UPROXX Sports College Football Power Rankings, Week 7: The Utah Utes Are Your New No. 1

Half the season is behind us, and we’re starting to get a clearer picture of who is and isn’t a real contender this year. Some teams have a play or two they want back (Hello, Michigan), and still others are feeling good about their chances rolling into the second half of the year.

There are 10 undefeated Power Five teams remaining. A bunch of them play each other (if they manage to stay undefeated until then), so those will whittle down even further based on attrition alone. The committee is going to have its hands full with ranking them, as so many of these teams are so close and just subjective metrics separate them. So, say hello to Game Control and Strength of Schedule again. And get used to everybody bickering about conference superiority.

This is the real college football season. Let’s have some fun.

1. Utah (6-0)

Last week: 2
Last game: Beat Arizona State, 34-18
Next up: Saturday vs. USC

So, even the nation’s best special teams unit can have a bad day. Utah gave up a kickoff return for a touchdown and had a safety on a super weird play on a kickoff that you have to see because I can’t really explain it.

That being said, the Utes put up 20 unanswered in the fourth quarter to stay unbeaten and put away Arizona State, and Travis Wilson seems to be settling into a groove, which is good news for Devontae Booker, who needed a little bit of breathing room so he can just wreck people on his own time. There aren’t many challengers left for Utah, although this USC game should be interesting. The Trojans want nothing more than to get their season back together, and the best way to start the second half with a bang would be by beating the Pac-12’s lone remaining undefeated team.

2. Clemson (6-0)

Last week: 1
Last game: Beat Boston College, 34-17
Next up: Saturday at Miami

The bad? Clemson allowed 17 points to a Boston College team that couldn’t score a single point on Wake Forest the week before. The good? The Tigers racked up more than 500 yards of total offense against a stout and effective Eagles’ defensive front, and Deshaun Watson finally – finally – looks like the Heisman contender we thought he’d be heading into the season. Clemson has its paws full with Miami this weekend, but it’s hard to argue against the Tigers being one of the most complete teams in college football right now.

3. Baylor (6-0)

Last week: 3
Last game: Beat West Virginia, 62-38
Next up: Saturday vs. Iowa State

Following the shootout win over West Virginia, Mountaineers coach Dana Holgorsen had this to say about Baylor wide receiver Corey Coleman:

Not just best receiver, mind you, but best player. And Holgorsen knows a thing or two about offensive guys, especially receivers, considering he coached Kevin White last year. Coleman’s got a case to be made he’s not getting enough attention, that’s for sure. The junior has 877 yards on 41 catches (21.39 yards per reception) and 16 touchdowns through Baylor’s first six games, and he’s been up over 100 with at least one score in all of them.

4. TCU (7-0)

Last week: 4
Last game: Beat Iowa State, 45-21
Next up: Oct. 29 vs. West Virginia

That Trevone Boykin sure is special, isn’t he?

The Horned Frogs didn’t have any trouble with Iowa State after the first half, and Boykin got himself four touchdowns in the process.

5. Ohio State (7-0)

Last week: 5
Last game: Beat Penn State, 38-10
Next up: Saturday at Rutgers

Okay, this quarterback thing is seriously reaching Ross & Rachel levels of annoyance. Will Urban Meyer pick a quarterback or won’t he?

Via ESPN:

“I’ve not had a chance to sit down with the quarterbacks formally and review everything, and that will happen today, I imagine,” Meyer said Monday in a news conference. “I do media stuff every day, so tomorrow I’ll [address it]. I’m not keeping anything from anybody.”

It’s hard to argue against J.T. Barrett being more effective than Cardale Jones, and Meyer finally settled on Barrett as of Tuesday. We’re more than halfway into the season though, and it’s looking more and more like this is a problem that isn’t suddenly going to fix itself. What’s to say Meyer won’t change his mind and go back to Jones again if Barrett struggles against Rutgers? At least the Buckeyes are undefeated despite all of this.

6. LSU (6-0)

Last week: 6
Last game: Beat Florida, 35-28
Next up: Saturday vs. Western Kentucky

It was dicey, and there was a fake field goal in there, so basically it was an LSU game under the lights at Death Valley. The defense has to be concerned about allowing Treon Harris to look pretty darn good against the Tigers, but between some nice throws by Brandon Harris and another great game out of Leonard Fournette (180 yards, 2 scores), LSU can be more than happy with this win.

7. Michigan State (6-0)

Last week: 7
Last game: Beat Michigan, 27-23
Next up: Saturday vs. Indiana

That one play could mean everything to the Spartans. Their National Championship hopes are still alive, and they have a few tune up games (where they easily could get caught napping) to continue to work those young defensive backs into the rotation and get them more experience. The defense looked very good against Michigan overall, and if it wasn’t for a complete lack of distrust of the kicking game and a few key drops on good balls thrown by Connor Cook, the Spartans maybe wouldn’t have even needed a miracle to beat the Wolverines in Ann Arbor.

8. Alabama (6-1)

Last week: 10
Last game: Beat Texas A&M, 41-23
Next up: Saturday vs. Tennessee

It must be nice to call the “Get a Pick 6” play if you’re Alabama. The Crimson Tide got three of those against the Aggies, and were able to ride Derrick Henry most of the game in a neat and tidy win for Alabama. When you get scores out of your defense, that’s what typically happens.

9. Florida State (6-0)

Last week: 11
Last game: Beat Louisville, 41-21
Next up: Saturday at Georgia Tech

The second half something seemed to click for the Seminoles. Dalvin Cook, hampered yet again, was running extremely well and is making his case as maybe the second best (or best depending on how you analyze numbers) running back in football. If he was healthy, maybe it wouldn’t even be close. Everett Golson finally had himself a solid and impressive game. And the defense continued to absolutely dominate in the running game. Losing Trey Marshall will hurt a lot, but at least the Seminoles have plenty of depth in that secondary to make up for it.

10. Notre Dame (6-1)

Last week: 12
Last game: Beat USC, 41-31
Next up: Oct. 31 at Temple

If you’re sleeping on Notre Dame running back C.J. Prosise, well, stop doing that. He probably doesn’t like it and I’d imagine it’s uncomfortable. Prosise had 143 yards and two scores and made lots of Trojans miss. Once again, it was a late-game loss for USC, which still doesn’t have the depth and the stamina to close out games. Notre Dame scored 17 in a row in the fourth to grab a big win in South Bend.

11. Stanford (5-1)

Last week: 15
Last game: Beat UCLA, 56-35
Next up: Saturday vs. Washington

In the five games since the loss to Northwestern where the Cardinal scored just six points, Stanford is averaging 45 points a game. This offense is explosive and seems to be getting better by the week. It doesn’t hurt to have a runner like Christian McCaffrey you can give the ball to 25 times a game and just say, “Go.”

12. Oklahoma State (6-0)

Last week: 17
Last game: Beat West Virginia, 33-26 (OT)
Next up: Oct. 24 vs. Kansas

The Cowboys get a big jump thanks to lots of teams losing and a well-timed bye week. Way to go, scheduling gods!

13. Iowa (7-0)

Last week: 18
Last game: Beat Northwestern, 40-10
Next up: Oct. 31 vs. Maryland

The Hawkeyes are doing it. In one of the better surprises of the 2015 season, Iowa is winning games with a strong running game (even the backups are getting it done – Akrum Wadley had 192 yards against the Wildcats) and a pretty good defense, and taking advantage of a schedule that isn’t too tough. But you play the teams in front of you, and Iowa’s 7-0 start is good no matter who the Hawkeyes were playing. Enough so that people are actually calling for an undefeated regular season. Somebody give Kirk Ferentz an extension.

14. Florida (6-1)

Last week: 8
Last game: Lost to LSU, 35-28
Next up: Oct. 31 vs. Georgia (In Jacksonville)

I was really impressed with how Florida responded in Baton Rouge on Saturday. With a new quarterback, a fierce opponent, a tough road crowd and environment and a halftime deficit, it would’ve been easy for the Gators to fold and try to lick their wounds heading into the Cocktail Party. But they almost pulled it out. That showed me something. This team is responding to its new head coach.

15. Oklahoma (4-1)

Last week: 19
Last game: Beat Kansas State, 55-0
Next up: Saturday vs. Texas Tech

Now that’s how you recover from a loss to your rival. Take it completely out on someone else. A 55-0 win is impressive over anyone, but over a team that almost beat TCU the week prior? Well, played, Bob Stoops.

16. Memphis (6-0)

Last week: 22
Last game: Beat Ole Miss, 37-24
Next up: Saturday at Tulsa

This is what I wrote last week about Memphis:

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.

Consider this your big old bump, Tigers.

17. Michigan (5-2)

Last week: 13
Last game: Lost to Michigan State, 27-23
Next up: Oct. 31 at Minnesota

One play. That’s all it took for Michigan to not only control its own destiny in the Big Ten East, but to stay in the national title conversation. A botched snap, a bobble, a misplaced ball going right into the other team’s arms, and it all falls apart. Michigan could still win the Big Ten with a little help, but one play can do so much. I’ll stop myself before I accidentally slip into reciting the entire Al Pacino locker room speech from Any Given Sunday.

18. Texas A&M (5-1)

Last week: 14
Last game: Lost to Alabama, 41-23
Next up: Saturday at Ole Miss

The Aggies need to figure out their quarterback situation, and fast. Kyle Allen was struggling so much his own players looked plenty frustrated with him, and Kyler Murray hasn’t played much better. There is plenty of offensive talent on this team, and the defense is getting better by the week – thanks in large part to Myles Garrett, who might be the best defensive player in the country – but someone has to throw the ball or A&M might have another couple losses in the regular season. Things don’t let up – the Aggies draw an embarrassed Ole Miss team in Oxford on Saturday.

19. Toledo (6-0)

Last week: 20
Last game: Beat Eastern Michigan, 63-20
Next up: Saturday at UMass

This Box Score says so, so much.

It’s like a scene out of Game of Thrones. Eastern Michigan, The King in the North! Oh dear God, so much blood.

20. Duke (5-1)

Last week: 23
Last game: Beat Army, 44-3
Next up: Saturday at Virginia Tech

Duke crushed Bye last week, and nobody got hurt. Great coaching and execution all around.

21. California (5-1)

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

Seriously, I don’t know why Bye schedules so tough. The Week isn’t getting anything out of it, and they consistently get trounced by far better teams. Good job by Cal not to let this be a trap game with a big one against UCLA in the Rose Bowl coming up on Thursday.

22. Houston (6-0)

Last week: NR
Last game: Beat Tulane, 42-7
Next up: Saturday at UCF

The Cougars have had no trouble adjusting to new coach Tom Herman, who can coach an offense and can apparently coach an entire team as well. It’s a great first half for not just Houston, but for the American Conference as a whole, which has three undefeated teams in the power rankings and will have all sorts of drama trying to win that prestige bowl berth in the second half of the year (once the Playoff Committee’s rankings start to roll in).

23. Temple (6-0)

Last week: 25
Last game: Beat UCF, 30-16
Next up: Thursday at East Carolina

This is a huge test for the Owls. They’ve done a great job staying undefeated so far, but with so many other great Group of Five teams, a loss will knock them down in the pecking order (bird joke) big time. East Carolina is always a really tough place to play, and the Pirates can score in bunches. Temple will need that defense to step up and that running game to be on point if it hopes to make it out of Greenville alive.

24. UNC (5-1)

Last week: NR
Last game: Beat Wake Forest, 50-14
Next up: Saturday vs. Virginia

This North Carolina offense is for real. After sputtering in the opening week loss to South Carolina in Charlotte (a game the Tar Heels probably wish they had back), UNC has averaged 46 points per game in their five-straight wins.

Those are some impressive numbers. Maybe the Heels can actually find a way to win the Coastal, after all?

25. Western Kentucky (6-1)

Last week: NR
Last game: Beat North Texas, 55-28
Next up: Saturday at LSU

Speaking of impressive offenses, the Hilltoppers – behind sensational quarterback Brandon Doughty – are putting up points in droves lately. In their last four games, they’ve averaged 54.5 points per game. If not for that close loss to Indiana, we might be talking about Western Kentucky as the new Group of Five darling. (As of now, they are currently rated 21st in S&P+.) The Hilltoppers have a heck of a test up next, though, so if you have any tips on stopping Leonard Fournette, please forward them directly to Jeff Brohm.

Next Five: Pittsburgh, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Wisconsin, Fresh Apple Cider