Tuesday evening brought us a new President of the United States and the release of the first College Football Playoff poll. Which mattered most to you is a personal matter. Not much of a surprise at the top with the Oregon Ducks claiming the top spot and I do not expect that to change until the Big Ten Championship game on Saturday, December 7th in Indianapolis. There are 4 B1G teams in the top 8 and 4 SEC teams in the top 12.
This is going to change week by week. The Big ten will see Indiana host Michigan this Saturday and then travel to Ohio State after a bye week. Georgia travels to Oxford Saturday to take on an Ole Miss team that has lost two games by a field goal.
#1 Oregon (CFP #1) 9-0 (6-0) Has not looked dominant, but maybe those days are over in CFB? Regardless, the Ducks take care of their business each week. I am not sold on the fact that Oregon is the best team in the country. We will have to wait until December to find that out. This week: -24.5 vs Maryland
#2 (CFP#8) Indiana 9-0 (6-0) Is a two-score favorite over the reining national champion Wolverines for the first time in program history. Let that soak in for a minute or 5. I moved the Hoosiers up to the 2 spot because I honestly believe they might be the most complete team in the conference. A Hoosier win will put them at the double-digit mark for yet another record. This week: -13.5 vs Michigan.
#3 Ohio State (CFP #2) 7-1 (4-1) Is coming off of a win at Penn State that propelled the Buckeyes back into the Big ten title race. The have a practice game this week. This week: -37.5 vs Purdue
#4 Penn State (CFP #6) 7-1 (4-1) The Nittany Lions are going to make it into the CFP because there is no one left on their schedule that can beat them, and they haven't exactly played a murders row as it is. I think they are the weakest of the B1G's top 4. This week: -13.5 Washington
#5 Iowa 5-3 (3-2) Has been doing something we are not used to; scoring a lot of points. The Hawkeyes get to enjoy some California sun this weekend. But don't sleep on the resurgent Bruins who went into Lincoln last week and shocked the fading Cornhuskers. This week: -5.5 at UCLA
#6 Minnesota 6-3 (4-2) Is on a run, winning 4 consecutive games to become bowl eligible. Last week the Gophers went to Illinois and won. This week it's to Piscataway to face a seemingly fading Scarlet Knights team. This week: -6.5 at Rutgers
#7 Michigan 5-4 (3-3) Jumps from the frying pan directly into the fire this week. after losing to Oregon the Wolverines travel to Bloomington to face what I think is the most complete team in the B1G, and one that Sherron Moore's team has little to no chance of stopping. They will see the most prolific offense to date in B2B weeks. This week: +14.5 at Indiana
#8 Illinois (AP #20) 6-2 (3-2) Has lost back-to-back games after becoming bowl eligible. The Illini won't lose three straight weeks. This week: Bye
#9 Washington 4-4 (2-3) Returns from Bloomington the same way every other team has this season, with a loss. The Huskies are still hunting for 6 wins and having the Puget Sound behind them might be just the elixir. This week: +13.5 at Penn State
#10 Wisconsin 5-3 (3-2) Has player better as the season has progressed, but the Badgers are also a Big Ten team looking for that coveted 6th win still. This week: Bye
#11 Nebraska 5-3 (2-3) Sure surprised a lot of us rebounding to play OSU to within 4 points after Indiana's 56-7 drubbing the previous week. Then the Cornhuskers laid the biggest egg of the season, losing in Lincoln to UCLA! Matt Rhule's team started 5-1 but has been trying to secure bowl eligibility ever since. Nebraska has lost 7 straight "bowl eligible games" since 2016. I am not sure it happens. This week: Bye
#12 Michigan State 4-4 (2-3) Is still looking for the license plate number of the busses than rolled over them in East Lansing last week. Will the Illini lose B2B weeks at home? This week: +2.5 at Illinois
#13 UCLA 2-5 (1-4) Has definitely improved over the course of the season, just not nearly enough. Going to Lincoln after what we saw from Matt Rhule's team in Columbus probably will not help the Bruins cause. This week: +5.5 vs Iowa
#14 Northwestern 4-5 (2-4) Got a badly needed win last week over lowly Purdue. With OSU, Michigan, and Illinois to finish out, a bowl game looks doubtful. This week: Bye
#15 USC 4-4 (2-4) The Trojans get to stay on the West coast this week. Lincoln Riley's team has lost 4 of their last 5 games and must win 2 of their final 3 to make a bowl game. That's what you get for $10 million/year? This week: Bye
#16 Maryland 4-4 (1-4) Lost 3 of their last 4 games and had a bye last week. I don't think it will help. The Terps head to Eugene Saturday. This week: +24.5 at Oregon
#17 Rutgers 4-4 (1-4) Has now lost 4 consecutive conference games. Will the Scarlet Knights make it 5 in a row? Maybe, but it will not be this week. This week: +6.6 vs Minnesota
#18 Purdue 1-6 (0-4) Is officially awful and trending downward, if that is even possible. This is probably the last opportunity for Ryan Walters' squad to get a conference win this season. The road ahead looks very daunting for the Boilermakers. This week: +37.5 at Ohio State
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