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Who will be number 1?

Posted on by Kennedy
Who will be number 1?

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Texas replaced Georgia. Then Georgia humiliated Texas. Now Oregon is poised to climb back to No. 1 in the U.S. LBM Coaches Poll for the first time since 2012.

The Ducks, ranked No. 2 in last week's poll after a thrilling win over Ohio State, will step in for the Longhorns after the Bulldogs' 30-15 win in Austin. The only other undefeated contender for the top spot is Penn State, but the Nittany Lions are expected to receive few if any first-place votes from the coaches' poll.

Georgia built a reputation by dismantling the previously unblemished Longhorns on Saturday night, but the Bulldogs are coming off a loss to Alabama that looks even worse given the Crimson Tide's struggles in October.

Alabama is a team that will fall in the rankings after the loss to Tennessee. The Tide suffered two losses before November for the first time since 2007, former coach Nick Saban's debut season.

With Oregon leading the way, the coaches poll should look like this when the new Top 25 is released later today:

1. Oregon (7-0)

The Ducks didn't have to sweat Friday night's 35-0 victory at hapless Purdue. It's worth comparing how Oregon has broken through in the Big Ten with the three other former Pac-12 programs that have joined: Washington, Southern California and UCLA are a combined 4-10 in conference play.

2. Georgia (6-1)

The Texas win was a reminder of how impressive Georgia can be when it aims in the right direction. That wasn't the case all season, especially when Alabama fell into a deep and ultimately insurmountable hole. But when you take the Longhorns apart piece by piece, it becomes clear that Georgia, as expected in August, could very well be the best team in the country.

Ups and downs: Georgia, Alabama are the winners and losers of week eight

3. Penn State (6-0)

After a week off, the Nittany Lions return this Saturday with a suddenly exciting road trip against Wisconsin. The Badgers shook off early rust with three straight lopsided wins over Purdue, Rutgers and Northwestern. In other words, Penn State can't look forward to the big matchup with Ohio State that opens in November.

4.Texas (6-1)

This seems like the right landing spot for Texas. If Georgia finished behind the two undefeated Big Ten leaders, it would recognize the team's dominance by rattling off six straight wins to start the year. But the fact is that the strength of the schedule isn't very good: Michigan is probably the Longhorns' best win, followed by Oklahoma.

5. Ohio State (5-1)

You have to feel bad for Nebraska, and not just because of Saturday's 56-7 loss to Indiana. Matt Rhule's team is next in line for OSU, which will have two weeks to deal with the loss at Oregon. Look for the Buckeyes to take out the frustrations on the Cornhuskers.

6. Miami (7-0)

In a perfect world, Miami's undefeated record would be enough to put the Hurricanes above at least two one-loss teams. But the string of close calls in ACC play will make it difficult for voters to place Miami higher than No. 6. Clemson's strong play gives them a possible win in the conference title game.

7. Tennessee (6-1)

The win over Alabama should move the Volunteers up three spots from last week's rankings and ahead of LSU, which looked pretty good with a 34-10 win over Arkansas. Another contender here is Clemson, which was ranked No. 9 last week and won on the road against Virginia. While it's not perfect, Tennessee is one overtime away from being undefeated and potentially ranked No. 1 against the Razorbacks.

8. LSU (6-1)

Beating Arkansas by 24 points is remarkable given the recent history of this series. The previous four meetings, three of which were won by LSU, were decided by a field goal. This one seemed to be going that way for most of the first half before the Tigers started to pull away in the third quarter. That it moved past the emotional high of last week's loss to Mississippi makes it even more impressive.

9. Clemson (6-1)

The Tigers are averaging 41.2 points per game despite only making one field goal in the opener against Georgia. Since then, the average has increased to 48.5 points per game, with a high of 66 points against Appalachian State and a low of 29 points against Florida State. While still under the radar, Clemson appears to be a legitimate national championship contender.

10. Notre Dame (6-1)

It's been a steady climb to this point for Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish were ranked No. 7 in the preseason poll. They were still No. 7 after the win over Texas A&M, but fell to No. 19 after the loss to Northern Illinois. Then No. 18. To No. 14. Then No. 13, then No. 12. The Irish, ranked No. 11 entering Saturday, are expected to move up a spot after beating Georgia Tech.

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