A thrilling Week 1 really kicked off the college football season in a tremendous way. With lots of big games going down, we see some big shakeups already in our rankings. Let’s dive into our newest top 25.
1. Alabama (1-0) (0-0 SEC)
Last week: vs Miami (W 44-13) | This week: vs Mercer (1-0)
I’ll be the first to admit, I was surprised by the dominance the Tide had. I believed they would be just a little sloppier with a new quarterback at the helm but they were near perfect. Alabama is the clear best team in the land and will keep it this way until the big SEC matchups.
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2. Georgia (1-0) (0-0 SEC)
Last week: vs Clemson (W 10-3) | This week: vs UAB (1-0)
The Bulldogs won the game of the week and one of the most highly anticipated non-conference matchups in recent memory. Both offenses were horrible in this one, but Georiga showed why their defense is the absolute best in the country, racking up seven sacks and scoring the game’s only touchdown.
3. Oklahoma (1-0) (0-0 Big 12)
Last week: vs Tulane (W 40-35) | This week: vs WCU (0-1)
Oklahoma was not great in Week 1. As underrated a team as Tulane is, the talent Oklahoma has should’ve seen them blowing out the Green Wave. Three points in the second half are unacceptable and they deserve this drop in the rankings. However, they still looked pretty good at times so it is enough to stay up, especially with how much others disappointed.
4. Ohio State (1-0) (1-0 Big 10)
Last week: at Minnesota (W 45-31) | This week: vs Oregon (1-0)
What a weird performance Ohio State gave us Thursday night up against Minnesota. They hit on big play after big play, just wearing down the Golden Gopher defense, but did not necessarily play well. The run game is elite but new quarterback C.J. Stroud had a bad game no matter what the stats said. This week is an even bigger test against the Ducks and we’ll see if this Buckeyes squad is the real deal.
5. Clemson (0-1) (0-0 ACC)
Last week: vs Georgia (L 3-10) | This week: vs SC State (0-1)
It’s hard to rank this Clemson team after their woes Saturday night but let’s just start off by saying the defense looked great. The offense, on the other hand, was terrible. Starting quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei got dominated in the face of pressure and the offensive line did the exact opposite of helping him. The Tigers get a very easy game to tune things up this week before heading into conference play.
6. Cincinnati (1-0) (0-0 AAC)
Last week: vs Miami of Ohio (W 49-14) | This week: vs Murray State (1-0)
Desmond Ridder and the rest of the Cincinnati squad were sharp in their blowout win of Miami (OH). There are really no complaints on how these guys played and they get another tuneup against Murray State this week before a back-to-back at Indiana and Notre Dame.
7. Texas A&M (1-0) (0-0 SEC)
Last week: vs Kent State (W 41-10) | This week: at Colorado (1-0)
A sloppy start for the Aggies still saw them winning by 31 on Saturday. New quarterback Haynes King was just okay through the air and shows a clear need to improve his decision-making. A very complete all-around day for Texas A&M, they should continue to improve and be ready for SEC play soon.
8. Iowa (1-0) (1-0 Big 10)
Last week: vs Indiana (W 34-6) | This week: at Iowa State (1-0)
In one of the two highly anticipated mid-day games, Iowa beat the brakes off Indiana. The defense was dominant, the offense flowed, and the team just looked great. The big one for them now is against Iowa State this week where they can see an even better increase in their rank with a win.
9. Iowa State (1-0) (0-0 Big 12)
Last week: vs Northern Iowa (W 16-10) | This week: vs Iowa (1-0)
Another disappointing Week 1 to talk about. Iowa State is lucky tons of others did not play well because they would have fallen a lot further. Beating a team of Northern Iowa’s quality by six is really problematic and we need to bank on the fact that the Cyclones traditionally start off slow to wrap our heads around this one. Still, a win is a win and they’ll take this one into Jack Trice Stadium against Iowa.
10. USC (1-0) (0-0 Pac 12)
Last week: vs San Jose State (W 30-7) | This week: vs Standford (0-1)
USC stays put in our rankings after their mediocre play against San Jose State. Now, San Jose State is a very good group of five team so there’s no way USC would’ve blown them out of the water. This was a very nice all-around win for the Trojans as they go into Pac 12 play.
11. UCLA (2-0) (0-0 Pac 12)
Last week: vs LSU (W 38-27) | This week: vs Fresno State (1-1)
UCLA has looked like one of the best teams in the country over the last two weeks. They are running the ball extremely well through Michigan transfer Zach Charbonnet and veteran quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson has been solid for the offense. After dominating Hawaii, they squared off with LSU and asserted to the college football world that UCLA is a team to watch out for in the college football world again.
12. Texas (1-0) (0-0 Big 12)
Last week: vs Louisiana (W 38-18) | This week: at Arkansas (1-0)
Texas really controlled their matchup with Louisiana through and through. Louisiana is a very good football team and the Longhorns just handled them. Surprise starting quarterback Hudson Card looked pretty good in his debut and Texas now soars up in the rankings.
13. Florida (1-0) (0-0 SEC)
Last week: vs FAU (W 35-14) | This week: at USF (0-1)
Florida took care of business against FAU but that is about it. Nothing really special showed out from the Gators and their offense could be a problem. Quarterback Emory Jones did not have a good day through the air (17/27, 113 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT) and he’ll need to give us, and his team, a lot more versatility if Florida wants to continue to rise.
14. Penn State (1-0) (1-0 Big 10)
Last week: at Wisconsin (W 16-10) | This week: vs Ball State (1-0)
In a big matchup with Wisconsin this weekend, Penn State shocked me. Their offense was still pretty bad but the defense was fantastic. We’ll have to see if the Nittany Lions can keep this performance up but so far so good.
15. Ole Miss (1-0) (0-0 SEC)
Last week: vs Louisville (W 43-24) | This week: vs Austin Peavy (1-0)
Even without head coach Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss took care of business in the final game of the week Monday night. They didn’t necessarily look amazing but they still played really well and showed off the offense that we’ve seen over the past few years while demonstrating promising defensive ability.
16. Oregon (1-0) (0-0 Pac 12)
Last week: vs Fresno State (W 31-24) | This week: at Ohio State (1-0)
The Ducks needed a game-winning touchdown from Anthony Brown to defeat Fresno State Saturday, which was really surprising. However, it seems this was a case of Fresno actually being a pretty good team, while Oregon was just getting tuned up for the big Ohio State game this week.
17. Notre Dame (1-0)
Last week: at Florida State (W 41-38 OT) | This week: vs Toledo (1-0)
Notre Dame just survived in overtime against the Seminoles but they played well enough to get the job done. the offense was a lot better than expected while the defense still needs some work. However, it was a promising Week 1 performance.
18. Coastal Carolina (1-0) (0-0 Sun Belt)
Last week: vs Citadel (W 52-14) | This week: vs Kansas (1-0)
The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers started off their 2021 campaign in a big way. They dominated The Citadel from start to finish and stuck true to their option offense. Although Kansas is a power five team, Coastal Carolina should still handle them very easily and improve to 2-0 this week.
19. TCU (1-0) (0-0 Big 12)
Last week: vs Dusquene (W 45-3) | This week: vs California (0-1)
A great performance from a team that was unranked last week. We’ll see what the Horned Frogs can do against more of a challenge in California but they just looked perfect throughout their game Saturday and should win again this week.
20. Wisconsin (0-1) (0-1 Big 10)
Last week: vs Penn State (10-16) | This week: vs Eastern Michigan
Wisconsin really underwhelmed in Week 1. They were beaten by a Penn State team that is just not very good and the offense was miserable. The Badgers will get to bounce back with Eastern Michigan this week just in time to prepare for Notre Dame in two weeks.
21. Virginia Tech (1-0) (1-0 ACC)
Last week: vs North Carolina (W 17-10) | This week: vs Middle Tennessee
The Hokies completed the upset of North Carolina with their dominant defense. That being said, the overall performance wasn’t anything spectacular. Yes, they did beat a good squad, however, they will need to show more offensive prowess to lock up a higher ranking.
22. North Carolina (0-1) (0-1 ACC)
Last week: at Virginia Tech (L 10-17) | This week: vs Georgia State
Well, the biggest fears we had for this North Carolina team came true last Friday. The offense was absolutely terrible and the team lost a game that they should not have. If the offensive line and wide receivers continue to play as they did in this game, North Carolina will be in a world of trouble this season.
23. Arizona State (1-0) (0-0 Pac 12)
Last week: vs Southern Utah (W 41-14) | This week: vs UNLV
Arizona State has a lot more to worry about than their semi-disappointing performance against Southern Utah. Star quarterback Jayden Daniels left the game in the third quarter and it’s unsure how serious his injury is. Now, the Sun Devils did blow out Southern Utah but it wasn’t the most impressive performance. Anywho, they still played well enough to continue being ranked into the next week.
24. Boston College
Last week: vs Colgate (W 51-0) | This week: at Temple (0-1)
Dare we say that Boston College could contend for the ACC this year? With how bad North Carolina and Miami played it would not be surprising at all especially after their Week 1 game. This is a team that could see a significant rise, and soon.
25. LSU (0-1) (0-0 SEC)
Last weeks: at UCLA (L 27-38) | This week: vs McNeese St. (0-1)
Well LSU somehow looked like 2020 LSU even after they should have improved a lot. The offense was pretty stale although wide receiver Kayshon Boutte stole the show with nine catches for 148 yards and three touchdowns. All in all, UCLA was just too much to handle for the Tigers.
Outside looking in: Liberty, Michigan, Louisiana, Miami, NC State, Utah
New teams: UCLA (11), Virginia Tech (16), TCU (21), Boston College (24)
Dropped out: Washington, Louisiana, Miami, Indiana
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