DISCLAIMER: I work for a national media affiliate but do not have a vote in the Associated Press poll so my opinion means virtually nothing. These rankings have nothing to do with preseason polls or last season’s results; they’re based on games that have been played this year only. The rankings will be volatile, especially early in the season.
Not even gonna summarize this past weekend of football; we were all there, and it was incredible.
Week six winners:
UCLA – Finally won a game and it was the biggest story of the weekend. Let’s look back at the Bruins’ season. They bring in a highly touted QB, they’re new to the Big Ten, things can’t possibly be worse than they’ve already been as of recent. Then they start 0-4, they’re getting rolled by G5 teams, the Rose Bowl is empty every Saturday and the whole thing is falling apart. They fire head coach Deshaun Foster and elevate Tim Skipper to interim head coach. The new head coach gives complete offensive playcalling oversight to Jerry Neuheisel, an assistant coach who played QB at the school and was brought in as a GA and Neuhiesel gets more production out of the offense than any coach has in the last three seasons. UCLA beats #7 Penn State for their first win of the season, the strigg;ling QB throws for five touchdown passes and the new OC gets carried off the field. An all time moment in the history of college football.
Texas Tech – With Iowa State’s crushing loss at Cincinnati, the Red Raiders are one of two remaining unbeaten Big 12 teams and the only team in the conference ranked inside the top ten. They have the inside track to win the Big 12.
Miami – Following a defeat of #18 Florida State, the U has now taken down FSU, Florida, USF and Bethune Cookman. At 5-0 the reign supreme in Florida and are ranked #2 in the country behind only Ohio State in the AP Poll. Their non-Florida win? Notre Dame.
Week six losers:
Penn State – This program should be embarrassed for so many reasons I don’t know where to start. James Franklin has taken this team as far as he can. His buyout is enormous and there’s no one available to replace him with. You come into every season ranked in the top five just to lose to Ohio State or Michigan in the big game, you’ve now lost two straight, one to the worst team in FBS and you’ve fallen out of the rankings altogether. And to think this isn’t nearly the most disgraceful era in Penn State football in recent memory.
Texas – Came in ranked #1 in the country, hasn’t beaten any formidable opponent yet and the quarterback who has been projected to go first overall in the draft for almost a decade hardly looks like he would start for a G5 team. Texas plays Oklahoma this weekend and are somehow favored to beat the #6 Sooners in the Red River Shootout. A win here would completely fix the mood in Austin, I just don’t see them pulling this one off.
The SEC – Alabama is back in the top 10 and rattling off quality wins. They said NIL would create parity in college football and it has just done that. Despite the shifting landscape, the Tide have seemed to bottom out and recover in a five-week span; the more things change, the more they stay the same.
My rankings:
- Oregon was on bye and host #7 Indiana this week. A win of any kind will keep them at #1.
- Ohio State dismantled Minnesota and play Illinois on the road who have really come to form since the Indiana loss
- Miami’s win over Florida propels them past Ole Miss, for now.
- Ole Miss is coming off the bye and plays Wazzu this weekend. A loss to the Cougs would hurt them tremendously
- Texas A&M is a cult but they’re a cult that’s undefeated and in the SEC.
- Indiana just keeps on winning but they took on Oregon this weekend. Oregon and Indiana are participating in a top ten matchup between Big Ten teams, this is the new college football.
- Texas Tech – Undefeated, quality wins at Utah and Houston, loaded roster.
- Georgia Tech – One of 11 unbeaten P5 teams. Haynes King is a wrecking ball at QB and one of my favorite players to watch this season.
- Virginia – Not how long the transitive property can hold now that Bama’s rolling.
- Alabama – That FSU loss seems like a lifetime ago as the Tide return to form. This week’s matchup with unbeaten Mizzou is massive in the SEC championship conversation.
- Missouri
- Georgia
- BYU
- Tennessee
- Michigan
- Illinois
- Memphis
- LSU
- Florida State
- Vanderbilt
- Cincinatti
- Arizona State
- North Texas
- Iowa State
- South Florida
mitchlinsley.com 
Leave a comment