Strength in the PAC12 after this week as Washington State and USC (who played each other) both climb. Though USC lost to Washington State, three of the teams that USC previously beat (Western Michigan, Stanford, Texas) won their games, providing a net boost to USC despite their loss. Alternatively, Georgia, who the Trojans jumped this week, didn't gain as much from beating the Vounteers, and previous opponents Appalachian State and Mississippi State both lost their games. A similar but more dramatic effect of a team winning but the value of the win not keeping them caught up with others can be see with Oklahoma, who beat Baylor but gained so little from it that they fell 9 spots (or, also, Ohio State, who the Sooners beat, getting very little out of Rutgers).
The Trojan's boost, likewise, makes Washington State's win over the Trojans all the more valuable, catapulting them into the #1 spot. Other big movers this week - take note of UCLA, who, on a bye week, gets catapulted upward with the Texas A&M win. UCF, likewise, remains undefeated, but caution should be exercised for the Florida teams, most of which we have very limited information about as they have few games due to cancellations and postponements from Hurricane Irma. This lack of information has potential impacts throughout the network, resulting in less information than normal at this point in the season. We can expect some big swings for the next couple weeks as more information in the form of wins/losses develops.
Looking forward, Alabama has a big opportunity this week to demonstrate their worth against the Aggies, and potentially climb into the top 4.
Top 25 (Explanation; Full Ranking)
- Washington State (+12)
- USC (+1)
- Georgia (-1)
- Michigan (-3)
- UCF (+24)
- San Diego State (nc)
- Clemson (-3)
- Florida (+1)
- Penn State (-2)
- Alabama (-2)
- TCU (+1)
- Stanford (+24)
- Notre Dame (+2)
- Oklahoma (-9)
- Memphis (+10)
- Kentucky (-2)
- Ohio State (-7)
- Oklahoma State (+17)
- UCLA (+41)
- Texas A&M (+51)
- Texas Tech (-10)
- Navy (-2)
- Michigan State (+26)
- Wisconsin (+7)
- South Florida (-7)