advertised after allowing 4.7 yards per rush to the Gamecocks? Will the lack of competition Clemson faces hurt them in the long run? Those question will be answered along with many more as this season shakes out. Teams will be moving in the ratings this week with Notre Dame/Georgia and Michigan/Wisconsin squaring off. The big movers this week were Mississippi State and Maryland who fall out of our top 25. Notre Dame, Florida, Penn State, Iowa, Michigan State all fall while UCF, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Washington State and A&M ticks up.
1. Alabama: -27.5 – The Tide had an impressive final margin against South Carolina 47-23 but the defense did give up 4.7 yards per rush and 459 total yards. Worth noting.
2. Clemson: -27.5 – The Tigers dominated Syracuse allowing under 200 total yards and just 11 first downs to the Orange in their commanding 41-6 win. The Cuse rushed 45 times for 15 yards or 0.4 yards per rush.
3. LSU: -19 – LSU rolled Northwestern State by 51-points while racking up over 600 total yards of offense.
4. Georgia: -19 – The Bulldogs are averaging just 296 rushing yards per game and 8.1 yards per carry but haven’t faced a stout rush D yet.
5. Ohio State – 18.5 – The Buckeyes have a top five defense and look like they are playing twelve on eleven at times. OSU gave up just 42 yards on 31 attempts by Indiana or 1.4YPR and just 257 total yards for the game.
6. Oklahoma: -17.5 – The Sooners beat a bad UCLA team 48-14 with QB Jalen Hurts accounting for 439 of OU’s 611 total yards. Can you say Heisman!
7. Wisconsin: -13 – The Badgers defense has allowed 215 total yards on 100 plays in two games, just 2.2 yards per play.
8. Michigan -13 – The Wolverines defense is allowing 3.9 yards per play this season which ranks them 11th. Slightly below the Badgers.
9. Notre Dame: -12 – The Irish got a 5 TD performance from QB Book in their 66-14 win over New Mexico last week. A cause for concern is Notre Dame’s rush defense that was gouged for 212 yards and 4.6 yards per carry against the Lobos.
10. Auburn: -12 – The Tigers are another SEC school that hosted a weak team this week in their rout of Kent State 55-16. Auburn rushed 62 times in the game for 467 rush yards.
11. Utah: -10.5 – Utah called off the dogs in a 31-0 shutout win over Idaho State this past Saturday. The Utes didn’t score in the 4th quarter and outgained the Bengals 543 total yards to 116.
12. Texas A&M: -10.5 – The Aggies rolled to a 62-3 win over Lamar. A&M put up 633 total yards to 197.
13. Florida – 9.75 – The Gators fall in our rankings with the loss of QB Franks and an unimpressive win in Kentucky.
14. Washington State: -9.75 – The Cougars got a 31-24 win in Houston this past week and did it with 440 passing yards. WSU is 2nd in the nation in passing yards per game at 473 per game.
15. Texas: -9.5 – The Longhorns bounced back this week with 509 total yards of offense in their win over Rice. UT allowed just 2.8 yards per rush and 13 first downs.
16. Oregon -9.25 – QB Hebert has 11 TD passes this season which ranks him 5th in NCAAF. He’s also done it with no INT’s this season. The Ducks rolled Montana 35-3 this past week.
17. Iowa: -9 – The Hawkeye’s were losing most of the game before coming from behind in a thrilling 18-17 win over Iowa State. Iowa’s defense did give up over 400 yards to ISU.
18. Missouri: -9 – After a shocking loss in their opener to Wyoming the Tigers have outscored their last two foes 88-7.
19. Oklahoma State: -9 – The Cowboys are 3rd in the nation in rushing yards per game at 344 and 7th in rushing yards per attempt at 7.0. But they really haven’t played anyone yet.
20. Michigan State: -8.75 – The Spartans rush defense is one of the best in college football but the Spartans redzone scoring (70th in 2018) continues to be an issue. MSU outgained Arizona State this past weekend but failed on the scoreboard in a 7-10 loss.
21. UCF: -8.75 – The Knights lured a Power 5 team to Central Florida and promptly thrashed Stanford 45-27. UCF put up 545 total yards in the game but did allow 5.0YPR.
22. Penn State: -8.5 – Penn State falls in our rankings after yet another uninspiring performance against a marginal foe. PSU was outgained by Pitt last week narrowly winning by 7 points.
23. Boise State – 8.0 – The Broncos are 3-0 after a win over Portland State this past week.
24. Washington – 7.5 – The Huskies took care of Hawaii 52-20 this past week and move into our top 25.
25. Kansas State -7.25 – The Wildcats are 3-0 and deserving of a move here after their win over Mississippi State. KSU’s spread margin of victory is +17.8PPG which is 4th best in NCAAF.
Be sure to check back next week as a few of these teams are moving!
