UPROXX Sports College Football Power Rankings, Week 6: Clemson Roars To No. 1

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After this weekend, half the football season is over. We can’t cling to preseason rankings and say, “Well, this team is supposed to be good” anymore. They either are good, they aren’t good, or they’re still in wait and see mode, but we have enough data to pretty much know.

Some teams are already out of the Playoff conversation, and that’s okay. There are only four teams that will make it out of 128, and nobody’s expecting everyone to be in the Top 3 percent. That’s really hard. Some teams still have work to do, but could play their way in like Ohio State did last year. And other teams really control their own destiny as much as a team can control its own destiny when a conference room full of people drinking coffee and pitchers of water is the one making the decision about whether or not said team belongs in the playoff.

There’s plenty of intrigue to come, but headed into Week 7, here are the power rankings as I see them. And bear in mind I spent all weekend eating fair food and barbecue, so if I seem screwy, let’s go ahead and blame it on that.

1. Clemson (5-0)

Last week: 3
Last game: Beat Georgia Tech, 43-24
Next up: Saturday vs. Boston College

Clemson seems to be getting better by the week. The offense is starting to come around, and the one-two punch of Deshaun Watson and the Tigers rushing attack should continue to improve over the second half of the season. Not to mention that defense, which has shown what it can do in recent years. Clemsoning has been dead for some time, but it’s still on the team’s (and media’s) mind, enough so that Dabo Swinney felt the need to go off on it following the win over the Yellow Jackets.

2. Utah (5-0)

Last week: 2
Last game: Beat California, 30-24
Next up: Saturday vs. Arizona State

The Utes forced Cal to turn it over six times, but they still had a bit of a scare, as Jared Goff had a chance to win the game on the final drive. Utah needs to be more opportunistic with those turnovers, as it gets a lot of them, but behind that running game, the Utes won’t have trouble staying in just about every game the rest of the way. That schedule doesn’t hurt either – as it stands they’d be projected to play only one more ranked team (UCLA) before the end of the year.

3. Baylor (5-0)

Last week: 1
Last game: Beat Kansas, 66-7
Next up: Saturday vs. West Virginia

Typically, you don’t drop two spots after beating a team by 59 points. And Baylor doesn’t really *deserve* to drop really as much as I was more impressed with Clemson’s dominating performance over Georgia Tech and Utah’s ability to close out a tough game against Cal. The Bears can win some style points if they can beat West Virginia, although the Mountaineers are currently in a hellscape of a stretch that will see them play Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor and TCU all in a row, and potentially come out with zero wins.

4. TCU (6-0)

Last week: 4
Last game: Beat Kansas State, 52-45
Next up: Saturday at Iowa State

If the season ended today, it’d be hard to make a case against voting Trevone Boykin as Heisman winner (although Leonard Fournette would like a word). Boykin has willed his team to a couple incredible wins already in this young season, and despite the fact that TCU still hasn’t played the meat of its schedule yet, those wins build confidence that on any given week, the Horned Frogs’ leader can find a way to win. There’s still some trouble here – Kansas State, even at home, isn’t exactly a Top 25 team, and the injuries could still catch up to TCU. But as of now, this sure looks like a playoff contender.

5. Ohio State (6-0)

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Last week: 5
Last game: Beat Maryland, 49-28
Next up: Saturday vs. Penn State

Ohio State may have found something with J.T. Barrett in the red zone, although Urban Meyer isn’t exactly tipping his hand.

Via Eleven Warriors:

“I think so, but I’m not writing it in Sharpie yet,” Meyer said Monday during his weekly press conference when asked if Barrett will be used permanently in that role. “We’ll see how it goes.”

Any answer the Buckeyes can find on offense (aside from give the ball to Zeke) is a good one, and Ohio State is one of those aforementioned teams that can pretty much write their own script if it can win out.

6. LSU (5-0)

Last week: 7
Last game: Beat South Carolina, 45-24
Next up: Saturday vs. Florida

There’s a lot to like about how the Tigers opened up their stadium to South Carolina on Saturday. They put the Gamecocks logo at midfield, flew the Palmetto flag, put up billboards and signs around town and at the airport, and raised money through the Red Cross for flood relief. But once the game started, it was all business, and LSU rolled. Now Steve Spurrier is retiring, and the Tigers have Florida next. What a difference a week makes.

7. Michigan State (6-0)

Last week: 7
Last game: Beat Rutgers, 31-24
Next up: Saturday at Michigan

I already gave the Spartans the drop they deserved following the Purdue win, and it seems as though the AP Poll followed my lead after Sparty needed every bit of time to beat Rutgers over the weekend. The good news? The Spartans are still 6-0 and in no danger of being able to win back public approval if they can beat Michigan. The bad news? This game looks an awful harder than it did coming into the year, as Jim Harbaugh’s defense is not just good, but unbelievably good, and the Big House should be rocking.

8. Florida (6-0)

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Last week: 9
Last game: Beat Missouri, 21-3
Next up: Saturday vs. LSU

The Will Grier news could threaten to derail the Gators, but as SI’s Andy Staples writes, it’s not the end of the world. Florida is still far ahead of schedule, the defense is still a huge strength, and quarterback Treon Harris has plenty of experience. With a huge game in Baton Rouge up next, let’s see just how good a coach Jim McElwain really is.

9. Ole Miss  (5-1)

Last week: 10
Last game: Beat New Mexico State, 52-3
Next up: Saturday at Memphis

The win over the Aggies doesn’t prove much in the way of telling us whether or not Ole Miss truly moved past the loss to Florida, but it certainly didn’t hurt. Next comes an incredibly difficult test against a Memphis team that wants national respect and has the stage – and the opponent – to finally get it. Win, and the Rebels have another feather in their cap to go along with that Bama victory. Lose, and Ole Miss can pretty much say goodbye to any shot of a College Football Playoff berth.

10. Alabama (5-1)

Last week: 11
Last game: Beat Arkansas, 27-14
Next up: Saturday at Texas A&M

Everything can change in a half of football. At the break against the Razorbacks, Alabama trailed 7-3. Then, well, the Crimson Tide showed up. The defense flipped the switch, and the offense started to move the ball more effectively, and all of a sudden in the last 17 minutes of the game, Bama scored 24 points. Now it’s a contrast in styles as the Tide plays Texas A&M – who has made things dicey for Alabama in the past – and tries to show it’s balanced enough on both sides of the ball to beat an explosive offense with a quickly improving defense.

11. Florida State (5-0)

Last week: 14
Last game: Beat Miami, 29-24
Next up: Saturday vs. Louisville

Another year, another win over Miami. While Dalvin Cook wasn’t exactly 100 percent, he still managed to go for 222 yards and show why he’s one of the best running backs in the nation. The FSU offense isn’t perfect, but with a strong running game and a dominant defense, it might not matter.

12. Notre Dame (5-1)

Last week: 13
Last game: Beat Navy, 41-24
Next up: Saturday vs. USC

The Irish put the Clemson loss behind them with a formula that seems to work in college football: take advantage of turnovers and run the ball well. Doing that again when they play the Trojans would seem to be an advisable decision. Although I’m just the guy writing power rankings from his kitchen while he wears shearling-lined slippers between sips of coffee.

13. Michigan (5-1)

Last week: 23
Last game: Beat Northwestern, 38-0
Next up: Saturday vs. Michigan State

The Wolverines have now outscored opponents 160-14 since the Utah loss at the beginning of the season. We all thought it’d take Jim Harbaugh a little bit of time to get his team where he wanted it to be, but a little bit of time really meant just that – and Utah has proven itself to be one of the best teams in the country over the first half of the year. Beating Michigan State would erase any and all doubts of whether or not Michigan is for real, and even now there aren’t that many doubts to begin with.

14. Texas A&M (5-0)

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Last week: 15
Last game: Beat Mississippi State, 30-17
Next up: Oct. 17 vs. Alabama

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15. Stanford (4-1)

Last week: 16
Last game: Beat Arizona, 55-17
Next up: Thursday vs. UCLA

Ah, yes, our first gigantic Pac-12 Thursday night game. Now it truly is finally fall.

16. UCLA (4-1)

Last week: 19
Last game: Lost to Arizona State, 38-23
Next up: Thursday at Stanford

This will show us a lot of what Josh Rosen is made of. The freshman quarterback has had a bye week to think about his first loss in college, and he goes up against an always tough Stanford defense on the road in a game with huge Pac-12 implications. Giddyup.

17. Oklahoma State (6-0)

Last week: 20
Last game: Beat West Virginia, 33-26 (OT)
Next up: Oct. 24 vs. Kansas

[Previously On The Walking Dead]:

The Cowboys cannot be killed. They will be reanimated and will come back to haunt you unless you cut off their heads and make sure they’re no longer moving. And now they get to make Kansas’ life a nightmare next weekend – just in time for Halloween.

18. Iowa (6-0)

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Last week: 24
Last game: Beat Illinois, 29-20
Next up: Saturday at Northwestern

Iowa is 6-0, and if it manages to beat Northwestern, the Hawkeyes would be 7-0 with Maryland, Indiana, Minnesota, Purdue and Nebraska left. I’m not saying Iowa is going undefeated. I’m not. I swear, I’m not. Wait, why are you looking at me like that? No, there’s no need to make that phone call. I’m perfectly fine, thank you very much.

19. Oklahoma (4-1)

Last week: 8
Last game: Lost to Texas, 24-17
Next up: Saturday at Kansas State

Bob Stoops had some strong words about his players following the loss to Texas:

“It’s a college game and you can’t —I’m not gotta sit here and call out (players). The bottom line, you talk about it, you show ‘em why, … we showed ‘em a hundred times. They’ve got to choose to be ready to play. I can’t figure out why that would be, that a 20-year-old, a 21-year-old, when you’re only getting to play so many times and you have a rivalry game, they’re not … That may be their excuse. The bottom line is we got out-executed. So I didn’t feel that (OU was flat). I felt we had a good week of practice. I felt like we came into the game knowing we needed to play well. Then you get in the game and you’re not, you know, they out-execute you, get charged up and then it appears that way that they’re excited and we’re not. But I guarantee you, had we scored a touchdown, kicked off to them, recovered their fumble and scored a little bit later, we’d have been the ones charged up. So I think that’s young people. Again, I don’t buy that they weren’t ready to play. You can put it all on me, but I don’t play.”

Hopefully Oklahoma will be ready to play against Kansas State, or Stoops may take an actual bus and drive it over poor Boomer and Sooner himself.

20. Toledo (5-0)

Last week: 21
Last game: Beat Kent State, 38-7
Next up: Saturday vs. Eastern Michigan

Matt Campbell is downplaying Toledo being ranked, and has said his team hasn’t reached its full potential, which is exactly what you’d expect the coach of a Group of Five team being ranked and sitting at 5-0 to say. The bottom line is Toledo is a pretty solid football team that has made the most of its schedule thus far, and still has a lot to prove. But through most of the first half of the year, it’s proven enough to deserve this ranking.

21. Northwestern (5-1)

Last week: 12
Last game: Lost to Michigan, 38-0
Next up: Saturday vs. Iowa

There’s no shame in losing to a team coached by Jim Harbaugh. Lots of people have lost to Jim Harbaugh. Chances are you’re losing to Jim Harbaugh right now, and you don’t even know it. But not scoring a point? That has to sting a little bit. At least the Cats will be sporting those fresh Rose Bowl throwback unis against Iowa to try and feel better.

22. Memphis (5-0)

Last week: NR
Last game: Beat USF, 24-17
Next up: Saturday vs. Ole Miss

Look again at Memphis’ wins. Bowling Green has wins over Maryland and Purdue. Cincinnati beat Miami. Heck, even South Florida beat Syracuse. This isn’t the worst strength of schedule in the world at all, and the Tigers are 5-0 heading into a date with Ole Miss. Somehow find a way to win that one, and Justin Fuente’s team not only deserves your attention, but a big old bump in the rankings.

23. Duke (5-1)

Last week: NR
Last game: Beat Army, 44-3
Next up: Oct. 24 at Virginia Tech

The Blue Devils have given up 56 total points all season and have one of the best players in all of college football in Jeremy Cash. Plus their in-stadium DJ plays C-Murder and Migos. That’s good enough to separate them from most of the other teams vying for a spot in the bottom of the Top 25.

24. California (5-1)

Last week: 22
Last game: Lost to Utah, 30-24
Next up: Oct. 22 at UCLA

On one hand, turning the ball over six times is very, very bad. On the other, having the ball with a chance to win against a pretty dang good football team who forced you into six turnovers and almost, almost, pulling it out is not that bad at all. The Bears can think about all that and more over the course of their bye week.

25. Temple (5-0)

Last week: 25
Last game: Beat Tulane, 49-10
Next up: Saturday vs. UCF

Go, Temple, go. The Owls can contribute to Operation 0-12 with a win over the Knights on Saturday.

Next Five: Houston, Boise State, Georgia, Arizona State, Free Drink Tickets On An Airplane You Suddenly Remembered You Had In Your Bag That Haven’t Expired Yet

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