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Amway College Football Poll 2017: Week 13 Rankings Unveiled for Top 25 Teams
November 19, 2017
Well, not every weekend provides drama and huge upsets. Sometimes you get chalk across the board.
Such was the case in Week 12, leaving the Amway Coaches Poll without too many dramatic changes heading into Week 13. Below, we'll break down the poll and the past weekend of action.
Rankings
1. Alabama (11-0)
2. Miami (10-0)
3. Clemson (10-1)
4. Wisconsin (11-0)
5. Oklahoma (10-1)
6. Auburn (9-2)
7. Georgia (10-1)
8. Ohio State (9-2)
9. Notre Dame (9-2)
10. USC (10-2)
11. Penn State (9-2)
12. UCF (10-0)
13. TCU (9-2)
14. Washington (9-2)
15. Washington State (9-2)
16. Memphis (9-1)
17. Mississippi State (8-3)
18. LSU (8-3)
19. South Florida (9-1)
20. Stanford (8-3)
21. Oklahoma State (8-3)
22. Michigan State 98-3)
23. Northwestern (8-3)
24. Boise State (9-2)
25. Virginia Tech (8-3)
Analysis
Among the top teams in the country heading into Week 12, only Oklahoma State and NC State were upset.
Alabama blew out Mercer, and Clemson took no pity on the Citadel. Miami scored 30 unanswered points to erase a 28-14 third-quarter deficit and defeat Virginia. Oklahoma smoked Kansas, though quarterback Baker Mayfield made headlines for his lewd gesture toward the Jayhawks' sideline. And Auburn and Georgia kept themselves in the playoff picture with convincing wins over Louisiana Monroe and Kentucky, respectively.
The most intriguing matchup of the day was Wisconsin hosting Michigan, arguably the Badgers' stiffest challenge to date. The Badgers dominated both lines of scrimmage, rushing for 182 yards while holding the Wolverines to 58 on the ground, outscoring Michigan 17-3 in the second half to earn a 24-10 victory.
Given Wisconsin's schedule, the Badgers haven't gotten a ton of respect in the College Football Playoff discussion, ranked No. 5 in the official committee's rankings behind two teams (Clemson and Oklahoma) that each have a loss.
The Badgers aren't really sweating it, however.
"What good does getting mad at the outside noise do for a team?" left tackle Michael Deiter said, per Chuck Culpepper of the Washington Post. "To me, all it could do is harmful stuff. So keep everything in-house, and just making sure you win games, and everything should work out for you."
"I think that if your fuel is outside noise, then you probably shouldn’t be here [at Wisconsin]," he continued. "If your fuel isn't just this team and wanting to win, if your fuel is, 'I want to silence the haters,' and stuff like that, then you’re probably not in the right spot. Wisconsin is just all about playing for the team, and for the state, fans, stuff like that, that’s your fuel."
That fuel has already clinched a spot in the Big Ten title game for Wisconsin. Win out against Minnesota and Ohio State, and it certainly will be hard for the committee to keep the undefeated Badgers out of the playoff.
Next week has more than a few matchups that should shape that discussion, most notably Alabama facing Auburn in the Iron Bowl and Ohio State taking on Michigan in one of college football's top rivalries. The Pac-12 is set for a big weekend as well, with Stanford facing Notre Dame and Washington State and Washington tangling in the Apple Cup.