The Top Three Teams, No Losses: Who’s the Real No.1 in College Football?
- Gareth Evans
- 40 minutes ago
- 5 min read
In a season where the Texas Longhorns were billed as the preseason No.1, their noisy neighbours upstate in College Station appear to have stolen their thunder. Mike Elko's Texas A&M Aggies have continued their promising development under the former Duke head coach's tutelage following the expensive wreckage of the Jimbo Fisher era.
While No.2 Indiana's rise in the last season and a half has been little short of meteoric, and the defending national champions Ohio State have maintained the No.1 spot since outclassing Texas in Week 1, do Texas A&M have a claim to the No.1 ranking?
Unbeaten in the SEC
Saturday's 49-25 dismantling of No.20 LSU, another team billed as a preseason contender for the national championship, puts the Aggies at 8-0 and in the driving seat at the head of the SEC. No.3 Texas A&M's win was all the more impressive, considering it was inflicted in the red-hot atmosphere of a night game in Baton Rouge. It was also the final nail in LSU coach Brian Kelly's Bayou coffin. He was fired the following day.
A 41-40 Week 2 win on the road over last season's national championship finalist Notre Dame at the hallowed South Bend put the College Football Playoff Committee on notice. Home wins for the Aggies have seen off UTSA, Utah State, Auburn and Florida. The raucous College Station fans also saw Texas A&M beat a deceptively good Mississippi State team, 31-9. The Bulldogs were a whisker from upsetting Texas this weekend before succumbing, 45-38, in a highly entertaining game in Starksville.
Texas A&M will need their impressive road form to continue, starting with away fixtures at conference rival and Top 25 opponent Missouri in two weeks' time and great rivals Texas on Nov.30 in Austin. In between, they face an erratic but dangerous South Carolina team, who pushed No.4 Alabama close this weekend, at home before hosting an eminently winnable game against Samford on Nov.22.
Does Ohio State deserve to remain at No.1?
Ohio State, comparatively, have appeared to go through the motions in holding on to the No.1 ranking they wrestled from the Longhorns' uncomfortable grasp in Columbus on Aug.30. The Buckeyes put 107 points on Grambling State and Ohio in successive weeks before easing into their Big Ten campaign with back-to-back wins over Washington and Minnesota.
Illinois, who had announced their presence in the Top 10, but subsequently softened by a 63-10 humiliation at the hands of a resurgent Indiana, were swept aside before Ohio State shut out a disappointing Wisconsin, 34-0 on Oct.18.
The Buckeyes have five games remaining to close out an unbeaten regular season, including home fixtures with UCLA and Rutgers and a road trip to Purdue before closing out in Ann Arbor against bogey team Michigan in "The Game", one they have lost to their hated rivals on four successive occasions.
Next weekend's matchup with Penn State would, at the outset of the season, have been earmarked as a critical date in the Big Ten calendar. Oregon aside, Ohio State and Penn State were the outstanding favourites to win the conference, and with it, the College Football Playoff in its entirety.
The Nittany Lions' recent capitulation in recent weeks has been so spectacular that not only have they tumbled out of the Top 25, but it has cost them the services of their long term head coach, James Frankin. Four successive losses to Oregon, UCLA, Northwestern and Iowa does not make Penn State a strong opponent of the calibre faced by Texas A&M and and Indiana. While undoubtedly talented, with talented duo Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith driving their offense, do the Buckeyes deserve to remain No.1?
Are Indiana the best team in college football?
Having announced themselves as a top-tier college football team with an 11-2 record last season, Indiana have not only maintained this tremendous run, but surpassed it this year. Coach Curt Cignetti has knitted together a highly competitive team of players that continues to embarrass the richer teams in the Big Ten.
Penn State, having dismissed their coach James Franklin, cast coveting eyes in Cignetti's direction as he was quickly installed as one of the favourites to take over at Beaver Stadium. The Hoosiers swiftly closed the door on their Big Ten rivals, extending Cignetti's contract with a cool $11.5 million annual salary.
Indiana served notice of their intent with a 63-10 blowout of then unbeaten No.9 Illinois in Week 4. In Fernando Mendoza, the Hoosiers could have landed the best player in the college football portal. The Cal quarterback transfer threw for five touchdowns in this demolition and while elevating his team to the upper echelons of the Top 25, has also catapulted himself into Heisman Trophy reckoning. At time of writing, he is the betting favourite to lift the trophy in December.
The momentum gathered pace with a gritty 20-15 win on the road at Iowa which preceded arguably Indiana's biggest win in years, an upset 30-20 win over then No.3 ranked Oregon on the road. The Hoosiers' defense overwhelmed the Ducks, sacking quarterback Dante Moore six times. The same defense allowed just 13 points in a win over Michigan State before the Indiana offense wrestled back the headlines in a 56-point effort in a thrashing of UCLA last weekend.
Indiana look confident on every element of the game. Maryland, a beleagured Penn State, Wisconsin and Purdue stand in their way of a perfect 12-0 regular season and place in the conference championship and end of season national championship playoff. With a relentless defense and free-scoring offense, who is going to stop them?
A Three-Horse Race for College Football Supremacy
As the season enters its final straight, the debate for college football’s top spot is far from settled. These three unbeaten teams sit at the pinnacle, with an in-form Alabama and never-say-die Georgia team sitting ominously behind them.
Ohio State’s dominance feels more pragmatic and methodical than inspired, while Indiana’s surge carries all the hallmarks of a genuine contender, and excitement of a new team challenging the old guard. Yet it’s the less trumpeted Texas A&M, hardened by SEC battles and also unscarred by defeat, who may hold the strongest claim of all.
If the Aggies maintain their composure through November, the balance of power in college football could be about to shift back south.
Saturdays Under The Lights
Tony and I conducted a mid-season review of college football, discussing the chaotic landscape of the season, the coaching carousel, and the surprising performances of various teams. We analysed the preseason Top 25 rankings, and how they compare to mid-season, the importance of quarterback play, and take an early look at the College Football Playoff.
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