Last week, Michigan jumped to number one in the SRS after demolishing Rutgers. The Wolverines, on bye, stayed at number one this week, but the Crimson Tide are coming after them. The top team of week 7 was Alabama, who destroyed a good conference opponent in Tennessee.  Here’s what you need to know: the Crimson Tide….

• outgained the Vols, 613-201;
• outrushed the Vols, 438-32, the most rushing yards by Alabama in 30 years; and
• scored on both a punt return and an interception return, winning 49-7.

Given that the Volunteers have an SRS rating of 50.4, and that the game was in Tennessee, a 39-point road victory translates to an SRS rating of 83.4; no other team in week 7 cracked 70.

The second best win came from West Virginia; at 5-0 and now #16 in the SRS, it may be time to start watching the Mountaineers more closely.  WVU’s toughest opponents to date have been BYU and Kansas State, and both were close wins.  But the Big 12’s best hope for national relevance is for both West Virginia and Baylor to enter their December 3rd matchup undefeated. Unlikely, of course, but that’s at least a path.

Oh, and the Western Michigan hype machine should keep rolling.  The Broncos destroyed Akron, which may not sound that impressive, but for reference: WMU won 41-0 in Akron, while Wisconsin won 54-10 at home against the Zips. Running back Jarvion Franklin had 33 carries for 281 yards in the win.

Below are the single-game results from week 7:

And, let’s look at the updated season-to-date rankings. And while Clemson and Ohio State had skin-of-their-teeth, come-from-behind, overtime victories, both still have the inside track to make the playoffs. Here’s where things stand:

SEC: As usual, the East doesn’t look very good, while the West is dominant.  The top two teams statistically are Bama and A&M, and the Aggies travel to Alabama this weekend.  That projects as a matchup of two top-7 teams in the SRS, but Alabama is currently favored by 16.5 points! Alabama then has a bye before traveling to Baton Rouge.  Assuming Alabama beats Texas A&M this weekend, the Iron Bowl is the most likely game to trip up the Crimson Tide.

B10: Wisconsin gave both Michigan and Ohio State good fights, but ultimately lost to both.  Nebraska is undefeated but hasn’t beaten any teams of note.  The Wolverines and Buckeyes are good bets to run the table with Michigan State being terrible this year: that sets up a de facto play-in game for the playoffs, when the two meet in Columbus in late November.  If enough things break right, the loser might have an argument for making the playoffs, too.

ACC: Clemson, by virtue of beating Louisville earlier in the year, is in great shape in the Atlantic; as usual, the Coastal is just okay. The best thing for the conference would be for Clemson to run the table: the toughest matchup left for the Tigers is Florida State in two weeks. Even if Clemson loses that game, though, the Tigers would still be ahead of both Louisville (head-to-head) and FSU (conference record) and the frontrunner in the division.

B12: As suggested above, the best hope for this conference is West Virginia and/or Baylor continue to exceed expectations.  There are zero B12 teams in the top 15 of the SRS.

Pac-12: Washington looks like the class of the conference.  Games in Utah and against USC could be challenges, but the big matchup to watch is the Apple Cup. This year, the game is at Washington State, and the Cougars have jumped into the top 10 of the SRS despite starting the season with losses to FCS Eastern Washington and Boise State.

As always thanks to Dr. Peter R. Wolfe for providing the weekly game logs.

As for the non-power 5 teams?

• Houston may be very good — the Cougars beat Oklahoma, and have built on last year’s success — but the loss to the United States Navy likely ends any playoff hope for the team. A November 17th game against Louisville should be great, even if it may not be as big of a game for both teams as they hoped a month ago.

• Western Michigan isn’t going to have much of a schedule to boast about, so any playoff talk is probably a pipe dream.  Toledo is 36th in the SRS, and no other MAC team is in the top 70.  Out of conference, the Broncos beat Northwestern and Illinois, but those are not signature wins.

• Boise State beat WAZZOU (a win that’s looking better and better each week), and is undefeated, but the SRS is down on the Broncos.  A game against BYU on Thursday should be good, but that’s the best opponent left on the Broncos schedule.

Please leave your thoughts in the comments.