Pacific Takes Top 25 11/14: Washington drops out of Top 4, Utah climbs into Top 10

I feel like I need to preface this week’s rankings by saying I have no clue how to rank teams 3-9. You could honestly have them in any order in my opinion and it would make sense. The Playoff committee has their hands full this week.

1. Alabama 10-0
2. Ohio State 9-1
3. Michigan 9-1
4. Clemson 9-1
5. Washington 9-1 - I dropped the Huskies as far #9 at one point, but slid them back up. Their résumé is a lot more in line with Louisville or Wisconsin’s than it might seem as long as you respect the Pac-12. That Stanford win is looking a lot better and they have a win at a Top 10 team right now in Utah. With that said, the Huskies are seriously suspect after getting cleaned out by USC at home and need to finish strong to show they aren’t a team like Utah last year who was really good, but shown not a Top 10-level team at the end of the season.
6. Louisville 9-1
7. Wisconsin 8-2
8. Oklahoma 8-2
9. Penn State 8-2
10. Utah 8-2 - Ugh, that last play at Cal. If it weren’t for that, the Utes would be right there on the edge of the Top 5 with the Huskies. Even with it, the Utes are a Top 10 team whose Playoff chances look a lot better after last week who controls their own Pac-12 destiny.
11. Colorado 8-2 - Speaking of Pac-12 teams who control their own destiny. The Buffs are right where they need to be and can make two huge splashes to finish the regular season and test the Playoffs as they host Washington State and Utah the next two weeks in Boulder.
12. Washington State 8-2 - The Cougars keep showing what a balanced team they are and that should be scary for the rest of the Pac-12 as you rarely see a team with an offense like the one they have in Pullman that can also shut you down on defense when they need to. They step into a real proving ground the next two weeks though as they will have to play at Colorado and host the Apple Cup in a six-day span.
13. West Virginia 8-1
14. USC 7-3 - The Trojans might be the scariest team in the nation right now outside of the Alabama squad which rolled them in week one and I think that game would play out differently if it was played this week. The Trojans made a major statement by not just winning at Washington, but by doing it near-flawless fashion.
15. LSU 6-3
16. Florida 7-2
17. Oklahoma State 8-2
18. Stanford 7-3 - The Cardinal still aren’t the team they were last year, but they have leveled out as a very good team with an excellent defense and unstoppable playmaker in Christian McCaffrey. They aren’t USC right now, but they are still a team no one should want to tangle with in a bowl game.
19. Nebraska 8-2
20. Auburn 7-3
21. Florida State 7-3
22. Western Michigan 10-0
23. Texas A&M 7-3
24. Tennessee 7-3
25. Boise State 9-1

On the edge

San Diego State, Navy, Houston, Virginia Tech, North Carolina