After a solid week 1 full of excitement, blowouts, and unexpected losses, Ohio State managed to stay on top, and the Pac 12 conference had a bad week. Here is the college football rankings after all the excitement of week 1
- Ohio State
Ohio State looked DANGEROUS in their first game against Virginia Tech Monday night. After a rough first half, they took control of the game. They outscored the Hokies 28-7 in the second half to win the game 42-24. The Buckeyes do not have any real tests until they play Michigan State near the end of the season, so look for this team to win out. The only thing that will drop them in the rankings is strength of schedule. Oh and about Braxton Miller- he is doing just fine playing every offensive position but QB. Cardale Jones also played great running for 99 yards and passing for 189.
2. Alabama
Alabama played Wisconsin on Saturday, and they made easy work of the Badgers. They never looked really scared, and they were in control of the game the entire time. The Crimson Tide will have some tough match ups this fall against SEC teams, but they looked great Saturday. They will be in National Championship contention, just like they are every year.
3. TCU
I expected the Horned Frogs to blow out Minnesota, but they only won 23-17. A win is a win, but it sure was not pretty. With the way that this team played, I am not sure if they will play as well as I thought they would this season. But then again, they could have had some week 1 jitters.
4. Auburn
Jeremy Johnson did not play as well as I thought he would, and the offense still needs to get into a groove, but PHEW that Will Muschamp coached defense was great. While they did allow two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, the rest of the game they were on fire. When the offense hits full stride, the Tigers will be rolling big.
5. Baylor
Baylor was on upset alert after the first half of their match up against SMU. The key word is “was.” The second half, the Bears ran away with it. They won 56-21, and if they continue to play like this, they will beat TCU and be the Big 12 Champions.
6. Michigan State
Michigan State didn’t destroy their opponent, but that is okay. This team played a pretty good game against Western Michigan, and they got the job done. It can be hard to stop a team that passes the ball 50 times sometimes, but Mark D’Antonio will build on this game.
7. Oregon
Vernon Adams Jr. got the starting job for Oregon, and he did a fine job at QB. The offense didn’t skip a beat, scoring 61 points. The defense gave up 42 points to Eastern Washington, and that can’t happen every week. The Oregon defense needs to buckle down, because allowing 42 points is not going to win a lot of football games.
8. Clemson
Deshaun Watson is the real deal. This guy throws perfect passes, and he is great at reading defenses. The Tigers defense also played well against the triple option offense, and as a team, the Tigers look great. The offense was able to move the ball with ease, and the defense was getting stop after stop.
9. Georgia
Georgia was off to a good start against ULM in week 1, winning the game 51-14. Nick Chubb ran great, getting 120 yards off of 6 carries. The Bulldogs first real challenge won’t come for another few weeks though, when the play the Crimson Tide at home.
10. USC
Cody Kessler and the Trojans looked great in week 1, winning their game 55-6. The Trojans may have a great season this year, and win the Pac 12, who look to be weaker than they were last year. They have their first big game in a few weeks against Stanford.
11. Georgia Tech
The Yellow Jackets usually take a while to get into the groove of the triple option offense, and play close games the first couple of games during a season. Well, not this year. Justin Thomas and co. were on fire, and they scored 69 points in their first game of the season.
12. Notre Dame
Notre Dame played great against Texas, winning the game 38-3. The Irish played phenomenally on defense, and offensively, they were just as good. Malik Zaire completed 19 of 22 passes for 313 yards to lead the Irish to this very impressive victory.
13. Florida State
Everett Golson got the start, and he did great. In the Seminoles first game without Jameis Winston in two years, Golson passed for 4 touchdowns to lead the Seminoles to an impressive victory over Texas State. FSU and Georgia Tech are on a collision course for October 24, which will be a fun game.
14. Ole Miss
No Bo? No problem! Bo Wallace’s replacement at QB, former Clemson and Alabama back up Chad Kelly, was great. The Rebels offense 76 points, and the “Land Shark” defense only allowed 3. The Rebels look like they will be just as good as they were last season.
15. UCLA
Josh Rosen’s first start as a true freshman QB was great. He threw for 351 yards and 2 TD’s, and he looks like he is a really talented guy. The Bruins beat Virginia 34-16, and they were in control of the game the whole way. The UCLA Vs. Arizona game will be fun later this month.
16. Texas A&M
The Aggies were underdogs against Arizona State, but they sure did not play like underdogs. They manhandled the Sun Devils, and won 38-17. The Aggies defense even held standout QB Mike Bercovici to just 199 yards passing on the day.
17. Boise State
Boise did not play as well as they did last year, but they did get the victory over Washington 16-13. Hopefully, Boise will get better throughout the season and make another New Years 6 bowl game.
18. Arizona
Arizona went into the half up just 21-20, but they pulled away in the second half and won the game 42-32 against Texas San Antonio. Anu Solomon finished with four touchdowns through the air, and passing for 229 yards. His receiver, Johnny Jackson, had a great day with 8 receptions for 101 yards.
19. Arkansas
Arkansas played UTEP, and won easily 42-13. Arkansas has been a spoiler team for SEC west teams, and their first team that they can spoil the season of is Texas A&M at the end of the month. Should be a great game.
20. Oklahoma
Trevor Knight was benched, and Baker Mayfield took over the Sooners new pass heavy offense. He did it very well, completing 23 of 33 passes for 388 yards and 3 TDs. The Sooners blew out Akron 41-3.
21. LSU
Unfortunately for the Tigers, their game against McNeese State was canceled. Their season will start right up with Mississippi State this weekend, and Auburn next weekend. They could easily start 0-2.
22. Missouri
The Tigers do not always do it in an impressive way, but they get wins. This week, they did not put up a 50 point game against a low rated team, but they won 38-3 against Southeast Missouri.
23. Tennessee
Tennessee won their game against Bowling Green 59-30, and they played great. This weekend they play Oklahoma, so lets see if they are actually a SEC champion contending team, or a middle of the road team after this weekend. The game will surely be a fun one.
24. Utah
With a weekend where the Pac 12 fell hard, Utah came out on top of the conference. They were one of the only teams that played a quality opponent to win. In in impressive game against Michigan, they won 24-17, beating Jim Harbaugh in his return to college football
25. Mississippi state
MSU beat Southern Mississippi 34-16, and they have LSU coming up this weekend. Last year, they played very well against LSU. This season, it should be the same. It will be a hard fought battle between two good, well coached team, and should be one of the best games this weekend.
