Wasserman's College Football Top 10 Ranking: Oregon to No. 1 after signature win

It’s a new era of college football. 

When the College Football Playoff committee starts releasing rankings later this season, they aren’t going to be the end-all, be-all given the new seeding rules of the 12-team field. But the rankings are still fun and people are still going to fight over them. They still matter. 

So, every weekend, after the dust settles from the games, I’m going to unveil my updated top 10. Here is the latest edition: 

1. Oregon (6-0)

Dan Lanning got his first signature win as Oregon’s coach. Lanning got blown out by Georgia in his first game as Oregon’s coach at the beginning of the 2022 season, showing how big of a gap there was between the Ducks and the sport’s giants. On Saturday night, in a 32-31 win over the Buckeyes, Oregon officially closed that gap. Ohio State is the deepest, most talented team in the country and the Ducks won. Two years of roster and program building has sprung the Ducks to the top of the sport. Dillon Gabriel and his collection of wide receivers, Oregon defense and now Lanning have proven they can beat anyone this year.
Last week’s rank: 3

2. Texas (6-0)

Quinn Ewers returned to action after missing a few games with an injury and he looked rusty out of the gate. Well, it didn’t matter. Texas is so deep and so talented on both sides of the ball, the Longhorns made short order of Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry. Some of that is because Oklahoma is a flawed football team, but a lot of it is just what you get when a legit national title contender plays a team with issues. Even when Ewers isn’t sharp, Texas is superior. When he’s playing his best? Watch out.
Last week’s rank: 1

3. Ohio State (5-1)

Ohio State has built one of the best teams in college football and it lost on the road to the No. 1 team in the country. Sometimes good teams just lose to good teams. While it’s certainly fair to question whether Ryan Day can win the big one — it’s been a rough go for Ohio State in that department the last three years — there is no question these Buckeyes are built to compete at the highest level. Though there are other teams in the Big Ten that haven’t lost, it seems like an inevitability that Ohio State and Oregon are going to face each other again in the conference title game.
Last week’s rank: 2

4. Georgia (5-1)

The top of the SEC is so confusing. We’re only two weeks removed from Georgia‘s thrilling loss to Alabama in what we thought was a matchup between the two best teams in the country. Now? Alabama has lost to Vanderbilt and almost lost to South Carolina on Saturday. And Georgia played with its food against Mississippi State on Saturday, beating the Bulldogs 41-31. Who gets ranked higher? Georgia, because it has looked much better than Alabama? Or Alabama, who beat Georgia? I’m putting Georgia ahead because I think the Bulldogs would win if/when these two teams play again. But when it comes to national title favorites? There are a few teams that would go ahead of Georgia and Alabama, which wouldn’t have been true at the beginning of the month.
Last week’s rank: 4

5. Penn State (6-0)

We keep waiting for more context of what Penn State is every week and the Nittany Lions keep winning. Penn State is just good. Though things got a little dicey in Los Angeles against USC on Saturday, Penn State pulled out the 33-30 victory in overtime. Though Penn State would love to see quarterback Drew Allar clean up mistakes, he did throw for 391 yards. Tight end Tyler Warren was all over the field, finishing with 17 receptions for 224 yards. Penn State is unquestionably better than everyone left on its schedule other than Ohio State. If you think Penn State should be ranked ahead of Ohio State given it hasn’t lost, the good news is they play in State College on Nov. 2. Either way, Penn State looks like a College Football Playoff team.
Last week’s rank: 6

6. Miami (6-0)

This was an advantageous week for Miami to have an open week. The Hurricanes almost lost two games in a row, most recently erasing a 35-10 deficit in the third quarter to storm back and beat Cal last weekend. It has been an emotional few weeks for Miami, so it used Saturday to reset and focus on finishing the second half of the season strong. Miami has Louisville and Florida State for its next two games, but it doesn’t have to play Clemson in the regular season. The Hurricanes have a pretty reasonable path to the ACC Championship Game.
Last week’s rank: 5

7. Alabama (5-1)

What a confusing three weeks of results for Alabama. The Crimson Tide made us feel like it was business as usual without Nick Saban two weeks ago when it beat Georgia. Then Alabama turned around and lost to Vanderbilt last weekend. This week? Alabama came dangerously close to losing to South Carolina at home. South Carolina recovered an onside kick and was driving in the game’s final minutes for a potential game-winning field, but LaNorris Sellers threw an interception. Alabama improved to 5-1, but it’s getting increasingly more difficult not to question whether this team may lose a few more games this season.
Last week’s rank: 8

8. Clemson (5-1)

Clemson‘s blowout loss to Georgia is ancient history. Though the Tigers still have some work to do before it instills real fear in everyone’s hearts nationally, all they have done since the season-opener is beat up on everyone on their schedule. Clemson won its fifth-straight game Saturday, blowing out Wake Forest, 49-14. Clemson has a tricky three-game stretch against Louisville, Virginia Tech and Pitt coming up, but it doesn’t have to play Miami in the regular season. It seems like a pretty safe bet the Tigers will be playing for an ACC Championship this year.
Last week’s rank: 7

9. BYU (6-0) 

Because BYU has come out of nowhere this season, there seems to be this feeling that everyone is waiting around for the Cougars to slip up. This weekend’s game against Arizona could have been the perfect place to falter in a Big 12 Conference that’s so unpredictable. Nope. Though the Wildcats scored first and hung in there early, BYU mauled them in the second half on the way to 41-19 victory. Go look at BYU’s schedule, too. It’s about time to start believing this team is going to be there in the end.
Last week’s rank: 9

10. Iowa State (6-0) 

We are still trying to figure out how the Big 12 is going to play out, but Iowa State knocked off West Virginia — a team that also came into the weekend undefeated in conference play — and took another critical step forward in legitimizing itself nationally. The Cyclones are a physical Midwestern team with explosive skill players and a quarterback that knows how to get them the ball. Winning in Morgantown was another notch on Iowa State’s belt as it looks at a very manageable schedule down the stretch of the season.
Last week’s rank: 10