Clemson Still #1 in Blue Through and Through Top 25

Note:  When we list several unranked teams among a team's biggest wins (example TCU ), it isn't because they are big wins, but because those wins are simply their biggest victories and all of those wins are about the same in importance.

The week was best characterized as watching several teams that should have won easily that either had close calls or lost.  This shows the parity this year we've been talking about.

Oklahoma, whose biggest previous win was over Texas Tech, finally scored a win over a top team, beating Baylor, which also still owns no impressive wins.  Some people thought Baylor should have been ranked behind Florida last week.  The result last night shows why they shouldn't have been.

Stanford, which the "experts" ranked far ahead of Northwestern, who they had lost to, had to do some serious correcting after their loss to Oregon.  It turns out that Northwestern's win over Stanford was not an upset; they are just a better team.

#1-1 Clemson (11-0) clipped Wake Forest 33-13; Biggest Wins: #3 Notre Dame 24-22 and #18 Florida State 23-13
#2-2 Alabama (10-1) creamed Charleston Southern 56-6; Biggest Wins: #23 LSU 30-16, #24 Texas A&M 41-23, #25 Wisconsin 35-17, Mississippi State 31-6, and Georgia 38-10; Lost to #22 Mississippi 43-37

#3-3 Notre Dame (10-1) survived Boston College 19-16; Biggest Wins: #6 Navy 41-24, #20 Temple 24-20 and Pittsburgh 42-30; Lost to #1 Clemson 24-22

#4-4 Iowa (11-0) rocked Purdue 40-20; Biggest Wins: #12 Northwestern 40-10, #25 Wisconsin 10-6 and Pittsburgh 27-24

#6-5 Florida (10-1) beat Florida Atlantic 20-14 in overtime; Biggest Wins: #22 Mississippi 38-10 and Georgia 27-3; lost to #23 LSU 35-28

#9-6 Navy (9-1) took care of Tulsa 44-21; Biggest Wins: #21 Memphis 45-20 and Air Force 33-11; Lost to #3 Notre Dame 41-24  

#13-7 Oklahoma (10-1) beat #13 TCU 30-29; Biggest Wins: #9 Baylor 44-34 and #13 TCU 30-29; lost to Texas 24-17 

#10-8 Michigan State (10-1) edged #11 Ohio State 17-14; Biggest Wins: #11 Ohio State, #15 Michigan 27-23 and Air Force 35-21; Lost to Nebraska 39-38 

#14-9 Baylor (9-1) downed #10 Oklahoma State 45-35; Biggest Win: #10 Oklahoma State 45-35; Lost to #7 Oklahoma 44-34  

#5-10 Oklahoma State (10-1) lost to #9 Baylor 45-35; Biggest Win: #13 TCU 49-29; Lost to #9 Baylor 45-35  

#7-11 Ohio State (10-1) lost to #8 Michigan State 17-14; Biggest Win: Penn State 38-10; Lost to #8Michigan State 17-14 

#17-12 Northwestern (9-2) tripped #25 Wisconsin 13-7; Biggest Wins: #14 Stanford 16-6 and #25Wisconsin 13-7; Lost to #4 Iowa 40-10 and #15 Michigan 38-0  

#12-13 TCU (9-2) lost to #7 Oklahoma 30-29; Biggest Wins: Texas Tech 55-52, Kansas State 52-45 and West Virginia 40-10; Lost to #7 Oklahoma 30-29 and #10 Oklahoma State 49-29  

#20-14 Stanford (8-2) turned back California 35-22; Biggest Win: UCLA 56-35; Lost to #12 Northwestern 16-6 and Oregon 38-36 

#16-15 Michigan (9-2) downed Penn State 28-16; Biggest Wins: #12 Northwestern 38-0 and BYU 31-0; Lost to #8 Michigan State 27-23 and Utah 24-17   

#21-16 North Carolina (10-1) tipped Virginia Tech 30-27 in OT; Biggest Win: Pittsburgh 26-19; Lost to South Carolina 17-13

#22-17 Toledo (9-1) rolled past Bowling Green 44-28; Biggest Win: Arkansas 16-12; Lost to Northern Illinois 32-27

#23-18 Florida State (9-2) ripped Chattanooga 52-13; Biggest Win: Miami of Florida 29-24; Lost to #1 Clemson 23-13 and Georgia Tech 22-16

#11-19 Houston (10-1) fell to Connecticut 20-17; Biggest Win: #21 Memphis 35-31; Lost to Connecticut 20-17   

------20 Temple (9-2) handed #21 Memphis a 31-12 setback; Biggest Wins: #21 Memphis 31-12 and Penn State 27-10; Lost to #3 Notre Dame 24-20 and South Florida 44-23

#18-21 Memphis (8-3) lost its third straight, this time to #20 Temple, 35-12; Biggest Win: #22 Mississippi 37-24; Lost to #6 Navy 45-20, #19 Houston 35-31 and #25 Temple 31-12

#24-22 Mississippi (7-3) beat #23 LSU 38-17; Biggest Wins: #2 Alabama 43-37, #23 LSU and #24 Texas A&M 23-3; Lost to #5 Florida 38-10, Memphis 37-24 and Arkansas 53-52

#8-23 LSU (7-3) lost to #22 Mississippi 38-17; Biggest Wins: #5 Florida 35-28 and Mississippi State 21-19; Lost to #2 Alabama 30-16, #22 Mississippi and Arkansas 31-14

#25-24 Texas A&M (8-3) beat Vanderbilt 25-0; Biggest Win: Mississippi State 30-17; Lost to #2 Alabama 41-23, #22 Mississippi 23-3 and Auburn 26-10

#19-25 Wisconsin (8-3) lost to #12 Northwestern 13-7; Biggest Win: Illinois 24-13; Lost to #2 Alabama 35-17, #4 Iowa 10-6 and #12 Northwestern 13-7

Dropped Out: Memphis, Utah





Also Considered:

Mississippi State (8-3) edged Arkansas 51-50; Biggest Win: Auburn 17-9; Lost to #2 Alabama 31-6, #22 LSU 21-19 and #23 Texas A&M 30-17  

UCLA (8-3) beat Utah 17-9; Biggest Wins: Utah 17-9 and BYU 24-23; Lost to #14 Stanford 56-35, Washington State 31-27 and Arizona State 38-23
Pittsburgh (8-3) defeated Louisville 45-34; Biggest Win: Duke 31-13; Lost to #3 Notre Dame 42-30, #4 Iowa 27-24 and #16 North Carolina 26-19

Utah (8-3) lost to UCLA 17-9; Biggest Win: #16 Michigan 24-17; Lost to UCLA 17-9, USC 42-24 and Arizona 37-30    
BYU (8-3) took care of Fresno State 52-10; Biggest Win: Boise State 35-24; Lost to #15 Michigan 31-0, UCLA 24-23 and Missouri 20-16
Air Force (8-3) held off Boise State 37-30; Biggest Wins: San Jose State 30-16 and Utah State 35-28; Lost to #6 Navy 33-11, #8 Michigan State 35-21, and Colorado State 38-23 

Georgia (8-3) escaped with a 23-17 win in overtime over Georgia Southern; Biggest Win: Auburn 20-13; Lost to #2 Alabama 38-10, #6 Florida 27-3, and Tennessee 38-31
Western Kentucky (9-2) obliterated Florida International 63-7; Biggest Win: Vanderbilt 14-12; Lost to #22LSU 48-20 and Indiana 38-35