Week 7 ended up being the most eventful weekend of the season so far, as both #1 and #3 in the Eliteness Tracker hit the skids. #1 Georgia was upset at home by South Carolina and #3 Florida lost at #2 LSU. With wins over Florida and Texas, LSU now holds the #1 spot in the Eliteness Tracker. We knew the SEC cannibalization was coming, but it is nowhere near being finished. In fact, we’re just getting warmed up. Alabama, Auburn, and LSU’s round robin is set to begin in 2 weeks to decide the SEC West. A Georgia, Florida, and Missouri round robin will begin at the same time to decide the SEC East.
As mentioned last week, Alabama’s win over Texas A&M knocked them out of the top 25 and removed a signature win for both Clemson and Auburn. Therefore, Alabama moves up over Clemson by virtue of Elite Points. The Tigers have now dropped to #5. The new #2 below is Oklahoma. OU defeated Texas, notched a signature win on the season, and moved all the way up from #7 last week. With their Cincinnati win getting better and better each week, Ohio State moved up from #5 to #3.
With their win over Iowa on Saturday night, Penn State debuts on the Eliteness Tracker at #7. California is also back in after a one week absence at #14 and Wyoming, who gave Missouri their only loss in week 1, sneaks in at #15. Wyoming has not looked all that great outside of week 1, so it’s safe to assume their stay will be temporary. With Virginia’s loss to Miami, Notre Dame lost their top 25 win and fell out of the Eliteness Tracker, at least temporarily.
Week 8’s schedule is a step down from week 7, but there are still matchups that will affect both the CFP and Eliteness.
The first one is on Saturday at noon. You have the Florida Gators who faced undefeated Auburn and LSU the previous two weeks facing a South Carolina team coming off the huge win at Georgia. SC should have a dangerous level of confidence heading into the matchup and their long suffering fanbase should be jacked about the possibility of a 2nd straight upset. Can Florida get to full motivation for a 3rd straight week? Can they put a highly competitive loss to LSU in the rearview mirror and bring their A-game to Columbia, SC? We shall see.
At 3:30, two of the best teams in the PAC 12 face off when Oregon travels to Washington. Needless to say, Oregon has to win this one to have any chance of representing the PAC 12 in the CFP. At the same time, the other two best teams in the PAC 12 will also face off when Arizona State travels to Utah. ASU has the one bad loss to Colorado, but also has wins over Cal and Michigan State. Utah has just the one loss to USC, so this would be the first big win for them as they head into the meat of the PAC 12 South over the next several weeks.
In the Big 12, undefeated Baylor gets their first real test of the season against Oklahoma State, which could be a major confidence builder for Matt Rhule’s rebuilding efforts. Baylor has a lot of landmines in their upcoming schedule including both OU and Texas, but a win here would solidify them as a top tier team in their conference.
The main event of the evening comes courtesy of the Big 10. Penn State will host Michigan in what should be a competitive, defensive struggle. Both teams still have to play Ohio State, which will ultimately determine the level of success for their respective seasons. However, the winner of this game will be able to control their own destiny in the Big 10 East. That would basically leave the winner one Ohio State-upset away from playing for the Big 10 Championship (likely against Wisconsin). The way the season is shaping up so far, the winner of the Big 10 Championship game is likely to make it to the CFP. Even after all the negative press from the Wisconsin massacre, that team could still be Michigan. Next week, Michigan faces Notre Dame. Back to back wins over both Penn State and Notre Dame would completely change the narrative for the Wolverines.
