Upsets hit reset button
Auburn, Miami score biggest blows to shuffle rankings
1
This week’s playoff rankings will feature a major shakeup: For the second consecutive week, chaos rocked teams in the College Football Playoff rankings. Nine ranked teams lost, including No. 1 Georgia and No. 3 Notre Dame. The new No. 1 team could be one of the most widely debated topics before the rankings are released Tuesday.
2
It may not be destiny, but Auburn controls its fate: The Tigers gave up a 20point lead in a loss to LSU, then put together one of their most complete games in a 40-17 win over No. 1 Georgia. Beat Alabama in two weeks and Auburn earns an improbable SEC West title, a shot at the league championship and is in contention for a playoff bid.
3
Miami got its groove back: It has been more than decade since we’ve seen this much excitement surrounding the Hurricanes, and that’s good news for college football. When traditional powers such as Miami and Notre Dame are playing well, it elevates excitement across the board as demonstrated by the throngs of fans who witnessed Miami’s 41-8 win.
4
Loss to Miami shouldn’t define Notre Dame’s season: Sometimes you’re the sparring partner and sometimes you’re the punching bag. The Irish were the latter Saturday. But as devastating as the loss was to the Irish’s playoff hopes, it was a great building block for a program looking to bounce back from a four-win season in 2016.
5
Alabama has done enough to earn the top spot: Call it jealousy or simply ’Bama burnout, but the Crimson Tide have been a bridesmaid to Georgia in the early playoff rankings. That should change Tuesday after Alabama’s comefrom-behind win against Mississippi State and Georgia’s loss.
6
Baker Mayfield is making a Heisman Trophy run: Challengers have come and gone this season, but nobody has been playing as well as the Oklahoma quarterback, who added to his resume by throwing for 333 yards and three touchdowns as the Sooners racked up their third win against a ranked opponent — 38-20 over TCU.
7
It’s time to take Wisconsin seriously: Wisconsin has been knocked by the playoff selection committee for what it considered a subpar strength of schedule, but that excuse should go out the window after the Badgers dominated No. 20 Iowa 38-14. Yes, the same Hawkeyes team that pummeled Ohio State 55-24 the previous week.
8
For the Pac-12, there’s always next season: The conference’s playoff hopes appeared to end after Washington suffered its second loss Friday night. With the chances of a two-loss conference champion making the playoffs slim, the Pac-12 must now accept it will spend another postseason without a national championship contender.
9
Ohio State has a playoff pulse — albeit a faint one: Give credit to Urban Meyer for getting his Buckeyes to bounce back. The Buckeyes throttled Michigan State 48-3.
10
From Rocky Top to rock bottom at Tennessee: Butch Jones was fired Sunday less than 24 hours after the Volunteers dropped to 0-6 in the SEC with a 50-17 loss to Missouri. Jones becomes the third SEC coach to lose his job this season and might not be the last.