25. Purdue Boilermakers
24. NC State Wolfpack
23. Illinois Fighting Illini
22. Mississippi State Bulldogs
21. North Carolina Tar Heels
UNC enters the Top 25 for the first time this season. They have one of the best young quarterbacks in the country with Drake Maye. He is tied for first in the country with 24 touchdown passes and only has three interceptions. The Tar Heel offense is elite. The defense, not so much. If they can string together enough stops in a game, they are very difficult to beat.
20. Cincinnati Bearcats
19. Kansas State Wildcats
18. Kentucky Wildcats
The Kentucky Wildcats are back on the rise after a massive win over Mississippi State. Running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. proved he is one of the best running backs in the country and the defense regained form against a potent MSU passing attack. If the Cats stop beating themselves, they can hang with just about anyone.
17. Texas Longhorns
16. Syracuse Orange
The Orange have been extremely impressive this season! That culminated with a nice win over NC State this weekend. This team may be for real and has a date with Clemson this coming weekend to try and prove it.
15. Penn State Nittany Lions
14. Utah Utes
13. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
12. USC Trojans
Down goes USC. For the first time this season, the Trojans take the loss. It’ll be interesting to see how this team bounces back from being punched in the mouth. They hadn’t beat a ranked team this season and are still alive in the PAC-12 hunt. Now, they head into a bye week to try and regroup.
11. Oregon Ducks
10. Oklahoma State Cowboys
9. UCLA Bruins
8. TCU Horned Frogs
Sonny Dykes has done a masterful job in his first season in Fort Worth. He has the Horned Frogs at 6-0 and in the Top 10. TCU survived an early Oklahoma State onslaught and won in the second overtime. They are squarely in the mix to win the Big 12 and have a chance at the College Football Playoff.
7. Ole Miss Rebels
6. Alabama Crimson Tide
5. Clemson Tigers
4. Michigan Wolverines
The Wolverines took down Penn State in impressive fashion. They welcome in in-state rival Michigan State in their next matchup in what should be a fun game. This team is disciplined and determined to not allow the success of last season be just a one time thing.
3. Tennessee Volunteers
Is Knoxville still standing? I thought they would burn that city to the ground after their Vols defeated Nick Saban for the first time and Alabama for the first time in 15 years. This offense is lethal. Josh Heupel, Hendon Hooker and Jalin Hyatt put on a masterclass in Neyland Stadium. For the first time in almost two decades, the Vols are for real, folks.
2. Georgia Bulldogs
1. Ohio State Buckeyes
Ohio State is the most complete team in the country. They are loaded everywhere across the roster and at this point, seem like the favorites to win it all.
