Welcome to the 2018 BSL Deified Dozen rankings. Each week during the season our panel of experts will rank the Top 12 teams in college football. Members of our panel include: CT Schwink, Rob Shields, Mike Lowe, Zack Kiesel, Brian (Pedro Cerrano) McGuire, Chris (Ricker Says) Ricker, Steve Birrer, Mike Randall and Chris Garman. We are looking forward to an exciting season of college football.
Week 8 saw perhaps the most stunning (or maybe not) upset of the season so far when then-#2 Ohio State fell to Purdue. This loss was very reminiscent of last season’s loss by the Buckeyes in equally ugly fashion to Iowa that kept them out of the Playoff. Unlike last season, when they already had a loss to Oklahoma, Ohio State was unbeaten before Saturday, and thus their Playoff hopes likely remain alive. The only other noteworthy game was former #12 Oregon making their stay in the Deified Dozen a very brief one after losing to Washington State. Perhaps not coincidentally, it is now the Cougars who replace the Ducks at #12.
Like last week, this week features several byes on the Dozen’s schedule, including #1 Alabama and #3 LSU getting to rest up and prepare for their huge head-to-head in Baton Rouge on Nov 3. But back to this week, we do have one major head-to-head matchup with likely Playoff implications. That would be the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party (I still call it that) featuring #6 Georgia vs #10 Florida in Jacksonville, with the winner gaining a huge edge in the three-way race (along with Kentucky) for the SEC East crown. Also, Washington State will try to avoid the same fate as the Ducks they vanquished when they head on the road Saturday to face Stanford.
You can join in the 2018 Deified Dozen discussion here.
College Football Analyst
Mike is a Baltimore native living in Portland, OR since 2007. He currently runs his own business specializing in video production and online marketing. Prior to that he was a legal technology consultant, worked for 9 years at Johns Hopkins University and served 6 years in the Air Force. He also enjoys travel, food, beer, and is a volunteer at the Oregon Humane Society.