Michigan is No. 1. The possibility has been percolating for weeks in the College Football Power Rankings. Now, the move past Georgia -- No. 1 since the beginning of the season -- has become unavoidable.
Reason 1: Georgia forfeits the right to argue this week because it didn't play last week. Such are the vagaries of bye weeks. Plus, the Bulldogs haven't quite looked like a two-time reigning champion.
Reason 2: You can argue about schedule -- Michigan has yet to play a ranked team -- but you can't argue about results. At this point in the season, consistency counts. Michigan has blown everyone out. The closest game has been 24 points. The average margin of victory is almost 35 points per game. The point differential alone (278 points) is more than 121 teams have scored this season.
Reason 3: Quarterback J.J. McCarthy is quietly rounding into a Heisman Trophy finalist. Sure, he's been pulled in some of these blowouts, but the Michigan signal caller is the second-highest rated and second-most accurate passer in the country. No QB is better on third down this season than McCarthy, who has four touchdown throws ... and five incompletions.
Reason 4: We're saving you the contrived drama in eight days. Michigan will be No. 1 when the first College Football Playoff Rankings are released Oct. 31. At this point, the Wolverines have played better than anyone else.
But ... Georgia will have its own argument to reclaim the No. 1 spot if it beats Florida. Next week, Michigan will be subject to the` same logic we applied to the Dawgs this week: The Wolverines are off.
You'll notice, for the first time this season, USC is not part of the Power Rankings. There's a bit of meltdown in Los Angeles right now. The Trojans were pushed around for the fourth straight time by the Utes (losing 34-32). Lincoln Riley suddenly has the same record after 22 games as Clay Helton (17-5).
USC is out of the CFP race and probably out of the Pac-12 chase with games coming up against Oregon and Washington.
Elsewhere ...
Oklahoma is 7-0 for the third time in the last five seasons. Why are the Sooners in the top four at this point? They beat the team (Texas) that beat the team (Alabama). The Longhorns win over the Crimson Tide looks better by the week.
Ohio State improved to 23-8 (.742) against top 10 in the last decade. That's a better winning percentage that LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame and Penn State (of course).
Utah made the biggest leap in this week's rankings after beating USC. Coach Kyle Whittingham revealed after the game that quarterback Cam Rising (knee) has been shut down for the remainder of the season. Rising could seek a medical redshirt and return next season. If he does, pencil in Utah as the favorite in its first season in the Big 12.
College Football Power Rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | A cynic might say Jim Harbaugh has more NCAA cases open against him (two) than his defense surrendered points Saturday. The 49-0 win over Michigan State marked the fifth-largest margin of victory in the series that started in 1898. Steal that. | 1 | 15-0 |
| 2 |  | Bye. The Bulldogs head into the second half without Brock Bowers (for now). Who will step up against an improving Florida this week in the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party? | 1 | 13-1 |
| 3 |  | After a shaky opening against Duke, the Seminoles proved how deep and powerful they are outscoring the Blue Devils 31-3 in the final 23 minutes. | -- | 13-1 |
| 4 |  | UCF came into the game in last place in the Big 12. It left almost sporting a massive upset. Only a flubbed UCF 2-point conversion kept the game from going into overtime. Will the anyone notice this game in December? | -- | 10-3 |
| 5 |  | Marvin Harrison Jr. had his Heisman Trophy moment on a day virtually nothing else was working offensively for either team. Kyle McCord completed 11 of 16 passes for 162 yards and a TD to Harrison. He was 11 of 19 for 124 yards otherwise in a yawner of a win against Penn State. "They now have confidence they can win the game on defense," said coordinator Jim Knowles. | 1 | 11-2 |
| 6 |  | Don't know whether to consider it an Oregon hangover or Arizona State being plucky. Regardless, the Huskies didn't take the lead until a pick six with 8 minutes left. | 1 | 14-1 |
| 7 |  | A failed fake field goal allowed Houston to get back in it after trailing 21-0. The final (31-24) was way too close for a team competing for the CFP. Orangebloods are waiting with baited breath QB Quinn Ewers (shoulder) to return after leaving in the second half. | -- | 12-2 |
| 8 |  | Bama fell behind by 13 points then scored the last 27 against Tennessee. Now, the long wait for the LSU game in two weeks that may decide the SEC West. The Crimson Tide's identity is hard to summarize at this point. Whatever they're doing, it's working. | 2 | 12-2 |
| 9 |  | The dream is still alive. Bucky Irving had his fourth straight game of at least 100 total yards. The Ducks still have to be considered playoff worthy with a bounce-back win over Washington State in the teams' last conference game ever. | 2 | 12-2 |
| 10 |  | Bye. Prepping for a possible trap game at Arizona. The Wildcats are one of the biggest success stories in the Pac-12, two games away from bowl eligibility. Beavers can't afford to look ahead. The season ends with games against Washington and Oregon six days apart. | 2 | 8-5 |
| 11 |  | The QB (Bryson Barnes) is a former walk-on who grew up on a pig farm. A safety (Sione Vaki) was Saturday's leading receiver. Yeah, the Utes are thinned with injuries. That made a fourth consecutive win over USC that much more amazing. The last Pac-12 team to win four straight vs. USC was Stanford (2009-12). The road to a third consecutive (and last) Pac-12 title has cleared a bit. | 6 | 8-5 |
| 12 |  | Too early to congratulate Michigan on its third consecutive Big Ten title? It doesn't look like the Nittany Lions are going to be a threat. A seventh straight loss to Ohio State (11 out of the last 12) exposed massive offensive deficiencies. | 4 | 10-3 |
| 13 |  | Hard to believe a game involving Ole Miss featured 13 straight scoreless drives, but that's exactly what happened in the Auburn game. Jaxson Dart (246 yards of total offense) and Quinshon Judkins (124 yards rushing) were the difference. A showdown with Georgia looms if the Rebels can get past Vanderbilt and Texas A&M the next two weeks. | 1 | 11-2 |
| 14 |  | After an easy win over South Carolina, Missouri has two weeks to prepare for a showdown at Georgia. Why do I get the feeling the pesky Tigers have a shot? They're off to their best start (7-1) in 10 years. Only three Mizzou teams (1909, 1960, 1962) have opened better. | 7 | 11-2 |
| 15 |  | Bye. Two weeks to stew about the Pittsburgh upset. Duke is next. During the off week, the Cardinals offensive line was named one of the 23 best by the Joe Moore Award folks. Michigan has won the last two Joe Moores. | 1 | 10-4 |
| 16 |  | A dream season is marred by an unlikely upset. Virginia (1-5 entering) beat a top-10 team on the road for the first time holding the ball for an astonishing 37 minutes. Virginia had been 0-28 against top 10 opponents. | 7 | 8-5 |
| 17 |  | Bye. The Fighting Irish are likely to be favored in their four remaining games (Pittsburgh, Clemson, Wake Forest, Stanford). Win those and a 10-2 season would be a fine second year for Marcus Freeman. | 2 | 10-3 |
| 18 |  | The best part of Saturday night in Death Valley was watching LSU and Army players mingle together for the alma maters. Otherwise, it was a buy game tune up for Alabama in two weeks. The 62-0 score made it a school-record four games in a row posting at least 48 points. Should Joe Burrow be jealous he wasn't able to play with this offense? | 2 | 10-3 |
| 19 |  | Enjoy those ripped down goalposts from last year after the Bama win. They've been dunked and cut up into pieces for souvenirs, but revenge is a witch. Josh Heupel and offensive coordinator Joey Halzle had a great plan but couldn't contain Bama. | 6 | 9-4 |
| 20 |  | In one of the most dominant defensive performances in recent Air Force history, Navy was held to 124 yards on 64 snaps. The Falcons also picked off two passes. The road to the New Year's Six looks a little wider as AFA won its 12th in a row. | 3 | 9-4 |
| 21 |  | Bye. Going into Week 9, the Gators control their own destiny in the SEC East. If they win it, they'll earn it. Georgia is next in the Cocktail Party followed by Arkansas and consecutive trips to LSU and Missouri. | 1 | 5-7 |
| 22 |  | Coach Curt Cignetti had the tweet of the week: "That JMU Stats do not show up on the NCAA Stats is completely ridiculous, period." It is. Period. Dukes moved to 7-0 with a Thursday win over Marshall. | 2 | 11-2 |
| 23 |  | It's worth blaming Duke's second-half collapse against Florida State on QB Riley Leonard going down again. With 7 minutes to go in the third quarter, Leonard left with an ankle injury. The Blue Devils gained only 35 yards the rest of the game after once leading 17-7. | 8 | 8-5 |
| 24 |  | The Jalon Daniels Sweepstakes may continue. There are rumors UCLA will pursue the injured Kansas QB in the offseason. Daniels is a California native. UCLA freshman starter Dante Moore was pulled after an ineffective start against Stanford. | NR | 8-5 |
| 25 |  | The Green Wave made a laugher against North Texas (21-0 at halftime) into a nail-biter (35-28). Was the CFP Selection Committee watching when it comes down to that New Year's Six bid? Tulane is 6-1 in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1931. | -- | 11-3 |
Out: USC
