College Football Power Rankings: Cincinnati jumps Alabama as Oregon returns to the top five

Georgia

Through seven games, the Dawgs have allowed only 3.6 yards per play. Over a full season, that would be the lowest since Alabama (3.32) in 2011. The defense has allowed only four offensive touchdowns. Davis deserves his nickname “Godzilla”. Georgia should cruise to the SEC title game. Bye this week followed by the Florida game. — 7-0
2

Cincinnati

The aim from this point is blow everyone out to impress the CFP Selection Committee. Since beating Notre Dame, the Bearcats have scored 108 points against Temple and UCF. RB Jerome Ford rushed for a career-best 189 yards and four TDs against the Knights. No other top 10 team on this list — heck, probably not any other team — has beaten back-to-back Power Five teams on the road, one of them ranked in the top 10. 2 6-0
3

Alabama

In Nick Saban’s 200th game as Bama coach, the Tide fell just short of half a hundred, 49-9 over Mississippi State. Nice bounce back. Bryce Young closed out his initial first half as a starter with 24 TD passes. That’s the most of any Power Five QB. At the halfway point, the Tide are in control of all their goals. They just have to win out. — 6-1
4

Oklahoma

A star is born: Caleb Williams threw four TDs in his first career start. He was matched by TCU’s Max Duggan, who had a career night. But the game belonged to Williams, who became the first true freshman QB to start a game at OU since Cale Gundy in 1990. The Sooners look different with Williams. More importantly, they look better. The nation’s longest winning streak grows to 15. 1 7-0
5

Oregon

Cal’s Chase Garbers missed two open receivers in the end zone in the final minute, or else the Ducks might be in the trouble. They survived Friday night in Autzen as the injuries begin to pile up. The Pac-12’s lone playoff possibility must get through road trips to UCLA, Washington and Utah in the second half. 1 5-1
6

Ohio State

Bye. C.J. Stroud is having a sneaky good first half. The Ohio State QB is leading the Big Ten in passing yards per game and touchdown passes. The loss to Oregon has almost been wiped clean as a lot voters have the Buckeyes above the Ducks. Not here. Indiana is up Saturday with the Buckeyes sporting the nation’s longest conference winning streak, 24. 3 5-1
7

Oklahoma State

After the win at Texas — Oklahoma State’s eighth in the last 12 meetings — we must now consider the Cowboys for the CFP. Jaylen Warren is the best back you don’t know about, rushing for 193 yards against the Longhorns. If this keeps up, Bedlam is going to be … bedlam. 6 6-0
8

Iowa

While Kirk Ferentz was arguing with James Franklin over flopping last week, the Hawkeyes lost focus — big time. The 24-7 loss to Purdue was Iowa’s worst at home since 2013. Like Alabama and Oregon above, the Hawkeyes’ margin of error is gone. They cannot lose again and get to the CFP. The Hawks will see David Bell in their sleep. Purdue’s junior receiver (11 catches, 240 yards) has put together a nice season in three career games vs. Iowa (37 catches, 558 yards, 5 TDs). 6 6-1
9

Penn State

Bye. Franklin is now a prime candidate for two big-time jobs: USC and LSU. USC makes more sense in that the Pac-12 South is a heck of a lot easier than the Big Ten East. Can Franklin keep his and the Nittany Lions’ focus? Illinois this week before a trip to Ohio State. 1 5-1
10

Michigan State

Mel Tucker might be the coach of the year halfway through after a narrow Indiana win. The Spartans coach has pulled off one of the quickest flips in recent years. Fifteen transfers from 14 different schools have made the difference. Wake Forest transfer Kenneth Walker III continues to lead the country in rushing despite only 84 yards against Indiana. 1 7-0
11

Michigan

Bye. A perfect time for the Wolverines to take a breath. Starting Oct. 30, they play the three contenders in the Big Ten East in a four-week period: Michigan State, Penn State and Ohio State. Bo would be happy with Jim Harbaugh leading the Big Ten in rushing and committed only two turnovers. 1 6-0
12

Ole Miss

Amid the flops, dip spit, golf balls and Lane return to Neyland, Ole Miss won in Knoxville for the first time since 1983. Matt Corral bolstered his Heisman credentials, and Lane Kiffin produced the quote of the year. Asked what else was thrown from him from the stands, Kiffin said, “A number of bottles with brown stuff in it. Probably not moonshine. They wouldn’t waste moonshine on me.” Never stop, Lane. 7 5-1
13

Notre Dame

Bye. Safety Kyle Hamilton is having an All-American season. Meanwhile, Brian Kelly is having a heck of a time figuring out his QB. Jack Coan came off the bench last week to lead a game-winning drive at Virginia Tech. The concerns about the offensive line have been real. The Irish have given up 24 sacks, tied for 122nd nationally. USC next. 1 5-1
14

Kentucky

Mark Stoops called timeout late in a blowout loss to Georgia in order to score a meaningless TD. It wasn’t that meaningless. The Wildcats now own one of four offensive TDs scored against Georgia this season. Was Stoops playing to the committee? An 11-1 season and a New Year’s Six berth are still possible. 7 6-1
15

Wake Forest

Bye. A playoff berth is more than within reach. Consider that no undefeated Power Five team has ever been left out. The final three games of the season will likely decide whether those playoff hopes are real. NC State, Clemson and Boston College to finish. A win this week at Army, and the Demon Deacons start 7-0 for the first time in school history. 1 6-0
16

Coastal Carolina

Bye. Now the nation’s highest-scoring team going into a key Sun Belt game against Appalachian State. Only Alabama (41) has more total TDs than the Chants (40). Coming off his best game this season, Grayson McCall leads the country completing 79.8% of his passes. 1 6-0
17

Texas A&M

No Alabama hangover. Isaiah Spiller and Devon Achane each ran for 100 yards. Missouri did its best to contribute to its demise committing 13 penalties. The Aggies put up 431 yards against the worst Power Five defense. Now there is the added speculation of Jimbo Fisher leaving after three years to go to LSU. 1 5-2
18

NC State

A 26-point win over Boston College pulled the Wolfpack within a game of Wake Forest in the ACC Atlantic. Halfway through the season, NC State has played only two conference games. (By comparison, North Carolina has played six.). That is being evened out as the Wolfpack (5-1, 2-0) are in the middle of playing seven consecutive ACC games. 2 5-1
19

Baylor

Former BYU offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes bullied his old employer. In the win over the Cougars, linebacker Dillon Doyle had a sack, four tackles and caught and run for TDs. Grimes has led the Bears to four 500-plus games this season. Baylor also ran for 303 yards. Time to look ahead in the Big 12. Oklahoma comes to Baylor on Nov. 13. NR 6-1
20

SMU

Bye. At the halfway point, Tanner Mordecai — Spencer Rattler’s former backup at Oklahoma — leads FBS with 26 TD passes. Coach Sonny Dykes continues to be the state of Texas’ winningest FBS coach since 2019 with 23 wins. The second half comes down to a Nov. 20 game at Cincinnati. 2 6-0
21

BYU

Time to reevaluate season goals after being pushed around by Baylor. They called it “Bully Ball” in Waco, a 38-24 Baylor win. The Bears rushed for more than 300 yards. BYU, 5-2 halfway through the season, can’t entertain a New Year’s Six berth until it gets tougher in the front seven. 4 5-2
22

Clemson

Another day, another ACC struggle. The conference’s worst scoring offense managed 17 points, then survived as Syracuse missed a late field goal. In the last full season in 2019, the Tigers had 238 points halfway through the year. This season, they’ve scored 123. 1 4-2
23

San Diego State

The Aztecs survived a low-scoring overtime win Friday at San Jose State. Big showdown this week at Air Force. That should be another contest short on points amongst a pair of top-11 defenses. Greg Bell is on pace for the team’s first 1,000-yard rushing season since Rashad Penny went for 2,200 yards in 2017. 2 6-0
24

Pittsburgh

Kenny Pickett has to be something more than a Heisman darkhorse. Over his last three games, he has thrown 11 TDs with no interceptions. The Panthers — leading the ACC Coastal — can just about knock Clemson out of the ACC race this week. NR 5-1
25

Utah

The Utes scored 28 unanswered to overcome Arizona State and make the Pac-12 South a mess. Utah is the only unbeaten Pac-12 team in conference play. Before the game, Ty Jordan and Aaron Lowe were honored. The teammates and friends were killed by gunshots exactly nine months apart in the last year. NR 4-2