Mountaineers, Crimson Tide see CFP stock soar
— -- Even in overtime, most of the elite teams in the College Football Playoff race followed the script in what was one of the less chaotic college football Saturdays this season. Each week, though, impacts how the 12 members of the selection committee will view each r?sum? to determine the first ranking on Nov. 1.
Here's a look at whose stock improved in Week 7, and whose dropped:
STOCK UP
West Virginia: The Mountaineers were facing some skepticism after four straight home wins against unranked opponents, but went a long way in validating their position as a contender for the Big 12 title with an impressive road win at Texas Tech. The Mountaineers improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2012 and found a way to slow the Texas Tech offense. West Virginia held the Red Raiders to just 17 points -- their fewest in a game over the past two seasons -- and Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes failed to throw multiple passing touchdowns for the first time this season.
Alabama: In their second straight road win over a ranked SEC team, the Tide somehow looked even better in their win over Tennessee. It was the most complete game they've played to date, and this time the secondary showed improvement, adding to another outstanding overall defensive performance. Alabama held Tennessee to 163 yards, returned an interception for a TD, had three sacks and 10 tackles for loss, and stifled quarterback Joshua Dobbs.
Big Ten West: Wisconsin was a highlight even in defeat, pushing No. 2 Ohio State to overtime, but the Badgers now need help to win the division as Nebraska is still undefeated. The Cornhuskers escaped a tricky Indiana team, but overall it was a good day for the entire division. Minnesota won. Iowa won. Northwestern won. Even Illinois won. Every team in the division but Purdue and Wisconsin won this weekend.
Group of 5: It was another good weekend for both Boise State and Western Michigan, two teams that are still undefeated and in contention for a New Year's Six Bowl as the highest-ranked Group of 5 conference champion. Western Michigan, ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 this week for the first time in school history, beat Akron 41-0 and is the front-runner in the MAC. Boise State beat Colorado State and remains the team to beat in the Mountain West. Houston survived a scare from Tulsa, but still needs Navy to lose twice to win the AAC West Division.
STOCK DOWN
ACC Coastal: Now that every team in the Coastal Division has at least two overall losses, the ACC and its fans should hope there's NOT an upset in the title game. It's one thing to have a one-loss Virginia Tech or Miami run the table and upend the Tigers in the title game, but it's another to have a two-loss league champ with a weak strength of schedule as the league's top team. One week after beating North Carolina on the road, Virginia Tech lost to Syracuse on Saturday. Meanwhile, Miami followed its one-point loss to Florida State with a home loss to North Carolina. Wait, what? The Coastal chaos is in full swing, leaving the division up for grabs and without an elite team.
SEC East: Much like the ACC's Coastal Division, the SEC should hope there isn't an upset in its conference title game, because it's extremely likely the winner of the East will have two losses. Florida is the only team left in the division with just one overall loss, but the Gators still have to play at Arkansas and at LSU. Tennessee already has two losses, but the Vols own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Florida. Neither team looks capable of pulling of an epic upset in the SEC title game, but the entire East has fallen over the past two weeks along with Tennessee. And that's not even mentioning Georgia, which lost to Vandy.
Clemson offense: The Tigers lost three fumbles in NC State territory, and quarterback Deshaun Watson threw the first pick-six of his career in what was a too-close-for-comfort win in Death Valley. Florida State in 2014 taught us that winning convincingly matters to a point (no pun intended). An undefeated ACC champ should be in, even if it hasn't dominated lesser opponents. But don't assume a perfect record means No. 1. Clemson's offense will have to be more efficient on Oct. 29, when it travels to Florida State -- if the Tigers want to finish undefeated, they're going to have to stop turning the ball over. But an ugly win is still a good win for Clemson, and it's worth noting that even a loss in Tallahassee won't keep the Tigers out of the ACC championship game. Even a one-loss ACC champ would likely still get in the CFP.
Ole Miss: The Rebels have officially been eliminated from the national spotlight. After losing to Florida State and Alabama, the Rebels were a long shot to win the SEC West, but they were clinging to hope -- until they lost to Arkansas.
