College Football Top 10 Ranking: Should Miami be the No. 1 team in the country?

It’s the second year of the 12-team College Football Playoff. When the CFP committee starts releasing rankings later this season, they won’t be the end-all, be-all, given the new seeding rules for the 12-team field. However, the rankings are still enjoyable, and people will continue to argue over them. They still matter. 

So after every weekend, after the dust settles from the games, I’m going to unveil my updated top 10. 

1. Ohio State (5-0)

In a sport where it’s easy to start questioning whether every single team has significant flaws, it’s tough to identify what the Buckeyes’ flaw is. First-year starting quarterback Julian Sayin looks the part, receiver Carnell Tate could be the No. 1 receiver on just about every other offense in the nation and the defense is incredible. Ohio State blew out Minnesota on Saturday night, another boring win on a schedule filled with overmatched opponents.

2. Miami (5-0)

Miami has a real case for being No. 1 on this list. The Hurricanes are so impressive in the trenches on both sides of the ball, which was on display yet again when they trashed Florida State in Tallahassee on Saturday night. It also has a good quarterback, great skill, and one of the best defensive game-wreckers in the country, Rueben Bain. The Hurricanes are legit national title contenders.

3. Oregon (5-0)

Oregon’s captured an impressive win on the road last week at Penn State. At the time, it was a huge win over a very good team in one of the toughest environments in the sport. But Penn State unbelievably lost at UCLA on Saturday, weakening the Ducks’ most important resume piece. Don’t worry, Oregon. The entire country already accepts Dan Lanning‘s squad as one of the deepest, most talented teams in the country. Oregon gets to host Indiana next week, which is an opportunity to beat another undefeated, top-10 Big Ten team.

4. Ole Miss (5-0)

Ole Miss beat No. 4 LSU at home last Saturday to help the Rebels improve to 5-0. Ole Miss didn’t have a game this week, so it instead got to enjoy the week off as one of the few remaining unbeaten teams in college football. Backed by quarterback Trinidad Chambliss — or Austin Simmons — the Rebels already have three wins against an SEC team. It hosts Washington State next Saturday before back-to-back games against Georgia and Oklahoma. As things look right now, Ole Miss has a clear path into the College Football Playoff as long as it can avoid losing the head-scratcher games that doomed last year’s team. 

5. Oklahoma (5-0)

You’d think with as much terrible injury luck Oklahoma had to deal with last season that the pendulum would swing back in its favor in 2025. Nope. Quarterback John Mateer, who has been a national sensation this season after transferring from Washington State, had to have hand surgery two weeks ago and will miss an extended period of time. That said, Texas looked like a disaster in a loss at Florida on Saturday, and the Sooners look like the better, all-around team. Oklahoma has a chance to beat the Longhorns with backup quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr., who threw for three touchdowns in the Sooners’ warm-up win over Kent State on Saturday.

6. Texas A&M (5-0)

Texas A&M is off to a 5-0 start under head coach Mike Elko, and it’s time for the Aggies faithful to start believing this team may be different. Though Texas A&M got off to a slow start against a much-improved Mississippi State team, the Aggies turned it on in the second half and closed the game out at home without any worries. The best part about this start? Texas A&M looks like a better team than Texas at the moment, and there isn’t another team in the SEC that the Aggies couldn’t conceivably beat. Buckle up in Aggieland.

7. Alabama (4-1)

Is Alabama back? It feels like the Crimson Tide’s season-opening loss at Florida State was another lifetime ago. Alabama, however, earned back a lot of goodwill after knocking off Georgia on the road last weekend. Then it returned home Saturday and beat a really good Vanderbilt team, one that came into Bryant-Denny and threw everything it had at the Crimson Tide. Quarterback Ty Simpson is starting to look like a stud, and Alabama now has wins over Georgia and Vanderbilt on its resume.

8. Indiana (5-0)

After narrowly escaping Iowa with a 20-15 win last weekend, Indiana got a chance to recharge its batteries this weekend. Because it is Indiana, there are plenty of people out there who don’t believe the Hoosiers are a legitimate top-10 team. The best news about Indiana this year? If it makes the College Football Playoff, it will do so having to earn wins on a schedule that consists of Oregon and Penn State. Indiana has a massive test against the Ducks on the road next Saturday. 

9. Texas Tech (5-0)

Texas Tech was always going to be the true test of whether a single booster with a desire to invest in NIL could purchase a really good team. We’ve all been on the edge of our seats waiting to see if the Red Raiders would gel or if it would be a failed experiment. Through five weeks, Texas Tech has navigated every test without breaking a sweat, which includes a thumping of Utah in Salt Lake City. After knocking off Houston — who came into the weekend undefeated — it was time to put Joey McGuire‘s team on this list.

10. Georgia (4-1)

Georgia took a one-week hiatus from the top-10, but the Bulldogs came storming back this week. Part of the reason is that Georgia beat up on Kentucky. Part of the reason is that Texas and Penn State both lost, opening up spots. And the final part is because Georgia’s loss to Alabama last weekend becomes a little more excusable after the Crimson Tide handled Vanderbilt. Though Georgia may not be the same big, bad team it was while it was winning its titles under Kirby Smart, this is still a very good football team that belongs on the same field as all of the other top teams.