Ohio State moves into the top five of Power Rankings after Week 10

Ohio State moves into the top five of SI.com's college football Power Rankings after crushing SEC West contender Nebraska at home.

Author:
Mike Fiammetta
Publish date:
Nov 7, 2016

As if we needed any more reasons not to buy too much into the initial rankings from the College Football Playoff committee this season, Week 10 brought us another shakeup with Texas A&M’s stunning loss.

At least none of the five unbeatens fell this week after four went down in Week 9. Five top-25 teams lost, though only Baylor dropped out of the Power Rankings.

As conference races and the playoff picture continues to narrow, here’s a look at college football’s national pecking order.

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1. Alabama Crimson Tide

PREVIOUS: 1

RECORD: 9-0

Last week: Beat LSU 10–0Next week: Saturday vs. Mississippi State

2. Clemson Tigers

PREVIOUS: 2

RECORD: 9-0

Last week: Beat Syracuse 54–0Next week: Saturday vs. Pitt

3. Michigan Wolverines

PREVIOUS: 3

RECORD: 9-0

Last week: Beat Maryland 59–3Next week: Saturday at Iowa

4. Washington Huskies

PREVIOUS: 4

RECORD: 9-0

Last week: Beat Cal 66–27Next week: Saturday vs. USC

5. Ohio St. Buckeyes

PREVIOUS: 7

RECORD: 8-1

Last week: Beat Nebraska 62–3Next week: Saturday at Maryland

6. Louisville Cardinals

PREVIOUS: 5

RECORD: 8-1

Last week: Beat Boston College 52–7Next week: Saturday vs. Wake Forest

7. Wisconsin Badgers

PREVIOUS: 8

RECORD: 7-2

Last week: Beat Northwestern 21–7Next week: Saturday vs. Illinois

8. Auburn Tigers

PREVIOUS: 9

RECORD: 7-2

Last week: Beat Vanderbilt 23–16Next week: Saturday at Georgia

9. Oklahoma Sooners

PREVIOUS: 12

RECORD: 7-2

Last week: Beat Iowa State 34–24Next week: Saturday vs. Baylor

10. Penn StATE Nittany Lions

PREVIOUS: 21

RECORD: 7-2

Last week: Beat Iowa 41–14Next week: Saturday at Indiana

11. Utah Utes

PREVIOUS: 14

RECORD: 7-2

Last week: OffNext week: Thursday at Arizona State

12. North Carolina Tar Heels

PREVIOUS: 18

RECORD: 7-2

A healthy Elijah Hood makes all the difference for North Carolina, as his 168 rushing yards and three touchdowns showed vs. Georgia Tech. The Tar Heels remain tied atop the ACC Coastal with Virginia Tech, but the Hokies own the tiebreaker because of their Nov. 8 win over North Carolina. Last week: Beat Georgia Tech 48–20Next week: Thursday at Duke

13. Texas A&M Aggies

PREVIOUS: 6

RECORD: 7-2

Forget about the playoff: Texas A&M’s loss to Mississippi State eliminates that prospect, and now the Aggies have to worry about Trevor Knight’s shoulder injury. The Aggies allowed 365 rushing yards at a 6.3 YPC clip and managed only 117 rushing yards on a 3.7 YPC average, a disappointing mark for a team bestowed with the final playoff ranking in the first rankings of 2016. The loss creates further separation in the SEC West between Alabama and Auburn, and the rest of the division. Last week: Lost to Mississippi State 35–28Next week: Saturday vs. Ole Miss

14. West Virginia Mountaineers

PREVIOUS: 15

RECORD: 7-1

West Virginia overcame its loss to Oklahoma State with a strong showing vs. Kansas, racking up more than 600 yards to keep pace in the Big 12. Those two early byes could come back to bite the Mountaineers, who must face Texas and Iowa State on the road and host Oklahoma and Baylor to conclude the season. Last week: Beat Kansas 48–21Next week: Saturday at Texas

15. Colorado Buffaloes

PREVIOUS: 22

RECORD: 7-2

Colorado and UCLA combined for 25 penalties Thursday night, splitting the difference nearly evenly—the Buffs had 12 for 128 yards (including an astounding eight personal-foul penalties), plus four turnovers. That’s a poor showing, even in a win, against a team that’s now lost four straight games. Colorado remains in the driver’s seat of the Pac-12 South, but will finish the regular season with games against Washington State and Utah. Fortunately for the Buffs, both are at home. Last week: Beat UCLA 20–10Next week: Saturday at Arizona

16. Oklahoma St. Cowboys

PREVIOUS: 23

RECORD: 7-2

Last week: Beat Kansas State 43–37Next week: Saturday vs. Texas Tech

17. Virginia Tech Hokies

PREVIOUS: 24

RECORD: 7-2

Last week: Beat Duke 24–21Next week: Saturday vs. Georgia Tech

18. Western Michigan Broncos

PREVIOUS: 16

RECORD: 9-0

Last week: Beat Ball State 52–20Next week: Tuesday at Kent State

19. LSU Tigers

PREVIOUS: 13

RECORD: 6-3

Last week: Lost to Alabama 10–0Next week: Saturday at Arkansas

20. Florida St. Seminoles

PREVIOUS: 19

RECORD: 6-3

Last week: Beat NC State 24–20Next week: Friday vs. Boston College

21. Nebraska Cornhuskers

PREVIOUS: 10

RECORD: 7-2

Saturday night’s trip to Columbus was wholly unenjoyable for the Huskers, who not only lost 62–3 to the Buckeyes but had to witness the scary injury to Tommy Armstrong Jr. Fortunately he’s OK. Nebraska has a manageable schedule to finish conference play, but needs a Wisconsin loss to win the Big Ten West. Last week: Lost to Ohio State 62–3Next week: Saturday vs. Minnesota