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It was one wild Saturday of college football. When it was all said and done, Michigan widened its lead in the Congrove Computer Rankings, thanks to a sub-par performance by Florida State while USC was idle and Washington ripped embattled Michigan State.
The weekly update of the CCR Top 133 was released on CollegeFootballPoll.com shortly after the completion of Colorado's wild 43-35 double-OT comeback win over Colorado State. The Buffaloes were a 23.5-point favorite, but the computer had the margin at just 3.93.
The top-ranked Wolverines didn't set the world on fire, but they emerge from the school's self-imposed three week suspension of head coach Jim Harbaugh with a 3-0 record as Rutgers comes to visit to conclude a season-opening four game homestand and begin their B1G slate. The Scarlet Knights are already 1-0 in conference play after defeating Northwestern 24-7 on Labor Day weekend.
Then-No. 2 Florida State went to Boston College and escaped with a 31-29 win after opening up a 31-10 lead in the 3rd quarter. After the game was over, Eagles' fans broke into our pet peeve "over-rated" chant which is the most moronic thing fans should chant when your team still lost and you're diminishing your own teams' effort. By the way, Boston College has lost 5 straight to the 'Noles and 12 of the last 13. We can only guess BC fans will ecstatic to see that Florida State 'fell' from 2nd to 3rd in the rankings while their own team ranks 85th.
Washington takes over 2nd after annihilating Michigan State 41-7 in East Lansing after learning earlier in the week that its head coach was suspended until a hearing concludes on sexual harassment allegations that are most likely going to lead to Mel Tucker's firing. Harlon Barnett, the secondary coach, has assumed the duties of interim head coach while former head coach Mark Dantonio (2007-2019) is serving as the team's interim coach.
USC slips from 3rd to 4th while enjoying the weekend off, while Georgia stays at No. 5 after beating 25.5-point underdog South Carolina by just 10 in Athens, 24-14.
Only two of the higher-ranked teams fell last week as Tennessee lost 29-16 at Florida for its 10th straight loss in "The Swamp". The Vols were one of the computer's preseason Final Four favorites, but are now ranked just 19th after the loss.
Kansas State was the victim of a 61-yard walk-off field goal in a 30-27 loss at Missouri. It was the 99th meeting of rivalry that had taken an 11-year hiatus after Missouri left the Big 12 for the SEC. The series renewed last year with Kansas State winning 40-12 in the Little Apple. The Wildcats drop from 14th to 25th.
No schools outside the Power 5 Conferences or elite independents (Notre Dame) are represented in the Top 25. South Alabama comes closest at No. 33 with Tulane next at No. 35.
The PAC-12 and SEC lead all conferences with six schools each in the Top 25. The ACC, B1G and BIG 12 each have 4, while independent Notre Dame checks in at No. 12.
PAC-12
No. 2 Washington
No. 4 USC
No. 9 Oregon
No. 11 Utah
No. 14 Oregon State
No. 16 UCLA
SEC
No. 5 Georgia
No. 8 Ole Miss
No. 15 LSU
No. 19 Tennessee
No. 20 Alabama
No. 22 Kentucky
ACC
3. Florida State
13. North Carolina
18. Duke
21. Clemson
B1G
1. Michigan
6. Ohio State
9. Penn State
23. Iowa
BIG 12
10. Texas
17. UCF
24. Oklahoma
25. Kansas State
INDEPENDENT
No. 12 Notre Dame
Stanford's 30-23 home loss to FCS member Sacramento State. The new head coach of the Cardinal, Troy Taylor, is the former head coach of the Hornets. The computer called the upset, almost to the exact margin, as it forecast Sacramento State to win by 6.31 against a 6.5-point spread that favored Stanford.
FCS member Mississippi Valley State's 35-37 loss at D2 member Delta State. Another solid computer call as their was no official spread on the game but the computer had the lower division Statesmen by 16.83. The schools are located just 45 minutes apart.
BYU beats Arkansas in Fayetteville. The Razorbacks were 8.5-point home favorites, but the computer had the margin at just 0.29, BYU won the game 38-31 to avenge last season' 52-35 loss in Provo.
South Alabama's 33-6 win at Oklahoma State. An outright upset call by the computer which favored the visiting Jaguars by 4.62 against a 7.5-point opposite spread.
West Virginia beats Pitt. The "Backyard Brawl" was renewed last year after a 10-year hiatus that came about when each school left the Big East. West Virginia won this one 17-6, but Pitt leads the series 62-41-3. However, the Mountaineers have now taken 15 of 22 since 1992.
Miami (Ohio) ends 16-game losing streak to Cincinnati. The longest non-conference rivalry is the "Battle For the Victory Bell". the RedHawks 31-24 upset in overtime to tie the series at 60-60-7. The Bearcats were a 14.5-point favorite, but only an 11.57-point computer choice.
New Mexico State wins at New Mexico: The 113th meeting of this rivalry went to the Aggies by a 27-17 count and cut the Lobos' lead in the series to 73-35-5 with their fourth win in the last seven meetings. New Mexico closed as a 3-point favorite while the computer had NMSU by 4.06 points.
(SEE: Coaching Changes)
There were 25 teams in the FBS that kicked off the season with a different head coach than the one they had at the start of the 2022 season. Only three were still searching for their first win and all three won on Saturday,
Kent State: Kenni Burns. The Golden Flashes hosted and defeated FCS member Central Connecticut 38-10.
Nebraska: Matt Rhule. The 'Huskers hosted and defeated Northern Illinois 35-11.
North Texas: Eric Morris. The Mean Green scored the 40-37 upset at Louisiana Tech which was picked by the computer.
This season has 117 of the 133 FBS schools facing one FCS opponent, and Army playing two such games for a total of 118 FBS-FCS matchups.
Of the 16 FBS schools that do NOT play a FCS program, 7 are in the B1G (Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Purdue, Wisconsin). 6 more are evenly split between the Big 12 (Houston, Oklahoma, Texas) and Pac-12 (Colorado, USC, Washington). The other three are Liberty (CUSA) , UTSA (American), and Virginia Tech (ACC).
FBS schools were 20-1 this past weekend and are 97-4 this year against the FCS schools. Over-all, the FBS is a collective 1,783-152 (.922) since we began tracking this in 2003.
There are only 4 such games next Saturday.
Here are the FCS wins in 2023, so far:
September 9: Idaho 33, Nevada 6
September 9: Southern Illinois 14, Northern Illinois 12
September 9: Fordham 40, Buffalo 37
September 16: Sacramento State 30, Stanford 23
GEORGIA - Won 21 straight home games, 20 straight over-all, and 11 straight true road games.
Last: 24-14 home win over South Carolina on Saturday, September 16.
Next: Hosts UAB on Saturday, September 23.
MICHIGAN - Won 15 straight conference games.
Last: 31-6 home win over Bowling Green on Saturday, September 16.
Next: Hosts Rutgers on Saturday, September 23.
NEVADA - Lost 13 straight over-all, and 7 straight home games.
Last: 31-24 home loss to Kansas on Saturday, September 16.
Next: Visits Texas State on Saturday, September 23.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS - Lost 6 straight home games.
Last: 35-11 road loss to Nebraska on Saturday, September 16.
Next: Hosts Tulsa on Saturday, September 23.
USF - Lost 13 straight conference games, 18 straight FBS games, and 19 straight road games.
Last: 17-3 home loss to Alabama on Saturday, September 16.
Next: Hosts Rice on Saturday, September 23.