Graphic by the Author and Google AI
The seven remain the same, and some teams are back among the ranked this week.
1. Indiana (4-0) (Last Week #1) (Ranked #6 and #5 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
Indiana’s nail-biting win over Northwestern has some losing faith in the Hoosiers. It has me believing in both teams more. Northwestern is going to be better than most people realize, and Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers will get things back to their late-2025 form. Josh Hoover is better than people think, and Charlie Becker is one of the best receivers in the country.
2. Notre Dame (4-0) (Last Week #2) (Ranked #3 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
The Fighting Irish have looked strong in all four victories this season. CJ Carr is having a solid second season as the starting quarterback. After losing Jeremyiah Love and Jadarion Price, it would have been natural for Notre Dame’s rushing attack to fall off, but Aneyas Williams has been good this season! Notre Dame will go for win number five this week at North Carolina.
3. Texas (4-0) (Last Week #3) (Ranked #1 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
Outside of some classless celebrations, Texas looked good in their win at Tennessee. The Longhorns got 10 sacks, showing that their defense, not Arch Manning, is the star of their team. Manning continues to show improvement, and the Longhorns solidify their spot as a top team this season. Texas has this week off before they have the Red River Shootout in Dallas on October 10th.
4. Georgia (4-0) (Last Week #4) (Ranked #2 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
I’m still not sure what to make of Georgia. They’ve looked strong against a very weak schedule. That doesn’t change with Vanderbilt this week, but may with a road trip to Alabama the following week. Still, the Bulldogs are doing what they should, and that’s crushing their opponents.
5. Miami (4-0) (Last Week #5) (Ranked #4 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
The Hurricanes are like the Bulldogs, in that they haven’t had much in the way of testing early this season. Their best win so far is Wake Forest, but Wake is a better team than they’ve been in a while. They showed that by upsetting Louisville on the road. The good news for Miami is that they’ve been stellar offensively every game with Darian Mensah and Malachi Toney.
6. BYU (3-0) (Last Week #6) (Ranked #10 and #9 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
BYU had a bye this past week. Up next for the Cougars is a road trip to Fort Worth, Texas to take on TCU.
7. Texas Tech (4-0) (Last Week #7) (Ranked #12 and #10 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
The Red Raiders have looked like a diamond in the rough this season, but to their credit, are undefeated. This weekend should be another chance for them to improve in a win when they take on Colorado. The Buffs will be a tougher test on the road than Sam Houston was at home this past week. It also helps that Texas Tech will only see BYU or Utah in the postseason this year.
8. Utah (4-0) (Last Week #12) (Ranked #13 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
The Utes have legit stars in quarterback Devon Dampier and running back Wayshawn Parker. Both were big in their road win at Iowa State this week. Utah left Ames, Iowa, with a 31-17 victory. Utah will have this week off before playing Kansas at home on October 10th.
9. Iowa (4-0) (Last Week #13) (Ranked #14 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
Iowa got one for the college football world this week. Getting a win on the final play of the game against the dirtiest team in sports was pure beauty. Kalamazoo, Michigan, rejoiced as well. Justice aside, Iowa is a good team, with a schedule that is manageable. After this Saturday, when Ohio State comes to town, Iowa will be favored in all of their remaining games of the season. And even if they use their Iowa City powers to upset Ohio State on this Saturday, this past Saturday I was an Iowa Hawkeye fan.
10. Alabama (4-0) (Last Week #14) (Ranked #7 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
This isn’t Saban’s Alabama, but they’re showing they’re pretty good, too. Especially on offense! They’ve scored no less than 45 points in every game this season. Still, their trip to Starkville, Mississippi, will be their toughest game so far. MSU has a legit Heisman candidate in Kamario Taylor, and the Tide will earn their pay this week.
11. UCLA (4-0) (Last Week #15) (#23 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
Maybe the most surprising team in college football this season is the UCLA Bruins. Bob Chesney, like Curt Cignetti before him, has hit the ground running after the jump from Group of Six powerhouse James Madison to a Big Ten basketball school. W
12. North Dakota State (4-0) (Last Week #16) (Unranked in the AP and Coaches Polls)
NDSU had a bye this week. The former FCS powerhouse will look to continue their dominant start to the FBS this week when they host Wyoming in the Craig Bohl Bowl.
13. Virginia Tech (4-0) (Last Week #17) (Unranked in the AP and Coaches Polls)
The split between James Franklin and Penn State seems to be working out well for all parties, especially Franklin and the Hokies. Winning your games matters no matter who you’re playing. This week, though, the competition ramps up. Virginia Tech welcomes Pitt to Blacksburg. Franklin is familiar with the Panthers from when they were an in-state rival during his time at Penn State. The winner of that game will be the ACC’s clear number two team behind Miami.
14. Cincinnati (4-0) (Last Week #18) (Unranked in the AP and Coaches Polls)
The Bearcats are deserving of ranking because they’re doing things they struggled to do previously under Coach Scott Satterfield. They’re completing comebacks when down and beating good teams at home. They have lacked that resiliency, so having it now is big for UC. Cincinnati’s rushing attack is leading the way for them in the Big 12. Now, they have to make the next step, and that’s to go on the road and get a big win at a tough veteran team like Arizona on Saturday.
15. Pitt (4-0) (Last Week #20) (Unranked in the AP and Coaches Polls)
Pitt pummeled Bucknell to complete their non-conference slate and their early four-game home stand. They won 59-0 to get to 4-0. The Panthers leave home for the first time this Saturday when they head to Blacksburg to take on Virginia Tech. Pitt, Virginia Tech, and Duke are on the heels of and chasing Miami to be the best team in the ACC.
16. Mississippi State (4-0) (Last Week #21) (Ranked #16 and unranked in the AP and Coaches Polls.
Mississippi State has their best quarterback since Dak Prescott. Kamario Taylor is a legitimate Heisman candidate. He reminds me of Robert Griffin III. He’ll need to do his best RGIII impression to get a win this Saturday when MSU welcomes Alabama to Stark Vegas. Beating a top-ten Alabama team might be too tall of a task, but keep watching this team. They’re led by a special quarterback in Taylor.
17. Florida (4-0) (Unranked Last Week) (Ranked #8 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
Florida is pretty good, but I’m not a fan of jumping them over a bunch of other undefeated teams because they beat up Ole Miss. This Florida offense is very good, and they should beat Mizzou this Saturday, beat South Carolina the following week, and be 6-0 when they head to Texas to try and upset Arch Manning for back-to-back seasons.
18. Duke (4-0) (Unranked Last Week) (Unranked and #21 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
The surprise about Duke being 4-0 is that they are 4-0 AFTER Darian Mensah left for Miami. They beat Illinois on the road and Stanford and Tulane at home. They have a bye this week before they have to go on the road to play Georgia Tech. San Jose State transfer Walker Eget has been huge for the Blue Devils and will continue to be.
19. South Florida (4-0) (Unranked Last Week) (Unranked in the AP and Coaches Polls)
I may be giving USF too much love because I’m really rooting for head coach Brian Hartline. But these Group of Six teams are earning their respect the best way they can, and that’s by just winning. USF will try to get to 5-0 at home this Saturday against Temple.
20. James Madison (4-0) (Unranked Last Week) (Unranked in the AP and Coaches Polls)
Lose Curt Cignetti and go 21-6 under Bob Chesney and make the College Football Playoff. Lose Bob Chesney and start 4-0. Bill Napier may not get a big-time gig somewhere else again, but he looks very at home in the Sun Belt. JMU hosts Marshall this week as they look to get to 5-0.
21. UMass (4-0) (Unranked Last Week) (Unranked in the AP and Coaches Polls)
How can I have UMass ranked above Ohio State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Wisconsin, LSU, Penn State, Tennessee, and USC? Simple. UMass was 0-12 last year, 2-10 the year before that, and 7-57 since the start of this decade! Having one loss through September is a rough start for most of those teams. Being undefeated through the first month of the year for UMass is the equivalent of winning a conference championship for those teams.
22. Ohio State (3-1) (Unranked Last Week) (Ranked #5 and #6 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
If the offensive explosion the Buckeyes had against Illinois is telling of the rest of the season for them on that side of the ball, they can beat anyone. Their defense still needs work, and the offense needs to be more than just Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith. However, Sayin and Smith sure do lift the rest of the team a lot. Ohio State has to go on the road to Iowa. Ohio State has had some nasty losses in Iowa City and will need to be ready for this good Hawkeyes team on Saturday.
23. Ole Miss (3-1) (Unranked Last Week) (Ranked #9 and #12 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
Ole Miss needs to find themselves some defense. Concerns about that have followed the Rebels since Week 1. They have the talent and ability on that side of the ball; they showed it against LSU. They have a bye this week before they have to have it figured out when they meet Vanderbilt on October 10th.
24. Oregon (3-1) (Unranked Last Week) (Ranked #15 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
Oregon needed that bounce-back win over USC. It’s sad that an otherwise good game was marred by a dirty hit that took out Oregon’s starting quarterback, Dante Moore. I’ve seen some absolutely silly defenses of the USC player who didn’t leave his feet until after Dante Moore clearly started his slide. That was a dirty hit 25 years ago, and it’s a dirty hit now. Blaming it on Moore, or the game not being as ‘tough’ as it used to be, is goofy at best and moronic at worst. Oregon has the week off before they play UCLA. Hopefully Moore makes a full and complete recovery.
25. Wisconsin (3-1) (Unranked Last Week) (Unranked in the AP and Coaches Polls)
The comeback win over Penn State in State College, Pennsylvania, is huge for Wisconsin. That’s a game they haven’t been able to win under Luke Fickell until now. They have huge opportunities to keep it going and build momentum this week at home against Michigan State, who are trying to do the same thing, and be 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the Big Ten headed into their bye week.
Playoff Projection
