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Each Saturday night throughout the season, I’ll rank the 10 best teams in the country. The order will fluctuate week to week based on new results, player availability and whatever else impacts this chaotic sport. This is obviously a subjective process, and I look forward to the arguments. The final spot each week will go to a team that may not actually be the 10th best team in the country but still deserves a little shine.
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1. Michigan (9-0)
Before the season started, most of us would have thought these Wolverines could be undefeated three-quarters of the way through this schedule. We may not have expected them to win the first three games without head coach Jim Harbaugh or that the program would be under NCAA investigation for a second time this calendar year. But we did expect Michigan to be a very good football team, and that is absolutely true.
The Wolverines rolled to a 41-13 win over Purdue on a night in which they did not play their best. They had some rust to shake off following an off week, and J.J. McCarthy had a few uncharacteristic misfires. But … he still threw for 335 yards and completed at least two passes to seven different receivers, including a really nice 37-yard connection with running back Donovan Edwards, who was utilized a good bit in the passing game. Blake Corum still rushed for three touchdowns. Rinse, repeat.
The task gets much taller next week, as Michigan finally plays a ranked opponent in Penn State on the road. Up next is the three-game gauntlet of a season, and it comes amid league-wide frustrations about Michigan’s alleged scouting and sign-stealing scheme. Officials in Ann Arbor and elsewhere are expecting clarity in the coming days; we’ll soon find out if first-year commissioner Tony Petitti takes action to punish Michigan — and whether that can derail what looks like a national championship-caliber team.
GO DEEPER
Will the Big Ten punish Jim Harbaugh? The Michigan questions facing Tony Petitti
2. Georgia (9-0)
The Dawgs picked up their best win of the season to date, over a very good Missouri team that checked in at No. 12 in the first College Football Playoff rankings. Georgia has won games in a variety of ways, many of which were closer calls than I expected. It isn’t nearly as dominant as the past two teams were or and isn’t as suffocating on defense. But the Dawgs keep winning, and their 30-21 win over the Tigers raises a simple question. If the CFP selection committee already liked Georgia enough to put it at No. 2 with a soft schedule to date, is this win enough of a resume-booster to push the Dawgs into the top spot this week? It’s possible!
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(For the record: I’m waiting for at least a couple more notable wins against ranked teams or at least more teams with records of .500 or better before I move the Dawgs up to the top spot.)
3. Florida State (9-0)
The Seminoles clinched a spot in the ACC championship for the first time in nine years … on a day in which Heisman hopeful quarterback Jordan Travis threw for a season-high 360 yards … without his top two receivers, Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson. It wasn’t easy, but much like Florida State’s path back to the upper echelon of the ACC and the sport as a whole, it’s more rewarding when it’s hard. The Seminoles took a while to get going offensively in what would turn into a 24-7 win over Pitt, but it’s hard to ding them too much considering the personnel missing. The FSU defense stepped up in a big way, forcing three turnovers and holding the Panthers to 0-for-11 on third down. That’s enough to keep FSU in the same spot as it was a week ago in my book.
4. Ohio State (9-0)
The Buckeyes remain at No. 4 in these rankings because as impressed as I am with the wins they’ve collected to date, I still would pick each of the three teams ahead of them to beat them on a neutral field. And that’s OK. I don’t have a final say in which teams make the CFP, which I’m sure pleases Ohio State fans to no end. But for as unenthused as I am about these slow starts and a Buckeyes offense led by a quarterback who is clearly not quite C.J. Stroud, I am impressed with the team’s in-game resilience — and how good they can look when they have TreVeyon Henderson healthy. He finished Saturday’s 35-16 win against Rutgers with 208 total yards and a touchdown. His explosiveness adds a different dimension to the Ohio State offense.
I’ll be curious to see what the selection committee does with the Buckeyes and the Dawgs this week. The committee tried to make a point last week about the strength of Ohio State’s resume, but then it basically contradicted itself by putting Georgia second, with no Top 25 wins at the time and only two wins against teams over .500. It seems like the committee is setting itself up to have Georgia leapfrog Ohio State once its resume is a bit stronger, and I’ll be curious to see if the top-15 win against Mizzou is enough already.
5. Washington (9-0)
A few things can be true at once: Michael Penix Jr. and the Washington offense are something to behold, capable of jaw-dropping plays at any given moment, but this team as a whole doesn’t seem built to actually contend for a national championship right now. The Huskies’ defense leaves quite a bit to be desired — and, yes, I’m aware that a Caleb Williams-led offense is hard for anyone to stop. But that’s the kind of offensive attack that you’ve got to be able to handle to win a CFP game. Or to even get there, considering the offensive firepower in the Pac-12 this season.
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The more removed we are from Washington’s win over Oregon, the more I think the Ducks are the better team and perhaps the conference’s only national championship-caliber squad. But we can’t write Washington off just yet, even with some underwhelming overall performances.
(Speaking of underwhelming, can someone please do something about USC’s Alex Grinch problem? How can Lincoln Riley continue to waste Williams’ talent by pairing it with this atrocious defense?)
6. Oregon (8-1)
Ducks quarterback Bo Nix might be the quietest Heisman Trophy contender I can remember, at least this late in the season. But Nix is absolutely in the mix for the award, and he continues to put up spectacular numbers. In a 63-19 win over Cal, Nix threw for 386 yards and four touchdowns and ran for two more. Early mistakes didn’t matter much, but they give Dan Lanning plenty to harp on this week in practice, if he wants to. Judging by his postgame comments in which he lamented lost opportunities due to penalties and other self-inflicted wounds, it’s clear Lanning wasn’t very happy … with 63 freaking points in a conference game in November. But that’s who he is, and this is part of the reason I’m all in on these Ducks. They’re getting better as the season goes on.
7. Texas (8-1)
Whew. The Longhorns did just about everything they could to try to lose to Kansas State on Saturday, watching a 20-point lead late in the third quarter disintegrate in a flash. Quarterback Maalik Murphy, starting a second game in Quinn Ewers’ stead, was all over the place in this one, with brutal mistakes but also flashes of that arm talent. Were it not for that odd decision to go for it on fourth down in overtime — which was stopped by an impressive effort by the Longhorns’ defensive front — Kansas State could have easily left Austin with the win.
If I’m the CFP, I’m looking at Texas with Ewers as an entirely different outfit than Texas without him. The Longhorns have much greater variance with the more inexperienced signal-caller, and they’ll need Ewers back in time for the Big 12 title game (and beyond) if this team wants to reach its ceiling.
8. Alabama (8-1)
Head coach Nick Saban said that his Crimson Tide played “probably as close to a complete game as we’ve played all year” after Alabama held off LSU, 42-28, to take control of the SEC West. Quarterback Jalen Milroe played the best game of his career, throwing for 219 yards and rushing for 155 more with four touchdowns. It was a spectacular time for him to have a spectacular performance, as he matched Heisman hopeful Jayden Daniels pitch for pitch before Daniels left the game after suffering a head injury. Alabama has won seven in a row and has its sights set on not just making the SEC title game, but perhaps another CFP appearance.
9. Ole Miss (8-1)
Some way, somehow, the Rebels are 8-1, winners of five in a row, with the lone loss coming to an Alabama team that has really figured itself out. Ole Miss, a program known for its excruciating losses, now hands them out. (Sorry, Texas A&M.) Saturday’s 38-35 win over the Aggies featured all the trademarks of what makes this offense so fun to watch when it’s clicking (like nearly 400 yards from Jaxson Dart, those huge catches by Tre Harris and those three Quinshon Judkins touchdown runs) and a wild special teams play that saved the day (the deflected would-be game-tying field goal attempt) and delivered a crazy ending to a back-and-forth game. Ole Miss is second in the SEC West and probably the last team that Georgia would want to face right now. Oh, and that’s who the Dawgs have coming to Athens next weekend.
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10. Oklahoma State (7-2)
How about the ’Pokes? Out of seemingly nowhere, they’re 7-2 and in control of their own destiny in the Big 12 race. I’m not sure anyone saw that coming after the September loss to South Alabama. I’m also not sure anyone saw stud running back Ollie Gordon II bursting onto the scene the way he has since that game, either. He’s rushed for more than 120 yards in each of Oklahoma State’s past six games, with two performances of 271 rushing yards or more to boot. He entered Saturday as the nation’s leader in rushing yards per game, and he ran for 137 yards and two touchdowns on 33 carries to help the Cowboys beat the Sooners one last time as Big 12 brethren.
Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy has won a lot of games in Stillwater, but it’s hard to imagine few more memorable than this one. Shoutout to whoever decided to blast “We are never, ever getting back together” amid the bedlam inside Boone Pickens Stadium during the field storm. A pitch-perfect choice for the moment and the head coach who has taken the loss of this particular rivalry harder than anyone else.
(Top photo of Kendall Milton: Jeffrey Vest / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)