Joel Klatt updates Top 10 rankings after Week 7 action
Week 7 of the 2023 college football season will be remembered for the final Cascade Clash in the history of the Pac-12. With both Oregon and Washington heading to the Big Ten next year, the two rivals put together a game to remember for fans across the country.
The two traded blows back and forth the entire game. After the Ducks tried to end the game on a 4th-and-3 but turned the ball over on downs, Michael Penix Jr. led the Huskies down the field in just two plays to go up 36-33.
Bo Nix and the Oregon offense rushed down the field but the Ducks’ field goal attempt as time expired edged wide as Washington won the matchup.
But how did such a game impact the post-Week 7 national rankings for Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt. Here are Klatt’s Top 10 rankings after Week 7 of the 2023 college football season.
1. Georgia
Georgia earns the No. 1 spot in Klatt’s rankings after Week 7 as it continues to win games and is now up to 24 consecutive wins. The last loss for the Bulldogs came against Alabama in the 2021 SEC Championship Game.
Their victories this season haven’t always been pretty or dominant but the program has developed that winning gene the Crimson Tide had for all of the 2010s. It takes all of a team’s might to bring them down. Nobody has done that yet.
2. Michigan
Michigan has been the most consistent team in the country to start the season. The Wolverines have been dominant in every game, putting up big margins of victory, but also leave the field as somewhat unproven because they haven’t played a bonafide good team so far.
But you can only play who is ahead of you, and Michigan has done it better than anyone. The Wolverines have the largest margin of victory in the country at +32.7 points.
3. Florida State
Florida State has come off its bye with two controlling victories over Virginia Tech and Syracuse. This weekend’s win over the Orange was particularly impressive as the Seminoles allowed only 261 yards of offense and just three points.
Keon Coleman and Jaheim Bell led the offense as Jordan Travis‘ top two pass catchers. Coleman had nine catches — including an otherworldly highlight catch — for 140 yards and one touchdown. Bell had four catches for 87 yards.
4. Oklahoma
Oklahoma had a bye week after its rivalry win over Texas propelled it up the rankings. Now at 6-0 and the College Football Playoff in their grasps, the Sooners have some control over their own destiny.
The team plays only one team that was ranked heading into Week 7, Kansas, the rest of the season before a potential Big 12 Championship Game rematch versus the Longhorns. Entering undefeated would put the Sooners in prime position for a CFP bid.
5. Ohio State
Ohio State made easy work of Purdue this weekend. The Buckeyes won 41-7 after scoring the first 34 points of the game.
Now, the eyes of the country will turn to Columbus, Ohio, next week for its top-10 clash versus Penn State. It will be the first in a three-game set of the Big Ten East Division rivals all aiming to win the division and snag a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game, and a likely College Football Playoff bid.
6. Penn State
Penn State did what it had to do this week against an overmatched UMass team. The Nittany Lions scored 63 points on 408 yards and 28 first downs.
But this week’s game against Ohio State is set to be biggest in recent memory for the program. This is Penn State’s best shot at the College Football Playoff since it won the Big Ten, and a victory here would be a major boost to its campaign.
7. Washington
Washington is top team in the Pac-12 after beating Oregon and USC falling to Notre Dame on Saturday night. Michael Penix Jr. is also the top Heisman Trophy favorite after his memorable day.
Penix is second in the country in passing yards and fourth in the country in passing touchdowns, so he is on pace for the stats needed to win the Heisman. And he now has his moment in the form of Saturday’s game-winning touchdown pass.
8. Oregon
Where does Oregon go from here? The only direction it can go is putting the game behind it and moving forward.
The Ducks are not out of the College Football Playoff race at all. Not in the slightest. There’s many different paths for them to reach the final four come December. They just can’t slip up on the way.
9. North Carolina
North Carolina has steadily been rising and rising on rankings across the country as it has continued to pick up wins. This weekend’s 41-31 victory over Miami might be its best of the season.
Star quarterback Drake Maye threw for four touchdowns, including three scores to Tez Walker, as the Tar Heels scored 21 unanswered in the third quarter to take control of the game.
10. Texas
After its loss to Oklahoma and a bye week, Texas has fallen off the national radar as other matchups and teams have taken prescience. But the season is far from over for the Longhorns.
Texas still has a road to the College Football Playoff, although it doesn’t have any room for error over the next six games. Lucky for them, it doesn’t have any teams currently ranked the rest of the season.
Klatt also named four teams that just missed making his top 10 list after Week 7: Alabama, Notre Dame, Oregon State and Utah.