Joel Klatt ranks top ten teams in college football after Week 1

Fox Sports Joel Klatt ranked his Top 10 teams in college football following Week 1 of the season. While it wraps up Monday night, Klatt’s top 10 is pretty set in stone, at least until next week!

Statements were made in top 10 matchups that all felt like College Football Playoff games during opening weekend. With the results, rankings shifted all over the place.

But, we’ll start in the Big Ten for Klatt’s top 10 with, arguably, the biggest statement made this weekend. Let’s dive in.

1. Ohio State

All of the talk was about Arch Manning and the Longhorns. Well, Ohio State’s defense shut down Texas and Julian Sayin quietly had a solid QB debut.

They are now Klatt’s No. 1 team in the country, probably where the defending champs should be at this point. It’s a long way until the CFP, but Ohio State looks like it could repeat.

2. LSU

LSU marched into the other Death Valley and took down Clemson, another team with national title hopes. It broke the season-opener losing streak under Brian Kelly too!

Klatt’s rankings have LSU as the second best team in the country, but the best team in the SEC. That’s not an absurd statement to make right now. The team is loaded and looked complete this weekend.

3. Penn State

Penn State didn’t have a marquee game over the weekend, but looked dominant in the win over Nevada. Klatt has them No. 2 in the Big Ten, but No. 3 overall.

The impending matchup with Ohio State later this year is going to do numbers. This is James Franklin’s most complete team.

4. Oregon

Oregon didn’t play a Power Four team opening weekend, but it didn’t matter to Klatt. You’re either in the camp of Oregon is going to be a national title mainstay or take a step back this season.

If Dante Moore can be that productive all season (213 yards and three touchdowns), the Ducks should have a potent offense. Oregon also has Penn State circled on the schedule in late September.

5. Georgia

The Bulldogs rolled over Marshall 45-7 to begin the season. They’re firmly in Klatt’s top five teams after the first weekend.

Gunner Stockton erased all worry, at least for now, with a solid performance under center. Stockton threw for 190 yards, two touchdowns and ran for 73 yards and two more scores.

6. Texas

Texas stayed in Klatt’s top 10 rankings, despite the loss to Ohio State. It’s not a bad thing to lose to one of the best teams in the country during the first game.

But Arch Manning did not play well and Steve Sarkisian looked a little lost, hesitant, and flustered by the Buckeyes’ defense. Manning was limited to 170 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Not to mention he was stuffed on 4th-and-Goal on a QB sneak too.

7. Miami

Talk about a statement! Miami beat Notre Dame in South Florida Sunday night 27-24 in a hard fought contest. That was despite giving up 17 points in the fourth quarter.

They’re moving up Klatt’s rankings though. Carson Beck was solid under center, going 20-of-31 passing for 205 yards and two touchdowns.

8. Clemson

Clemson stayed in Klatt’s top 10 rankings this week, despite the loss to LSU. Similar to Texas, Clemson fell to one of the best teams in the country.

Defensively, they played well enough. However, the run game was virtually nonexistent and Cade Klubnik was just 19-of-38 for 230 yards and an interception.

9. Notre Dame

Circling back to Miami, it was a gut punch for Notre Dame. This is a team that made the national title game last year and broke in a new quarterback.

Granted, CJ Carr played well given the circumstances, but the Irish can ill afford many more slipups if they want to return to the CFP. Jeremiyah Love likely needs to be more involved. Still, Klatt has them in the top 10.

10. Florida State

Now we round out Klatt’s top 10 within Florida State, who made the other biggest statement of the weekend. Mike Norvell suddenly erased memories of the 2024 seasons with a 31-17 win over Alabama.

Thomas Castellanos backed up the trash talk from the summer, that’s for sure. The FSU QB threw for just 152 yards, but ran for 78 and a touchdown, guiding the Seminoles to the upset.