Ohio State Remains #1 In Our College Football Rankings; Prediction Accuracy At 543-165 (77%)

Just when it seemed #1 Ohio State (10-0) was so dominant that its place atop our system rankings wouldn’t be challenged, the Buckeyes have begun to show some vulnerabilities on the defensive side of the ball. 

Three weeks ago, OSU yielded just one touchdown to Big-10 power Michigan.  Since then, the Buckeyes have given up 35 points to such conference bottom-dwellers as Maryland and Rutgers. 

With that blemish festering, #2 Clemson (11-0) has closed the gap. The Tigers have been surging for the past month and their trajectory could lead to a number one ranking as early as this week.  

LSU (10-0) remains third in the rankings while Georgia‘s (9-1) win over #23 Auburn (7-3) and Penn State‘s (9-1) pushed the Bulldogs into fourth and the Nittany Lions into fifth, displacing Oregon (9-1) and faltering Oklahoma (9-1)

SMU (9-1), Texas A&M (7-3), and San Diego State (8-2) returned to the rankings.

In the PAC-12 . . .

Seventh-ranked Oregon (7-1) continues to lead the our rankings for PAC-12 teams but now has a hair-thin margin over #8 Utah (9-1), a team that is showing stronger metrics each week.  The two are likely to settle things on December 6th in the PAC-12 championship game.

Last week, our Index was 45-10 in predicting games and now stands 543-165 (77%) on the season.  It missed by over 40 points in the Syracuse blowout of Duke, but it beat Vegas odds in predicting Northern Illinois‘ (4-6) upset of Toledo (6-4).  Some other close predictions included: 

Air Force over Colorado State 38-21; We predicted 36-21.

TCU over Texas Tech 31-30; We predicted 33-31.

Southern Miss 36-17 over UTSA; We predicted 36-15.

To view a more comprehensive list of our Top 25, visit us here.

1. Ohio State               10-0
2. Clemson                  11-0
3. LSU                           10-0
4. Alabama                   9-1
5. Georgia                     9-1
6. Penn State                9-1
7. Oregon            9-1
8. Utah                          9-1
9. Oklahoma                 9-1
10. Notre Dame             8-2
11. Michigan              8-2   
12. Florida                      9-2
13. Minnesota                 9-1
14. Wisconsin                8-2
15. Boise State           9-1
16. Iowa                          7-3
17. Memphis                   9-1
18. Cincinnati                 9-1
19. Virginia Tech           7-3
20. Baylor                        9-1
21. Appalachian State  9-1
22. Texas A&M               7-3
23. Auburn                      7-3
24. SMU                            9-1
25. San Diego State       8-2