Next to Memphis playing Friday as a ranked team, welcome to November football. There’s also MACtion weekday football for anyone that’s into it. We’re down to the final 4 or 5 games of the season with plenty of conference positioning to be decided. The SEC will cannibalize themselves just enough to see who comes out on top. The Big 12 may have more than one team in the playoffs depending on the ACC and SEC’s finish. The Big Ten has potential gauntlets in Indiana and Ohio State that might meet up in the Big Ten title game. The Group of Five is wide open dominated by the AAC, but will they have one in the postseason? The ACC doesn’t have either Florida State or Clemson at the top, and Miami’s pending in November with newcomers popping in. Welp, buckle up for this one, folks!

12) MEMPHIS (7-1)

Huge upset for Memphis, but it wasn’t easy. They went back-and-forth a bit with both USF quarterback Byrum Brown and Memphis quarterback Brenden Lewis carrying their teams on their back. Memphis even rallied and survived over a game-tying missed field goal and opened the door for other Group of Five teams to fight for a playoff spot.

11) OLE MISS (7-1)

Ole Miss outplayed Oklahoma throughout the game despite how close the score was. Defense bounced back after a poor fourth quarter performance against Georgia. Defense outplayed the offensive line and affected John Mateer. Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss played as well as he did despite Lane Kiffin making personal errors that hurt Ole Miss a bit. Otherwise, they look easily in line for a playoff spot with an easier schedule down the stretch.

10) VANDERBILT (7-1)

Vanderbilt escaped the claws of Missouri. Prayers go out to Mizzou quarterback Beau Pribula, who suffered a horrific leg injury during the game. It wasn’t a pretty game for Pavia and the offense, but they finally had the defense to help carry the team to victory. Safety CJ Heard with a robbed fumble recovery out of the running back’s hands was filthy!

9) MIAMI (6-1)

It looked like Stanford was hunting for another ACC upset. There was a small scare by Miami, but they ended it pretty quick starting with the defense and freshman receiver Malachi Toney taking over. Eventually, everyone else got involved and shellac Stanford. Now, they enter November with plenty of mystery.

8) TEXAS TECH (7-1)

Texas Tech bounced back by blanking a Mike Gundy-less Oklahoma State team. However, another price was paid amongst the Red Raiders with Will Hammond’s first half injury. Mitch Griffis filled in that spot well and took care of business in the shutout with that staunch defense. Texas Tech and quarterbacks go hand-in-hand, and it never seems to stop.

7) OREGON (7-1)

The Ducks won, but it wasn’t in convincing fashion. Passing was scarce, so running became more essential and worked in their favor with Jordon Davison and Noah Whittington running down their throats. How will this 2025 group fare next month? Guess we’ll see.

6) GEORGIA (6-1)

BYE

5) ALABAMA (7-1)

Alabama survived a gritty matchup with South Carolina. They won 29-22, but the first quarter Pick-6 was enough of a difference in Bama’s win. Just like last season, it was down to the wire. What was different for Bama’s offense was Germie Bernard being more dynamic. He caught a touchdown and ran 23 yards for another. That’ll come in handy down the stretch.

4) GEORGIA TECH (8-0)

Georgia Tech cleaned house against Syracuse. Defense had a great game, and Haynes King clobbered the defense in the air and on the ground with ease. As of right now, Georgia Tech stands alongside Virginia with an unblemished ACC record in an oddity of what that conference is this season.

3) TEXAS A&M (8-0)

I think it’s time to give some respect to Texas A&M. Each week was interesting to watch. Marcel Reed is the most creative and illusive scramblers who can also improvise too. He mimics Lamar Jackson, which Aggie fans would love to hear. Defense looks a bit more formidable, which makes the rest of the roster look like legitimate playoff contenders. Their schedule gets much easier next month with just Texas left to play.

2) INDIANA (8-0)

I wanted to say Indiana obliterated UCLA, but my parent said UCLA was annihilated. I’ll go with the second one. Indiana annihilated UCLA, which coach Cigs expected from his team that’s supposed to be “obliterating” their weaker opponents. They held UCLA to 201 total yards while forcing three turnovers. The team was overall disciplined and did their job from start to finish.

1) OHIO STATE (7-0)

BYE

HONORABLE MENTION

DREW MESTEMAKER AGAIN!!!

The kid’s fun to watch. After a struggling start against Charlotte, Drew went supernova with 76% pass completion, 608 PASS YARDS!!!, and 4 touchdowns. Prior to that, his passing yard average was 266 per game. He also got three fellow receivers over 100 yards receiving. Drew’s insane…and only a FRESHMAN!!!

WASHINGTON

By Joel Klatt’s words, the Huskies aren’t talked about enough in the Big Ten. They’re heavily overshadowed by the likes of Ohio State, Indiana, Michigan, and rival Oregon. Understandable, but they have optimism for the future. Washington outplayed Illinois with Demond Williams, Jonah Coleman, and Denzel Boston being the offenses’ three-headed monster. The program might even walk their way to the Oregon matchup in the last week of the season.

WAKE FOREST

Wake Forest got a big upset win against SMU. No one’s talking about them. No one’s thinking about them. No one even thinks they exist. They’re currently 5-2 with an interesting situation but must win out and pray for ACC chaos to work in their favor. Their only two losses were by a point differential total of 11 against both NC State and Georgia Tech. The remaining ACC teams that must face Wake Forest better watch themselves.