Thoughts on the AP Poll: Week 7

Tough Losses

Both Washington and Northwestern, previously ranked 15th and 16th in the poll respectively, lost close games to top-five opponents. No. 16 Washington dropped one spot after losing 31-28 at No. 5 Stanford. The Cardinal avenged last season’s defeat at the hand of the Huskies when Washington quarterback Keith Price’s fourth down completion in the waning minutes was overturned after an official review. No. 19 Northwestern fell three spots after falling at home to No. 4 Ohio State in a competitive 40-30 contest.

Florida State Makes a Statement

Newly ranked Maryland headed to Tallahassee to prove their legitimacy as an ACC contender, but the No. 6 Florida State Seminoles reaffirmed that they, along with the Clemson Tigers, are head-and-shoulders above the rest of the pack by embarrassing the Terrapins 63-0. Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston showed why he is an early Heisman frontrunner with 393 yards passing and five touchdowns. The Seminoles’ defense impressed, completing a shutout and allowing only 234 total yards, an important sign for Florida State, considering that the same defense gave up 34 points to unranked Boston College jus the week before. To make matters worse for Maryland, quarterback C.J. Brown suffered a concussion late in the second quarter and had to leave the game.

The Bigger Picture

Impressive wins by Ohio State and Stanford this week reassert the dominance of the top handful of teams. These National Title contenders seem poised to steamroll lesser competition, so late-season matchups between them—such as Oregon-Stanford and Clemson-Florida State—could go a long way to determining who will be playing in the BCS championship game.