The first College Football Playoff rankings have been released, and No. 1 Ohio State stands atop them all.
The Buckeyes are followed in the CFP rankings by No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Michigan and No. 4 Florida State. No. 5 Washington and No. 6 Oregon are right behind.
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In somewhat of a surprise in the rankings, Oklahoma is No. 9 after suffering its first defeat of the season last week to No. 20 Kansas. The Sooners are behind No. 7 Texas, which they beat earlier this season.
Also, Missouri checked in at No. 12, its highest CFP ranking since 2014. The Tigers were placed ahead of No. 14 LSU despite the Bayou Tigers having beaten Missouri already this season on the road.
Here are several players and notes to keep a tab on in this week’s Big Board.
Looking at the Big 12 Conference title picture
The conference championship picture is coming into focus, albeit some are more clear than others.
In the Big 12, there are five teams currently tied atop the standings: Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas.
All five teams have a 4-1 record in conference play. The Beavers have the longest current winning streak at four games.
No. 25 Kansas State and No. 7 Texas will meet on Saturday in a ranked showdown that will have big Big 12 conference title implications. Both enter on winning streaks of multiple games. And Texas has the edge with a 7-1 overall record to the Wildcats’ 6-2 mark.
Conference records will matter when it comes to which teams will match up in the Big 12 title game. As it stands, Iowa State has a 5-3 record while each of the four teams it is tied with own better records.
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Oklahoma and Texas could meet in a rematch come the end of the season. The Sooners topped the Longhorns 34-30 in Week 6.
But the Sooners stumbled for the first time last week. They lost to a hot Kansas team that ran for four touchdowns, and the Jayhawks are bowl eligible for the second-straight season.
There is still plenty to sort out with the Big 12 title picture, and the scene will get clearer this week.
An update on the Michigan sign stealing investigation
It appears there is still a long way to go in the alleged Michigan sign stealing investigation by the NCAA.
According to Adam Rittenberg and Pete Thamel of ESPN, Central Michigan is “investigating photos that show a man resembling Michigan Wolverines staff member Connor Stalions on its sideline for the Sept. 1 opener at Michigan State.”
Reports had surfaced whether or not Harbaugh had been offered an extension recently. According to Andrew Beaton and Rachel Bachman of the Wall Street Journal, “The University of Michigan has rescinded a new contract offer for head football coach Jim Harbaugh in the wake of a sign-stealing scandal.”
Harbaugh said on Monday that it’s not accurate that Michigan rescinded a contract extension offer.
Last week, head coaches around college football spoke on the topic of sign stealing and how prevalent it happens in the game. Some coaches, like Colorado’s Deion Sanders, said teams still have to stop opposing teams on the field of play even if the suspicion of stolen signs is there, and others, like Nebraska’s Matt Rhule, said sign stealing happens “every game” and he advocated for increased technology on the sidelines.
Jordan Travis, Florida State
An early season Heisman Trophy hopeful, Florida State’s Jordan Travis is seemingly clicking at just the right time for the Seminoles.
Travis set new season-highs in a number of categories last week against Wake Forest. The fifth-year quarterback threw 359 yards including an 80-yard heave against the Demon Deacons.
In the second quarter alone, Travis tossed three touchdown passes of at least 14 yards. He finished completing 62.9% of his passes, the fourth-best mark of the season for him.
Travis currently has 2,109 passing yards and 18 passing touchdowns. His legs also serve as a valuable and dangerous weapon as he has 205 rushing yards and six touchdowns, and the latter is second-most at Florida State.
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The Seminoles are riding a 14-game winning streak dating back to last season, and they’ve done so largely thanks to their quarterback Travis. They have several more tests this season coming particularly against Miami and Florida to round out the regular season.
Travis’ current Heisman odds are +750, which are the fifth-best odds according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
