College Football 2023: B/R's Top 25 Rankings After Week 6
The biggest game of the day in Week 6 of the 2023 college football season was the Red River Rivalry, with Oklahoma and Texas both looking to stake claim to Big 12 supremacy and an inside track to a spot in the College Football Playoff.
The Sooners came away victorious in a 34-30 thriller, staying unbeaten in what will be their toughest test of the season. That means a shakeup is coming behind Georgia and Michigan in the week's top 25 poll. Will Oklahoma vault all the way into the top four?
Meanwhile, Fresno State, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri and Washington State each suffered its first loss of the season. That will have a significant impact on the bottom half of the rankings, perhaps opening the door for a few new teams to make their first appearance of the year.
Here's how Bleacher Report's college football writing staff—David Kenyon, Joel Reuter and Brad Shepard—view the top 25 teams in the nation after Week 6 action:
1. Georgia
2. Michigan
3. Penn State
4t. Oklahoma
4t. Washington
6. Ohio State
7. Florida State
8t. USC
8t. Oregon
10. Texas
11. Alabama
12. North Carolina
13. Louisville
14. Oregon State
15. Ole Miss
16. Duke
17. Utah
18. UCLA
19. Tennessee
20. Washington State
21t. Kansas
21t. Missouri
23t. Air Force
23t. Miami
23t. Wyoming
Who's Hot: Oklahoma Has Clear Path to an Undefeated Season
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The stakes were at an all-time high for this year's Red River Rivalry, with the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns both entering the annual rivalry game undefeated and eyeing a spot in the College Football Playoff field.
The heavyweight showdown did not disappoint.
The Longhorns broke a 27-27 tie with a Bert Auburn field goal with 1:17 remaining in the fourth quarter, but that was too much time to leave on the clock for Dillon Gabriel and the Oklahoma offense.
The Sooners went 75 yards in five plays, capping things off with a three-yard touchdown strike from Gabriel to Nic Anderson with 15 seconds left on the clock. That put the Sooners on top for good, and the 34-30 victory immediately vaults them into the CFP picture.
Gabriel finished with 285 passing yards, 113 rushing yards and two touchdowns, outplaying Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers who completed 31 of 37 passes for 346 yards but turned the ball over three times with two interceptions and a lost fumble.
After an idle week next weekend, the Sooners will face UCF, Kansas, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, BYU and TCU. None of those teams are currently ranked, and they don't have to face Kansas State, which was picked to finish second in the preseason poll.
If the Sooners can run the table, which seems entirely possible, they will be a lock for a College Football Playoff berth.
Who's Not: Fresno State No Longer the Group of Five Top Dog
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Fresno State entered Saturday's game looking to further its case as the nation's best Group of Five team while also extending the second-longest winning streak at the FBS level to 15 games.
A 5-0 start that included road wins against Purdue and Arizona State had them up to No. 24 in the latest AP poll—the only non-Power Five team to earn a spot among the game's top teams this past week.
Wyoming had other ideas, though.
The Cowboys handed the Bulldogs their first loss of the season, building a 24-7 halftime lead and holding on for a 24-19 victory on Saturday night.
So, who is the best Group of Five team in the nation now?
The Cowboys themselves have a decent claim with a 5-1 record. Aside from the quality win they just picked up over Fresno State, they also gave Texas everything it could handle a few weeks ago, entering the fourth quarter tied 10-10 before the Longhorns kicked it into gear and came away with a 21-point win.
Tulane, Air Force and James Madison were the other Group of Five teams to receive votes in the latest AP poll, and they are all strong candidates to climb into the top 25 poll in the coming weeks.
If you're looking for a dark horse in this conversation, the Ohio Bobcats have gone 5-0 since suffering a season-opening loss against San Diego State, and standout quarterback Kurtis Rourke was knocked out of that game early with an injury.
Fun Fact: E.J. Warner Nearly Surpasses His Hall of Fame Father...Sort of
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Did you know: Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner has a son who is currently the starting quarterback at Temple?
E.J. Warner was a 3-star recruit out of high school who chose Temple over UConn while also fielding offers from Ball State, Colorado State, Eastern Kentucky, Georgia Southern, Hawaii, Marshall, Northern Colorado, Presbyterian and UT Martin.
He threw for 3,028 yards with 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions as a true freshman last season, and he is back under center as the Owls' starting quarterback again this season.
A 49-34 loss to UTSA on Saturday dropped Temple to 2-4 on the season, but Warner put together a huge individual performance, uncorking a staggering 65 pass attempts and racking up 472 yards and five touchdowns through the air.
That gaudy passing total was just 12 yards short of his father's single-game high during his NFL career, as he threw for 484 yards against the San Francisco 49ers during the 2007 season, but it's a mark he has previously surpassed.
The younger Warner threw for a staggering 527 yards against East Carolina in the regular-season finale last season, and two weeks prior to that, he had a 486-yard game on the road against Houston.
The Owls may not be nationally relevant, but keep an eye on Warner in the coming weeks.
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Looking Ahead: Michael Penix Jr. vs. Bo Nix in Battle of Heisman Trophy Contenders
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The Pac-12 conference has been front and center throughout the 2023 college football season, thanks in large part to the quarterback play of Caleb Williams (USC), Michael Penix Jr. (Washington) and Bo Nix (Oregon), who might be the three leading Heisman Trophy contenders right now.
Two of those standouts will go head-to-head next weekend when Oregon and Washington square off in a game that also has College Football Playoff implications as both teams also enter Week 7 undefeated. ESPN's College GameDay will be on hand for all the action from Seattle.
Not to be outdone, Williams and the USC Trojans also have a high-profile matchup against Notre Dame as part of the evening slate.
Tyler Van Dyke (Miami) and Drake Maye (North Carolina) will provide another major quarterback battle out of the ACC, and the winner of that game will join Louisville as the leading contender to push Florida State for the conference title.
The AP poll and the Heisman Trophy race both appear to be in for some major shuffling with what's on the docket in Week 7.
See you there.
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