College Football Rankings 2017: Week 7 Polls, Schedule and Standings Predictions
Week 6 brought major changes to the Top 10, with losses by Oklahoma and Michigan shaking things up across the college football landscape.
The Sooners, who came into last Saturday ranked third and boasting a win over Ohio State, fell apart defensively in a 38-31 loss to Iowa State. Cyclones quarterback Kyle Kempt threw for 343 yards and three touchdowns and spent most of the second half making big plays. Kempt averaged 14.3 yards per attempt, and four Iowa State wideouts averaged at least 20 yards per catch.
"We should have been better than that today," Oklahoma defensive coordinator Mike Stoops told reporters. "Some of the old scars kind of repeated themselves today. Our execution as a whole was not good enough. That falls on us as coaches. We haven't played well the last couple of weeks. We are just not making enough plays, and if you do that in this league, you're going to come out on the short end of the stick."
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Oklahoma moved back nine spots to No. 12. Michigan slid 10 spots to No. 17 after turning the ball over five times in a 14-10 loss to Michigan State. John O'Korn threw three interceptions, as both teams struggled to find any offensive rhythm in a downpour.
"You can criticize that," Harbaugh told reporters of the interceptions. "We were trying to run the ball. We were trying to piece drives together. We really were. We needed to score points, and we needed to put some drives together, and that's what we were trying to do."
Those losses helped create a pretty clear hierarchy in the Big 12 and Big Ten. Penn State, which moved up to No. 3 with Oklahoma's loss, now appears to be the Big Ten's best hope at a playoff berth. Its next three games could determine the entire conference outlook. The Nittany Lions host Michigan in two weeks before road matchups against Ohio State and Michigan State.
The potential for change in the Top 25 this week will be dependent on unranked teams pulling upsets. There are no matchups between ranked teams on the schedule.
Kansas State could be a sneaky upset choice at home over sixth-ranked TCU. The Wildcats have lost two games this season, but both were by one score. If quarterback Jesse Ertz puts up a big game and keeps up with TCU's offense, it could be close.
Tenth-ranked Auburn also visits an LSU team fresh off a win over Florida, but the Top 25 is likely to look much the same as it did a week ago.
1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Penn State
4. Georgia
5. Washington
6. TCU
7. Wisconsin
8. Washington State
9. Ohio State
10. Auburn
11. Miami
12. Oklahoma
13. USC
14. Oklahoma State
15. Virginia Tech
16. Notre Dame
17. Michigan
18. South Florida
19. San Diego State
20. North Carolina State
21. Michigan State
22. UCF
23. Stanford
24. Texas Tech
25. Navy
Projected Top 25
1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Penn State
4. Georgia
5. Washington
6. TCU
7. Wisconsin
8. Washington State
9. Ohio State
10. Auburn
11. Miami
12. Oklahoma
13. USC
14. Oklahoma State
15. Virginia Tech
16. Notre Dame
17. Michigan
18. South Florida
19. San Diego State
20. North Carolina State
21. Michigan State
22. UCF
23. Stanford
24. Texas Tech
25. Navy
Full week 7 schedule available at ESPN.com.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
