The Couch Power 10 Is Back
What's that? College football is back? Yes, it's true. You might have missed it amidst midterm election races, awards shows, natural disasters, and celebrities spitting on one another during movie premieres, but it's officially Fall again, which means you can utter those sweet 4 words any lady wants to hear: college football is back.
The first few weeks of America's greatest regular season in sports and worst postseason in sports did not disappoint. In the opening weekend alone, we saw several absolutely bonkers games with can't-miss finishes, and in the weeks since we've seen the demise of 14 ranked teams, a Houdini act from the #1 team, and the unfortunate implosion of Desmond Howard's wild playoff prediction. The wild carousel ride that is college football is already well underway, in other words, and so it's high time to get ranking some teams!
Just a refresher, since it's been nary a year 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 actually proved on the field to date. That being said, I'm gonna hit you with some familiar faces right off the top:
1. Georgia
If the loss of their defensive coordinator to another program and several other studs to the NFL was going to hamper Georgia's back-to-back title quest, the Dawgs are yet to show any troubling signs. The defending champs kicked off their title defense by dismantling said former DC Dan Lanning and Oregon in Week 1, and have followed that impressive win up with back-to back victories by a combined score of 81-7. It's hard to see who on their schedule might even trouble Georgia until the SEC Championship.
2. Florida State
Is... is Florida State back?? It's obviously far too early yet to say, and the Seminoles, like many other historic programs have been burned repeatedly by pre-emptive predictions of their return to prominence in recent years. But there's no denying Mike Norvell and FSU's impressive start to this season. In Week 0, they demolished their FCS opponents (and if that doesn't sound noteworthy, keep in mind they lost to FCS opponents the last two seasons), and in the ensuing weeks, have spoiled Brian Kelly's debut at LSU in New Orleans, and last week, got a tough conference road win at Louisville despite losing starting QB Jordan Travis to injury. In what's shaping up to be another weak ACC, they look to be headed for their first winning season in 6 years.
3. Penn State
Is it possible that everyone, The Couch included, is making the same mistake as last season and jumping the gun too early on Penn State's quality? Yes. Is it possible Purdue and Auburn won't amount to anything more than mediocre teams? Certainly. But still, it's hard to find fault with the Nittany Lions' first 3 games, which include a road win over a solid conference opponent in the opener, a blowout win over a solid MAC team in Ohio, and a dominant road victory over an SEC West foe. The schedule sets up nicely over the next few weeks for them to roll into Michigan unbeaten.
4. Alabama
It's a foregone conclusion at this point that Alabama will be in the playoff, and a statistical likelihood that they'll be playing for the title. But the defending runners-up and preseason title favorites are going to have to get a whole lot better on the road to make it there this season. Their obliteration of UL-Monroe and defending Mountain West champions Utah State is nice and all, but their one true test thus far was a road trip to Texas, and they came unbelievably close to failing it, looking uncharacteristically sloppy on offense and uncharacteristically undisciplined on defense. They'll get better, no doubt, but so will the quality of their opponents.
5. Tennessee
Is... is Tennessee back?? It's obviously far too early yet to say, and the Vols, like many other historic programs have been burned repeatedly by pre-emptive predictions of their return to prominence in recent years. But there's no denying Josh Heupel's men's impressive start to this season. They've done what very good teams should do against lesser teams, and put two games against MAC opponents out of reach by halftime. In between those blowout victories, they notched a come-from-behind win on the road against reigning ACC Champions (it still feels weird to say that) Pittsburgh. Are they ready to hang with Alabama and Georgia yet? Likely no, but they've got as much of a reason to date to be excited about this season.
6. Kentucky
Head coach Mark Stoops made waves preseason by taking issue with John Calipari labeling Kentucky a "basketball school." So far, the play of their football team is warranting Stoops' "football school" quip. The Wildcats' annual suffocating defense is back, strangling Miami (Ohio) and Youngstown State to a combined total of 13 points, and in Week 2, they traveled down to Gainesville to secure a huge victory over Top 15 Florida, their second consecutive victory over their SEC East foes.
7. Kansas
No need to do a double take. No need to rub your eyes. You are seeing this correctly: Kansas is ranked in the Top 10, in football. Well, in our Top 10 at least. The cowards in the media and coaching ranks haven't deemed the Jayhawks fit to be in the Top 25, and all irony aside, that's actually pretty ridiculous. Lance Leipold's turnaround job in Lawrence doesn't just deserve plaudits because it's impressive by Kansas standards, their body of work to date is just impressive, period. In years past, the Jayhawks would embarrass themselves against even lower-division schools; this season, they opened with a 46-point win over Tennessee Tech. Not impressed? Fine. How about a Big 12 road win in Week 2, putting up 50+ points on West Virginia. "Okay," you say, "but that could be a fluke." Fine. How about a second consecutive double-digit road win, this one against a ranked Houston team? Yeah. These guys can hang. And with three straight home games against unranked opponents coming up, there is a non-zero chance KU could enter their clash with Oklahoma at 6-0.
8. Washington
Speaking of rebuild projects that are ahead of schedule...Washington! The Huskies have endured a couple rough years in the wake of Chris Peterson's retirement, but under first-year coach Kalen DeBoer, they are off to a bright start. After dispatching Kent State and Portland State with ease, they welcomed #12 (and reigning Peach Bowl champions) Michigan State....or should I say, unwelcomed them, as they annihilated the Spartans in Seattle to improve to 3-0 on the year. With a schedule that includes only one more currently ranked opponent and doesn't include clear Pac-12 favorites USC, it's not too crazy for UW fans to start dreaming of an exciting postseason destination.
9. Arkansas
Full disclosure: my initial plan was to roll out this piece last week, but life got in the way. At that time, Arkansas was going to be my #1 team. True story! Don't laugh! The Razorbacks were already one of the big surprise success stories from last season, and opening their season with a tough win over 2021 playoff-crashers Cincinnati and a big win over upstarts South Carolina caught my eye. Thennnnnnnnn last Saturday happened, wherein that win over South Carolina looked less impressive thanks to the Gamecocks' implosion vs. Georgia, and Arkansas themselves struggled mightily to stave off FCS opponents Missouri State. Still! Stave them off they did, and the Hogs are 3-0 entering a brutal, yet crucial two-game stretch against Texas A&M and Alabama.
10. North Carolina
Yes, this is my bias speaking. My Tar Heels are not a Top 10 team...yet. And the jokes and memes about their defense are warranted, after giving up a combined 96 points in 4 combined quarters against Appalachian State and Georgia State. But you know what? They beat Appalachian State and Georgia State in back-to-back road games, and considering the surprising strength of the Sun Belt this season (one week after their wild App State game, the Mountaineers would of course proceed to topple #5 Texas A&M, while conference peers Marshall and Georgia Southern were silencing cathedrals of college football at Notre Dame and Nebraska), that's not nothing. After the horribly disappointing season UNC fans had last year, I'm not going to miss the chance to toast my undefeated Heels while it lasts.
Just missed: Oregon State, Washington State, Ohio State, Syracuse, Tulane, Drake Maye Heisman hype
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