Wasserman’s top 10 college football rankings: Georgia’s scare at Kentucky knocks the Bulldogs off the top spot

It’s a new era of college football.

If the College Football Playoff Although the committee will begin releasing rankings later this season, they won’t be the be-all and end-all given the new rules for ranking the 12-man field. But the rankings are still fun and people will still fight over them. They still matter.

That’s why every weekend, after the dust has settled on the games, I’ll reveal my updated Top 10.

1. Texas (3-0)

Other programs not as deep as Texas can consider a game in which the starting quarterback was eliminated in the second quarter a bad week. For Texas? Well, it was Arch Manning and he blinded everyone. After replacing Quinn Ewerswho left the field with a pulled abdominal muscle, scored five total touchdowns and led the Longhorns to a 49-7 victory over UTSA. Texas has the best record, looked the most explosive, and Ewers’ injury doesn’t seem serious. Things are going great in Austin.
Last week’s ranking: 2

2. Georgia (3-0)

It was reasonable to ask ourselves at the beginning of the season whether Georgia would simply embarrass anyone on their schedule. The Bulldogs started off fast this season with a thrashing of Clemson in the opening game, but the Bulldogs’ win over Kentucky on Saturday night was anything but impressive. In fact, it was concerning. One may wonder now if Georgia has enough offensive power to finish this SEC schedule undefeated. Still, the Bulldogs are still undefeated and coming off a quality win. Get ready for the Alabama game in two weeks.
Last week’s ranking: 1

3. Ohio State (2-0)

Ohio State didn’t have a game on Saturday, but the Buckeyes are probably the most talented team in college football. It’s more than fair to consider Ohio State the favorite for the national title this year, as it has legitimate claims to the best offense and defense in the sport. However, the Buckeyes can’t be ranked ahead of Texas or even Georgia until they hit someone with a pulse. They won’t have a chance until Ohio State travels to Oregon on Oct. 12.
Last week’s ranking: 3

4. Tennessee (3-0)

People will complain about Tennessee ranked ahead of Alabama and other SEC teams in this poll, but the Volunteers are serious this year. If you don’t know it now, you will. Tennessee Star Quarterback Nico Iamaleava doesn’t even need to fill the stat books for the Volunteers to roll over their opponents. Tennessee scored 65 points in the first half of its game against Kent State on Saturday. Next week, Tennessee heads to Norman for a big matchup with undefeated Oklahoma.
Last week’s ranking: 4

5. Alabama (3-0)

Alabama was in a one-possession game with USF in the fourth quarter last weekend. That may have caused panic. But Alabama marched into Camp Randall on Saturday and manhandled Wisconsin, easily defeating the Badgers 42-10. Jalen Milroe is getting better and better, receiver Ryan Williams is a rising star and the defense has been effective. We’ll next see Alabama in two weeks when it hosts Georgia.
Last week’s ranking: 5

6.Oregon (3-0)

Oregon was down in the fourth quarter against Idaho in week one in a one-possession game. In week two, the Ducks almost lost at home to Boise State. People started to worry that maybe this team wasn’t very good. But Oregon came back in great fashion in week three, sweeping rival Oregon State in the Civil War Rivalry 49-14. Oregon got off to a slow start, but is definitely one of the two best teams in the Big Ten.
Last week’s ranking: 8

7. Miami (3-0)

MiamiThe Hurricanes’ clear win over Florida in their season opener is getting less impressive with each passing week, but they are real. Cam WardThe impressive season continued on Saturday with a 346-yard, five-touchdown performance in Miami’s 62-0 victory over Ball State. A lot can still happen this year, but the Hurricanes are currently considered favorites to win the ACC.
Last week’s ranking: 6

8. Ole Miss (3-0)

Ole Miss looks exactly how we expected it to this year. It has three wins and scored 40 or more points in all three games. In a 40-6 victory over Wake Forest on Saturday Jaxson Dart threw for 377 yards and two touchdowns. This squad is good enough to compete for big things in the SEC, and it has quite a long runway ahead of it before a four-game series against LSU, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Georgia begins on October 12.
Last week’s ranking: 7

9. Missouri (3-0)

Perhaps Boston College is much better than we thought at the beginning of the season? The highly ranked Eagles were a tough opponent for Missouri at home on Saturday as a top-25 team, but the Tigers held on for a 27-21 home win. The score was closer in the second half than the game itself once the Tigers got rolling. Mizzou will be a solid part of the top 10 this season because it has one of the easiest schedules of any SEC team. But make no mistake: The Tigers are good.
Rank last week: 9

Penn State (2-0)

Penn State has played in two games, and both told a very different story. One was a blowout win over West Virginia that looked like the beginning of Drew Allar’s arrival. The other was a near-loss to Bowling Green in its own stadium. Penn State had a quiet week this week before a very easy three-game series against Kent State, Illinois and UCLA. On Oct. 12, it travels to USC for a game that will be quite telling for both the Nittany Lions and Trojans.
Rank last week: 10