#32 Sam Houston St. is the top-rated FCS team, as it pounded Lamar 62-7. Their closest FCS challenger in the Roby Ratings is #48 Incarnate Word, who beat Southeastern Louisiana 56-45.
The Fighting Hawks of North Dakota and Salukis of Southern Illinois are making noise in the FCS ranks as they respectively felled the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State and the FCS dynasty team, the North Dakota St. Bison this past weekend. (Now both the Bison and Salukis don’t qualify for the top numerical listings but can be found on the RR spreadsheet.)
The Alabama Crimson Tide beat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish by 17 to cement another National Championship Game appearance. The Ohio State Buckeyes put a 21 point beatdown on the Clemson Tigers in an upset win. (Apologies to Ohio St. for referring to it as an upset win, as they demonstrated that they were clearly a better team than Clemson.)
The Oklahoma Sooners moved into the #7 spot with a straight out 35 point whipping of the Florida Gators to finish up their season. Wisconsin’s Badgers also moved into the top 20 with a 14 point win over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
The Liberty Flames won their first ever game against a ranked FBS opponent, as they defeated the previously unbeaten Coastal Carolina Chanticleers by a score of 37-34 in overtime in the Cure Bowl and moved up to #35 in today’s Roby Ratings.
The Alabama Crimson Tide cemented its place as the best team in the land, while the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Clemson Tigers, Florida Gators, Texas A&M Aggies, Ohio St. Buckeyes, Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, Colorado Buffaloes and San Jose St. Spartans all did everything they could to make their cases to the College Football Playoff Committee.
The Alabama Crimson Tide and Clemson Tigers both made big statements as to their playoff worthiness as the Crimson Tide sit atop the Roby Ratings with a thrashing of Auburn, while the Tigers of Clemson crushed Pitt. The Florida Gators also positioned themselves (with a hammering of the Kentucky Wildcats) to be in striking range of being selected for one of those four playoff spots should they upset the Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship game. Clemson is in a similar situation, as they would need to return the favor on Notre Dame in the ACC Championship game to secure a spot.
The Alabama Crimson Tide claimed the Top Spot in the Roby Ratings as they shelled the Kentucky Wildcats by 60 points. Ohio State’s Buckeyes held on to defeat the Indiana Hoosiers and are positioned to move into the Roby Ratings Top 10.
Today’s Buckeyes vs. Hoosiers game hasn’t been one of this magnitude in a long time on the gridiron. The winner will be set up to slowly move into the top 10, and eventually into the playoff picture.
#2 Cincinnati Bearcats remain unbeaten , Notre Dame Fighting Irish move up to #5 with victory over Boston College, Florida’s Gators moved from #8 to #7 with a big win over the Arkansas Razorbacks.