One of the more uneventful weeks in recent history of the top 25, as the top 14 teams didn’t move due to a very soft schedule, as Alabama remain on top with the majority of the first place votes, followed relatively closely by Oregon, Clemson, Ohio State, Stanford and LSU as the hopefuls for the title game at the end of the 2013 College Football season.
Arizona State, the losers in the only ranked vs ranked game of the weekend (dropped by Stanford), fell from the rankings. Freson State, getting a big Mountain West win over Boise State, are the only new team in the rankings.
1. Alabama Crimson Tide (56 First Place Votes), 3-0: A breezy week after their big SEC West showdown last week, beating Colorado State 31-6 and keeping the top spot in the nation.
2. Oregon Ducks (4), 3-0: Didn’t play, didn’t move.
3. Clemson Tigers, 3-0: Clemson survived a tricky visit to Raleigh on Thursday night, beating North Carolina State 26-14 with Tajh Boyd throwing three touchdown passes.
4. Ohio State Buckeyes, 4-0: Kenny Guiton started again for OSU in a 76-0 win over Florida A&M, which didn’t move the Buckeyes anywhere in the poll.
5. Stanford Cardinal, 3-0: Began their Pac-12 schedule with an impressive 42-28 win over Arizona State that was mostly about defense and special teams, although it didn’t move the team anywhere.
6. LSU Tigers, 4-0: Didn’t move as well after a 35-21 win over Auburn, with Jeremy Hill having a huge day on the ground, running for 183 yards and two touchdowns.
7. Louisville Cardinals, 4-0: Another team that enjoyed a huge win over a very weak team (Although a FBS team), beating Florida International 72-0, getting four touchdown passes from Teddy Bridgewater.
8. Florida State Seminoles, 3-0: Played FCS team Bethune-Cookman and had no problem winning 54-6.
9. Georgia Bulldogs, 2-1: Finally are above .500 with a 45-21 win against North Texas, as Aarn Murray threw for over 400 yards and three touchdown passes.
10. Texas A&M Aggies, 3-1: Rebounded from their loss to Alabama with a comfortable win against SMU, winning 42-13, with another strong performance (three touchdowns overall) from Johnny Manziel.
11. Oklahoma State Cowboys, 3-0: Didn’t play, didn’t move.
12. South Carolina Gamecocks, 2-1: Didn’t play, didn’t move.
13. UCLA Bruins, 3-0: A strong performance from both Brett Hundley (three touchdown passes) and running back Jordon James (164 yards, two touchdowns) in a 59-13 win over New Mexico State.
14. Oklahoma Sooners, 3-0: Didn’t play, didn’t move.
15. Miami Hurricanes, 3-0: The first movers this week (up one place), beating Savannah State 77-7, getting three rushing touchdowns from Gus Edwards.
16. Washington Huskies, 3-0: Another team that was bumped up a place, beating Idaho State 56-0.
17. Northwestern Wildcats, 4-0: Struggled on offense and enjoyed two defensive touchdowns in a 35-21 win over Maine, moving up a spot.
18. Michigan Wolverines, 4-0: Still perfect, but another “bad” win, 24-21 over UConn, caused them to fall three places.
19. Baylor Bears, 3-0: Broke school records for points, yards and margin (Which they set a week earlier), beating Louisiana Monroe 70-7, moving up a spot.
20. Florida Gators, 2-1: Did beat Tennessee 31-17, but once again didn’t look very impressive, dropping them a place, and losing their starting quarterback Jeff Driskel for the rest of the season.
21. Ole Miss Rebels, 3-0: Didn’t play, didn’t move.
22. Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 3-1: Beat Michigan State in an ugly match 17-13, which didn’t help them move anywhere this week.
23. Wisconsin Badgers, 3-1: Rebounded from their heartbreaking loss against Arizona State by getting their first conference win of the season, beating Purdue 41-10, getting 147 yards and three touchdowns from running back Melvin Gordon.
24. Texas Tech Red Raiders, 4-0: Continue to enjoy a more balanced offense-defense approach this season, beating Texas State 33-7, not moving anywhere.
25. Fresno State Bulldogs, 3-0: The Bulldogs got what should be their biggest win of the season, taking down Boise State 41-40, moving into the rankings for the first time this season.
Dropped from rankings: Arizona State.