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Ohio State remains No. 1, but its lead has almost evaporated. Two weeks ago, the Buckeyes had a 3.72 point edge over the next-closest team, but saw that slip to 1.65 last week. Now it's down to a mere 0.99 points over 2nd-ranked Alabama.
Ohio State was a 45-12 winner at home over Arkansas State, while Alabama needed a 33-yard filed goal with 10 seconds left for a 20-19 win at Texas.
The latest FBS Congrove Computer Rankings were released shortly after the final game was completed on Sunday morning at 2:53 a.m. eastern time.
Those rankings swapped Michigan and Georgia for the 3 and 4 spots with the Wolverines moving up, while Michigan State advanced from 7th to 5th.
The Wolverines blasted Hawaii 56-10 in Ann Arbor, while Georgia skunked FCS member Samford 33-0 in the battle of Bulldogs at Athens. The Spartans made sure Akron lived up to its nickname of "Zips" with a 52-to-zip triumph.
Baylor, which had been ranked No. 5, took a dive to 19th with its 26-20 double-overtime loss at BYU as the Cougars vaulted from 14th to 10th.
Oklahoma State rose to 6th with a 34-17 win over Arizona State in Stillwater, while NC State's 55-3 home win over FCS Charleston Southern was enough to move the Pack up to 7th.
However, the computer didn't like Clemson 's much tighter than expected 35-12 win over FCS member Furman and knocked the Tigers down two notches to 8th.
Mississippi State moved up from 11th to 9th after tallying a 39-17 win at Arizona in the last game to finish the weekend slate.
As already mentioned, BYU now closes out the top 10.
Several solid teams comprise the next 10, beginning with Oklahoma (13 to 11), and Tennessee (16 to 12). The Sooners downed Kent State 33-3 while Tennessee scored a huge win at Pitt in a hard-fought 34-27 overtime battle.
Thanks to the return of Sam Hartman at quarterback, Wake Forest's journey to Nashville resulted in a 45-25 win over Vanderbilt for the Commodores' first setback (2-1). That victory helped the Demon Deacons ascend from 15th to 13th.
Maryland romped to a 56-21 win at Charlotte and climbed from 18 to 14.
Arkansas gained 5 spots in the rankings, from 20 to 15, with a solid 44-30 win over South Carolina.
Kentucky took a 3-rung hike to the No. 16 position with its 26-16 victory at Florida.
Oregon State pulled off a last-second Houdini at Fresno State, escaping with a 35-32 win on a touchdown run on the final play of the game, eschewing the field goal and overtime. The gutsy call, and resulting win, kept the Beavers at No. 17 even though Fresno State was only ranked 62nd heading into the game.
A 3-spot climb to the No. 18 goes to Ole Miss on the heels of a 59-3 clocking of FCS member Central Arkansas.
The aforementioned Baylor Bears landed with a thud at No. 19, perhaps taking an undeserving drop of 14 places with the 2OT loss at BYU. That game went to bonus football when BYU missed a the game-winning field goal at the end of regulation, and both teams continued with kicking woes by missing kicks in the first extra period. After BYU scored a TD and missed a 2-point conversion try in the 2nd extra period, Baylor's attempt to tie the game ended with a 4th-down pass that was thrown well out of the back of the end zone.
Kansas State completes the Top 20 after manhandling Missouri, 40-12, in Manhattan.
When compared to the polls, the computer already thought Texas A&M, Florida and Notre Dame were vastly over-rated by the human voters and all three lost home games on Saturday. The Aggies dropped from 23 to 40, the Gators dived from 49 top 61, and the Irish descended from 22 to 44. A&M was defeated 17-14 by Appalachian State, UF (as mentioned) was beaten 26-16 by Kentucky, and the Golden Domers were upset 26-21 by Marshall. The computer rankings forecast the Florida loss, but had Texas A&M and Notre Dame covering the spread.
Not only did two of those upsets come from Sun Belt members Appalachian State and Marshall, but another - Georgia Southern - may have brought the Scott Frost era to a close at Nebraska with its 45-42 win over the Cornhuskers who are now 1-2 and ranked 99th by the computer. Nebraska's only win this season came last week when the 'Huskers had to pull away late for a 38-17 victory over FCS member North Dakota in Lincoln.
We won't be shocked if it happens, but....
.... We are NOT jumping on the "Fire Scott Frost" bandwagon, even if the home folks were chanting it at the end of the game. And we are ABSOLUTELY NOT on the "Hire Urban Meyer" bandwagon that seems to be generating interest among some of the fan base and media members.
Yes, Meyer had remarkable success if the only discussion is wins and championships, but we've learned over time that he's left a horrid trail of personal bad judgement at each and every one of his last three stops. At Florida, it was a history of looking the other way while players like the late Aaron Hernandez ran afoul of the law; at Ohio State, it was blatantly lying to protect his abusive assistant coach; and his time spent with the Jacksonville Jaguars was consumed with a steady diet of allegations of verbal and physical abuse, bad judgement and bad football. It's hard enough to see him back on TV on the Fox Network's "Big Noon Kickoff".
Frost CAN turn the program around, and is likely to do so more quickly than starting over again - especially if the university, fans and donors stand behind him. More importantly, he's a lot less likely to sully the university's reputation in the process.
Houston's first two games have lasted a total of 8 quarters and 5 overtimes. The Cougars fell 33-30 at Texas Tech on Saturday in double-overtime, a week after being stretched to triple-overtime in salvaging a 37-35 win at UTSA a week ago.
Not wanting to be completely outdone, UTSA went a single overtime on Saturday to reverse the result from a week ago and eke out a 41-38 win at Army.
That leaves us wondering what team has the record for playing in the most consecutive overtime games? If you find out, let us know.
The Super 16 Poll is a joint operation of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and National Football Foundation. CollegeFootballPoll.com's founder, and creator of the Congrove Computer Rankings, which are in their 30th season, has been a voter in the Super 16 Poll since 2017.
Here is his ballot for the rankings that will be released Sunday afternoon, along with his comments.
"The top three are still relatively easy. I've had Ohio State at the top since week No. 1. And I have Georgia over Alabama for the sole reason that the 'Dawgs are the defending champs."
He continues, "I had Baylor at 4 and the Bears obviously take a drop after the loss to BYU. That clears the way for Michigan to move up to 4th and for Clemson to stay at 5th. I jump Michigan over Clemson as my own eye test says the Wolverines are a more complete team than the Tigers right now. I'm curious to see if the DJ Uiagalelei/Cade Klubnik QB situation becomes a redux of the Kelly Bryant/Trevor Lawrence deal that occurred in 2018."
Congrove adds, "Everything after that is really difficult to assess, and I am not afraid to make big changes based on what I see from week-to-week."
With that comment, the rest of his top ten has Michigan State at No. 6, followed by Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, USC and Kentucky.
"I wasn't necessarily a USC doubter in the preseason, but I also wasn't a solid believer. The Trojans were not in my preseason rankings, but I elevated them to 14th last week and I now have them ranked 9th. As for Kentucky, the win at Florida was impressive and comes directly on the heels of the Gators knocking off Utah. I can't ignore that."
BYU jumps from 16 to 11, Tennessee gains entry on his ballot for the first time at No. 12, NC State slips a notch to 13, and Miami moves up one to 14th.
The ballot wraps up with Marshall 15th and Appalachian State 16th. To that, Congrove says, "They deserve the reward for beating Notre Dame and Texas A&M, respectively, and doing it on the road. I put Marshall ahead of App State because the Herd are 2-0 and the Mountaineers are 1-1. I'm still trying to wrap my ahead around how App State can score 61 and lose to UNC, and then score 17 and win at A&M. That's college football for you."
There were 35 FBS-FCS games this weekend with the FCS scoring 4 big wins. That made the FBS 70-6 for the season and 1,644-146 (.920) since we began tracking this in 2003.
Weber State clobbered Utah State, Incarnate Word outscored Nevada, Holy Cross edged Buffalo, and Eastern Kentucky beat Bowling Green in 7 overtimes.
Here are the FCS wins in 2022:
September 2: William & Mary 41, Charlotte 24
September 3: Delaware14, Navy 7
September 10: Weber State 35, Utah State 7
September 10: Incarnate Word 55, Nevada 41
September 10: Holy Cross 37, Buffalo 31
September 10: Eastern Kentucky 59, Bowling Green 57 (7 OT's)
There will be 118 FBS vs. FCS matchups this season with App State, Army and Marshall each playing two such games, and 115 other FBS schools playing one apiece.
LOUISIANA - Won 15 straight over-all (FBS longest).
Last: Won 49-21 at home over Eastern Michigan on Saturday, September 10.
Next: Visits Rice on Saturday, September 17.
CINCINNATI: Won 16 straight conference games (FBS longest).
Last: Won 63-10 at home over Kennesaw State on Saturday, September 10.
Next: Plays Miami (O) at Paul Brown Stadium in the 126th edition of the Victory Bell rivalry. The series is tied at 59-59-7 after the Bearcats have taken the last 15.
GEORGIA - Won 7 straight true road games (FBS longest).
Last: Won 33-0 at home over FCS Samford on Saturday, September 10.
Next: Visits South Carolina on Saturday, September 17. Georgia leads the border rivalry 53-19-2 and won 6 of last 7.
CLEMSON - Won 35 straight home games (FBS longest).
Last: Won 35-12 over FCS Furman on Saturday, September 10.
Next: Hosts Louisiana Tech on Saturday, September 17.
TEMPLE - Ended 8-game losing streak (was FBS longest).
Last: Won 30-14 at home over FCS Lafayette on Saturday, September 10.
Next: Hosts Rutgers on Saturday, September 17.
MASSACHUSETTS, COLORADO STATE - Lost 8 straight over-all (Tied FBS longest).
Last: UMass lost 55-10 at Toledo, Colorado State lost 34-19 at home to MTSU.
Next: UMass hosts FCS Stony Brook as an 8.77-point favorite; Colorado State visits Washington State as a 22.62-point underdog.
FIU: Lost 17 straight games to FBS schools (FBS longest)
Last: Lost 41-12 at home to Texas State on Saturday, September 10.
Next: Visits Western Kentucky on Saturday, September 24.
VANDERBILT - Lost 21 straight conference games (FBS longest).
Last: Lost 45-25 at home to Wake Forest on Saturday, September 10.
Next: Visits Northern Illinois on Saturday, September 17.
NEW MEXICO STATE - Lost 20 straight road games (FBS longest).
Last: Lost 20-13 at UTEP on Saturday, September 10.
Next: Visits Wisconsin on Saturday, September 17