• Oklahoma joins the top-five: Following its victory over Texas in the Red River Rivalry, the Sooners are now a top-five team in the country.
• Alabama re-enters the top 10: After taking down Texas A&M, the Crimson Tide are now ranked eighth.
• Texas falls to sixth: The Longhorns remain just outside the top five with their wins over Alabama and Kansas keeping them afloat.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
We’re now at the midway point of the college football season and the race to the College Football Playoff is still wide open.
Ahead of a jam-packed Week 7, here are our top-25 teams in the country. Please note that these are not the same as PFF’s power rankings.
1. Georgia Bulldogs (Record: 6-0, AP Ranking: 1st)
Week 7 Matchup: at Vanderbilt Commodores
Many were doubting if Georgia was still the top team in the country after struggling to beat South Carolina and Auburn, respectively. The Bulldogs silenced some of those naysayers with a dominant 51-13 win over No. 20 Kentucky. Despite being a tight end, Brock Bowers is showing he’s a legitimate Heisman candidate. The junior’s 289 receiving yards over the last two weeks are tied for third in the country, regardless of position.
2. Michigan Wolverines (Record: 6-0, AP Ranking: 2nd)
Week 7 Matchup: vs. Indiana Hoosiers
Michigan also annihilated its toughest competition so far this season, beating Minnesota 52-10. While the Golden Gophers are the best team that the Wolverines have played so far, they’re still just 41st in PFF’s power rankings. Michigan doesn’t play a team higher than that until mid-November when it travels to Penn State.
3. Florida State Seminoles (Record: 5-0, AP Ranking: 4th)
Week 7 Matchup: vs. Syracuse Orange
Virginia Tech cut Florida State’s lead to just five in the third quarter before Trey Benson led the Seminoles to a 39-17 victory. The redshirt junior had touchdown runs of 62 yards and 85 yards and finished with a career-best 200 yards on the ground on the day.
4. Ohio State Buckeyes (Record: 5-0, AP Ranking: 3rd)
Week 7 Matchup: at Purdue Boilermakers
Ohio State endured a scare from Maryland on Saturday, as the Terrapins held the lead in the third quarter, but the Buckeyes proceeded to score 27 unanswered to escape with a 37-17 victory. Kyle McCord finished with a career-best 81.8 passing grade in the win, thanks mainly to his former high school teammate. Marvin Harrison Jr. caught eight of his 13 targets for 163 yards and a touchdown against Maryland, showing why he’s a projected top-five pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
5. Oklahoma Sooners (Record: 6-0, AP Ranking: 5th)
Week 7 Matchup: Bye
The Red River Rivalry lived up to the hype in a back-and-forth affair with 1,013 total yards of offense. Dillon Gabriel led Oklahoma on a game-winning 75-yard touchdown drive with only 1:17 left to give the Sooners the victory. Oklahoma doesn’t play a currently-ranked opponent the rest of the season, giving the Sooners every opportunity to run the table until the Big 12 championship game. That’s a far cry from their 6-7 record just a year ago.
6. Texas Longhorns (Record: 5-1, AP Ranking: 9th)
Week 7 Matchup: Bye
While Texas was on the losing end of that classic, the Longhorns still shouldn’t drop too far in the rankings. After all, their wins over Alabama and Kansas are still better than most schools. Texas also doesn’t play a ranked opponent for the rest of the regular season, which could set up a rematch with Oklahoma in the conference title game.
7. Washington Huskies (Record: 5-0, AP Ranking: 7th)
Week 7 Matchup: vs. No. 10 Oregon Ducks
Washington enjoyed its bye week before its massive showdown with Oregon this weekend. That top-10 showdown features two of the nation’s three best offenses in EPA per play that are led by two Heisman candidate quarterbacks in Michael Penix Jr. and Bo Nix. Penix, in particular, leads all signal-callers in the nation with a 93.7 grade.
8. Alabama Crimson Tide (Record: 5-1, AP Ranking: 11th)
Week 7 Matchup: vs. Arkansas Razorbacks
After losing at home to Texas and struggling to beat USF, many were writing off Alabama as a legitimate College Football Playoff contender. Since then, the Crimson Tide have proven that they’re still a threat to crack the final four with wins over Ole Miss and Texas A&M most recently. We’ll see how much of a threat over the next month, as Alabama faces Tennessee, LSU and Kentucky following its tilt with Arkansas.
9. Penn State Nittany Lions (Record: 5-0, AP Ranking: 6th)
Week 7 Matchup: vs. Massachusetts Minutemen
Penn State’s defense currently leads the nation in expected points allowed per play, but the offense has been concerning outside of quarterback Drew Allar. The Nittany Lions are outside the nation’s top-50 teams in rushing, receiving, pass-blocking and run-blocking grades. In two weeks, Penn State faces one of the best defenses in the nation in Ohio State.
10. Oregon Ducks (Record: 5-0, AP Ranking: 8th)
Week 7 Matchup: at No. 7 Washington Huskies
Oregon has been one of the most well-rounded teams in the country this season. The Ducks lead the nation in EPA per play on offense while placing 13th defensively in that same stat. The only other school to place inside the top 15 of both is Michigan. While this ranking may seem low, Oregon has every opportunity to vault up this list with a victory over Washington on Saturday.
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