The AP Top 25 has hit the point in the season where the rankings stop feeling like a resume and start looking like a stress test. Week 6 shook the board hard - three top-10 teams went down, Texas got clipped by Oklahoma on a last-second field goal, and the playoff picture is starting to settle into shape.
But not every team in the poll is convincing people it belongs there.
Indiana is back on this list for a second time this season, and even though the Hoosiers are still undefeated, the last two weeks have left plenty of room for doubt. Northwestern pushed them into the fourth quarter, then Nebraska spent most of Saturday in control before Indiana escaped again. The Cornhuskers led 17-6 heading into the final frame, until Josh Hoover and Nick Marsh helped spark a 75-yard touchdown and a 44-yard score that flipped the game.
The numbers told the same story. Indiana was outgained 392-328, managed only 13 first downs, went 1-for-10 on third down, and was outpossessed 39:33 to 20:27.
Somehow, the Hoosiers still moved up two spots afterward. That reward sets up a major test next: No.
4 Ohio State.
Texas, meanwhile, is hanging on to its ranking by reputation as much as anything else. The Longhorns have already lost to Oklahoma and fallen six spots, but the larger question is whether they belong in the top 10 at all. The early win over Ohio State is still carrying a lot of weight, because what’s followed hasn’t looked nearly as sharp.
They scored just 30 against UTSA. They needed a 20-17 finish to get past a Tennessee team without a quarterback.
And against Oklahoma, Arch Manning’s pick-six in a tied game handed the Sooners the lead before he answered with a touchdown and then threw another interception. That kind of offensive inconsistency is a problem, especially with four of Texas’ next five games coming against ranked opponents.
Florida was just No. 8 two weeks ago, too.
BYU is undefeated as well, but the skepticism is simple: who exactly have the Cougars beaten? The answer, at least from this source material, is nobody all that convincing. Their only games against legitimate competition were close enough to raise eyebrows, even in victory - 28-17 over Arizona, 17-10 over TCU, and 24-10 over Iowa State.
Bear Bachmeier finally opened it up a bit against the Cyclones, throwing for 329 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran it well, but the rest of the team didn’t exactly separate itself. Notre Dame comes to town Saturday night, and that should tell a lot more.
Tennessee’s issue feels different, but it’s just as real. The Volunteers are still searching for stability at quarterback, moving from Faizon Brandon to George MacIntyre without getting the level of play they wanted. The inexperience is showing.
They’ve won two straight since the Texas loss, but even that stretch has been messy. Against Arkansas, Tennessee had to dig out of a 14-7 hole and was tied 17-17 in the fourth quarter before pulling it out with a game-winning touchdown less than two minutes from the finish.
Three of the next six opponents are ranked, and South Carolina is also on the schedule after its upset of Florida. A 5-1 start is good, but the Vols could be drifting back toward the middle.
USC keeps living on the edge, and at some point the balance has to break. The Trojans are 6-1, but they keep turning every week into a nerve test. The last four games have all carried that same uneasy feel: a 42-35 win over Rutgers, a loss to Oregon, a 25-21 escape against Washington, and then a 31-23 road win at Penn State.
They trailed 20-17 in the third quarter against the Nittany Lions before finding a way to finish the job. That’s becoming a pattern. Three of USC’s final five games are against top-15 teams, and there isn’t much margin left.
SMU rounds out the list, and the Mustangs have started looking like a team that entered the season with big expectations but hasn’t quite lived up to them. Since that loss to Louisville a few weeks ago, things have felt off.
They had to rally from a double-digit deficit against Missouri State. Two weeks ago, they were down 10-6 to Boston College before recovering for a 25-16 home win. A bye week may help, and Rhett Lashlee will hope it does, because November brings back-to-back games against Wake Forest and Notre Dame.
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Former USC quarterbacks Caleb Williams and Sam Darnold are giving Trojan fans very different kinds of NFL anxiety right now. Williams is working back from a hamstring injury and has returned to practice, but his game status still hangs in the balance, while Darnold is back under center for the Seattle Seahawks as they try to defend their Super Bowl title.
For USC followers, the parallel is hard to ignore. Williams represents the present and future conversation, and Darnold remains a reminder of how long it can take a former Trojan quarterback to find the right NFL landing spot, even after becoming the first to start and win a Super Bowl. The Seahawks are sitting at 3-3, Darnold has already thrown seven interceptions in six games, and both storylines leave plenty for Trojans fans to keep watching. [Read more 🡒]
USC Just Earned A Real Shot At A Second-Half Run
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Lincoln Riley pointed to the value of surviving difficult road environments, and this one fit that billing from start to finish. Christian Pierce helped seal it with a key late play, the kind that can become part of a teams second-half identity if the progress keeps building. With bye weeks ahead, USC has a chance to reset, but the bigger question now is whether this win becomes the start of a run or just the best snapshot of what the Trojans can be. [Read more 🡒]
USC Defender Jide Abasiri Is Earning National Attention Fast
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Now that production and leadership have pushed him onto the list of Quarterfinalists for the Lott IMPACT Trophy, the attention around Abasiri only figures to intensify. The award, which honors the Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year, moves next to a semifinalist round in mid-November, with the winner to be revealed in December, and USC has a legitimate chance to keep one of its most important defenders in that conversation a little longer. [Read more 🡒]