The SEC and Big Ten continue to dominate college football, with the SEC reportedly holding the national title favorite. This can be attributed to not only five of the top six teams hailing from the SEC, but also because Michigan, a Big Ten team, was bested by an SEC team, Texas. On the other hand, Oklahoma, despite boasting of one of the country’s top defenses, suffered a home defeat after their offense did not hold up. This further underscores that a one-dimensional approach does not guarantee wins in the SEC, unlike the Big Ten.
Georgia and Alabama, who are set to face off in Week 5, are both likely to make the College Football Playoff. The bone of contention lies not in their qualification, but rather in their seeding. In week four rankings, Georgia came out on top with a 3-0 record, followed by Texas (4-0) and Ohio State (3-0) in the second and third positions respectively. Riding on Arch Manning’s debut as a starter, Texas outscored the Warhawks 21-0 in the first quarter, leading to their victory.
On the other hand, Tennessee (4-0) came in fourth after defeating Oklahoma, while Ole Miss (4-0) emerged fifth having defeated Georgia Southern. Alabama (3-0) ranked sixth. Penn State’s decicive victory against Kent State, led by Drew Allar, made it the seventh team on the list. Oregon (3-0) took the eighth spot.
Miami (4-0) clinched the ninth spot after defeating South Florida, with Utah (4-0) coming in tenth. The rest of the rankings included powerhouse teams like Clemson (2-1), occupying the twelfth position after defeating NC State, and Michigan (3-1), which ranked thirteenth. Noteworthy was the performance by Illinois (4-0), which defeated Nebraska in an overtime win to register their first 4-0 start since 2011.
The rest of the list comprised of standout teams, including Iowa State (3-0), USC (2-1), Oklahoma (3-1), BYU (4-0), LSU (3-1), Louisville (3-0), Oklahoma State (3-1), Notre Dame (3-1), Washington State (4-0), UNLV (3-0) and Kansas State (3-1). Drawing attention was the performance of Oklahoma, which despite losing to Tennessee, demonstrated an effective defense. On the other hand, Kansas State’s loss to BYU was characterized as an ugly defeat, despite the Wildcats outgaining the Cougars in total yardage.
