As the college football season is nearly 3/4 of the way over, we're beginning to see the contenders stand out and the pretenders fade away.
That was evident during No. 12 Florida's 27-3 demolition of Georgia. The Gators are now in control of the SEC East and will almost certainly be playing in the SEC Championship. As for who they'll play, it's still not clear whether No. 19 Ole Miss is a contender or pretender, but they still control their own destiny after an unimpressive 27-19 win at Auburn.
That said, most foresee the SEC West winner being either No. 7 Alabama or No. 4 LSU, who face off this week in Tuscaloosa. The Tigers can afford a loss as they come into this game at 7-0, but the Tide have to win to keep their College Football Playoff and SEC West hopes alive after losing to the Rebels earlier this season.
Here is the latest Coaches Poll Top 25 following Week 9 of the college football season:
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | 1ST PLACE VOTES | PREV | CHANGE | HI/LOW |
| 1 | Ohio State | 8-0 | 1574 | 48 | 1 | 0 | 1/1 |
| 2 | Baylor | 7-0 | 1481 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2/5 |
| 3 | Texas Christian | 8-0 | 1441 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2/3 |
| 4 | Louisiana State | 7-0 | 1388 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4/15 |
| 5 | Clemson | 8-0 | 1377 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 5/12 |
| 6 | Michigan State | 8-0 | 1337 | 0 | 5 | -1 | 2/6 |
| 7 | Alabama | 7-1 | 1223 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2/13 |
| 8 | Stanford | 7-1 | 1069 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8/NR |
| 9 | Notre Dame | 7-1 | 1068 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 7/15 |
| 10 | Oklahoma State | 8-0 | 978 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10/NR |
| 11 | Iowa | 8-0 | 968 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 11/NR |
| 12 | Florida | 7-1 | 942 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 11/NR |
| 13 | Oklahoma | 7-1 | 819 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 9/19 |
| 14 | Utah | 7-1 | 770 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7/NR |
| 15 | Florida State | 7-1 | 693 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 6/15 |
| 16 | Memphis | 8-0 | 652 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 16/NR |
| 17 | Michigan | 6-2 | 587 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 14/NR |
| 18 | Houston | 8-0 | 505 | 0 | 19 | 1 | 18/NR |
| 19 | Mississippi | 7-2 | 436 | 0 | 21 | 2 | 5/23 |
| 20 | Toledo | 7-0 | 396 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 20/NR |
| 21 | North Carolina | 7-1 | 215 | 0 | 28 | 7 | 21/NR |
| 22 | UCLA | 6-2 | 199 | 0 | 25 | 3 | 10/NR |
| 23 | Temple | 7-1 | 164 | 0 | 22 | -1 | 22/NR |
| 24 | Texas A&M | 6-2 | 148 | 0 | 26 | 2 | 10/NR |
| 25 | Mississippi State | 6-2 | 104 | 0 | 27 | 2 | 22/NR |
And here are the latest ESPN Power Rankings:
| RK | TEAM | REC | PTS | TREND |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 Clemson
|
8-0 | 312 | 1 |
| 2 |
 Ohio State
|
8-0 | 307 | 1 |
| 3 |
 LSU
|
7-0 | 300 | — |
| 4 |
 Baylor
|
7-0 | 283 | — |
| 5 |
 TCU
|
8-0 | 275 | — |
| 6 |
 Michigan State
|
8-0 | 258 | — |
| 7 |
 Alabama
|
7-1 | 243 | 1 |
| 8 |
 Florida
|
7-1 | 224 | 2 |
| 9 |
 Notre Dame
|
7-1 | 213 | — |
| 10 |
 Stanford
|
7-1 | 210 | 3 |
| 11 |
 Iowa
|
8-0 | 201 | 1 |
| 12 |
 Oklahoma State
|
8-0 | 189 | 1 |
| 13 |
 Oklahoma
|
7-1 | 162 | — |
| 14 |
 Utah
|
7-1 | 158 | — |
| 15 |
 Memphis
|
8-0 | 148 | — |
| 16 |
 Florida State
|
7-1 | 125 | 2 |
| 17 |
 Michigan
|
6-2 | 110 | 1 |
| 18 |
 Houston
|
8-0 | 108 | 1 |
| 19 |
 Ole Miss
|
7-2 | 98 | 1 |
| 20 |
 Temple
|
7-1 | 69 | 1 |
| 21 |
 Toledo
|
7-0 | 68 | — |
| 22 |
 North Carolina
|
7-1 | 55 | 4 |
| 23 |
 UCLA
|
6-2 | 30 | 1 |
| 24 |
 Mississippi State
|
6-2 | 19 | 2 |
| 25 |
 Navy
|
6-1 | 15 | — |
 Texas A&M
|
6-2 | 15 | 6 |