The OutKick Elite 12 Stays The Same Up Top And Welcomes Notre Dame And Texas A&M
Even though it wasn't as chaotic as the previous Saturday's, week nine of the college football season provided us with separation in some conferences. It was led by thrilling games involving Texas A&M and Texas in the SEC. We were also treated to a number of entertaining games in the Big Ten, while Boise State continues their march towards the playoff.
Thanks to a ferocious comeback by the Aggies against LSU on Saturday night in College Station, Mike Elko has Texas A&M sitting atop the SEC as the only undefeated team in the conference. Talk about a meltdown by the Tigers, as Marcel Reed tore apart the LSU defense in the second half in the 38-23 win for the Aggies.
Sticking in the SEC, it was Texas that survived a tough outing from Vanderbilt, holding onto 27-24 win in Nashville, thanks to a solid day on defense. While the Longhorns shouldn’t drop in the polls, Steve Sarkisian needs this upcoming bye-week to straighten some things out on offense.
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - OCTOBER 26: Quinn Ewers #3 of the Texas Longhorns throws the ball against the Vanderbilt Commodores in the first half at FirstBank Stadium on October 26, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Carly Mackler/Getty Images)
In the Big Ten, all eyes are now on the upcoming Penn State versus Ohio State matchup this weekend. Both teams struggled against unranked opponents this past Saturday. The Buckeyes hung on against Nebraska, while Penn State defeated Wisconsin without starting quarterback Drew Allar in the second half.
The ACC race is coming down the stretch, with Miami and Clemson battling for that automatic bid. In the Big 12, well it's a crapshoot right now, with Iowa State and BYU sitting atop the standings with undefeated conference records, but lookout for Kansas State and Colorado down the stretch.
As for that at-large bid for the 12th spot, with Navy losing to Notre Dame on Saturday, and Boise State taking care of business against UNLV, this is coming down to whether or not the Broncos can finish the season without a loss.
Alright, let's take a look at our expert pickers, who put together the best twelve teams in college football this week.
Here is the list of pickers for each week's OutKick Top-12 Poll.
- Clay Travis
- Trey Wallace
- Chad Withrow
- Jonathan Hutton
- Dan Dakich
- Les Miles
- Brock Huard
- Lou Holtz
- Tommy Tuberville
- Jeannine Edwards
- Will Cain
- Ricky Cobb
- Kelly Stewart
OutKick College Football Playoff Top-12, Week Eight Rankings
This is the seventh week of rankings for the OutKick panel of voters, and I was interested to see how some would rank these teams based off subpar performances this past weekend.
It was Georgia sitting atop the poll last week, with Oregon coming in at second. While no team in OutKick Top-12 lost this week, I was curious to see how our panel would rank teams like Penn State, Ohio State and Texas.
The OutKick College Football top-12
Thanks to the dominant win over Illinois, the Oregon Ducks are ranked first in the new poll, with Georgia coming in second ahead of its showdown with Florida this week. There was an argument to be made in the ACC, as Miami and Clemson continue to battle for the ACC bid, and the voters went with the Tigers this week.
One of the most important spots in the poll is the 12th spot, with a battle brewing between Boise State and Army, now that Navy dropped out of the poll after losing to Notre Dame this past weekend.
As for the Fighting Irish, they have entered the rankings at 11th. Notre Dame will finish the season with Florida State, Virginia, #21 Army and USC.
How the College Football Playoff Would Look Right Now. Voters Make Their Case
As we do every week, each voter has their top-12 published so that you can take a look at where they rank each team in the polls.
While every other voter had Georgia as the SEC automatic-qualifier this week, Dan Dakich rolled with Texas A&M, coming off the win over LSU this past weekend. The Aggies made a very big statement against the Tigers, and are currently the only undefeated team in the SEC. That game against Texas on the final weekend of the regular season was already big, but throw in a spot in the conference title game, and College Station will be a powderkeg waiting to explode.
The OutKick College Football top-12
The OutKick College Football top-12
As for Indiana, the Hoosiers have Michigan State and Michigan coming up over the next two weeks, before a huge showdown with Ohio State in Columbus. If Indiana only suffers one loss this season, it will be interesting to see how the voters react with its seemingly weak schedule from a rankings standpoint.
Currently, voters have the SEC getting four teams into the college football playoff. But, this final month of the season is going to be chaotic for the conference, with a number of premier matchups.
Obviously, this is going to be a major week for the Big Ten, as Ohio State visits Penn State on Saturday at 12 p.m. ET on FOX. If the Buckeyes suffer another conference loss, and look mediocre on offense at the same time, this is going to be a very tense time for Ryan Day and Ohio State fans, since they've already dropped a game to Oregon.
Alright, that'll do it. I want to hear from you, and who you think got it wrong, or right. So, email me Trey.Wallace@OutKick.com and I'll discuss it on Tuesday.