The first five weeks of the 2012 college football season presented plenty of surprises, disappointment and excitement, and as expected, the intensity increased by leaps and bounds this past weekend.
Two teams ranked in the Top 10 were forced to bite the dust, while two other teams in the Top 10 were given a chance to ascend in the ranks on the path to a potential BCS National Championship.
Each of these teams (four total) were from the same conference—the SEC. The No. 4 LSU Tigers took a trip to the Swamp to face the No. 10 Florida Gators and the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs battled the No. 6 South Carolina Gamecocks on the road as well.
In the Big 12, there was another Top 15 matchup featuring Heisman front-runner Geno Smith and the No. 7 West Virginia Mountaineers and the No. 12 Texas Longhorns at Austin.
There were three other marquee matchups in the Big Ten (Nebraska at No. 11 Ohio State, No. 21 Michigan at Purdue and No. 25 Northwestern at Penn State), one in the ACC (No. 3 Florida State at N.C. State), one in the Big 12 (No. 16 Oklahoma at Texas Tech) and Pac-12 (No. 22 Washington at No. 2 Oregon) and a non-conference showdown between a pair of storied programs (Miami at No. 8 Notre Dame).
Without further adieu, here are my Week 7 power rankings, along with each team’s records and results from Week 6′s action.
Last Week: 8-2 (38-22)
Photo Via WVU Mountaineers Facebook Page
| College Football Week 7 Rankings — Week 6 Poll – Opponent/Updated Results | ||||
| 1. Alabama (5-0) | (–) | idle | ||
| 2. Oregon (6-0) | (–) | Walked all over No. 22 Washington, 52-21. | ||
| 3. South Carolina (6-0) | (+3) | Gave No. 5 Georgia a 35-7 beatdown. | ||
| 4. West Virginia (5-0) | (+3) | Climbed away with the win 48-45 over No. 12 Texas. | ||
| 5. Florida (5-0) | (+5) | Got the win over No. 4 LSU, 14-6. | ||
| 6. Notre Dame (5-0) | (+2) | Blew apart the Hurricanes 41-3. | ||
| 7. Kansas State (5-0) | (+2) | Annihilated Kansas 56-16. | ||
| 8. Florida State (5-1) | (-5) | Lost 16-17 at N.C. State. | ||
| 9. Ohio State (6-0) | (+2) | Put it on in 2nd half, 63-38 over ‘Huskers. | ||
| 10. LSU (5-1) | (-6) | Lost 14-6 against No. 10 Florida at the Swamp. | ||
| 11. Clemson (4-1) | (+2) | Clawed away with the win 47-31 vs. GA Tech. | ||
| 12. Georgia (5-1) | (-7) | Got pummeled 35-7 at No. 6 South Carolina. | ||
| 13. Stanford (4-1) | (+1) | Won a wild game 54-48 vs. Wildcats in OT. | ||
| 14. Oklahoma (3-1) | (+2) | Rolled Red Raiders 41-20. | ||
| 15. USC (4-1) | (–) | Survived Utah 38-28 on Thursday night. | ||
| College Football Week 7 Rankings — Week 6 Poll – Opponent/Updated Results | ||||
| 16. Texas (4-1) | (-4) | Couldn’t come up with the “w” vs. No. 7 WVU (L 45-48). | ||
| 17. Mississippi State (5-0) | (–) | Contained Kentucky 27-14. | ||
| 18. Oregon State (4-0) | (+1) | Won with conviction 19-6 vs. Wazzou. | ||
| 19. Michigan (3-2) | (+2) | Beat Boilermakers 44-13 on the road. | ||
| 20. Texas A&M (4-1) | (–) | Outlasted Ole Miss 30-27. | ||
| 21. Cincinnati (4-0) | OTC | Manhandled Miami of Ohio 52-14. | ||
| 22. Iowa State (4-1) | NR | Took TCU for a spin with a 37-23 win. | ||
| 23. Michigan State (4-2) | (–) | Survived Indiana 31-27 on the road. | ||
| 24. Boise State (4-1) | (–) | Smothered Southern Miss 40-14. | ||
| 25. TCU (4-1) | (-7) | Suffered 37-23 defeat vs. the Cyclones. | ||
| Louisville (5-0) | OTC | idle | ||
| Rutgers (5-0) | OTC | Won with conviction 19-3 over Connecticut. | ||
| N.C. State (3-2) | NR | Upset Florida State 17-16 at home. | ||
| Ohio (6-0) | NR | Beat Buffalo 38-31 to move to 6-0. | ||
| Washington (3-2) | NR | Had some tough sledding, falling 52-21 to the Ducks. | ||
Verse of This Piece: “I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘Go fall into the sea.’ And if you have no doubts in your mind and believe that what you say will happen, God will do it for you. So I tell you to believe that you have received the things you ask for in prayer, and God will give them to you.”—Mark 11:23-24
Michael Gartman is a College Football and NFL Senior Writer, the AFC South and NFC West Lead Writer and the Founder, CEO of GridironGrit.com. He’s also about to start reporting on topics across all sides of the political spectrum and analyze important issues in the liberty movement for a political website. Follow @_MichaelGartman and @GridironGrit on Twitter!
