College Football

College Football Rankings: Georgia, Cincinnati, Oklahoma, Michigan State stay atop RJ Young's Top 25

Updated Oct. 31, 2021 7:09 p.m. ET

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By RJ Young
FOX Sports College Football Writer

Editor’s note: Every Sunday morning during the college football season, RJ Young will release his updated Top 25 rankings.

As bad as it looked for Michigan State at times Saturday, in the end, Michigan had no answer for Kenneth Walker III.

The Wolverines put up 333 yards in the first half, and as lopsided as the game seemed, with the score 23-14 at halftime, it started out even worse for the Spartans. There were three explosive plays in the first half — that is, plays of 25 yards or more — and all of them either went for Michigan TDs or set up TDs.

The first of those plays came when Michigan State had Michigan pinned inside its 10 yard-line. On third down, Wolverines QB Cade McNamara threw a pass in rhythm to Andrel Anthony, who took it 93 yards to the house. The true freshman had six catches for 155 yards with two TDs in his return to East Lansing, where he played his high school ball. That’s a hell of a coming-out party for him. 

Andrel Anthony goes 93 yards as Michigan strikes first

Andrel Anthony takes Cade McNamara's pass for 93 yards to give Michigan a 7-0 lead over Michigan State.

McNamara had more than 200 pass yards in what Jim Harbaugh called the best half of his career and, perhaps, the best game of his career. 

And that's what MSU was willing to allow: McNamara passing.

So much of football is making a decision about what you're willing to allow. Spartans coach Mel Tucker and defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton decided they were going to sell out against the run and force McNamara and that passing game to beat them. With the victory, Tucker became the first Michigan State head coach to begin his career 2-0 against Michigan — a feat not even Nick Saban accomplished.

While McNamara played well, Michigan State QB Payton Thorne had a very rough day. Thorne threw a pick on the 1-yard line in the opening series, threw another pick off a tipped pass by Tulsa’s own Dax Hill coming on a blitz and took a sack that looked to me like a strip-sack recovered for a TD.

Thorne's two turnovers led to 10 Michigan points in what was a nine-point ballgame before McNamara and J.J. McCarthy turned back-to-back QB runs into six points. McNamara went over 280 passing yards when Michigan went up 30-14 in the third quarter and finished the game with 383.

Meanwhile, the firm of Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum was mostly held in check, with 27 carries for 114 yards for the Wolverines. 

They were totally outshined by one man at Michigan State. And you know who he is.

Walker rushed for 87 yards on 12 attempts with two TDs in the first half, averaging 7.3 yards per rush. It was a harbinger of things to come.

After a Michigan State TD and two-point conversion made it a one-score game late in the third quarter, Walker smoked the Michigan defense for a 58-yard score early in the fourth. With a second consecutive two-point conversion, it was 30-30 with 12 and change left to play.

Kenneth Walker III goes 58 yards for his fourth TD

Kenneth Walker III scores on a 58-yard touchdown to bring Michigan State into a 30-30 tie with Michigan.

Then, with his 20th rush of the day, Walker gave Michigan State its first lead of the game with 5:08 left to play. It was a 23-yard marauding run for his fifth TD of the game after he started the day with just nine all year.

He went over 1,000 yards rushing this season on his first carry of the game. He’s the quickest in Spartan history to get to 1,000 rush yards, the first 1,000-yard rusher at MSU since Jeremy Langford in 2014 and the first to get to 1,000 rush yards in eight games since Javon Ringer in 2008.

Walker finished the game with 197 yards on 23 rushes — 8.6 yards per carry and those five TDs. He rushed for more yards than Thorne passed for (196) and now has 1,194 yards in eight games, or 149.3 per outing.

Kenneth Walker III is going to New York for the Heisman ceremony. The only question now is if he will win.

Results need to matter more than my or your opinion, and that is how I create my rankings, using rationality and reason and the following criteria:

1. How many AP Top-25 teams (ranked at the time of the matchup) a team has beaten.

2. A premium placed on being undefeated. Power 5 teams, more than likely, play tougher schedules than Group of 5 teams.

3. Being undefeated supersedes strength of schedule, with the belief that winning every game is more difficult than losing a game to a good football team.

4. Results, résumé and winning matter. When two teams have identical résumés, that's when the eye test becomes necessary.

Here are my Top 25 teams in the country through Week 9:

1. Georgia Bulldogs (8-0)
Defeated Florida 34-7

Top-25 wins: four

2. Cincinnati Bearcats (8-0)
Defeated Tulane 31-12

Top-25 wins: one

3. Oklahoma Sooners (9-0)
Defeated Texas Tech 52-21

Top-25 wins: one

4. Michigan State Spartans (8-0)
Defeated Michigan 37-33

Top-25 wins: two

'Kenneth Walker III is special'

Joel Klatt recaps Michigan State's win over Michigan and highlights Kenneth Walker III's incredible, five-TD performance.

5. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (8-0)
Defeated Duke 45-7

Top-25 wins: zero

6. UTSA Roadrunners (8-0)
Idle

Top-25 wins: zero

7. Alabama Crimson Tide (7-1)
Idle

Top-25 wins: three

8. Oklahoma State Cowboys (7-1)
Defeated Kansas 55-3

Top-25 wins: three

Oklahoma State steps on the gas

Oklahoma State outgained Kansas 534 yards to 143 yards in the Cowboys' 55-3 victory in Stillwater.

9. Baylor Bears (7-1)
Defeated Texas 31-24

Top-25 wins: two

10. Oregon Ducks (7-1)
Defeated Colorado 52-29

Top-25 wins: one

11. Ohio State Buckeyes (7-1)
Defeated Penn State 33-24

Top-25 wins: one

12. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-1)
Defeated North Carolina 44-34

Top-25 wins: one

13. Houston Cougars (7-1)
Defeated SMU 44-37

Top-25 wins: one

14. Michigan Wolverines (7-1)
Lost to Michigan State 37-33

Top-25 wins: zero

15. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (7-1)
Defeated Troy 35-28

Top-25 wins: zero

16. SMU Mustangs (7-1)
Lost to Houston 44-37

Top-25 wins: zero

17. San Diego State Aztecs (7-1)
Lost to Fresno State 30-20

Top-25 wins: zero

18. Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (7-1)
Defeated Texas State 45-0

Top-25 wins: zero

19. Iowa Hawkeyes (6-2)
Lost to Wisconsin 27-7

Top-25 wins: three

20. BYU Cougars (7-2)
Defeated Virginia 66-49

Top-25 wins: two

21. Penn State Nittany Lions (5-3)
Lost to Ohio State 33-24

Top-25 wins: two

22. Auburn Tigers (6-2)
Defeated Ole Miss 31-20

Top-25 wins: two

23. Fresno State Bulldogs (7-2)
Defeated San Diego State 30-20

Top-25 wins: two

24. Texas A&M Aggies (6-2)
Idle

Top-25 wins: one

25. Ole Miss Rebels (6-2)
Lost to Auburn 31-20

Top-25 wins: one

Happy Halloween, and happy birthday, Nick Saban, who strikes fear into all opponents.

RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast "The No. 1 Ranked Show with RJ Young." Follow him on Twitter at @RJ_Young, and subscribe to "The RJ Young Show" on YouTube. He is not on a StepMill.

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Georgia Bulldogs

Cincinnati Bearcats

Oklahoma Sooners

Michigan State Spartans

Wake Forest Demon Deacons

UTSA Roadrunners

Alabama Crimson Tide

Oklahoma State Cowboys

Baylor Bears

Oregon Ducks

Ohio State Buckeyes

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Houston Cougars

Michigan Wolverines

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

SMU Mustangs

San Diego State Aztecs

Iowa Hawkeyes

BYU Cougars

Penn State Nittany Lions

Auburn Tigers

Texas A&M Aggies

Ole Miss Rebels

Kenneth Walker

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns

CFB - Michigan Wolverines vs. Michigan State Spartans - 10/30/2021

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