2017 ACC Football: Coastal Division Power Rankings week 6
Another week of college football means another week of the ACC Coastal Power Rankings.
We are six weeks into the college football season and it’s becoming much easier to distinguish the contenders from the pretenders.
There are the undefeated power players who simply need to win out and most likely make it into the College Football Playoff (five power conferences all with at least one unbeaten, four playoff spots, do the math).
Then, there are a slew of one-loss teams hoping for upsets, while also controlling their own destiny as well as making said upsets happen. With that in mind, let’s see what others are doing around the college football map.
In Big Ten country, the conference falls to two undefeated squads with Michigan’s loss to Michigan State. Penn State continues to run over most of their opponents, while Wisconsin continues to do Badger-like things that lead to wins.
With the loss, Michigan now falls to that second tier with Ohio State and the Michigan State, who now have life after their win in the Big House. All three still get a shot at Penn State, so this race is far from over.
In the Pac-12, the Apple Cup is looking more and more like a potential semi-final matchup. The Huskies and Cougars both won big this weekend – the Cougars more impressively over Oregon – to keep both unblemished.
On the south side, Utah’s loss to Stanford really put a dent in their hopes, while giving USC a second wind at redemption.
And in the Big 12, what once seemed like a three team race has become just one. TCU now stands alone as the lone remaining unbeaten, after Oklahoma inexplicably lost at home to Iowa State.
Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are now a game behind TCU, and that’s where things get tricky. If the Sooners pull the upset over the Horned Frogs in Norman in a month, the Big 12 may be left out of the playoff race for a third time in four seasons.
For four weeks, I have been saying that the SEC is a two team race. I have declared over and over that Georgia and Alabama are going to meet for the SEC championship game.
Well, it isn’t over just yet. Yes, Florida got knocked out with their loss to a bad LSU team, but Auburn, despite my declarations, just keeps winning. They are now 5-1, 3-0 in conference, and control their own destiny, getting to play both Georgia and Alabama.
I still believe that the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide are going to meet in Atlanta in early December, but the Tigers are making me waiver just a little more.
All that’s left is the ACC. Raise your hand if you knew the Atlantic Division would come down to the winner of the NC State and Clemson game in Raleigh on November 4th? No one? Really?
Yeah, me either. But that is where we are headed after the Wolfpack crushed Louisville and FSU lost another game dropping them to 1-3 on the season.
Of course, whoever wins that game will still have to play the winner of the Coastal Division, which brings us to our real rankings.
By the way, If you are wondering how all that action impacted my top 10, check it out here:
This week, I went away from country music artists in order to honor Tom Petty, who passed away last week. First up, is the only ACC Coastal Division team with one win this season.