Wasserman's College Football Top 10 Ranking: After Georgia, Texas and Ohio State, who else is in?
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. This week is particularly challenging because the results were all over the place.
Here is the latest attempt:
1. Georgia (2-0)
After annihilating Clemson last weekend — a win that looks much better now following Clemson’s domination of Appalachian State — Georgia returned home for a boring blowout of Tennessee Tech. Sometimes these types of games can go off the rails and be interesting for a half, but when you’re a machine like Georgia, the only thing you’re concerned with is winning, staying healthy and moving onto the next week. The Bulldogs did that.
Last week’s rank: 1
2. Texas (2-0)
Texas has done everything right. It has recruited well, it has supplemented its roster nicely in the portal and it has a quarterback who has taken a big step forward. In the 31-12 blowout of Michigan in the Big House on Saturday, Quinn Ewers just had that look about him. We’ll know more about what the win over Michigan means when we get more context on the Wolverines, but the Longhorns move up a spot this week because blowing the defending national champions on the road means something.
Last week’s rank: 3
3. Ohio State (2-0)
You could make the case Ohio State is the most talented team in the country. And in its 56-0 win over Western Michigan, the Buckeyes didn’t even break a sweat. They’ll have plenty of time to climb this poll when the competition level increases, but Georgia and Texas just have better wins at the moment. Make no mistake about it, though: Ohio State is one of the favorites to win the national title this year. It seems like Georgia, Texas, Ohio State and everyone else right now.
Last week’s rank: 2
4. Tennessee (2-0)
This feels like an aggressive jump, but considering Saturday was such a weird day filled with unimpressive results, it’s appropriate. Nico Iamaleava only threw for 211 yards and had two interceptions, but the Volunteers beat a solid N.C. State team, 51-10. You could make the case Tennessee’s win over the Wolfpack was the most impressive win of the day. In two weeks, Tennessee heads to Norman for what should be an undefeated showdown between Iamaleava and Jackson Arnold.
Last week’s rank: 10
5. Alabama (2-0)
When you look at the final score of Alabama’s 42-16 win over USF, it may be easy to forget the Crimson Tide only led the Bulls by a point at the beginning of the fourth quarter. It may have been easier to drop Alabama in the rankings had everyone else in the top-10 looked great, but that just wasn’t the case in a weird week. Next up for Alabama is a game at Wisconsin, a chance for it to flex its muscles and remind everyone why it’s still a top-five team.
Last week’s rank: 4
6. Miami (2-0)
How much does a 56-9 win over Florida A&M move the needle? Honestly, not that much. Even so, Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward went 20-for-26 for 304 yards and three touchdowns and Miami cruised to an easy win. There’s not much we can learn about Miami playing such an overmatched opponent, but the roster is very good and the results have been convincing. There aren’t a lot of teams in the bottom half of this week’s top-10 that can say the same of the latter.
Last week’s rank: 8
7. Ole Miss (2-0)
Jaxson Dart threw for 377 yards and a touchdown, Henry Parrish Jr. rushed for 165 yards and four touchdowns and Ole Miss blew out Middle Tennessee State, 52-3. On a weekend where half of the top-10 either lost or played uninspiring games, the Rebels are one of the few teams that has played two games and won both easily. The Rebels are going to be a problem in the SEC.
Last week’s rank: 9
8. Oregon (2-0)
I’m not a fan of dropping teams down in the rankings after close wins, especially early in the season, but Oregon tried everything to give that game away to Boise State. Also, the Broncos are probably one of the best teams in the Group of 5 this year, led by stud running back Ashton Jeanty. The Ducks won a close one, 37-34, but after two weeks of clunkers to start the season, it’s fair to start questioning whether this Oregon team is trying to tell us something.
Last week’s rank: 5
9. Missouri (2-0)
After Missouri’s blowout of Buffalo on Saturday, the Tigers have outscored its first two opponents 89-0. We knew Missouri was going to be very good this year, but we won’t know exactly how good for quite some time. They have a tough road game at Texas A&M on Oct. 5, but if Missouri wins that game, it’ll likely be undefeated going into a road trip to Alabama on Oct. 26. Mizzou proved it could hang last year. Is this the year it gets over the hump?
Last week’s rank: NR
10. Penn State (2-0)
What a tale of two weeks for Penn State, eh? Last week’s blowout win over West Virginia felt like a statement of Drew Allar’s arrival, a message to the world that the Nittany Lions are going to be competitive in the Big Ten title race. This week, Penn State was in a losable game with Bowling Green in Beaver Stadium.
Last week’s rank: 7