2017 Couch Power 10, Week 1

We back! Week 1 of College Football started, once again, disappointingly. I'm not just saying that because my Tar Heels lost a game they shouldn't have lost. No, I'm saying that because for the 3rd straight year, most of the hyped opening games were blowouts, Alabama won in primetime AND my Tar Heels lost a game they shouldn't have lost.

So, yes, a bummer of a start, but the good news is, college football is back and has brought all the nostalgia of the season with it. Just a refresher, since it's been months since you've heard from this ranking: this is not a definitive ranking on how good the teams are, or on who I think will be/deserves to be in the playoff at the end of the year. Rather, it's more of a "What if preseason rankings and bigwig bias didn't predetermine the top teams" kind of thing, an ideal ranking of the country's teams based on what they've proved on the field. Any guesses on who the #1 team is?

1. Alabama

True story: I just duplicated one of my rankings posts from last year so that I could keep the format, and thus, Alabama at #1 was already typed in for me. Bama started the year in dominant fashion yet again, crushing #4 Florida State's will, and taking their QB in the process.

2. Michigan

The only other team that beat a Top 20 opponent this past weekend (I told you, it was a bad start to the season) were the young Wolverines! Many (including myself) expect Michigan to be running 4th out of the Big Ten Big 4 this year, but they looked every bit the part of a contender in the 2nd half against a clearly overmatched Florida team.

3. LSU

It may not have been a ranked opponent, but BYU is a legitimately tough team, and LSU's defense and running game made them look silly. The jury's out on whether coach Ed Orgeron and these young Tigers can hang with Alabama and the like, but so far so good!

4a. Clemson

Now begins a run of high-quality teams that opened their season with huge wins over smaller opponents. The Tigers (who beat Kent State by 53) get the slight edge because they're the defending champions, and don't seem to have missed a beat despite the crazy amount of offensive talent lost to last year's draft.

4b. Penn State

Not too long after I officially predicted Ohio State to be the team to beat in the Big Ten, I wondered if maybe I should have said Penn State. Opening weekend may have proved my later though prescient, as the Nittany Lions won 52-0 to start the season off rather nicely.

4c. Wisconsin

The Badgers are the clear favorites in the Big Ten West and for many, a sleeper playoff pick this year. They proved the positive buzz to be valid in Week 1, obliterating a Utah State team who might actually have a good season.

7a. Oklahoma State

It didn't feel right to separate the Sooner State teams by that much after Week 1, you know? Ok State gets the slight edge here over their rivals, because Tulsa has actually been a quite good team the last couple years.

7b. Oklahoma

That being said, Oklahoma won't have much to complain about from their (and coach Lincoln Riley's) opener: a demolition of UTEP and a virtually flawless performance from Heisman-potential quarterback Baker Mayfield.

9. Maryland

Eh, why not? Most people are taking the Terps' win to be more of a referendum on Texas' continued mediocrity, but a win in Austin is a win in Austin, and I still do think the Longhorns could be a good team this season

10. Virginia Tech

The Hokies' win over West Virginia in DC was probably the best game of the weekend. Both teams seem poised for good years, but Virginia Tech's freshman QB was the difference in this one.

Just missed: Ohio State, Tennessee, Auburn, Georgia, USC, Freshman sensation Michael Carter