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Let’s see where we’re at, shall we? If the season ended today, here are the four teams that would make Dr. Saturday’s College Football Playoff:
No. 1 Alabama: Alabama is an easy choice for the No. 1 seed, especially after Saturday’s dominating 40-19 win over Tennessee. The quarterback position was a question mark for the Tide entering the season, but true freshman Jalen Hurts has played at a high level and has used a bevy of playmakers to his advantage.
On the other side, the Tide defense is one of the best, if not the best, in the nation. Alabama scored on both an interception and punt return in the win over the Vols, giving it a whopping 11 non-offensive touchdowns so far this season. That’s a ridiculous number.
The Tide can beat you in so many ways, and already has wins against four ranked teams — USC, Ole Miss, Arkansas and now Tennessee. At 7-0, Alabama has its toughest matchup of the season coming next weekend at home against Texas A&M, which is also undefeated at 6-0. But for now, the defending national champion Tide look like a shoo-in for another College Football Playoff appearance.
No. 2 Ohio State: Remember when this Ohio State team was supposed to be too young to contend? So far, that’s hardly the case. With J.T. Barrett at quarterback, you’re going to be in every game you play. That was on display Saturday night in Madison when Barrett engineered a big comeback win over the eighth-ranked Badgers to keep the Buckeyes unbeaten.
Ohio State’s offense can just run you over, but when things break down, Barrett’s scrambling ability will always keep the chains moving. The defense has playmakers all over the field and has one of the best turnover margins in the country. The offense has an assortment of speed and big play threats, too. OSU put up more than 45 points four times already, including a whopping 77 against Bowling Green.
Through seven weeks, the Buckeyes, especially with road wins over Oklahoma and Wisconsin, look like the best team in the Big Ten, which puts them into the playoff field.
No. 3 Washington: The preseason hype for Washington was immense. So far, the Huskies have lived up to that billing. While their early-season schedule was hardly challenging, the last two performances from the Huskies have been completely dominating. Stanford and Oregon are having down years, sure, but Washington made those two look like FCS programs in 44-6 (over Stanford) and 70-21 (over Oregon) wins in consecutive weeks.
With sophomore Jake Browning at quarterback and that defense playing at such a high level, UW (6-0) looks like a team that can just smother its opponents on a weekly basis. At running back, Myles Gaskin can wear you down with power just as well as he can hit a big play. Plus, John Ross and Dante Pettis are playing at All-Pac-12 levels at receiver.
We already knew the defense would be good after its 2015 performance, and the 2016 version has been even better, ranking No. 17 in total defense entering the week.
No. 4 Clemson: Clemson hasn’t been as consistent as it should be, but the Tigers are still one of the four best teams in the country at this point. The Tigers barely escaped a solid N.C. State team Saturday thanks to a missed field goal as time expired in regulation. Clemson then was able to pull out the victory in overtime thanks to a Deshaun Watson touchdown pass and a Marcus Edmond interception.
But, hey: a win is a win, and Clemson is 7-0 and atop the ACC. Clemson is the only undefeated team in the ACC and has a win over another Top 10 team — ACC foe Louisville. The Tigers emerged victorious against Lamar Jackson and the Cardinals 42-36 in what was probably the game of the year so far.
Just missed the cut:
No. 5 Michigan: Michigan fans won’t be happy to see the rival Buckeyes in the field and the Wolverines on the outside looking in, but for now that’s where it’s at in our eyes. Michigan is 6-0 just like OSU is, but hasn’t had a single road test yet. Five of Michigan’s six games have been at home. It’s lone road game was at… Rutgers. Yeah, Michigan still has a lot to prove.
No. 6 Texas A&M: We certainly didn’t expect the Aggies to be in this position halfway through the year. At 6-0, A&M can jump right into the Top 4 by beating top-ranked Alabama on the road next weekend. Even with a loss to the Tide, things could play out well for the Aggies that would keep them in the mix as the season progresses. Wins over Arkansas and Tennessee especially look good on a playoff resume.
Oh, and for reference, Ohio State, Baylor, Utah and TCU were ranked Nos. 1-4 in the AP Poll after Week 7*last year. None of those teams cracked the playoff. Clemson, Michigan State, Alabama and Oklahoma did make it in 2015. Those teams were ranked No. 5, No. 7, No. 10 and No. 19 at this point.
It feels like so much has happened this year, but there’s still a long, long way to go.
Here are the rest of this week’s winners and losers:
WINNERS
Donnel Pumphrey, San Diego State: Pumphrey rushed for 220 yards and two touchdowns against Fresno State on Friday to surpass 1,000 yards for the season and move into eighth on the all-time NCAA rushing list.
Pumphrey has 1,111 yards through six games this season and his career total of 5,383 yards moved him past LaDanian Tomlinson, Herschel Walker and Archie Griffin to sit eighth in rushing all-time. He’s 157 yards from tying Texas’ Cedric Benson for seventh. Wisconsin legend Ron Dayne is the career leader with 6,397 yards, which with the way Pumphrey is running, isn’t out of the realm of possibility.
Pumphrey is also just one touchdown shy of matching Marshall Faulk’s school record for touchdowns (62) and rushing touchdowns (57).
Christian Wilkins, Clemson: Regardless of what you think about Clemson’s 24-17 overtime win against N.C. State, you have to appreciate the play of Christian Wilkins, who had four tackles, a blocked field goal and a 10-yard run on a fake punt to extend a drive. Wilkins, who is a 310-pound defensive lineman, has become the Tigers’ do-it-all player. In his last nine games, Wilkins has had 33 tackles, three sacks, a blocked field goal, a 10-yard run, a 32-yard catch on a fake punt and a one-yard touchdown run. We’d say that’s probably more versatile than your average 300-pounder.
West Virginia: The college football world has been down on the Big 12 this season ever since perceived favorites Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas suffered early losses, but West Virginia might be the best Big 12 team no one is talking about.
The Mountaineers dominated Texas Tech on the road 48-17. This was a Texas Tech team that was averaging 45 points and only the second time quarterback Patrick Mahomes had been held under 20 points in his 23 games.
West Virginia is 5-0 this season for the first time since 2012. Unfortunately, when it hit five wins that year, it lost its next five and went on to finish 7-6. But, as of right now, the Mountaineers are giving a Baylor a run for the Big 12’s best team.
The Huskers are now 6-0 despite a bad day from quarterback Tommy Armstrong. He was 10-26 passing for 208 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. One of those 10 completions was this pass to Brandon Reilly, which you will see in our catch of the week voting.
Colorado: This has been a year of firsts for Colorado. After starting 2-0 for the first time in its brief Pac-12 history, the Buffaloes beat Arizona State for the first time on Saturday.
The Buffs won 40-16 as running back Phillip Lindsay rushed for 219 yards and three touchdowns. The win pushes Colorado to 5-2 overall and, most importantly, into a tie for the lead in the Pac-12 South at 3-1. With a suddenly favorable schedule looming thanks to the disappointing seasons of Stanford and UCLA, Colorado is suddenly a legitimate contender to head to the Pac-12 Championship Game.
WATCH: Hear what Coach MacIntyre had to say about the 40-16 win over ASU today #TheRise pic.twitter.com/eAnhmaeXIl
— Colorado Football (@RunRalphieRun) October 16, 2016
Louisiana Tech WR Carlos Henderson: Have yourself a day, Carlos. The wide receiver had 12 catches for 326 yards and five touchdowns in the Bulldogs’ 56-28 win over UMass. Henderson’s touchdown catches were from 50, 42, 5, 83, and 6 yards out.— Colorado Football (@RunRalphieRun) October 16, 2016
His yardage is the second-most in school history in a single game while quarterback Ryan Higgins threw for 484 yards and completed 26 of 33 passes.
James Conner: Pitt running back James Conner had 20 carries for 90 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday’s 45-31 win against Virginia, but that wasn’t the most impressive thing he did. Conner actually lined up at defensive end and got pressure on Virginia quarterback Kurt Benkert. Conner was actually recruited to Pitt as a defensive end before switching to running back his freshman year. Looks like he could be an asset on both sides of the ball for the Panthers.
Eastern Michigan: The Eagles are on the brink of a bowl. After a 27-20 win at Ohio, Eastern Michigan is 5-2. One more win would make the Eagles bowl-eligible and a bowl appearance would be the first for EMU since 1987. That bowl appearance — the only in school history — was a 30-27 win over San Jose State in the California Bowl.
EMU already has the most wins it’s had in a season since 2011 and has matched its win total from the past three seasons combined. From 2013-2015, the Eagles went 5-31.
LOSERS
Stanford RB Christian McCaffrey’s Heisman chances: There will be no Heisman for Christian McCaffrey in 2016.
That was a fairly obvious statement before Saturday’s game vs. Notre Dame. But it became even more so when McCaffrey missed the game because of a hip injury he suffered last week vs. Washington State.
The lack of hardware does nothing to diminish the greatness of McCaffrey as a player even if his stats have been diminished in 2016 because of Stanford’s passing and offensive line issues. But with the Cardinal riding a two-game losing streak, there was no reason to risk the star RB if he’s not 100 percent.
It’s the same approach LSU has had with Leonard Fournette in 2016. Fournette missed his third game of the season Saturday vs. Southern Miss because of an ankle injury. The two running backs are two of college football’s most dynamic players and fans deserve to see them at full strength. Hopefully both can return in the second half of the season.
Stanford went ahead on a play where RB Bryce Love fumbled into the end zone and two different Irish defenders had the chance to hop on the loose ball. Instead, Stanford recovered for the go-ahead score.
And when Notre Dame had the chance to force overtime,*Kizer was tackled short of a first down deep in Stanford territory. Just reaching a bowl game seems unlikely at this point for the Irish.
Current scene in South Bend pic.twitter.com/bWOSlIoNV6
— Dr. Saturday (@YahooDrSaturday) October 16, 2016
Missouri QB Drew Lock: The Mizzou QB was 4-18 for 39 yards and two touchdowns vs. Florida on Saturday. But we should probably point out the two touchdown passes were to Florida defensive backs.— Dr. Saturday (@YahooDrSaturday) October 16, 2016
Lock threw two picks in the 40-14 loss and both were returned for TDs. The first interception was by Jalen Tabor and the second was by Florida’s other starting quarterback Quincy Wilson. The sophomore has shown flashes of brilliance early in 2016, but hasn’t played well the last two weeks as Missouri has fallen to 2-4 on the season.
Kansas: The Jayhawks are No. 2. No, it’s not a good No. 2.
After a 49-7 loss to Baylor on Saturday, Kansas has now lost 38-straight road games. That’s the second-worst streak in college football history and just six games back of Western State, which lost 44-straight road games before World War II.
The Jayhawks also set another mark in the game too. Kansas now has 22 turnovers in 2016, the most of any team in FBS.
Akron: The Zips were talking tough before playing Western Michigan.
Wow. Akron making a statement today. PJ Fleck and WMU use "row the boat" slogan…on the field, the Akron football team destroyed an oar. pic.twitter.com/fOMzzDgzbQ
— Taylor Rooks (@TaylorRooks) October 15, 2016
But when you talk tough you have to back it up. Akron did not do that. WMU moved to 7-0 on the season with a 41-0 win over Akron. The Zips gave up 281 rushing yards to Western Michigan running back Jarvion Franklin, who set a school single-game rushing record.— Taylor Rooks (@TaylorRooks) October 15, 2016
Akron fell to 4-3 with the loss.
Army P Nick Schrage: 4th and 44 is not a good time for a fake punt.
With Army leading Lafayette 35-7 late in the second quarter, Schrage took off after lining up in a punt formation. If it was 4th and 5, we’d understand. But 4th and 44 is a bold move. And it did not go well.
At least the game was out of hand enough that Schrage’s failed punt fake didn’t matter. Because he fumbled at the end of the run and Lafayette recovered. Though Army intercepted the ball back on the next play in the 62-7 win.
Bonus Loser