Last week, Michigan, Alabama, and Ohio State were far ahead of the pack according to the SRS. The top 6 remains unchanged this week other than Clemson and Louisville switching spots. That might be surprising given that Ohio State lost in Happy Valley, but Penn State now ranks 22nd in the SRS (they ranked 34th last week) and the Buckeyes had a large lead on #4 Clemson last week. Ohio State gets a 51.0 for losing at Penn State, but Clemson had a 56.1 last week for a home win over N.C. State.

The three big wins of the week came from Auburn, Louisville, and Alabama. At this rate, the Crimson Tide look ridiculous: Alabama’s worst game of the year was a 59.7, scored in a 5-point road win against Ole Miss. Two other games (34-6 over Kentucky, 48-0 over Kent State) had similar scores. But against the three teams Alabama has faced with an SRS of at least 50, the Ride have won by a combined 134-30 (USC, Tennessee, A&M).

But after Auburn’s destruction of Arkansas this weekend, there’s at least reason to think the Iron Bowl should be interesting. On Saturday, the Tigers rushed for 544 yards and 7 touchdowns on 56 carries — that is insane. In fact, it’s the most by any SEC team in a regular season game since at least 2000: it’s also one less yard than the famed 2013 Tigers had in the SEC Championship Game against Missouri.

As for Louisville? Well, they obliterated that NC State team that nearly (and should have) beaten Clemson last week. Below are the single-game week 8 SRS ratings:

Louisville is awesome, and is ranked 4th in the SRS. But there may not be a great playoff path for them, thanks to the razor-thin loss to Clemon earlier in the year. The Cardinals have only one marquee game left on the schedule, and even that one is losing its luster. Houston, which opened at #7 in the SRS three weeks ago, fell to 15th last week after going 1-1 with a 1-point points differential against Navy and Tulsa in back-to-back weeks. Then, Houston shockingly lost to SMU this weekend: the Mustangs ranked 99th in the SRS last week, and while the Cougars were 23.5 point favorites, it was Houston that lost by 22 points.

Ohio State, meanwhile, still gets Michigan at the end of the season, and a B10 Championship Game (assuming the Buckeyes beat the Wolverines). ^[1]Well, there is one other hiccup here. If Michigan loses before playing Ohio State, and Penn State wins out, the Buckeyes would lose the division title to Penn State. Though that wouldn’t … Continue reading

The playoffs seem to be setting up for Clemson/Washington/Alabama and the winner of Michigan/Ohio State. But each team still faces a tough game against a key rival: Clemson faces Florida State this weekend, in Tallahassee. The Tigers would still be big favorites to win the ACC with a loss, but Clemson’s lock of a playoff spot would be much more precarious.

On the other hand, the Apple Cup and the Iron Bowl could not just end perfect seasons, but cost divisions. Both Washington State and Auburn are 5-2, but they have combined for just one conference loss. Wazzou can even lose a Pac 12 game and still control its own destiny to win the Pac 12 North by beating Washington, in Pullman, on the last weekend of the season. And while Auburn has one loss, the only tough game remaining for the Tigers before Alabama is against Ole Miss this weekend.

Assuming Auburn runs the table, they would be set up to do exactly what they shockingly did in 2013: steal the SEC West from an undefeated Alabama, thanks to a 7-1 conference record and the tiebreaker. Then again, given how good the Tide have looked this year, it might require another Kick Six.

Below are the SRS ratings through week 8:

As always, please leave any questions or comments below.