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Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 11: Will shaky contenders feel an SEC squeeze?

Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 11: Will shaky contenders feel an SEC squeeze?

Editor’s note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams. The ACC and Big 12’s hopes of sending multiple teams to the first 12-team College Football Playoff took a big hit over the weekend. Miami (Fla.) and Iowa State both lost, greatly damaging their at-large hopes. Meanwhile, Ole Miss’ win […]

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Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Alabama got its act together and looks Playoff bound … again

Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Alabama got its act together and looks Playoff bound … again

And now, 20 Final Thoughts from Week 11, in which Louisiana’s governor imported a rogue tiger from Florida to show off on the field before the Alabama game. (Yes, this really happened.) 1. Nick Saban won so many trophies in his 17 seasons at Alabama, it’s easy to forget all the times we thought no

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Week 11’s top 10 college football games: SEC eliminations and Colorado’s surge

Week 11’s top 10 college football games: SEC eliminations and Colorado’s surge

It’s an admittedly subdued batch of games this weekend, but even that includes a pair of top-20 SEC clashes, Colorado and Deion Sanders on the road in a big spot, a handful of undefeated teams with intriguing matchups and a whole lot of College Football Playoff implications. Let’s rank the top 10 games of Week

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College football Week 11 oddly specific predictions: Down go the Hoosiers!

College football Week 11 oddly specific predictions: Down go the Hoosiers!

Picking Penn State to lose to Ohio State does not deserve a victory lap. Losing big games is what the Nittany Lions do. Like James Franklin, I deserved to get booed off the field last week after posting an embarrassing 4-5 record picking up straight-up winners. My 59-31 overall record for the season feels especially

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2025 NFL mock draft: How many QBs crack the top 10? Is Travis Hunter worth the No. 1 pick?

2025 NFL mock draft: How many QBs crack the top 10? Is Travis Hunter worth the No. 1 pick?

With the NFL trade deadline fully in our rearview, the league’s stretch run toward the playoffs can officially begin. That’s also happening in college football, as we’re inching closer to the largest playoff we’ve ever seen — a postseason that should be a huge opportunity for 2025 NFL Draft prospects to showcase their talent against

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Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 10: The Boise State scenario you shouldn’t sleep on

Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 10: The Boise State scenario you shouldn’t sleep on

Editor’s note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams. Ahead of the first College Football Playoff rankings of the 12-team era, there is no shortage of questions about how the selection committee’s first projected bracket will look. But one piece of conventional wisdom involving the Group of 5 could

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Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Amid great change, Penn State losing to Ohio State stays the same

Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Amid great change, Penn State losing to Ohio State stays the same

And now, 20 Final Thoughts from Week 10, when eight ranked teams had the week off. They got to sit at home and watch nearly half of the other ranked teams go down. 1. Amid a season of unprecedented change in college football, one tradition remains alive and well: Penn State losing to Ohio State.

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Week 10’s top 10 college football games: Ohio State-Penn State headlines top-heavy Saturday

Week 10’s top 10 college football games: Ohio State-Penn State headlines top-heavy Saturday

It’s a top-heavy slate this weekend with only two ranked matchups. But one of those is a top-five showdown between Ohio State and Penn State that’s rich with storylines, alongside a few other intriguing games featuring Top 25 teams. And much like tee shots that land in the fairway, we don’t like to complain about

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Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 9: Top-10 Indiana’s dream season is getting real

Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 9: Top-10 Indiana’s dream season is getting real

Editor’s note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams.  Indiana is no longer just a fun college football story. That is to say, Curt Cignetti’s Hoosiers aren’t some plucky upstart. They’re the real deal. They’re a machine. And it’s time to realize they’re a real threat to make the

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Mandel’s Final Thoughts: After backup QBs bail out Penn State, Texas A&M, will they stick?

Mandel’s Final Thoughts: After backup QBs bail out Penn State, Texas A&M, will they stick?

And now, 20 Final Thoughts from college football Week 9, which was light on suspense but full of storylines — most involving backup QBs. 1. For two weeks in September, six of the top seven teams in the AP poll were from the SEC. None made it to November with a perfect record in conference

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