Week 11 got off to quite a start. The Michigan vs. Penn State game had the drama and the attention due to Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh getting banned from the sidelines for three games, including against the Nittany Lions on Saturday. While Penn State stood as their toughest challenge to date, Michigan was motivated to get a win.
On Saturday, Michigan beat Penn State 24-15 behind their ground game, which accounted for 227 of their 287 total yards of offense. The Wolverines got into such a groove, that they didn't even attempt a pass in the entire second half and finished the game with 32 consecutive runs.
While there was the drama of Michigan, there was also an upset of a Top 25 team. The Kansas Jayhawks lost their third game of the season after a 16-13 loss to the Texas Tech Red Raiders at the buzzer. With no time left on the clock, Texas Tech's Gino Garcia nailed a game-winning, 30-yard field goal.
Let's take a crack at the college football rankings with these early results in the books.
Projected college football rankings after Michigan's win over Penn State
- Ohio State
- Georgia
- Michigan
- Florida State
- Washington
- Oregon
- Texas
- Alabama
- Ole Miss
- Louisville
- Oregon State
- Tennessee
- Missouri
- Oklahoma State
- Penn State
- Oklahoma
- Utah
- LSU
- Notre Dame
- Arizona
- Iowa
- Tulane
- North Carolina
- Kansas State
- Fresno State
While Michigan is a perfect 10-0 on the season and picked up a win without their head coach, they didn't dominate Penn State. Instead, they decided to go with a run-first approach. After quarterback J.J. McCarthy attempted just eight passes, offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore opted to run the ball and ended the game with 32 consecutive runs.
With Ohio State and Georgia yet to have played, we'll leave Michigan at the No. 3 spot. Of course that could change depending on how the Buckeyes play against the Michigan State Spartans and how the Bulldogs fare against the Ole Miss Rebels.
As for Kansas, they lost to a 4-5 football team in Texas Tech. With that, we have to kick them out of the Top 25 completely. In their place are the Fresno State Bulldogs, who are 8-1 on the year prior to their game against the San Jose State Spartans.