Amway College Football Poll 2015: Complete Week 11 Rankings Released
We're coming down the stretch of the college football season, and the stakes continue to rise as teams look to prove their worth with the postseason beckoning. This weekend was certainly a memorable one in that regard, as a few teams polished their resumes, while a few more suffered what could prove to be crippling losses.
Let's take a look at how both the coaches and Bleacher Report polls were altered due to the Week 10 results, along with a look back at the weekend that was.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Analysis
Three more teams dropped from the ranks of the unbeaten Saturday, as the playoff picture came into clearer view after a wild weekend.
In the premier matchup, Alabama took another step toward eradicating an early-season loss to Ole Miss, beating LSU 30-16. Running back Derrick Henry stole the show, rushing 38 times for 210 yards and three touchdowns while overshadowing Heisman front-runner Leonard Fournette, who was held to just 31 yards on 19 carries by the Crimson Tide defense.
"We didn't play perfectly but I thought it was really important that we could control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, and we did a really good job of that," Alabama head coach Nick Saban said after the game, per ESPN.
Henry wasn't interested in comparing himself to Fournette, meanwhile.
"Too much talk about Fournette and me," he said after his huge performance. "I'm just trying to win with the Crimson Tide."
His teammates were more apt to make that comparison, however, as Stewart Mandel of Fox Sports noted:
More importantly for Alabama, though, the win put the Crimson Tide atop the SEC West and in the driver's seat to reach the conference title game. Games against Mississippi State and Auburn are far from gimmes—and a likely matchup against Florida in the title game should be excellent—but the Crimson Tide appear to be in the driver's seat for another berth in the College Football Playoff.
Clemson is in the same boat after beating Florida State on Saturday, 23-13, behind a suffocating defense and another strong game from quarterback Deshaun Watson. It will be a heavy favorite in upcoming games against Syracuse, Wake Forest and South Carolina, while the ACC Coastal winner will provide more of a challenge but shouldn't knock off the talented Tigers.
Two prominent teams took a step in the wrong direction over the weekend, meanwhile, as Michigan State lost to Nebraska in the waning moments, 39-38, while TCU was overmatched against Oklahoma State, 49-29, in a game that left Baylor and the Cowboys fighting for the Big 12 crown.
It also left Clemson, Ohio State, Baylor, Iowa, Oklahoma State and Houston as the nation's last remaining undefeated teams, with Alabama looking like the strongest of the one-loss teams. Saturday, then, seemed to clear up the college playoff picture in a neat and tidy fashion, as Ralph D. Russo of the Associated Press tweeted:
This season hasn't exactly gone as predicted, of course, and much could change in the final weeks. Certainly, much will be decided next week, as Alabama will look to hold off Mississippi State, Houston will face its biggest test of the season against a very good Memphis team and Baylor will host Oklahoma in what should prove to be one of the season's more exciting shootouts and certainly will be the weekend's showcase matchup.
Baylor fans might want to buckle in over the next three weeks, as the Bears still have matchups against Oklahoma State and TCU to follow a tough contest against the Sooners. The Big 12 will be decided in those contests and, with it, one of the playoff spots, barring a surprise in the rankings.
But hey, surprises are what we love about college football in the first place, right?
They certainly are what we've been given an abundance of this year.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
