After the first few weeks of the NCAA college football season, I don’t care what the other polls are saying. Most major teams are playing in the cupcake season while the lower tier teams are collecting big paychecks for the privilege of being the home opener(s) for the big money universities. Ah yes – the free market at work!
OK – Here’s how I am ranking the top 130 teams in the NCAA’s top division.
- Are you still undefeated? If so, you are eligible to be in this week’s rankings.
- How did you finish in last year’s final AP rankings? In my rankings, Clemson remains #1 until someone beats them. Bama remains #2 for the same reason. That’s how my first 15 were determined this week. If you’re still undefeated and were a Top 25 team ending last year, you have been rewarded.
- For the rest of the Top 25, who is your signature win so far this season and, importantly, what is the other team’s record as of this week? Did you put a whoopin’ on a good team (see also – Mississippi State’s stomping of 2-1 LSU) or did you simply take care of business against another good ball club (see #17 TCU’s win on the road at 1-1 Arkansas)?
For this week’s #16-25, I am judging the quality of each team’s signature win. There were 35 undefeated teams through last weekend, so ten other undefeated teams have been left out. That includes 3-0 Oregon, whose “signature win” is a 49-13 victory at 1-2 Wyoming. Where’s 3-0 Minnesota, you ask? Their best win was a 48-14 win over 1-2 Oregon State. At least for this week, if your team’s signature win was over a team which already had 2 or more losses, your favorite team is not in my Top 25.
Better luck next time!
| # | Team | W | L | 2016 AP Final Rank | Best win this season |
| 1 | Clemson | 3 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2 | Alabama | 3 | 0 | 2 | |
| 3 | USC | 3 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 | Washington | 3 | 0 | 4 | |
| 5 | Oklahoma | 3 | 0 | 5 | |
| 6 | Penn State | 3 | 0 | 7 | |
| 7 | Wisconsin | 3 | 0 | 9 | |
| 8 | Michigan | 3 | 0 | 10 | |
| 9 | Oklahoma State | 3 | 0 | 11 | |
| 10 | Virginia Tech | 3 | 0 | 16 | |
| 11 | Colorado | 3 | 0 | 17 | |
| 12 | South Florida | 3 | 0 | 19 | |
| 13 | Miami (Fla) | 1 | 0 | 20 | |
| 14 | Utah | 3 | 0 | 23 | |
| 15 | San Diego State | 3 | 0 | 25 | |
| 16 | Mississippi State | 3 | 0 | Def 2-1 LSU 37-7 at home | |
| 17 | TCU | 3 | 0 | Def 1-1 Arkansas 28-7 @ Arky | |
| 18 | Memphis | 2 | 0 | Def 2-1 UCLA 48-45 at home | |
| 19 | Vanderbilt | 3 | 0 | Def 2-1 Kansas State 14-7 at home | |
| 20 | Duke | 3 | 0 | Def 2-1 Northwestern 41-17 at home | |
| 21 | Iowa | 3 | 0 | Def 2-1 Iowa State 44-41 @ISU | |
| 22 | California | 3 | 0 | Def 2-1 Ole Miss 27-16 at home | |
| 23 | Georgia | 3 | 0 | Def 2-1 Notre Dame 20-19 @ N.D. | |
| 24 | Kentucky | 3 | 0 | Def 2-1 S.Carolina 23-13 @S. Carolina | |
| 25 | Houston | 2 | 0 | Def 2-1 Arizona 19-16 @ Arizona |