There are still seven contenders and everyone else A running theme so far this season is the fact that seven contenders have emerged with a gap between them and the other teams. That trend continues this week. This week’s Poll also suggests that fans still do not agree on how to order these seven teams, which means more games will have to be played before we begin to see some separation. The good news is that two of these teams will face reasonably tough opponents this upcoming Saturday. Oklahoma will square off against hated rival Texas in the Red River Shootout, while LSU hosts the Florida Gators with ESPN College GameDay in attendance.

Fans still think Clemson is the contender getting too much credit in the AP Clemson had a bye week this past weekend, so they did not move much in the MaxDiff Poll compared to last week. While the Tigers remain at #2 in the AP, fans may think that is too high, as the Tigers are #6 in the MaxDiff Poll. Despite being the defending National Champions, the ACC Tigers have not looked the part of a champion so far this season. The prevailing opinion from both the media and fans alike is that the ACC is by far the weakest of the Power Five conferences (see point six below), so Clemson will have to win its remaining games in impressive fashion to earn respect. Wake Forest is the only ranked team left on the Tigers’ schedule. That game falls on November 16 and is looking more and more like it will be the de facto ACC Atlantic Division Championship game. Clemson better hope it does not stumble in that game or any others this season, as the odds of it making The Playoff with a loss are looking slimmer each week.

Florida replaces Auburn as the Wild Card Florida pulled off the biggest win of its season this past weekend by knocking off the Auburn Tigers. Florida fans have to feel somewhat vindicated by this victory, as the Gators have been getting the “overrated” tag all season from both fans and the media. While this victory elevated the perception of the Gators, they are still not quite a contender in the minds of fans. The Gators join the Penn State Nittany Lions in the tier below the contenders. Both of these teams will have to pick up more wins over quality opponents to join the contenders. Luckily (or perhaps unluckily), both teams have a loaded schedule that will provide plenty of opportunities to impress in the months of October and November. For the Gators, the first opportunity is this Saturday in Baton Rouge. It will be tough to deny the Gators contender status if they shock LSU, no matter how ugly a victory in that game could look. At the time of writing, Vegas has Florida as a 12.5 point underdog. Fans in this research give the Gators only slightly more credit, as they predict a 23 – 34 LSU victory.



Ohio State is so good that losing to them gets Michigan State a bump? Ohio State has looked pretty unstoppable so far this season with many in the media backing the Buckeyes as the best team in the nation. Ohio State passed perhaps its toughest test to date this past Saturday with a 34 – 10 victory over Michigan State. The Spartans’ loss, however, did not damage fans’ perceptions of them. In fact, the loss may have even improved perceptions, as the Spartans’ ranking in this week’s MaxDiff Poll at #19 is actually two spots higher than their ranking in last week’s Poll. This makes Michigan State this week’s most underrated team in the AP in the minds of fans. We’ll find out on Saturday if this perception has any merit as the Spartans take on Wisconsin. To pull off the upset, the Spartans will have to do what no other team has been able to do: stop Heisman candidate Jonathan Taylor. Good luck with that.

Arizona State at 28? Fans disrespected Arizona State in last week’s MaxDiff Poll, and nothing has changed this week, which is unsurprising considering that the Sun Devils had a bye this past weekend. I find it amusing that for the past two weeks, fans have rated Arizona State as one of the most overrated teams in the AP while rating Michigan State as one of the most underrated considering the fact that Arizona State has a road victory over the Spartans.