As the Washington Huskies sat at home watching a crazy week Saturday of college football unfold,
After a couple of weeks of looking human, the Georgia Bulldogs strengthened their hold on the number 1 spot in the nation with a convincing 51-13 victory over previously unbeaten number 20 Kentucky.
Number 2 Michigan looked like Michigan again putting 52 on Minnesota. The Wolverines’ 42-point win will means that they won’t budge in the rankings.
However, in Dallas at Cotton Bowl Stadium, in a battle of unbeatens, 12th-ranked Oklahoma beat number 3 Texas 34-30. The Sooners moved to 6-0 on the season while Steve Sarkisian’s Longhorns fell to 5-1. In all likelihood, the loss will drop the Longhorns below Washington.
The unknown is if the 4-point victory in the “We’re Back Bowl” was enough to convince the voters to move OU up past Washington, negating Texas’ drop. UT had 10 first place votes last week so how those votes are distributed between Georgia, Michigan, and Ohio State will likely determine the Sooners’ upward mobility.
Speaking of No. 4 Ohio State, we shall see how the Buckeyes, who looked to be in trouble, tied at 17 at halftime against Maryland, may factor into voters’ minds. OSU went on to win 37-17.
A 22-point victory over Virginia Tech by the Miami Hurricanes may be enough to move them closer or maybe even ahead of Ohio State, but won’t impact Washington’s ranking.
Which brings us to Penn State, the final team above UW, who was also idle, meaning a big leap or tumble out of them isn’t going to happen.
That brings us right back to Oklahoma and its narrow 4-point win over Texas in the Red River Rivalry and where the Longhorns’ first place votes are split.
If the votes all go to the Sooners they’ll certainly leapfrog Notre Dame who lost; USC who looked horrible against Arizona; and 1-loss Alabama.
The reality of it all is that voters will probably view Oklahoma as under-ranked to start the season and rectify the oversight with a spot somewhere in the Top 5, ahead of PSU, Washington, and Oregon.
That sets up an epic battle in Seattle between 7th-ranked Washington and 8th-ranked Oregon next Saturday at 12:30.
