College Football Power Rankings: Michigan, Michigan State set for top-10 showdown as Pittsburgh soars

A sleepy week in the middle of the season? Pass the No-Doz. Two top-10 teams in the College Football Power Rankings lost (Oklahoma State, Penn State), while seven in the top 25 played one score games. In a week that featured no games between top 25 opponents, five ranked teams still lost.

In the process, we learned … Penn State is not who we thought it was as Illinois posted its first win against a top-10 opponent since 2007 in a nine-overtime slugfest that was anything but thrilling … Oklahoma won despite the team bus showing up for Kansas at halftime … Ohio State appears unstoppable or at least pretty good for a team that hasn’t beaten a ranked opponent … Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin just might be at the pinnacle of his head coaching career … a defensive coach (Pat Narduzzi) might have the best quarterback in the game (Kenny Pickett) at Pittsburgh … Clemson is nowhere to be found for the first time in a long time … Cincinnati, Oklahoma and Oregon have not yet been penalized for playing close. 

That leads to a set of College Football Power Rankings without major shifts but setup to absorb some once this Saturday shakes out. The Big Ten alone will see four of its top five teams battle in a pair of ranked rivalry showdowns. Let’s take a look at where things stand.

Biggest Movers

9 Pittsburgh

9 Penn State

Rk	Teams		Chg	Rcrd
1	Georgia	Bye. The RVs are pulling into Jacksonville just … about … now. Yeah, it’s that crazy this early at the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. The Dawgs open as a two-touchdown favorite against slumping Florida. The bye came at just the right time with the defense peaking and the receiving corps getting healthy. The last time an unranked Florida beat a top-five ranked Georgia in this series was 2002.	—	7-0
2	Cincinnati	OK, OK, the Bearcats were underwhelming in a narrow win against Navy. Hey, you try playing that triple option stuff! The closer-than-expected 27-20 win is the kind of stuff that can ding a Group of Five team. Let’s concentrate on the Cincy defense holding Navy to 140 rushing yards below its average. Jerome Ford and tight end Josh Whyle could play for anybody.	—	7-0
3	Alabama	Cigars all around as the Tide beat Tennessee for the 15th straight time. Words you thought you’d never see from Nick Saban: “Let’s don’t worry about the mental lapses right now. Let’s enjoy the win.” Jameson Williams might be the most dangerous receiver in ball this side of USC’s Drake London. The Coach O Farewell Tour continues with LSU next.	—	7-1
4	Oklahoma	Not only were the Sooners asleep in the first half at Kansas, you could almost see the pillows on the sideline. KU led into the fourth quarter. Then OU woke up scoring on all five of its second-half possessions. Only a late score kept the 35-23 win from being the fifth this season by a touchdown or less. Caleb Williams saved the game when he ripped the ball from Kennedy Brooks and picked up a fourth-and-3. That might have been the difference in the game … and the season.	—	8-0
5	Oregon	The Ducks have an identity seven games in. They just seem to hang on, barely. In beating UCLA, Oregon played in its fifth game decided by one score. They’re also gutty as hell. They are playing without three starting offensive linemen, a starting safety and their No. 1 rusher. QB Anthony Brown was great but almost got his team beat (two fourth-quarter INTs). Travis Dye overcame a migraine to become the first FBS player to score rushing touchdowns on four consecutive carries. On national TV, defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux credited “a great f—ing plan.”	—	6-1
6	Ohio State	All that said, how does anyone rank Ohio State ahead of Oregon? The Ducks not only won at OSU last month but handled the Buckeyes. Since then? Ohio State has been the most powerful machine on the planet. Saturday’s at Indiana marked the 22nd straight Big Ten win. There have been four consecutive 50-plus point games. Six straight 500-yard plus games. In the last three games, Ryan Day’s bunch has scored 17 touchdowns in the first half!	—	6-1
7	Iowa	Bye. Regrouping after the inexplicable loss to Purdue which then went on to lose handily to Wisconsin on Saturday. The Badgers have sent a message through an up-and-down season: We have the Big Ten’s No. 1 defense. Not a good matchup with Iowa’s No. 13 Big Ten offense coming to town.	1	6-1
8	Michigan State	Bye. While the world continues to figure out just how the heck Mel Tucker has done it, we have a clash for the ages. Michigan comes to town with both teams ranked inside the top 10 in this meeting for the first time since 1964. The hate and passion will be for sale at the concession stand. This is one of the favorite rivalries because of that hate and passion. Little Brother will be ready.	2	7-0
9	Michigan	Let the trash talk begin. The Wolverines got ready for ready for the Michigan State game by routing Northwestern. Jim Harbaugh was in a chatty mood after a punt block. “[Northwestern was] trying to roll away from the left side or directional punt back to the field, [and] they just didn’t have enough blockers over there,” Harbaugh said. That’s the most strategy he’s given away since deciding not to release a depth chart.	2	7-0
10	Ole Miss	Matt Corral for Heisman and Lane Kiffin for SEC Coach of the Year? The Rebels rolled into my top 10 this week after stomping LSU. Corral overcame being pounded by Tennessee with a big bounce-back. “We’re good, but we’re not great but we’re close,” Kiffin said.	2	6-1
11	Oklahoma State	That was a horrible spot on the last play of the game for the Cowboys on fourth-and-2. Brennan Presley clearly picked up the first down on a swing pass from Spencer Sanders. The Cowboys suffered their first loss of the season, but their goals are still in front of them. The difference is it’s now a three-way tie for second place in the Big 12 with Baylor and Iowa State.	4	6-1
12	Wake Forest	Not sure what was more surprising: Wake Forest scoring 70 or Army giving up 70. QB Sam Hartman accounted for six touchdowns (five passing) in a game that should have been played in the Big 12. The 70-56 win makes the Demon Deacons 7-0 for the first time since 1944. Dave Clawson is one of the most respected coaches in the game. Just spit-balling here, but wouldn’t he look good at Nebraska?	3	7-0
13	Notre Dame	The Irish’s much-questioned offensive line had a night against USC. Kyren Williams ran for 138 yards. USC WR Drake London continued to have an All-America season with 15 catches (most over by a Trojan against the Irish) for 171 yards.	—	6-1
14	Kentucky	Bye. Picking up the pieces after the Georgia game. Mississippi State next. Ten combined points have separated the two teams overall in the last five meetings. The series is tied at 24-24 with the teams winning in alternate years since 2016. Chris Rodriguez continues to lead the SEC in rushing.	—	6-1
15	Pittsburgh	Pickett for Heisman? You bet. CBS Sports’ Midseason All-America QB torched Clemson for 303 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a win that changed a lot for the Panthers. Three years ago, Pickett threw for all of 8 yards and was intercepted by the Tigers in the ACC Championship Game. Now he is the toast of college football with the best touchdown-to-interception ratio (23-1) in the country.	9	6-1
16	SMU	The Mustangs’ 55-26 win was good news for Cincinnati as it better positions SMU ahead of their meeting on Nov. 20. The Ponies are 7-0 for the second time in three years. Tanner Mordecai threw for three more touchdowns giving him a nation-leading 29.	4	7-0
17	San Diego State	This was a Big Ten classic wrapped in a rare Mountain West grinder. The Aztecs held Air Force 144 rushing yards below its average. San Diego State rushed out to a 20-0 lead and then held on with its top-five defense.	6	7-0
18	Penn State	James Franklin’s bunch have lost two games by a total of five points. That might be enough to eliminate them from the Big Ten race. But goodness, if you’re contending for the conference title, you shouldn’t be letting Illinois hang around at 10-10 into overtime. “We did not have our guys ready to play,” Franklin said. Duh, Illinois ran for 357 yards. The teams combined for a total of 45 yards on 33 combined snaps in OT. Penn State’s reward is a trip to red-hot Ohio State.	9	5-2
19	Texas A&M	Ainias Smith returned an early South Carolina punt 95 yards and the Aggies were off and running. The punt return was the longest this season for a touchdown and longest for the Aggies in nine years. Elsewhere, the emerging rushing duo of Devone Achane and Isaiah Spiller combined for 256 yards.	2	6-2
20	Baylor	Bye. Getting ready for Texas. The Bears have lost five of the last six meetings. Gerry Bohanon has one interception in 174 throws. Not bad for the Earle, Arkansas, native who is working his master’s in sports pedagogy. Bears are tied for second in the Big 12, 1.5 games behind Oklahoma.	1	6-1
21	Iowa State	Bad day for Big 12 officials. An Iowa State touchdown was called back for high-stepping. That forced the Cyclones to need a late game-winner against Oklahoma State. Brock Purdy now has 12 touchdowns and two interceptions in October since 2020.	NR	5-2
22	BYU	The Cougars now have more Pac-12 wins (four) than any team in the Pac-12 after winning at Washington State. Much credit should be given to the Cougars after a tough, tough week but BYU continued an underrated season. RB Tyler Allgeier is tied for sixth nationally with 11 rushing touchdowns.	1	6-2
23	Coastal Carolina	A mercy ranking? The first time the Chanticleers played anybody this season, they coughed up a lead at Appalachian State. Grayson McCall leads the country in accuracy (77.3%) and yards per attempt (13.4). Four-way tie in the East between Coastal, App State, Troy and Georgia State.	7	6-1
24	Oregon State	In Jonathan Smith’s fourth season, the Beavers are the surprise of the Pac-12 knocking off Utah who many folks thought was the class of the conference last week. Instead, the Beavs are one game away from being bowl eligible for the first time in 2013. Prepare yourself: Oregon State leads the Pac-12 in rushing offense and total offense. These are not your grandpa’s Beavers.	NR	5-2
25	UTSA	Jeff Traylor’s momentum alone may have gotten UTSA an invite to the American last week. The Roadrunners are 8-0 after an easy win over Louisiana Tech. Big showdown with UTEP in two weeks. Speaking of which, it was a toss-up for this spot between the Roadrunners and UTEP. The amazing Miners had a bye week but are off to their best start (6-1) since 2005.	NR	8-0

Out: Utah, Clemson, NC State