For LSU fans, this story is getting old. For the seventh straight time, the Tigers battled Alabama, led by former LSU coach Nick Saban, to a near stalemate in the trenches and in the stats, but the Crimson Tide’s exceptional quarterback play led them to victory yet again. Undefeated ‘Bama upended 6-3 LSU 24-10 in yet another hard-nosed defensive battle in this series as quarterback Jalen Hurts made key plays with both his feet and his arm in leading his team to the win.
As a result, the Crimson Tide remains #1 in this week’s SwampSwami Top 25 college football rankings. Only five teams remain unbeaten out of the 130 schools in the top division of NCAA football. Perhaps more surprising is that only eight more teams have just one loss at this juncture of the season. That means that only 10% of the 130 teams have one loss or fewer after the first weekend in November. I smell BCS chaos coming, don’t you?
Let’s give kudos to a few teams who really showed us something on Saturday.
Michigan State – Other than Alabama and their coach Nick Saban, is there any team which seems to play with the same intensity as their coach, Mark D’antonio? A great win at the buzzer vs. Penn State (which has seen its own streak of lucky wins end with a thud during the past two weekends).
Iowa – Let’s face it. You DO NOT want to be a top-5 team coming to play the Hawkeyes in Iowa City. 6-3 Iowa crushed Ohio State 55-24 on Saturday and is now 4-1 against Top 25 teams since 2008 when playing at home. Beware the cornfield!
Miami (Fl) – You have to feel good for former Georgia head coach, Mark Richt, with the job he is doing in Miami this season. The ‘Canes win Saturday night vs. Virginia Tech was impressive, but the road stays tough for the remainder of the schedule.
“Bedlam” scoreboard update – Oklahoma just scored again and now leads Oklahoma State 155-152 with 10 minutes left. OU quarterback Baker Mayfield has now thrown for 20 TD’s in this epic battle of flag football…
And now…the countdown continues!
| # | Team | W | L | 2016 Final Rank | Best win this season |
| 1 | Alabama | 9 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2 | Wisconsin | 9 | 0 | 9 | |
| 3 | Miami (Fla) | 8 | 0 | 20 | |
| 4 | Georgia | 9 | 0 | Beat 8-1 Notre Dame 20-19 @ ND | |
| 5 | UCF | 8 | 0 | Beat 8-1 Memphis 40-13 at home | |
| 6 | Clemson | 8 | 1 | Beat 7-2 Virginia Tech 31-17 @ VT | |
| 7 | Oklahoma | 8 | 1 | Beat 7-2 Ohio State 31-16 @ Ohio St | |
| 8 | TCU | 8 | 1 | Beat 7-2 Okie State 44-31 @ OSU | |
| 9 | Notre Dame | 8 | 1 | Beat 7-2 Michigan St. 38-18 @ MSU | |
| 10 | Washington | 8 | 1 | Beat 5-5 Oregon 38-3 at home | |
| 11 | Toledo | 8 | 1 | Beat 6-3 N. Illinois 27-17 at home | |
| 12 | Memphis | 8 | 1 | Beat 5-3 Navy 30-27 at home | |
| 13 | South Florida | 8 | 1 | Beat 3-5 Tulane 34-28 @ Tulane | |
| 14 | Michigan State | 7 | 2 | Beat 7-2 Penn State 27-24 at home | |
| 15 | Auburn | 7 | 2 | Beat 7-2 Miss. State 49-10 at home | |
| 16 | Washington State | 8 | 2 | Beat 8-2 USC 30-27 at home | |
| 17 | Ohio State | 7 | 2 | Beat 7-2 Penn State 39-38 @ home | |
| 18 | Penn State | 7 | 2 | Beat 7-2 Michigan 42-13 at home | |
| 19 | Boise State | 7 | 2 | Beat 8-2 San Diego St. 31-14 @ SD St. | |
| 20 | Oklahoma State | 7 | 2 | Beat 6-3 W. Virginia 50-39 @ W.Va. | |
| 21 | Mississippi State | 7 | 2 | Beat 6-3 LSU 37-7 at home | |
| 22 | Virginia Tech | 7 | 2 | Beat 6-3 W. Virginia 31-24 at home | |
| 23 | San Diego State | 8 | 2 | Beat 6-3 Stanford 20-17 at home | |
| 24 | USC | 8 | 2 | Beat 6-3 Stanford 42-24 at home | |
| 25 | Troy | 7 | 2 | Beat 6-3 LSU 24-21 @ LSU |