A little love from Stewie!
Each Saturday night (or in this case, Monday night) throughout the season, I’ll rank the 10 best teams in the country. The order will fluctuate from week to week based on new information. I try to flush out my preseason perceptions of the teams as early as possible and replace them with actual on-field results, but that’s probably not realistic after just one set of games.
1. Alabama (1-0), 2. Clemson (1-0)
It’s splitting hairs which was a more resounding opening statement, Alabama’s 42-3 rout of Duke or Clemson’s 52-14 blowout of Georgia Tech. I’m giving the nod to the Tide because Duke will likely prove to be the better team, and the Alabama defense showed no effect (yet) from losing star LB Dylan Moses. But man, Travis Etienne (12 carries, 205 yards, three TDs) is really something else.
3. Georgia (1-0)
The Dawgs started right out of the gate with a divisional foe, and their defense did exactly what we’d expect them to do in a 30-6 win against Vanderbilt. Georgia has an embarrassment of riches at running back: D’Andre Swift ran for 147 yards on 16 carries, but Brian Herrien racked up yards between the tackles and Zamir White and James Cook both averaged 10-plus yards per carry.
4. Oklahoma (1-0)
One word: Wow. In his long-awaited OU debut, Jalen Hurts put up numbers even Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray would envy: 332 passing yards, 176 rushing yards and six TDs. And although Houston isn’t Texas by any means, D’Eriq King is a dangerous dual-threat QB, and the Sooners’ defense got pressure on him all night.
5. LSU (1-0)
As advertised, LSU — at long last — is running a 2019 offense. The Tigers, under new pass game coordinator Joe Brady, went with a full-on up-tempo, RPO-heavy spread in a 55-3 rout of Georgia Southern. QB Joe Burrow went 23-of-27 for 278 yards and five TDs. It’s going to be really fun to watch the chess match this week with Texas defensive coordinator Todd Orlando.
6. Ohio State (1-0)
Justin Fields got off to his own fast start against FAU, busting a 51-yard TD run and throwing for three others by the end of the first quarter. He and the Buckeyes’ offense went strangely quiet after that, but I’m not going to nitpick a 45-21 win. Interestingly, as Bill Landis noted, Ryan Day’s NFL-influenced offense included Fields often going under center.
7. Penn State (1-0)
I’m still riding front seat on the Penn State bandwagon. Admittedly you can’t read much into a 79-0 win against an FCS foe, Idaho. But it’s clear the Nittany Lions have a whole lot of playmakers, most notably WR KJ Hamler (four catches, 115 yards), but also running backs like freshman Devyn Ford, who broke an 81-yard touchdown run.
8. Auburn (1-0)
If I were doing a straight-up résumé ranking based off one game, Auburn, the only team to beat a Top 25 opponent, would be No. 1. I’m not going there, but The Tigers’ comeback win against Oregon earns them a spot in the Top 10. As Justin Ferguson illustrated, Auburn’s defense dominated the last three quarters. Freshman QB Bo Nix struggled much of the night but persevered to throw the winning touchdown.
9. Texas (1-0)
The ’Horns took care of business against Louisiana Tech, with QB Sam Ehlinger (28-of-38, 276 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs) putting up a characteristically efficient performance. Of grave concern, however, heading into the LSU game: An already thin backfield will be without freshman Jordan Whittington (hernia) for 4-to-6 weeks. It’s down to Keaontay Ingram and … backup QB Roschon Johnson. Yikes.
10. Utah (1-0)
My faith in the Utes this year was due in large part to RB Zack Moss and QB Tyler Huntley returning from late-season injuries. Last Thursday against BYU, Moss carried 29 times for 187 yards, Huntley made plays with his feet and his arm and the Utes’ defense suffocated rival BYU in a 30-12 rout. Utah ran for 262 yards.
(Photo: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
Each Saturday night (or in this case, Monday night) throughout the season, I’ll rank the 10 best teams in the country. The order will fluctuate from week to week based on new information. I try to flush out my preseason perceptions of the teams as early as possible and replace them with actual on-field results, but that’s probably not realistic after just one set of games.
1. Alabama (1-0), 2. Clemson (1-0)
It’s splitting hairs which was a more resounding opening statement, Alabama’s 42-3 rout of Duke or Clemson’s 52-14 blowout of Georgia Tech. I’m giving the nod to the Tide because Duke will likely prove to be the better team, and the Alabama defense showed no effect (yet) from losing star LB Dylan Moses. But man, Travis Etienne (12 carries, 205 yards, three TDs) is really something else.
3. Georgia (1-0)
The Dawgs started right out of the gate with a divisional foe, and their defense did exactly what we’d expect them to do in a 30-6 win against Vanderbilt. Georgia has an embarrassment of riches at running back: D’Andre Swift ran for 147 yards on 16 carries, but Brian Herrien racked up yards between the tackles and Zamir White and James Cook both averaged 10-plus yards per carry.
4. Oklahoma (1-0)
One word: Wow. In his long-awaited OU debut, Jalen Hurts put up numbers even Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray would envy: 332 passing yards, 176 rushing yards and six TDs. And although Houston isn’t Texas by any means, D’Eriq King is a dangerous dual-threat QB, and the Sooners’ defense got pressure on him all night.
5. LSU (1-0)
As advertised, LSU — at long last — is running a 2019 offense. The Tigers, under new pass game coordinator Joe Brady, went with a full-on up-tempo, RPO-heavy spread in a 55-3 rout of Georgia Southern. QB Joe Burrow went 23-of-27 for 278 yards and five TDs. It’s going to be really fun to watch the chess match this week with Texas defensive coordinator Todd Orlando.
6. Ohio State (1-0)
Justin Fields got off to his own fast start against FAU, busting a 51-yard TD run and throwing for three others by the end of the first quarter. He and the Buckeyes’ offense went strangely quiet after that, but I’m not going to nitpick a 45-21 win. Interestingly, as Bill Landis noted, Ryan Day’s NFL-influenced offense included Fields often going under center.
7. Penn State (1-0)
I’m still riding front seat on the Penn State bandwagon. Admittedly you can’t read much into a 79-0 win against an FCS foe, Idaho. But it’s clear the Nittany Lions have a whole lot of playmakers, most notably WR KJ Hamler (four catches, 115 yards), but also running backs like freshman Devyn Ford, who broke an 81-yard touchdown run.
8. Auburn (1-0)
If I were doing a straight-up résumé ranking based off one game, Auburn, the only team to beat a Top 25 opponent, would be No. 1. I’m not going there, but The Tigers’ comeback win against Oregon earns them a spot in the Top 10. As Justin Ferguson illustrated, Auburn’s defense dominated the last three quarters. Freshman QB Bo Nix struggled much of the night but persevered to throw the winning touchdown.
9. Texas (1-0)
The ’Horns took care of business against Louisiana Tech, with QB Sam Ehlinger (28-of-38, 276 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs) putting up a characteristically efficient performance. Of grave concern, however, heading into the LSU game: An already thin backfield will be without freshman Jordan Whittington (hernia) for 4-to-6 weeks. It’s down to Keaontay Ingram and … backup QB Roschon Johnson. Yikes.
10. Utah (1-0)
My faith in the Utes this year was due in large part to RB Zack Moss and QB Tyler Huntley returning from late-season injuries. Last Thursday against BYU, Moss carried 29 times for 187 yards, Huntley made plays with his feet and his arm and the Utes’ defense suffocated rival BYU in a 30-12 rout. Utah ran for 262 yards.
(Photo: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
