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The Washington Huskies rallied in the second half to take down Utah 35-28 on Saturday. With the victory, the top dog in the Pac-12 moved to 10-0 on the season. This is just the second time that Washington has started the season at 10-0. The 1991 team shared the national championship with the University of Miami Hurricanes.
Most importantly, the Huskies have climbed into the driver’s seat for the first time in the SwampSwamiSports.com College Football Top 25 rankings for the week ending November 11, 2023.
The University of Washington becomes the fifth team to sit atop my poll for the 2023 college football season. The earlier top teams have been Texas, Georgia (two weeks), Michigan, and Ohio State (two weeks). Washington’s signature win over 9-1 Oregon is the strongest victory of the remaining unbeaten teams.
Seven-up!
There are still seven unbeaten teams in the 133 FBS college football field. Having that many 10-0 teams spells trouble for the half-dozen one-loss squads trying to find their way into the College Football Playoffs.
In this week’s rankings, the contenders at 9-1 (Texas, Tulane, Toledo, Alabama, Oregon, and Louisville) must hope that one of these unbeaten teams will fall soon. Three teams have a chance to take the matter in their own hands. The SEC’s Alabama Crimson Tide, the Pac-12 Oregon Ducks, and ACC’s Louisville Cardinals have a chance to take down one of the unbeaten teams in their upcoming conference championship games in the first week of December.
If your favorite team already has two losses or more, hope for a warm weather bowl location!
More BIG Ten Mediocrity!
Though I am admittedly a lifelong fan of college football down in the South, the Big Ten Conference continues to prove that most of its top teams are overrated week after week.
Need proof? There are currently five teams in the Big Ten West in second place at 5-5.
The quirky quintet of Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, and Wisconsin have already put the 8-2 Iowa Hawkeyes into the Big Ten championship game several weeks from now. The Hawkeyes scored a 22-0 win over 6-4 Rutgers on Saturday.
The 8-2 Iowa offense is, well, putrid. Out of the 133 FBS upper division college football teams, the Hawkeyes are…#133. The offense is averaging just 243 yards per game. Thankfully, the black and gold defense allows just 12.3 points per game (#3 nationally).
Over in the Big Ten East, the Michigan Wolverines are proving that their school should save its money as it obviously does not need to overpay for a head coach.
Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh was suspended by the Big Ten Conference for Saturday’s game at Penn State and for the two remaining regular season games. The unfolding sign-stealing scandal will make headlines for weeks to come. Lest we forget, Coach Harbaugh served a school-imposed suspension for Games 1, 2, and 3 this season as a penalty involving recruiting violations.
Michigan is now 10-0. They are 6-0 with their head coach and 4-0 without him. Do they really need him?
The Wolverines’ offense handed the ball off for every play in the second half against Penn State in a closer-than-the-final-score 24-15 win on Saturday.
It makes no sense to pay $8.25 million for a head coach when your team has proven that they play just as well without one.
Speaking of overrated Big Ten teams, perpetual conference bridesmaid Penn State (now 8-2) is trying to save face after being beaten by a Michigan team which ran the ball 32 times in a row to end the football game.
Nittany Lions coach James Franklin tried to downplay the loss and said, “We’ve lost to the No. 1 and the No. 3 team in the country, that’s not good enough. We have to find ways to win those games.”
Here’s the truth, Coach Franklin! Michigan and Ohio State are very good teams. What about those other eight teams your team has played?
If Penn State was participating in this year’s SEC, Pac-12, or Big 12, Penn State would be quite fortunate to be 8-2 at this point. The Penn State offense is as predictable as snow in Happy Valley every winter.
Nittany Lions fans must now await another warm weather holiday trip to Florida to participate in yet another meaningless mid-level bowl game.
AND NOW…the envelope please!
Below is the SwampSwamiSports.com College Football Top 25 for the week ending November 11, 2023:
