Alabama unanimous No. 1 in AP poll

The Buckeyes have to hope for the Nittany Lions to lose against either Rutgers or MI to take the East division’s spot in Indianapolis. The hated rivals face off on November 26. Jim Harbaugh’s squad fell to Iowa 14-13 this past weekend.

Also, of the five teams now ranked ahead of UW, a maximum of three can win league titles. Wisconsin (8-2) and Penn State (8-2) could be two-loss champions. Alabama still looked like the most impressive team in the country, Ohio State won 62-3 AGAIN and Louisville scored 44 unanswered to beat Wake Forest.

Louisville (9-1) remains on the outside looking in on the top four at No. 5, followed by Washington (9-1) at No. 6. Clemson dropped from second to fourth with a 43-42 loss at home to Pittsburgh.

The argument behind USC’s generous ranking is simple, as the Trojans boast victories over two Top 10 squads while their losses have also come against three ranked teams. Oklahoma will need lots of help to sneak into the field, but the Sooners have a pulse. A win vaults WVU into the top 10, though the logic of having OU so much further up is a bit confusing.

“Get the four best teams”, Fisher said. The Huskies are favored by 27 points, and the vaunted UW defense will probably suffocated Arizona State’s mediocre offense. Clemson has the longest home winning streak in the nation and the conference wining streak is second.

If Wisconsin wins out, they will be the champs of arguably the best conference this year. Obviously when ranking teams there are many things to consider than just record.

The top seven in this week’s Associated Press poll, in order, are Alabama, Ohio State, Louisville, Michigan, Clemson, Wisconsin and Washington. This despite Boise State having one loss.

The Cowboys still control the Mountain West’s Mountain division too, so Boise State could miss out on the MWC title game.

So, should Western Michigan be ranked higher than 21st? MI 4. Clemson 5.

This week they host a struggling Buffalo team (2-8) and then Toledo (8-2) the following week, while Boise State hosts UNLV (4-6) on Friday before playing Air Force (7-3) on November 25. In this case, it would be No. 8 Penn State. Oklahoma (8-2), and No. 10.

Ohio State jumped from No. 5 to No. 2, the biggest change in the selection committee’s latest rankings, announced Tuesday night. Auburn 16. LSU 17.

They were at No. 19, where 7-3 Tennessee landed, and at No. 24, where 7-3 Stanford appeared for the first time this season.