College Football Power Rankings: Tennessee, TCU move into top five as Alabama, USC take big steps back
Major changes have come to the Power Rankings at the season's midway point
By
Dennis Dodd
•
2 min read
Halfway home. All the way exhausted. The 2022 season reached its halfway point Saturday like an F5 tornado. All you had to do was look at the floor of Neyland Stadium. Folks had dug up the turf with their bare hands -- litter piled upon litter, the debris of delirium.
Late into the night, some poor worker had the job of blowing the trash off the field. Trash? That stuff should be preserved in a museum. For a lot of us, it was the best we've game we've ever seen. At least in the regular season.
There is plenty of time to rank 'em later. For now, we must take stock halfway through.
If form holds, this will be the second-highest scoring season in college football history (29.767 points per team). The season will also set a record for most yards passing per game (242.3 per team). Quarterbacks have never been more accurate (62.2%).
Tennessee has the best player (Hendon Hooker) and best coach (Josh Heupel). Illinois running back Chase Brown is nearly on a 2,000-yard pace after pounding Minnesota for 180 yards. Utah's Dalton Kincaid has the most receptions in a game (15 vs. USC). He had 23 all season coming into the game. Michigan might be better than last season after muscling Penn State out of the national picture. The Nittany Lions had been giving up 79.8 yards rushing per game only to allow 418 on Saturday alone. Ouch.
Three games all involving top 20 teams were decided by a total of seven points. If Heupel isn't Coach of the Year, TCU's Sonny Dykes might be. Dykes is reaching the pinnacle of his career guiding one of only nine undefeated teams at this point. His Horned Frogs rallied from two touchdowns down to beat Oklahoma State in overtime.
A game that would have been mocked had it been played in the Big 12 was an instant classic as Tennessee beat Alabama, 52-49. No, make that an everlasting classic. Yeah, but some things never change. At the halfway point, the Big 12 leads every conference with its teams averaging 36.26 points per game.
Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud is on pace to throw for more than 50 touchdown passes. Vanderbilt QB AJ Swann has yet to throw an interception. He has the most touchdowns in the country (eight) without a pick. Speaking of Vandy, it's an encouraging 3-4 after debuting under Clark Lea at 2-10 in 2021.
Anything seems possible at this point. You had enough? Of course not. We're only halfway home.
Let's take a look at this week's updated Power Rankings.
Biggest Movers
10
Kentucky
7
Mississippi State
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | There is some certainty somewhere. The Bulldogs skunked the Commodores, but the challengers are lining up in the second half: Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi State and some team or another from the SEC West in the SEC title game. | -- | 12-1 |
| 2 |  | Bye. Quietly, the Buckeyes have been the most consistent team in the country. Why aren't they No. 1 here? Can't move up sitting on the couch. | -- | 12-1 |
| 3 |  | Three transfers made the transformative win over Alabama possible - Hooker (Virginia Tech), kicker Chase McGrath (USC), wide receiver Bru McCoy (USC, Texas, USC). A crazy summation of a crazy game. | 4 | 8-4 |
| 4 |  | What was left of Penn State dragged its ego back to State College. Donovan Edwards and Blake Corum each went over 100 yards rushing in a satisfying win over a rival that had won three of the last five in the series. | -- | 9-3 |
| 5 |  | The Fort Worth version of the Riot at Rocky Top. The best team in the Big 12 just swept the state of Oklahoma. Fans rushed the field. Kansas State visits this week. | 5 | 8-4 |
| 6 |  | Will Shipley just might be the best Power Five all-purpose player of the halfway point. He ran for 121 yards, caught passes for 48 and returned a kick for 69 in the win over Florida State. | -- | 7-5 |
| 7 |  | Lane Kiffin is the gift that keeps giving. As McGrath lined up for the Vols' game-winner, he tweeted, "Make it this time." Please see 2009 for reference. Get your tickets for the Alabama game on Nov. 12. | 4 | 11-1 |
| 8 |  | The penalties must be a concern - a program-record 17 at Rocky Top. Bama now is averaging 9.4 flags per game, third-highest rate in the country. Lots to assess after the Crimson Tide suffered a loss before Oct. 16 in back-to-back years for the first time since 2014-15. | 5 | 10-3 |
| 9 |  | Bye. The Pac-12's lone unbeaten travels to Oregon for what might be a preview of the Pac-12 Championship Game. | 1 | 3-9 |
| 10 |  | The trip to Utah was a huge midseason test. The Trojans didn't pass. They squandered leads of 14-0, 21-7 and 35-28 in a shootout loss. The season must be reassessed now that the playoff might be a longshot and the Utes have the tiebreaker in the league, if it comes to that. | 5 | 9-3 |
| 11 |  | Goodbye playoff push. The Cowboys are still in the Big 12 race, but there must be some soul-searching after the Pokes blew a comfortable lead at TCU. | 2 | 1-11 |
| 12 |  | Former Utes Ty Jordan and Aaron Lowe, who died within a nine-month span, were honored twice during the USC game. The final time the crowd was asked for a "moment of loudness." The sheer emotions of the occasion might have saved Utah's season. Utes won their 12th straight home game and 23rd of the last 24. | 5 | 10-2 |
| 13 |  | Bye. Another Big 12 showdown as the Wildcats travel to TCU. Adrian Gonzalez is on pace to run for 1,000 yards. | 1 | 6-6 |
| 14 |  | Bye. The Ducks have won nine of the last 10 against UCLA, including the 2011 Pac-12 Championship Game. Chip Kelly goes "home" where his Bruins have lost on their last two visits. | 1 | 11-1 |
| 15 |  | Tommy DeVito (quarterback) has a better Q rating than Danny DeVito (actor, Jersey Mike's endorser). Brown carried in a career-high 41 times to get those 180 yards. Illini are bowl eligible for the first time since 2019 and are tied for the Big Ten West lead. How in the heck was Minnesota favored? | 8 | 8-4 |
| 16 |  | This is the Chris Rodriguez Jr. we know and love. Best way to beat the Air Raid? Pound it 30 times for 196 yards. | NR | 5-7 |
| 17 |  | Bye. At the halfway point, Sam Hartman is second in ACC average passing yards, touchdown passes and pass efficiency. Boston College is next. | 2 | 8-4 |
| 18 |  | Bowl-eligible and loving it. The Orange are 6-0 for only the third time since 1935 after beating a Devin Leary-less NC State. | 6 | 3-9 |
| 19 |  | Lit up by Kentucky's Will Levis and Rodriguez, the Bulldogs now travel to Alabama. You know the Tide aren't pissed at all. | 7 | 5-7 |
| 20 |  | James Franklin with this cryptic remark after his team was pushed around by Michigan's big offensive line: "Everyone thinks they're Aaron Donald now, and they're not." Huh? Minnesota next and Ohio State coming up. | 5 | 6-6 |
| 21 |  | This is what we expected Texas to be all along. Quinn Ewers threw three touchdowns against Iowa State. Bijan Robinson ran for 135 yards. | 4 | 9-3 |
| 22 |  | Antoine Green's foot was barely inbounds, review showed, allowing the Tar Heels' WR to score the game-winner against Duke with 16 seconds left. Doesn't that kind of symbolize North Carolina's season? It is 4-1 this year in games decided by a TD or less. | -- | 4-8 |
| 23 |  | The Green Wave sit high atop the AAC at 6-1 (3-0). QB Michael Pratt reached a career-high passing total for the second straight week. Tyjae Spears broke a third-quarter tie with a 75-yard TD run against South Florida. | NR | 11-2 |
| 24 |  | Bye. I'll just leave this right here. Luke Fickell is a combined 18-2 the last two seasons. Nick Saban is 19-3. | NR | 7-5 |
| 25 |  | More bad news for the Tagovailoa family: Maryland QB Tualia was carted off the field with 14 minutes left against Indiana. Backup Billy Edwards Jr. led the game-winning drive over the Hoosiers. | NR | 4-8 |
Out: Notre Dame, Baylor, Kansas, NC State
