Start the drumbeat for Alabama-LSU, Game of the Century III! The top two teams in this week's Power Rankings both are off this week before their Nov. 3 meeting. They could be in those same spots in two weeks, so let the buildup begin. The game hasn't meant this much since 2011, when it was played twice and eventually led to the BCS evolving into the College Football Playoff.

Would it even matter if Alabama loses? We're about to find out.

But first, start the drumbeat for Florida-Georgia. Yup, it matters again. For the first time in 13 years, ESPN's "College GameDay" will show up in Jacksonville, Florida, for a game that might decide the SEC East. It is also the first time that the Gators and Dawgs enter as top 10 teams (in the AP Top 25) since 2008. As usual this time of year, the SEC rules the game. It has both of my top two teams, plus four of the top 10 and five of the top 12. Stunningly, three of those five are from the SEC East.

As not per usual, Michigan is suddenly the Big Ten favorite, Washington State is in the top 15, and it's worth talking about UCF as a playoff team. Let's take a look at the rest of this week's Power Rankings.

Biggest Movers 11 Washington State 9 Ohio State Rk Teams Chg Rcrd 1 Alabama Bama has played eight games. Tua Tagovailoa has missed the equivalent of two of them because he and his team have been so good. That figures to change Nov. 3 in Death Valley in what figures to be the biggest Alabama-LSU game since 2011. -- 0-0 2 LSU Linebacker Devin White went and got himself suspended for the first half of the Alabama game. There is/will be much discussion whether White really targeted Nick Fitzgerald on a pass rush during a 19-3 win over Mississippi State. That (lack of) impact might have the biggest impact two weeks from now. 3 0-0 3 Clemson I'm fascinated by this: There were dozens of NFL scouts at Death Valley to watch Trevor Lawrence in his third career start -- 2 ½ years before he can be drafted. Lawrence and the Tigers rolled 41-7 over NC State. We like both the quarterback's and the team's staying power. -- 2-0 4 Notre Dame Bye. A deep breath before a closing kick that will include Navy, Northwestern, Florida State, Syracuse and USC. If you believe staying unbeaten absolutely gets Irish in, they're still in control. -- 2-0 5 Texas Bye. Things to do in Austin this weekend ... Hairy Man Festival and 5K, Citywide Garage Sale, Pflugerville Pfall Chili Fest. Horns get back to action this week at Oklahoma State. 1 1-0 6 UCF With only five undefeated teams left, I'm starting to dream. With a fair amount of help, the Knights could make the playoff. It would involve at least two Power Five conference champions losing twice, the committee taking into account a 25-game winning streak and a bowl game win last year over Auburn. One question: Is McKenzie Milton OK? 1 1-0 7 Oklahoma Kyler Murray and the Sooners got the Maserati back into high gear scoring 52 points against TCU. Even better, in Ruffin McNeill's first game as interim defensive coordinator, the Frogs were shut down in the second half. Texas is still the Big 12's best playoff hope. 1 1-0 8 Michigan The Michigan-Michigan State rivalry was in full flower. Per Jim Harbaugh, Sparty "clotheslined" linebacker Devin Bush. Mark Dantonio was nearby "smiling." Coach D called it "B.S." All of it overshadowed the fact the Wolverines are the Big Ten's best playoff hope. 2 0-0 9 Florida Bye. Thousands of Gators are loading up their Styrofoam coolers and heading to Jacksonville. The SEC East is at stake. Florida has won six of the last 10 meetings. -- 0-0 10 Georgia Bye. Thousands of Dawgs loading up their Yeti coolers and heading to Jacksonville. The SEC East is at stake. Georgia has won four of the last seven meetings. 2 0-0 11 Ohio State The Purdue defeat was the most embarrassing for OSU since a certain 31-point loss last November at Iowa. Will it be weighed the same way by the CFP Selection Committee? We're about to find out a lot about the character of the Buckeyes and their coaches the rest of the season. Ohio State cannot lose again. 9 0-0 12 Kentucky Benny Snell scored the game-winning touchdown with eight minutes left against Vanderbilt to remind everyone: It's a three-team race in the SEC East. The SEC schedule finishes in the next three weeks against Missouri, Georgia and Tennessee. 1 0-0 13 West Virginia Bye. We'll see what the Mountaineers are made of soon. That was a depressing loss to Iowa State. West Virginia still has play Texas, TCU, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma. 1 1-0 14 Washington State Mike Leach resurrected two programs a decade apart. In 2008, it was upsetting No. 1 Texas in Lubbock. On Saturday, it was knocking off No. 12 Oregon in Pullman. The Cougars are the Pac-12's best playoff hope. 11 0-0 15 Washington The Huskies stayed atop the Pac-12 North with a workman-like win over Colorado. Jake Browning's fourth-down scoring pass to Aaron Fuller with less than four minutes left secured the victory. -- 0-0 16 Oregon This is what it feels like to be hit between the eyes with a 2x4: 27-0 Washington State at halftime. The Ducks rebounded nicely to get within seven in the second half, but the Cougars prevailed. Oregon went from playoff contender to fourth place in the Pac-12 North. 5 0-0 17 South Florida Still miles to go for the Bulls after an eight-point over UConn. But USF is still one of five undefeateds and controls its own destiny for a New Year's Six bowl. Houston, Cincinnati, Temple and UCF still to go. Charlie Strong is an astounding 17-2 at USF. 1 1-1 18 Miami (FL) Bye. Malik or N'Kosi? N'Kosi or Malik? Mark Richt made news during the off week by naming Malik Rosier as the starter for Boston College. 1 2-0 19 Texas A&M Bye. Back-to-back road games coming up at Mississippi State and Auburn. Despite that, a 10-win debut for Jimbo Fisher is still possible. 1 0-0 20 Iowa A skunking of Maryland reminds us the Big Ten West is wide open. But the Hawkeyes face defining stretch in their season. Road trips to Penn State and Purdue are next followed by Northwestern. Get through that and Iowa still has to hope Wisconsin loses again. 4 0-0 21 Utah The Utes have fought through a fog of competitors in the Pac-12 South to become the division frontrunners. An impressive win over USC has Utah thinking big. Its third win in a row gives it the tiebreaker lead over the Trojans in the division (both are 3-2). NR 0-0 22 Texas Tech Look who's tied for second place in the Big 12. Look who saved his job. OK, that's a bit harsh on Kliff Kingsbury. The Red Raiders are just as explosive offensively but are playing the best defense West Texas has seen in Kliff's five seasons. NR 1-0 23 Houston Are the Cougars a New Year's Six team if UCF stumbles? Their only loss is to Texas Tech after scoring 49 against Navy. The AAC West is Houston's to lose. NR 0-0 24 UAB This resurrection story just keeps getting better. The Blazers, 6-1, are off to their best start in history. Only 12 teams have allowed fewer touchdowns than UAB's 15. NR 2-1 25 Utah State The Aggies are the best in a logjam of one-loss teams at the top of the Mountain West. Only one team has come within 10 points of Utah State since the opening loss to Michigan State. That team was Wyoming on Saturday, 24-16. NR 0-0

Dropped out of rankings: Cincinnati, Colorado, Michigan State, NC State, USC