We're starting to see some separation of the top three from the rest of the pack, but the overall ranking largely remains unchanged. There were a couple of big losses this week (South Carolina and West Virginia), but, as past Top 12 watchers know, losses to teams you're supposed to lose to (those of higher rank) don't affect your ranking much, if at all, because they should already be baked in. Otherwise, what the heck does a ranking even mean?
That said, there can be exceptions, and this week is one of them: Despite playing a tight game in Death Valley the week before, South Carolina was dominated thoroughly by Florida in The Swamp, thus they slide three spots, but remain in the top ten. They've shown they can play on par with anyone when in Columbia, but failed their two tough tests on the road and won't have a chance to redeem themselves on that count until the end of the regular season at Clemson.
Ranking (Previous)
1. Alabama (1)
2. Florida (2)
3. Kansas St. (3)
4. Notre Dame (4)
5. Oregon (5)
6. LSU (6-tie)
7. Oregon St. (8)
8. Oklahoma (9)
9. South Carolina (6-tie)
10. Texas Tech (10)
11. Texas A&M (11)
12. Mississippi St. (12)
Bubble: West Virgina (Bubble), USC (Bubble), Georgia (Bubble), Stanford (Bubble), Rutgers (--)
This Week's Big Match-ups
Florida (2) at Georgia (Bubble)
Texas Tech (10) at Kansas St. (3)
Notre Dame (4) at Oklahoma (8)
Mississippi St. (12) at Alabama (1)
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