We should know better. Week 7 fooled us all. What looked stress-free quickly turned stressful.
Defending national champion Clemson and Washington State lost on Friday night. Washington's nightmare in Tempe (seven straight losses since 2001) continued Saturday, while San Diego State's fortune ran out. Miami, USC and Oklahoma barely escaped challenges from unranked foes. With a few exceptions -- Alabama, Georgia, TCU, Ohio State -- this was a surprisingly difficult, wildly entertaining week.
It was good to have a bye, right, Penn State?
Alabama is back on top of the rankings and likely isn't going anywhere. Penn State, the new No. 2, enters its defining stretch of the next three weeks against Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State. TCU joins the top four after a businesslike win at Kansas State despite two weather delays.
Stanford continues to move up, Memphis makes its return and, hey, there's Kevin Sumlin and Texas A&M.