I’m sounding like a broken record by now, but a lot of games have been intense recently. There’s been thrillers, overtime thrillers, a few huge upsets, and wild finishes. But we finally made it to October football with a lot of unknowns, conference matchups, and more potential upsets. Halloween might be the main theme of the month, but I prefer mine to be graveyards filled with ranked teams that will push up daisies in their losses. I also fear my Sooners will eventually suffer the same fate without John Mateer, but that’s beside the point. I can’t wait for more great games this upcoming month!

12) MEMPHIS (5-0)

Memphis stays undefeated after walloping FAU on the road. Running back Greg Desrosiers Jr. had a huge day with over 200 yards rushing and three touchdowns. The team carries their momentum against Tulsa before going on their bye.

11) TEXAS TECH (4-0)

BYE

10) GEORGIA (3-1)

Georgia continues their run of suffering against their SEC rival Alabama. They’ve now lost 10 of their last 11 with Kirby Smart losing seven of them to the Tide. However, I wouldn’t count out the Dawgs as they may have something there with their team. Most importantly, Gunnar Stockton will take the team as far as he can as long as he stays healthy.

9) OLE MISS (5-0)

So many people wrote off Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss despite the fact that they’ve given LSU so many fits in past matchups. Lane Kiffin was very confident Ole Miss would win, but maybe he shouldn’t promise bets to people after not clinching the over lol Even so, quarterback Trinidad Chambliss had a great game against LSU’s stingy defense and Ole Miss’s defense put the hurting to a questionable LSU offense.

8) ALABAMA (3-1)

Alabama returns to my power rankings after an epic win against Georgia. Bama has now won 10 of the last 11 matchups and three straight games at Athens dating back to 2008. There was never a doubt that Bama needed this game to re-energize the program’s optimism for future SEC matchups. However, they have a bugaboo in Vanderbilt to avenge after last season’s upset loss.

7) GEORGIA TECH (5-0)

Georgia Tech nearly suffered the same fate in early ACC play like Florida State on Friday. But they figured it out, came back, and stifled Wake Forest’s offense down the stretch, including overtime. This is the grittiest team in college football and they’re becoming more of a dark horse ACC title/playoff team. I wouldn’t want to face them right now.

6) PENN STATE (3-1)

Penn State eventually saw the “White Curtain” close on them at home, but it almost did earlier if not for their 14-point comeback. They were outplayed by Oregon the majority of the game but had the will to fight back and force overtime. Here’s my opinion, utilize Drew Allar in a Josh-Allenish way. That was the difference that sparked their comeback run in that juggernaut matchup.

5) TEXAS (3-1)

BYE

4) INDIANA (5-0)

Walking in and out of Kinnick Stadium is no easy feat for most teams. Not even Indiana, but they found a way and escaped a major upset to stay undefeated. They walk into October with optimism, but it’ll get gritty real quick deep into Big Ten play. Also, they only need two more wins to maintain Curt Cignetti’s “Google Me” relevancy.

3) MIAMI (4-0)

BYE

2) OREGON (5-0)

Oregon had Penn State tied up for the majority of the game before the fallout in the fourth quarter. Youth almost took over for quarterback Dante Moore, but his poise through pressure got them through overtime. Despite that, the Ducks were the better team from start to finish and showed they can contend with just about anyone. Winning in Happy Valley surrounded by a hostile crowd prove they improved this year.

1) OHIO STATE (4-0)

Ohio State made their first appearance in Washington since 2007 with many changes in nearly two decades. Despite a physical dogfight, Ohio State was the better team on most sides of the ball. Julian Sayin was surgical, and Jeremiah Smith made a nightmare out of the Husky defense. Running back Bo Jackson (no relation) even made his presence felt too.

HONORABLE MENTION

VIRGINIA

I had a feeling about this Friday Night Football game. Virginia came in at 3-1 hosting undefeated Florida State. My question about FSU was, “what have you done lately?” Apparently, fall on Friday Night to a motivated Virginia team. Virginia quarterback Chandler Morris and running back J’Mari Taylor turned Virginia’s offense into a weapon and showed it. They were competitive, gritty, and weren’t intimidated. If they can stay composed through October, they could be a very special team that no one would expect.

UL MONROE FOR THE SECOND STRAIGHT SEASON!!!

The Warhawks starts 3-1 for the second straight time. It’s also their first in history. Just like last year, the Warhawks did it again thanks to coach Bryant Vincent, who needs no intro again. Outside of getting royally clapped by Bama, they’re actually an ok team and their schedule may promise six wins this season. Just like last year, can UL Monroe make an unlikely run to the Sun Belt title game??? lol If you want to read last year’s mention of them, here’s the link: https://lonewolf1225.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=20372&action=edit

CINCINNATI

Quick shout out to the Bearcats. They were projected to finish near the bottom as the 12th team in the Big 12. They’re 3-1 with a statement road win against Kansas. Quarterback Brendan Sorsby is looking more and more like the real deal that Cincy was looking for. His stats jumped after netting only 69 yards passing with no touchdowns against Nebraska in Week 1. Now, he’s averaging 325 yards per game and added 10 passing touchdowns in the last three games. If we’re looking at potential Big 12 risers/showstoppers, it might be Cincy.