Thanks to an action-packed weekend, this week’s poll will look much different than it did a week ago. Please forgive us that it’s running a day later than usual, but Terry was sick and didn’t cast his ballot until Tuesday morning. Feel free to insert a “Your archrival played so poorly that it literally made Terry Johnson sick” joke here.
All kidding aside, here’s this week’s TSS Power 16 poll:
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama (1) | 75 |
| 2 | Ohio State (2) | 74 |
| 3 | Louisville (2) | 73 |
| 4 | Houston | 64 |
| 5 | Clemson | 55 |
| 6 | Michigan | 53 |
| 7 | Stanford | 49 |
| 8 | Washington | 43 |
| 9 | Michigan State | 42 |
| 10 | Wisconsin | 28 |
| 11 | Nebraska | 19 |
| 12 | Texas A&M | 18 |
| 13 | Florida State | 17 |
| 14 | Arkansas | 12 |
| 15 | LSU | 11 |
| 16 | Utah | 10 |
| Others receiving votes: Florida 9, Georgia 8, Miami (FL) 5, Tennessee 4, Oklahoma 3, San Diego State 3, Toledo 2, Boise State 2 | ||
| Voters: Kevin Causey, Phil Harrison, Bart Doan, Yesh Ginsburg, Terry Johnson | ||
Notes and Observations
- Alabama narrowly retained the top spot this week, despite losing three first-place votes. Both Ohio State and Louisville picked up first place votes after strong performances against Oklahoma and Florida State this weekend.
- However, our panel firmly believes that the Tide is one of the top two teams in the nation, as they appeared no lower than No. 2 on anyone’s ballot.
- Michigan State had the biggest jump this week, debuting at No. 9 with it’s impressive victory over Notre Dame. Utah also entered the poll at No. 16.
- Among already ranked teams, Louisville made the biggest move, rising 8 spots to No. 3. Yet, not everyone is sold on the Cardinals as a College Football Playoff team, as they appeared at No. 5 on a couple of ballots.
- Surprisingly, Georgia dropped out of the rankings this week, despite its come-from-behind win on the road at Missouri.
- It’ll be interesting to see whether the Florida – Tennessee winner can move into the Top 16 after both teams narrowly missed the cut this week.
