With a little more than two weeks remaining until the first College Football Playoff rankings on Oct. 31, Week 7 provided some clarity at the top.
Washington secured the biggest win of the weekend, a thrilling win over fellow top-10 unbeaten Oregon, 36-33. Michael Penix Jr. connected with Rome Odunze in the final two minutes for a touchdown, then the Huskies held on as the Ducks missed a potential game-tying field goal as time expired.
With the win, Washington is in the driver’s seat for a spot in the Pac-12 title game and firmly in the mix for a playoff nod.
The nation’s top four teams in the AP poll — Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State and Florida State, respectively — all played as heavy favorites and all four took care of business.
The Bulldogs shook off another slow start to take down Vanderbilt, 37-20. The Wolverines continued their dominant start against subpar competition, rolling Indiana 52-7, while the Buckeyes defeated Purdue, 41-7. And the Seminoles remained unbeaten thanks to a 41-3 rout of Syracuse.
Next week should provide even more answers when Penn State travels to Ohio State for a showdown of Big Ten unbeatens.
With all that in mind, here’s a look at how our ESPN college football writers ranked their top four this week.
Andrea Adelson: 1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. Florida State 4. Washington
Blake Baumgartner: 1. Georgia 2. Washington 3. Michigan 4. Florida State
Kyle Bonagura: 1. Georgia 2. Washington 3. Michigan 4. Florida State
Bill Connelly: 1. Washington 2. Michigan 3. Georgia 4. Oklahoma
Heather Dinich: 1. Georgia 2. Washington 3. Florida State 4. Oklahoma
David Hale: 1. Michigan 2. Georgia 3. Florida State 4. Washington
Chris Low: 1. Georgia 2. Washington 3. Michigan 4. Oklahoma
Harry Lyles Jr.: 1. Georgia 2. Washington 3. Michigan 4. Oklahoma
Ryan McGee: 1. Georgia 2. Washington 3. Ohio State 4. Oklahoma
Adam Rittenberg: 1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. Washington 4. Florida State
Alex Scarborough: 1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. Washington 4. Florida State
Mark Schlabach: 1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. Washington 4. Florida State
Paul Objects: 1. Michigan 2. Georgia 3. Washington 4. Florida State
Tom VanHaaren: 1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. Washington 4. Florida State
Dave Wilson: 1. Michigan 2. Georgia 3. Washington 4. Florida State
