Brock’s 2023 College Football Top 25 – Week 7
1. GEORGIA BULLDOGS (6-0) (LW: 1)
Saturday was Georgia football at its finest. They moved the ball with ease, and were suffocating on defense. They handed Kentucky a 38-point L, despite the Wildcats riding high after a big win over Florida.
2. MICHIGAN WOLVERINES (6-0) (LW: 2)
Someone finally hit the double-digit mark on Michigan, scoring 10 points exactly, but it wasn’t nearly enough, as Michigan stomped Minnesota 52-10. The Wolverines are currently my pick to win the National Championship.
3. FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES (5-0) (LW: 5)
This was a 5-point game in the 2nd half, but the Noles were able to pull away to win by 22. Trey Benson was a big reason why, as the Florida State RB picked up 200 yards and 2 TD’s on just 11 carries. However, things will sour eventually if the FSU defense continues to only show up after halftime.
4. OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (5-0) (LW: 6)
The Buckeyes needed to score the final 27 points to pull away after falling behind 7 in the 2nd half, but they got the job done.
5. PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (5-0) (LW: 7)
The Nittany Lions had a bye this past week. They face Massachusetts this week, so you may as well call it a two-week bye.
6. OKLAHOMA SOONERS (6-0) (LW: 13)
The Sooners revenge tour is going great. They exacted revenge on Texas in the final minute for the 49-0 drubbing they received last year. The Sooners are now firmly in the playoff conversation.
7. USC TROJANS (6-0) (LW: 3)
I use the phrase “a win is a win” a lot in these rankings, but that game was about as ugly as they come for USC. The offense took a while to get going, as the Trojans were down 17 during this game – the first time they’ve been behind all season. When you are a team with title aspirations, you shouldn’t need triple overtime to beat Arizona. You shouldn’t give up 41 points to them either.
8. WASHINGTON HUSKIES (5-0) (LW: 8)
We’ve got Michael Penix facing Oregon this week in what is sure to be a great game. Both teams are coming off bye weeks, so they should be prepared for a battle. I know it’s still early in the year, but this game could also be a “Heisman moment” for Penix down the road.
9. OREGON DUCKS (5-0) (LW: 9)
I’ve been waiting for this Saturday’s matchup against Washington for weeks. We have two high scoring, Top 10 teams facing off in a game that could have major PAC-12 title implications. What’s even more exciting is that there’s a chance we could see this matchup again in December.
10. TEXAS LONGHORNS (5-1) (LW: 4)
This was just a brutal loss for the Longhorns. As if it wasn’t bad enough to lose to a big-time rival, Texas gave up the game-winning TD with less than a minute remaining. Ouch. This knocks them out of the group of undefeated teams, as well as dents their playoff hopes. However, the good news for Texas – and college football fans – is that we could see a “Red River” rematch down the road.
11. ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (5-1) (LW: 11)
It seems like the Aggies always play Bama tough, but Saban owns his coaching tree. He picked up another victory over one of his disciples.
12. NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS (4-0) (LW: 12)
Drake Maye got back to doing Drake Maye things. He tossed 3 TD’s and racked up 442 yards in a rout of Syracuse.
13. LOUISVILLE CARDINALS (6-0) (LW: 24)
Talk about a statement win. Louisville entered the year as a dark horse for the ACC title, but didn’t look as impressive as expected, despite not losing a game. Well, a double-digit win over Notre Dame will sure get some people’s attention.
14. MISSISSIPPI REBELS (5-1) (LW: 16)
It wasn’t as exciting a game as last weeks, but the Rebels got the job done at home against Arkansas. The troubling thing for Ole Miss is that inconsistency is becoming a theme for QB Jaxson Dart.
15. OREGON STATE BEAVERS (4-1) (LW: 15)
When you see Oregon State vs California on the schedule, “shootout” probably doesn’t come to mind. But that’s what we got on Saturday when the Beavers beat Cal 52-40 in a high scoring affair.
16. TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS (4-1) (LW: 18)
The Vols have a big game this week when they host Texas A&M in a game where Neyland Stadium will surely be rocking. They have a nice little schedule advantage for this game, as while the Vols were resting and preparing on their bye week, Texas A&M was in a dog fight with Alabama.
17. DUKE BLUE DEVILS (4-1) (LW: 19)
Duke was off this week. They will be hosting NC State on Saturday, when we will get a look at how this team responds to receiving its first loss.
18. LSU TIGERS (4-2) (LW: 22)
What happened to those stingy, elite LSU defenses of the past? The Tigers found themselves in another barn burner on Saturday when they outlasted Mizzou 49-39.
19. UTAH UTES (4-1) (LW: 23)
The Utes are out here giving Criss Angel a run for his money when it comes to deceiving people. If I’m a Utes fan, I’m probably not too happy with how the Cam Rising situation has been handled. Utah led everyone to believe Rising had an injury that would heal in time for the season opener. Now here we are about halfway through the season, and not only has Rising not played, but it came out last week that he had major damage to his knee and practically blew it out. So, who knows when we will see him again. Maybe this week, maybe December, the way things have been going in Utah. Just an odd way to handle the situation from the Utes.
20. UCLA BRUINS (4-1) (LW: NR)
The Bruins, sitting at 4-1, climb into the rankings this week after earning their first victory over a ranked opponent, after beating Washington State. Still though, that loss to the Rising-less Utes really hurts this team’s stock, in my opinion. That being said, this team is much better than anticipated after the loss of DTR.
21. NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH (5-2) (LW: 10)
Oh man. After rebounding nicely from the Ohio State loss against Duke, Notre Dame failed to carry that momentum into Louisville. The Irish will need to win out and receive major help to get back into the playoff conversation. They will need to bounce back immediately because USC is on deck, and a 3rd loss will obliterate what very little playoff hope they have left.
22. WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS (4-1) (LW: 14)
The Cougars were handed their first loss by UCLA. It was an uncharacteristically bad game by Cameron Ward as he failed to break 200 yards passing for the first time this year, and also tossed 2 INT’s, which were also a first for Ward this season.
23. KENTUCKY WILDCATS (5-0) (LW: 20)
“Do on to others like you want done on to you.” I feel like that saying applies here. A week after Kentucky dominated Florida, they received a thumping of their own at the hands of Georgia. I doubt too many people expected it to go differently, however.
24. CLEMSON TIGERS (4-2) (LW: NR)
I guess I’m a little higher on the Tigers than most people, as the AP has them ranked 32nd. Their two losses were to ranked teams and they have handled everything else thrown at them, so I feel fine including them in my Top 25. We will have to wait another week to see if I’m overrating them or not, as they have a bye this week, but will travel south to play Miami on the 21st.
25. KANSAS JAYHAWKS (5-1) (LW: NR)
The Jayhawks climb back into the Top 25 after dispatching UCF with ease. The loss to Texas was ugly, but they have been without their starting QB Jalon Daniels, and despite that, they hung 52 points on the scoreboard Saturday.
