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Notre Dame (2-0) ▲ 3
Sam Hartman is the best QB the Irish have had since Joe Montana, you heard it here first. And with weapons at runningback in Estime and Love as well as Jayden Thomas and new addition Greathouse at WR with the same physical Irish defense backing it all up that we all know and love (or hate), there will be few teams able to tangle with this Notre Dame team. They've only played cupcake games so far, but they've answered the one question I have: this offense is for real. -
Michigan (1-0) –
Despite Jim Harbaugh serving his suspension, the Wolverines proved against a decent East Carolina team that Michigan is a skilled team across the board. J.J. McCarthy proved why he's still just as much of the guy as he was last year, as did the rest of the team in a clean performance overall. -
Florida State (1-0) ▲ 4
I don't think any of us expected the final score to be quite as lopsided as it was, but the Seminoles proved to the college football world that they are a legitimate CFP contender this season. After a messy first half for both LSU and FSU alike, Mike Norvell and co. adapted and overcame in an extremely clean second half. The Jordan Travis hype is real, and it's coming for you. -
Georgia (1-0) ▼ 3
Okay, let me explain myself here. I had doubts from the get-go that this year's Georgia team was going to be what it was last year on offense, as even last year the Stetson Bennett-led unit proved to be shaky at times. We'll see if Carson Beck can shake off his jitters, but for now I'm placing this team below the three teams that I believe are fully proven both offensively and defensively. Too many questions on offense for me to put them any higher, but as it stands I still believe this team can be the best in the country by the end of the season. -
Alabama (1-0) ▼ 2
Jalen Milroe was the starter for today's game, meaning he'll likely have his big test next week when the Tide tangles with Texas in Bryant-Denny. That said, he showed out this week, though questions still remain as the pass game goes. We'll have to wait and see how Saban's crew performs next week, but Bama will still be an extremely good unit no matter what. -
Penn State (1-0) ▲ 3
In the midst of other first-year starters having tough opening games, Drew Allar entirely lived up to the offseason hype. We'll see how West Virginia performs down the stretch, but they were completely contained on both offense and defense. I didn't initially think so, but the possibility of this team beating one of Penn State or Ohio State and making the Playoff seems as plausible as ever. -
Oregon State (1-0) ▲ 1
As a Notre Dame fan who has witnessed DJ's struggles with Clemson on multiple occasions to much joy, it honestly makes me happy that he's finally found an offensive scheme he likes with the Beavers. He really felt like a whole new QB, and I'm excited to see how this team does going forward with him at the helm. Oregon State returns much of a defensive unit that held USC under 20 points last year, and I have extraordinarily high hopes for how this squad will perform. -
Washington (1-0) ▲ 3
With what may be the best offense in the country, UW steamrolled a good Boise State team with a defense that was incredibly solid last year. That said, there are some question marks on the Washington side defensively that we'll have to sort out down the stretch, but Boise was still contained very adequately on offense. -
LSU (0-1) ▼ 3
Losing a big game and blaming the players for it right after, it's still the same old Brian Kelly in Baton Rouge. This team definitely shows promise, but work needs to be done on both sides of the ball if this team wants to bounce back and contend for the SEC West. It's staggering how I have more questions for this team now than I did before the FSU game. -
Tennessee (1-0) –
In a blowout of Virginia, the Tennessee offensive attack is still alive and well under Joe Milton. We'll see how the defense develops, but this team has a ceiling just as high as it did last year. -
Ohio State (1-0) ▼ 6
Yet another team whose new starter didn't live up to the hype week one. I forecasted three losses for this team, and I still believe that this will be the worst Ohio State team since 2011 (although still a very good one). Defense is harder to forecast when your opponent is Indiana, but all in all this team's performance down the stretch is up in the air. -
Tulane (1-0) ▲ 4
South Alabama is a good football team, and the Green Wave more or less mopped the floor with them. Michael Pratt still has the magic he had last year when he was healthy, and this team has reloaded on all fronts to be just as much of a threat as they were last year. Ole Miss will have a tough one in Yulman next week. -
Utah (1-0) ▲ 9
I really don't get why people thought this one would be close. Even with their second-stringer, the Utes still absolutely dominated Florida on all fronts. When Cameron Rising is healthy again, this team will have a shot against anyone they face off against. -
Minnesota (1-0) ▲ 1
I know I'm more than a little bit biased placing the Gophers this high, but this team is special. With Nebraska's defense completely focused on smothering the run game (which they succeeded at, bringing up some question marks at this position that will likely be ironed out next week) PJ Fleck finally let Athan Kaliakmanis loose and showed the world what his arm is capable of. Daniel Jackson is poised to have a breakout year this season with how he played Thursday, and I couldn't be more excited to see how the rest of this season goes. On defense, the Gophers smothered Jeff Sims's prolific run game while completely shutting the pass down, turning the ball over on multiple occasions with several tackles for loss thrown in as well. Hell, even the special teams made some plays, though they were sloppy just as often. -
USC (2-0) ▲ 2
This team confounds me. Obviously their offenses is going to be amazing, but the defense? I'm not even gonna try until they play more games. The talent has always been there on Lincoln Riley's teams, but the execution, suffice to say, has now. We'll see how this one goes. -
Duke (1-0) ▲ UNRANKED
Duke's game against Clemson was always an upset possibility I had marked down, but I never could have predicted it would be by such a margin. Riley Leonard lived up to the hype that's built all offseason in Durham, and the Blue Devil defense suffocated Klubnik and his Tiger offense, leaving Clemson with zero points from three red-zone visits in the second half alone. -
Texas (1-0) ▼ 3
After a slow start on offense the Longhorns dished out a solid showing in their opener against Rice. Quinn Ewers performed as expected with a solid pass game, but the run may be a concern going forward with 4.1 yards per carry from 158 yards on 39 attempts. We'll see if this is the year Texas is finally back this Saturday. -
North Carolina (1-0) ▲ 2
Drake Maye had a great one, but he was not the headliner in the Tar Heels' game in Charlotte against South Carolina. Instead, the defense stepped up for just about the first time in forever and clocked in for nine(!!!!!!!!!!!!!) sacks. The Gamecock offensive line has some questions, but this sort of stifling performance from a North Carolina defense has not been seen in a good while. We'll see if this holds up or if Mack Brown and co. have another slugfest with App State next week. -
Washington State (1-0) ▼ 1
Cam Ward had a dominant performance against a talented Colorado State team, throwing for 466 yards and making sure the game would not ever be close. Meanwhile, the Cougar defense held the Rams to just three points until the third-stringers got reps in the fourth quarter. The run game may be a bit of a question with Wazzu held under 100 yards with two fumbles, but this is very clearly a skilled group that has a good chance of proving their worth against Wisconsin for the second year in a row. -
NC State (1-0) ▼ 7
I still have high hopes for this team and think they'll figure things out in the long run, but a frankly underwhelming 24-14 win against a mediocre UConn team doesn't exactly inspire hope. Although the defense played solid, Brennan Armstrong lead a just-fine offensive effort against a team the Wolfpack tacked 41 up against last year. I'm sure there will be adjustments against Notre Dame on Saturday, but for now I'm putting them down a few places. -
Colorado (1-0) ▲ UNRANKED
I'll admit that I did not forsee this outcome for Deion Sanders's first game at TCU, but he and his team of transfers proved me and all the other doubters wrong. It's hard to deny that the performances of players like Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter (on both sides of the ball!!) was nothing short of astounding, and if this team continues to perform at this level they could easily finish in the top fifteen. And there were still improvements to be made!! This is a team that has not fully meshed together yet due to the influx of new faces, which could mean that if the Buffs solidify they could make major noise. -
Kansas State (1-0) ▼ 1
Will Howard and crew had a balanced first game of the season against FCS Southeast Missouri State, totaling for 588 yards with the defense holding the opponent to zero points and just six rushing yards. DJ Giddens ran for 128 yards on 15 carries, while on recieving RJ Garcia and Ben Sinnott both exceeded 100 receiving yards. Hard to say considering the competition, but it's safe to say that this team has the potential for another Big 12 title run. -
Air Force (1-0) ▼ 1
The Falcons looked like a very good team in their 42-7 win against Robert Morris. As expected the run game was amazing, with 362 yards for 7.5 yards per carry totaled from 48 attempts. Even the pass game (or at least what of it there was) looked good with 95 yards on only three pass attempts. This is a team with a good shot at a Mountain West title, and perhaps more. -
Oregon (1-0) ▲ UNRANKED
Bo Nix proves once again that he is an exceptional quarterback in an 81-7 slaughter of Portland State, totaling in 729 total yards, 37 first downs and no turnovers with former Minnesota transfer (pensive emoji) Bucky Irving and receivers Franklin and Bryant absolutely lighting it up. Meanwhile, the defense held PSU to just nine first downs, although questions remain that will be answered at Texas Tech. -
Ole Miss (1-0) ▲ UNRANKED
Lane Kiffin oversaw a solid start to his team in week one against Mercer, coming up big 73-7 with 524 yards passing of 667 total. This team's baseline looks incredibly solid, and we'll see how they continue to develop against G5 power Tulane in New Orleans.
Dropped From Rankings
Clemson (Formerly 12)
Texas Tech (Formerly 19)
TCU (Formerly 23)
Louisville (Formerly 25)