Houston and Tennessee each fell from the ranks of the unbeaten in college football on Saturday, a wild day that doesn't bring us to the technical end of Week 6 thanks to games impacted by Hurricane Matthew.
With games on Sunday, including Georgia at South Carolina, the AP Top 25 has been delayed until Monday. So like college football, Tomorrow's Top 25 Today has been impacted by the inclement weather as well. The new rankings won't come out Sunday, but this our best guess at where teams will fall after Saturday's action.
The Cougars and Vols still have everything ahead of them in terms of impressive, achievable goals. Houston, with some help, can win a second-straight American Athletic Conference title and return to the New Year's Six with a chance to leave a big-time impression like they did against Florida State in the Peach Bowl last year. But a College Football Playoff spot? That's probably out of reach for now after the loss to Navy, unless several likely conference champions start dropping games as favorites in league play as well.
Tennessee still has a leg up in the SEC East thanks to wins against Florida and Georgia, and winning the East is good enough to set up a one-game play-in scenario for the playoff. A win would have been preferable considering the arrival of No. 1 Alabama on the door step next week in Knoxville, but even a two-loss Tennessee team isn't totally out of the playoff picture if it can win out, get some help and win in the league championship.
Expect some shake up in the top 10, some weird shuffling in the middle and a few new faces when the new AP Top 25 does come out on Monday. Here's our best guess for now, following Saturday's Week 6 action.
1. Alabama (Previous AP Top 25 ranking -- 1): Minkah Fitzpatrick put on a show and Alabama proved again that it doesn't need low-scoring grinders to win big SEC West games.
2. Ohio State (2): Indiana might just be a thorn in Urban Meyer's side. The final score won't give anyone pause but the way the game played out made the seemingly unbeatable Buckeyes look vulnerable at moments.
3. Clemson (3): Tigers coaches and players didn't get out of Death Valley until the early hours of Sunday morning after beating Louisville, then they turned around took care of business on Friday against Boston College. There will be tougher challenges ahead in the ACC Atlantic, but navigating the logistics of that and stuffing the stat sheet against a feisty BC defense are a good sign for the Tigers.
4. Michigan (4): The Wolverines don't seem to be trying to run up the score, but there is a relentless nature with the way this Michigan team attacks its opponents when the advantage has been established. There are less than a handful of teams that can stand eye-to-eye with Jim Harbaugh's bunch right now; it just so happens one of those teams is right there with Michigan at the top of the polls and Big Ten standings.
5. Washington (5): The Huskies proved they belonged by following up an impressive win against Stanford with another dominating performance against Oregon in a win that snapped a 12-game losing streak to the Ducks in the series. Jake Browning accounted for eight touchdowns and Washington picked up another key division victory against a former Pac-12 North champion.
6. Louisville (6): The Cardinals were off in Week 6.
7. Texas A&M (8): Tennessee pulled out all of its big-stage magic tricks again, the only difference was that Trevor Knight and Texas A&M had answers every time down the stretch and in overtime. Beating Tennessee has made the Aggies not only a threat to Alabama but a team that can challenge Ole Miss (or the Vols) as the second-best team in the SEC. There's a lot of SEC schedule left to play, but Saturday's win resonates in College Station.
8. Nebraska (12): The Cornhuskers, still undefeated at 5-0, were off in Week 6.
9. Baylor (13): The Bears didn't win over many voters with a narrow win against Iowa State but being undefeated and off in Week 6 is enough to see a slight improvement in the polls.
10. Tennessee (9): The combination of a narrow road conference loss in extra time and losses elsewhere in the top 10 could keep the Vols near the top of the rankings.
11. Wisconsin (11): The Badgers, off in Week 6, still look good to voters with only one loss to Michigan on the resume.
12. Houston (6): The Cougars' slide probably won't be further than No. 15 after losing to Navy, but voters that did see the uninspired performance could penalize the team even further knowing what it means for program's playoff hopes.
13. Florida State (23): The Seminoles needed a huge game at Miami to get off the mat and start throwing punches again. Dalvin Cook ran for 150 yards and Deondre Francois put together a great second half against Miami's defense in a must-win game for everyone in Tallahassee.
14. Ole Miss (14): Even when Chad Kelly wasn't on the field, he couldn't help but find his way into the sidelines as he was spotted rushing the field during a bench-clearing kerfuffle in a high school game back home. The Rebels were on a bye.
15. Miami (10): The Hurricanes' blocked extra point will linger for far longer than it needs to unless Miami can get back on track next week with a key Coastal Division victory against North Carolina.
16. Boise State (19): The Broncos' swift disassembly of New Mexico on Friday night was not their first runaway win of 2016, but it was resounding enough, especially at this point in the season, to result in a rankings bump.
17. Oklahoma (20): The Sooners didn't play a perfect game defensively, but that group played well enough early so that Oklahoma was always in control and forcing Texas to play its hand first.
18. Arkansas (16): Another loss to a top-10 team will not bounce the Hogs out of the polls, but the issues revealed in those losses will need to be resolved soon if Bret Bielema's team is going to remain ranked.
19. Virginia Tech (25): Bud Foster plays the perfect connection to the past as Virginia Tech shows up as the team with more in the lunch pail against North Carolina in the elements. Hurricane Matthew might get an assist for win (or at least why UNC struggled on offense), but it starts with the Hokies defense winning battles up front and shutting down Mitch Trubisky on early downs.
20. Florida (18): No LSU game, no chance to move up in the rankings.
21. Auburn (NR): The Tigers entered Saturday known for sleepy starts in noon games with a history of struggles against Dan Mullen int he last four years. It didn't take long on Saturday to realize not only that Auburn had a different team than it did a few weeks ago, but that 2016 would not be like other recent meetings in this SEC West rivalry. After a blowout win on the road, Auburn should see some attention from the voters.
22. West Virginia (22): The Mountaineers are still undefeated but were also off this week.
23. Utah (24): The Utes rebounded from last week's loss, and at 4-1 with a spot in the bottom of last week's poll, it's hard to keep them out of the top 25. Considering the Pac-12 South is so wide open, Utah remains a real threat to win the conference's "other" division.
24. Western Michigan (NR): A 45-30 win against North Illinois helps set WMU up for a shot at the MAC title and propels the Broncos into the rankings.
25. Oklahoma State (NR): James Washington helped power a huge comeback for OSU against Iowa State, making the Pokes the second team in as many weeks to avoid a loss to Matt Campbell's Cyclones.
Dropped out of the rankings: North Carolina, Colorado, Stanford
New arrivals: Western Michigan, Auburn, Oklahoma State
