By: Brock Vierra

We are back! College Football is in full swing and I could not be happier. As we march towards the College Football Playoffs, we must wait until Halloween for the committee’s official rankings but here at Team NBS Media, we get them right now. Now there have been some major changes from my pre-season rankings with Texas Tech, TCU, and Clemson falling out of the Top 25 due to their week one losses. Yes, it is harsh but every other team on here won outside of LSU who suffered a steep drop from 7 to 19. Now I will not use their week one losses to discredit their inclusion later on so expect the Red Raiders, Horned Frogs, and Tigers to be back on this list soon.

With the removal of three programs, what three teams took their spots? It shouldn’t be a surprise but Colorado comes in at 23. They have a ranked win, explosive offense, and ability to finish. The same can be said for Duke who comes in at 24 via their victory over Clemson and Fresno State for their unranked road win at Purdue. This week, Texas A&M, Washington State, Iowa, and Pitt are just missing the cut.

Some context is that Texas fell due to what I felt was an unimpressive, pedestrian win over Rice while every team that jumped them put in both a mesmerizing offensive display while playing stunning/ dominant defense. Oregon and Penn State are more like 10a/ 10b but I want to keep it simple. Three games that I think may shake up the poll are Texas at Alabama, Wisconsin at Washington State, and Ole Miss at Tulane.

1. Georgia. What can I say? The champs remain undefeated. They had a slow start offensively but that’s pretty typical of Georgia, especially with a new starting QB along with a whole host of new players and a brand new coordinator. The defense was dominant as always and there’s no reason to overanalyze this. Georgia at one.
2. Alabama. Jalen Milroe went off with five total touchdowns as Alabama cruised to a 56-7 win over Middle Tennessee. The defense was like every other Nick Saban defense. Dominant and prone to induce turnovers. The only question is that if Alabama struggles against Texas this week as they did in Austin last year, how long will Saban wait before replacing him with Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buckner? Keep in mind that Buckner and OC Tommy Rees were together last year in South Bend.
3. Michigan. A 30-3 win at the Big House isn’t exactly troubling but Michigan didn’t look impressive versus East Carolina. Maybe it was the lack of Jim Harbaugh (the very much alive head coach serving a self-imposed suspension while the Wolverines, Chris Simms, and Mike Tirico acted like he’d passed on) or just the first game of the year blues but J.J. McCarthy was definitely over the line of scrimmage on his first touchdown throw and a would be 23-3 win over ECU doesn’t spell National Title contender. I have some massive concerns about Blake Corum but Roman Wilson continues to be old reliable for the maize and blue. With UNLV this week, we have an opportunity to better evaluate the Wolverines against a better offense and better defense than what we saw last week.
4. Florida State. The only team to beat an AP Top 5 team gets a massive boost this week. Mike Norvell and the Seminoles were tired off all FSU talk being directed toward Deion Sanders and Travis Hunter of Colorado. With a second-half thrashing of LSU and a welcome home party for Keon Coleman, FSU is finally back in the CFP race, something they haven’t been a part of since the first year of the playoff. They have a competent QB in Jordan Travis, three dawgs at receiver, and a defense led by what could be the first defensive player taken off the board in the 2024 NFL Draft in Jared Verse, Tallahassee is smelling it’s fourth National Title.
5. USC. USC continued to roll Mountain West opponents with their blowout win over Nevada. Lincoln Riley was smiling this week compared to his team’s play against SJSU but Nevada is also a inferior team. The offense continues to look good while the defense remains suspect. USC goes up one spot but not impressively.
6. Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish jump up because they love football and the blessings of the football gods through the gleam of touchdown Jesus is glowing on South Bend. I give them the nod because they’re 2-0, they’ve dominated their opponents throughout the whole game and they have legitimate potential. One of the best defensive-minded head coaches in the country has the best linebacker room in America, a stout defensive line, and a dude at DB in Cam Hart. ND is coming.
7. Ohio State. Indiana is no scrub but its also not 2020. With an offensive guru in Ryan Day and the best WR in the country, you’d expect a bigger win than 23-3. It’s new starting QB issues for the Buckeyes and with the lack of a NFL talent at running back, they came out sputtering. Yes, they fell but they play two teams ranked higher than them on this list so I’m not easily giving up on Ohio State.
8. Tennessee. The Joe Milton hype is dead. He can’t throw with anticipation, he can’t throw in stride, he can’t make good decisions. He’s athletic but doesn’t go 100 percent. It is over. The wideouts are not up to standard…yet and the defense looks vulnerable. This Virginia team is not good. You have Nissan Stadium packed in Orange and you lay a dud. Very disappointing start for Josh Heupel’s men.
9. Washington. They played a very underrated Boise State team and smoked them. Washington has an underrated offense with receivers that are legit first-second-round talent. They have a small test at Michigan State but the Spartans are no match for the Huskies.
10. Penn State. Did they look great against West Virginia? No. Is West Virginia a good team? No. But…they’re better than Portland State and the quality of competition is the decider between the Nittany Lions and the Ducks. Penn State relied on what they knew. Play solid defense, run the ball, grind out a win. Drew Allar looked young and he will grow.

11-25:

11. Oregon

12. Utah

13. Ole Miss

14. Oklahoma

15. Kansas State

16. Texas

17. Tulane

18. Oregon State

19. LSU

20. North Carolina

21. Wisconsin

22. UCLA

23. Colorado

24. Duke

25. Fresno State

For more College Football content, watch The College Football Forecast with myself and my co-host Bill Carroll.