Let's start locally. Auburn looked rested and recharged and ready to inflict pain against an Arkansas team that was playing its eighth consecutive game, coming off of an emotional victory and had beaten the Tigers last season.
All the game metrics seemed to line up in Auburn's favor, which helped explain the large betting line and the Tigers easily covered by shredding the Arkansas defensive front at will. The Gus Malzahn-Bret Bielema personality clash might be on a low simmer publicly, but no question this one meant a lot to Malzahn, the Fort Smith native and former Razorback coordinator. I hopped Auburn up to No. 13, while Arkansas retreated from No. 15 to the woodshed on my ballot.
Ohio State's surprising loss at Penn State dropped the Buckeyes five spots to No. 2 and made the Nittany Lions a new entry at No. 19.
Texas A&M's 19-point loss as an 18-point underdog at Alabama wasn't particularly damaging, as I slid the Aggies down a spot to No. 6. Idle Clemson went from sixth to third for me, but I'm still remembering that missed field goal by N.C. State.
The unbeaten trio of Baylor, West Virginia and Nebraska lurks at spots 8, 9 and 10. The Mountaineers got an impressive home win vs. TCU and maybe have the highest ceiling of the three.
No. 14 Florida, which has played two fewer games than Arkansas, will face Georgia on Saturday in advance of its trip to Fayetteville on Nov. 5.
Houston's shocking 38-16 loss to SMU sent the Cougars all the way out of my ballot. New entries for me this week are No. 19 Penn State, No. 21 Virginia Tech, No. 22 Navy, No. 23 Washington State, and No. 24 Colorado.
Tom Murphy's Top 25 Poll
- 1. Alabama
- 2. Washington
- 3. Michigan
- 4. Clemson
- 5. Louisville
- 6. Texas A&M
- 7. Ohio State
- 8. Baylor
- 9. West Virginia
- 10. Nebraska
- 11. Utah
- 12. Wisconsin
- 13. Auburn
- 14. Florida
- 15. Florida State
- 16. Oklahoma
- 17. Tennessee
- 18. LSU
- 19. Penn State
- 20. Boise State
- 21. Virginia Tech
- 22. Navy
- 23. Washington State
- 24. Colorado
- 25. Western Michigan
Dropped out: Houston, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Miami, Fla., N.C. State