College Football Top 10 Ranking: Should Texas and Miami be ahead of Notre Dame?

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 (9-0)

Ohio State was going to play two tough games all season — Texas and Penn State. Those teams, both of which we believed were national title contenders at the start of the season, have been disappointments. Though Texas is starting to find its groove at the right time, Ohio State will likely finish the season without a truly remarkable win. That said, all you have to do is watch this team play for 10 minutes to realize the Buckeyes are the best team in college football. Will anyone challenge them?

2. Indiana (10-0)

Indiana has blown out the majority of the teams it has played this year, so what else were we supposed to expect when it traveled to Penn State on Saturday? It wasn’t a blowout. The Hoosiers had to go on a last-minute drive for the win, capped by an unbelievable touchdown pass from Fernando Medonza to Omar Cooper. The Cooper catch, where he had to become a contortionist to get his foot down, may have been the touchdown of the year. Indiana remained unbeaten. How it beat the Nittany Lions may be just as impressive as some of its blowout wins.

3. Texas A&M (9-0)

Texas A&M fans have been living in perpetual fear every week that their team would be exposed as frauds. Even though the Aggies aren’t, it’s just muscle memory at this point. Hopefully, by now, the muscle memory is beginning to fade. Even what seemed to be a dangerous trip to Missouri on Saturday turned out to be another easy win, blowing out the Tigers, 38-17. Backed by star quarterback Marcel Reed, the Aggies seem destined to make this year’s College Football Playoff. Maybe this year is the year in College Station.

4. Alabama (8-1)

Alabama is real. There is no debate about it. This will be the last time I mention the season-opening loss to Florida State, as that clearly was a fluke. The Crimson Tide were playing an LSU team at home on Saturday, you know, that was dying to beat it, but that Alabama defense overwhelmed the Tigers, and the game never felt in question. Alabama has won eight consecutive games, including wins over Georgia, Vanderbilt, Missouri, Tennessee and now LSU. It still has two tough games against Oklahoma and Auburn, but Alabama has more than earned the right to be the highest-ranked one-loss team. 

5. Georgia (8-1)

Entering the weekend, Georgia almost lost each of its last three games. Mississippi State, coming off its first win in the SEC under coach Jeff Lebby, isn’t as terrible as it used to be. Would that happen again? No. Georgia blew the Bulldogs off the field, winning 41-21. There is no question this Georgia team isn’t as dominant as it’s been in the past, but maybe I need to stop expecting a second loss around the corner. The Bulldogs have the best coach in college football and just keep winning. They are dangerous.

6. Ole Miss (9-1)

Ole Miss had a glorified bye week Saturday when it played The Citadel. The Rebels won the game 49-0 to improve to 9-1. Trinidad Chambliss threw for 333 yards and three touchdowns. Yawn. Lane Kiffin’s team’s lone loss this season was to Georgia and now Ole Miss feels like a lock to make the College Football Playoff, even if it doesn’t even control its own destiny in the SEC race. Ole Miss still has Florida and Mississippi State on its schedule, but 11-1 seems inevitable. Kudos to Kiffin for remaining locked in while being the hottest candidate in the wild upcoming coaching carousel. 

7. Texas Tech (9-1)

Texas Tech invested in its roster in a way that others in the Big 12 can’t. That’s the benefit of having a billionaire oil baron take an interest in helping the school win titles. On Saturday, the Red Raiders used that talent to dominate BYU, who came into the game 8-0. Even without quarterback Behren Morton being 100 percent healthy, Texas Tech didn’t have to break a sweat. It’s clear it is the deepest, most talented team in the Big 12 and should be viewed as the favorite to win the conference.

8. Oregon (8-1)

Oregon had to go to Iowa on Saturday and play a solid Hawkeyes team in terrible weather. Sounds awful, doesn’t it? Even though the Ducks got dragged into an Iowa game, they used a last-minute drive to march down the field and kick a game-winning field goal. Oregon hasn’t looked as dominant as some of the teams ranked ahead of it, but its only loss of the season is Indiana by 10 at home. We view Indiana as clearly one of the two best teams in the sport, yet that loss has completely taken the Ducks out of the national discourse. Don’t forget the Ducks are there.

9. Miami (7-2)

Miami has been a pretty consistent debate this week when it was ranked No. 18 overall in the first College Football Playoff poll. Why? Because the Hurricanes possess the same record as Notre Dame — the team who ranked No. 10 in that same poll — and possess the same record. Yes, the Hurricanes were trending down heading into last Tuesday because they lost two of their previous games. But Miami has a top-10 win and a victory over USF, one of the favorites to represent the Group of 5 in the CFP. Miami has to keep winning — like it did against Syracuse on Saturday — but quality wins drive the bus.

10. Texas (7-2)

Texas hasn’t played well for the majority of the season. There is no getting around Arch Manning’s slow start or the Longhorns’ loss to Florida, which looks worse today than when it happened. But Texas has won four in a row and two of those games have been over Oklahoma and Vanderbilt, both of whom were in the College Football Playoff Committee’s top 16 last week. Texas still has an offensive line issue it needs to overcome. We’ll see next weekend at Georgia if the Longhorns are a legit threat to make some noise this season, but for now? Texas deserves to be in the No. 10 spot right ahead of Notre Dame, a team that is certainly good enough to make another run in the CFP.