Week 1 is almost over; we still have Notre Dame vs. Texas, and Ole Miss vs. Florida State to get through. However, after a wild Saturday, we have a Top 25 for you to help recap what was an epic week so far in college football action.
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1. Alabama — SEC, 1-0
Result: W, 52-6 vs. USC
There were some people panicking a bit when USC started to take its 3-0 lead into the second quarter. However, Jalen Hurts really started to click, and by the end of the third quarter, it was a blowout with a 38-6 score. Once again, Alabama is the real deal.
2. Clemson — ACC, 1-0
Result: W, 19-13 vs. Auburn
Auburn's defense proved to be a challenge with Carl Lawson in tow, but Clemson was able to escape Jordan-Hare with a win. The good news for Clemson: wide receiver Mike Williams is back, and he was a monster with 174 receiving yards in his return from last year's horrifying neck injury.
3. Houston — AAC, 1-0
Result: W, 33-23 vs. Oklahoma
Yep, they deserve this ranking. They didn't just beat Oklahoma; they really controlled the entire game. Oklahoma returned a ton of offensive talent, and Houston was able to completely limit the Sooners from getting anything on the ground. The Cougars are a real contender.
4. Florida State — ACC, 0-0
Result: Haven't played yet
They move down a spot from my preseason No. 3, simply because Houston was that impressive. The Seminoles will have their own chance to impress on Monday, when they take on Ole Miss in Orlando.
5. Stanford — Pac 12, 1-0
Result: W, 26-13 vs. Kansas State
Stanford moves up almost by sheer process of elimination here. LSU and Oklahoma ahead of them lost, TCU almost lost, and Michigan and Ohio State played nobodies. Stanford, on the other hand, beat a decent Kansas State team on Friday night.
6. Ohio State — Big Ten, 1-0
Result: W, 77-10 vs. Bowling Green
You have to say this for the Buckeyes: in a week where a ton to teams struggled with lower-tier opponents, they simply went out and dominated. J.T. Barrett accounted for seven touchdowns, and I think he will be better this year without all the quarterback controversy from last year. Ohio State has another warm-up next week against Tulsa.
7. Michigan — Big Ten, 1-0
Result: W, 63-3 vs. Hawaii
Another team that benefits from sheer "We didn't play terrible against a bad team!" Poor Hawaii... having to travel to play Cal in Sydney last week, and then just taking a mauling from Michigan on Saturday. Like Ohio State, Michigan has another "should-be" easy game in Week 2, as the Wolverines take on Central Florida.
8. Louisville — ACC, 1-0
Result: W, 70-14 vs. Charlotte/strong>
Lamar Jackson had eight touchdowns in the first half of this game. Eight! Sure, it was against Charlotte, but the Cardinals definitely look like the real deal. And in a week where a lot of teams didn't look like the real deal, that gets them boosted up a few spots.
9. Notre Dame — Ind./ACC 0-0
Result: Haven't played yet
They play Texas on Sunday. Should be a good game.
10. TCU — Big 12, 1-0
Result: W, 59-41 vs. SDSU
They struggled HEAVILY with South Dakota State. SDSU is still a decent FCS team, but that's not the right Dakota to be struggling with. Transfer QB Kenny Hill looked great, but the defense that we all expected to improve year-over-year did not look good at all. They will have to work on that one.
11. Ole Miss — SEC, 0-0
Result: Haven't played yet
Ole Miss has immediately become the second best team in the SEC by virtue of not playing yet. Yeah, it was that bad of a weekend for the SEC. We'll see how the Rebels do on Labor Day against Florida State.
12. Georgia — SEC, 1-0
Result: W, 33-24 vs. North Carolina
He wasn't playing every possession, but good lord, Jacob Eason looked great throwing the ball. Combine that with Nick Chubb's remarkable 222 rushing yards in his return, and you have what could be a real contender with the Bulldogs.
13. Michigan State — Big Ten, 1-0
Result: W 28-13 vs. Furman
I have no idea how to rate Michigan State what we've seen so far. A lot of teams struggled, and the Spartans sorta struggled against Furman, but... that is kind of Michigan State's thing. They had close games last year with a lot of seemingly lower-tier opponents, but then they shined against bigger competition up until the College Football Playoff. We will find out exactly what Sparty is made of in Week 3, when they battle Notre Dame.
14. Washington — Pac-12, 1-0
Result: W, 48-13 vs. Rutgers
Sure, it's Rutgers, but getting a win over another Power 5 team is significant with how everyone else has played so far. They have relatively easy games the next few weeks, though, with Idaho and Portland State coming to twon.
15. Oklahoma — Big 12, 0-1
Result: L, 23-33 vs. Houston
Since I have Houston No. 3 now, I can't drop the Sooners too far for the loss. However, their play at defensive back was just bad on Saturday. Their corners kept getting beat, and Greg Ward Jr. had a field day throwing the ball. This could be a real problem with Ohio State and TCU coming up over the next month for the Sooners.
16. Oregon — Pac-12, 1-0
Result: W, 53-28 vs. UC Davis
It did take a while for Oregon to get going, but they did finally separate from UC Davis in the second quarter. The Ducks, fundamentally, were fine; transfer QB Dakota Prukop looked decent, and we know what Royce Freeman can do in the backfield when he gets unleashed. We will get a better feel for Oregon in a couple of weeks when they head to Lincoln to play Nebraska.
17. Wisconsin — Big Ten, 1-9
Result: W, 16-14 vs. LSU
I don't know if Wisconsin is actually good, or if LSU is just worse than we all thought, but man... the Badgers dominated the tempo of the game. Their run defense was good against Leonard Fournette and they took advantage of poor play from LSU quarterback Brandon Harris. It will be interesting to see how they impact the Big Ten this season.
18. Tennessee — SEC, 1-0
Result: W, 20-13 vs. App. State
I'm willing to give the Vols some benefit of the doubt; Appalachian State is a decent lower-tier team, and after a bunch of teams struggled on Saturday, it really made Tennessee's win look slightly better. Still, after being hyped as a potential Playoff contender, you can't struggle with a Sun Belt team. Can't do it.
19. LSU — SEC, 0-1
Result: L, 14-16 vs. Wisconsin
We all know Leonard Fournette is one of the best players in the country, but the Wisconsin game showed the biggest flaw of LSU: if Leonard Fournette is slowed in the slightest, LSU has nothing else to go with. Brandon Harris was just terrible, and he showed no improvement over last year. Bad time to get your first non-conference loss, Les Miles.
20. Iowa — Big Ten, 1-0
Result: W, 45-21 vs. Miami (OH)
Iowa has a lot to prove after how they went down to Stanford in the Rose Bowl last year. Picking up a nice win over Miami (OH) is a good start. They have a game against Iowa State next week, and then they face North Dakota State in what is one hell of an intriguing game.
21. Texas A&M — SEC, 1-0
Result: W, 31-24 vs. UCLA
HUGE win for Texas A&M over UCLA on Saturday. Yes, they almost gave it away, but considering few people were giving them a proper shot in this game, it's still a big deal. It looks even better when you realize they got a win over a ranked team, while some of their other SEC foes looked horrible against lesser competition.
22. Baylor — Big 12, 1-0
Result: W, 55-7 vs. Northwestern St.
For all the crap Baylor often gets about their awful schedule, at least they actually won their game like they were supposed to. Quarterback Seth Russell looked fantastic in his return from a neck injury, throwing for four touchdowns in the first half. Baylor has two more warm up games vs. SMU and Rice before a date with Oklahoma State in Week 4.
23. Pittsburgh — ACC, 1-0
Result: W, 28-7 vs. Villanova
Seeing James Conner — who overcame a knee injury and then cancer over the offseason — return to the field was simply heartwarming. He scored two touchdowns as Pitt won their opener against Villanova.
24. Oklahoma State — Big 12, 1-0
Result: W, 63-7 vs. SE Louisiana
They also fall into the category of "didn't blow their game against an easy opponent". They get Central Michigan next week, and then they have an intriguing matchup with Pittsburgh in Stillwater for Week 3.
25. North Carolina — ACC, 0-1
Result: L, 24-33 vs. Georgia
UNC is an interesting team to try and rate after their loss to Georgia. It was a close game and Georgia looked very good, but North Carolina has a lot of things to work on. Mitch Trubisky looked awful for most of the game at quarterback, only throwing for 156 yards on 40 attempts. Which, that might have been the problem; they shouldn't be throwing 40 times with Elijah Hood on the team.
For our preseason rankings, click here.
