Before we get to the power rankings, I’ve got a few quick thoughts on Washington remaining at No. 5 in Tuesday’s updated College Football Playoff rankings.
The top four — Ohio State, Georgia, Michigan and Florida State — remain unchanged. Oregon is still No. 6, one spot behind UW.
Here’s what else to know:
- UW’s next two opponents, Utah and Oregon State, are ranked No. 18 and No. 12, respectively.
- Last week, CFP executive director Bill Hancock said “the top four were in a group together,” with Washington “a notch below that group.” Boo Corrigan, the chair of the selection committee, noted that UW’s close calls against Arizona State and Stanford gave the committee pause. I asked Corrigan during a Tuesday teleconference if the gap between UW and the top four had closed at all. His response: “Not to be funny, but you can’t get much closer than four to five, in what we’re doing. Again, we talk a lot about it, the close calls with Arizona State and Stanford, who have a combined five wins. A defense that’s given up 42 and 33 — 33 points twice, and 32 points, in games. Incredibly explosive offense. Michael Penix Jr. has been amazing this year. But as we looked at it, we had Washington at 5, below Florida State.”
- That confirmed my suspicion that even if they stay unbeaten, the Huskies’ defense will be held against them until further notice. Something to keep in mind as the weeks progress.
- Something else to consider: I heard Corrigan mention a few times the number of victories that some teams had over opponents with above-.500 records (Ohio State has seven). That number for Washington: just three (Arizona, Oregon and USC). Of course, the Huskies have a chance to notch a fourth this weekend, and, potentially, a fifth the week after.
- Corrigan also was asked about the strength of the Pac-12, in general, and about bumping Arizona up to No. 21. “Really good conference, and you can tell by our rankings the respect that we have,” he said. “We have respect for all the conferences that are out there and what they’re doing. But specifically to Arizona, you have three straight wins, two of their losses coming in overtime, a 7-point loss to Washington. And the job that Coach (Jedd) Fisch has done out there is really something, including the win last week over UCLA.”
- There was some debate on the ESPN studio show about whether Oregon deserved to be ranked No. 6 ahead of one-loss Texas at No. 7 and one-loss Alabama at No. 8. Corrigan was asked about not rewarding Alabama for its win over now-No. 19 LSU, and said of Oregon that “their win over (now No. 18) Utah and the balance of the top-five offense and top-15 defense” factored into the decision.
- As always, a reminder: none of this means anything yet. If the Huskies keep winning, the rankings will take care of themselves. The question to ask is whether UW can afford to lose a game and still make the Playoff, if it beats Oregon in the Pac-12 championship game. Texas and Alabama will help answer that question.
Washington’s 52-42 victory over USC knocked the Trojans out of the rankings; they were No. 20 last week. However, Arizona debuted in the rankings at No. 21, giving the Huskies a pair of top-25 victories. Interestingly enough, Arizona and USC have the same number of losses (three) and the Trojans beat the Wildcats head-to-head, albeit at home in triple overtime. They’ve gone in different directions since.