College Football Power Rankings: Week 8 2019

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Welcome in to a new feature we are trying out here on SoBros Network because we were recently approved to be on Google News (YUGE win, LFG), and I am testing whether or not it’s worth doing these sorts of power rankings for the SEO. Yes, that’s the entire basis for this set of College Football Power Rankings.

For me, the premise is simple – it’s about who’s had the most impressive body of work. Like Mose mentioned on an earlier episode of the College Football Roundup, it seems a tad whack that preseason rankings are factored into the College Football Playoff discussion at all. Just because someone was ranked #1 before the season started doesn’t mean they’re actually the best team in the country. My rankings will be based largely on quality wins. You’re about to see why I’m prefacing you to read that…

COLLEGE FOOTBALL POWER RANKINGS: WEEK 8 2019

1. LSU Tigers – Two big-boy wins on their resume now with Texas and Florida. The Tigers are absolutely rolling and Joe Burrow played his highest rated game against the best competition of the season. The Tigers should be considered a legitimate National Championship contender.

2. Ohio State Buckeyes – The Buckeyes were on a bye week, but that doesn’t change the fact that they’ve made this whole college football thing look damn easy in 2019.

3. Alabama Crimson Tide – The Tide offense is explosive. I still worry about whether or not the defense can get that one big stop on a team like LSU when the time comes, but I’m starting to buy in on this team as a legit contender. Not only could ‘Bama-LSU decide the West, it could also top 100 points scored.

4. Oklahoma Sooners – The Sooners aren’t quite out of the woods yet, but beating Texas gives them an inside track to a Big 12 Championship and in all likelihood a spot in the College Football Playoff.

5. Wisconsin Badgers – The Badgers may boast the nation’s best defense. They are straight up nasty. They travel to Illinois this week before the big showdown with Ohio State on 10/26. That one could become a de facto CFP elimination game.

6. Clemson Tigers – Florida State appears to have been a miracle elixir for what ailed the Tigers earlier in the season. I still think there’s reason for concern because of the entirety of Trevor Lawrence‘s body of work in 2019, but things seemed to click on Saturday. The Tigers should cake-walk through the rest of their season, finish undefeated, and lock up a spot in the CFP.

7. Penn State Nittany Lions – Penn State is quietly having an excellent season. They’re scoring a ton of points, and proved on Saturday that they can go on the road and get a big time win.

8. Notre Dame Fighting Irish – This is the point in the season when Notre Dame has to start rooting for some dominoes to fall. That South Carolina victory over Georgia sure hurts ’em, and outside of Michigan, they don’t have a real quality opponent left on the schedule. They absolutely HAVE to run the table to have any shot at the CFP, and if some of these teams ahead of them don’t lose, it may be too little too late.

9. Florida Gators – The Gators may have lost to LSU, but I’ll tell ya what bois, they proved to be a legitimate top-10 in the nation, and if they run the table, they just may get another crack at LSU. This is a team that I wouldn’t be surprised to sneak into a New Year’s Six bowl game. How about a Florida-Texas Sugar Bowl, baby?!!?

10. Oregon Ducks – The Ducks have been rather dominant since that season-opening loss to Auburn. There’s still a chance they make a run at the CFP, but they’re in a similar position to Notre Dame. I sure wouldn’t complain about an Oregon-Wisconsin/Penn State Rose Bowl, though.

Best of the Rest

ACC: There is no other ranked team from the ACC. The Duke Blue Devils are sitting atop the Coastal Division right now, but no one in this league looks even remotely capable of taking down Clemson.

Big 12: At 4-2, the Texas Longhorns may be cooked. That leaves a sneaky good 6-0 Baylor Bears team as the biggest threat to the Sooners. They play @ Baylor on 11/16.

Big Ten: The Minnesota Golden Gophers find themselves in the AP Top 25 for the first time in a long time, but it’s not exactly been a murderer’s row of opponents this season. They’ll get their crack at the elite with three of their final four games coming against Penn State, Iowa, and Wisconsin. For now, Gopher fans should enjoy the 6-0 start.

Pac-12: All of the talk in the Pac-12 seems to be surrounding Oregon and the Utah Utes, but how about the Arizona State Sun Devils sneaking up to #17 in the AP Poll at 5-1? Remember when Herm Edwards to the Pac-12 sounded bizarre?!?!

SEC: That ugly loss to South Carolina may have cost the Georgia Bulldogs a spot in the College Football Playoff. It certainly didn’t look like this team could beat Florida, but hey – you never know in the SEC. I still like the Auburn Tigers to make a bit of noise in the SEC West because of that defense, but the herd is starting to thin out in the SEC.

Group of Five: It’s going to be interesting to watch this race for the Cotton Bowl between the Boise State Broncos and the SMU Mustangs. Who’s going to lose first?

Wild Card: Wisconsin seemingly eradicated any chances of the Michigan Wolverines making a run at the College Football Playoff. But, with Penn State on deck this weekend, Notre Dame following that, and the last game of the season against Ohio State, the Wolverines have a chance to get three top-10 wins, and potentially a Big Ten Championship. What have we seen to inspire confidence that they can pull that off? Very little. But, it’s interesting to realize how NOT out of the race they really are.

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley

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