Welcome back to this week’s edition of college football tier rankings! Here at EasySportz, we have a proven scientific method of eye test, stats, and vibes that just won’t fit into a perfect 1 through 25 ranking, hence why we do it differently with a tiered ranking system. As a reminder, just because one tier is above another doesn’t mean those teams are necessarily better, as some tiers are more closely grouped together than others. With that being said, let’s get on it!
Tier 1: What a Saturday it will be for three of these teams: Oregon, Penn State, Georgia, Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU
Full disclosure, I do not think one loss Alabama is better than Ohio State or the team that beat them, Florida State. However, I am insanely pumped for this upcoming weekend because we finally get not one, not two, but three elite games. I will be in Athens myself, but we get a weekend where neutral fans are going to be glued to the TV. Therefore, we find these six teams in tier 1 this week, mainly due to hype for the weekend, but also because all 3 winners will be tested national championship contenders, and the losers (even Alabama if they have 2 losses), will still be squarely in the mix of things.
Tier 2: Dubs on Dubs: Indiana, Miami, Texas Tech, Oklahoma
Let’s get to the stars of week 4, and although I missed the game because I was at a music festival with no service, I just want to give my props to Indiana for the molly-whooping they put on Illinois. Not only is Cignetti’s offense rolling racking up almost 600 yards of offense, Indiana held Illinois to just 161 total yards, including 2 yards rushing.
Also, I must give props for Texas Tech for going into Salt Lake City and handling Utah. Even with Behren Morton’s injury, freshmen stud Will Hamond stepped in nicely, and Utah’s Devon Dampier had no answer for Tech’s defense. Speaking of defense, Miami and Oklahoma relied on theirs, as OU sacked Jackson Arnold 9 times and Florida was held to only 141 total yards. These four teams can cause a scene in the CFP, however, OU must weather the storm of losing their QB John Mateer with a thumb injury for the foreseeable future.
Tier 3: Nap time is over: Ohio State, Florida State, Texas A&M
Yes, Florida State played Kent State, but it’s Kent State, so we lump them in with top-tier teams that had a bye this past weekend, I mean, what’s the difference? All three teams have big tests this week – Ohio State travels to Seattle to face a quietly but undefeated Washington squad, Florida State has a tricky Friday night visit to Virginia, and Texas A&M faces Auburn in a series that is known to get wild. If these teams win, it sets them up to remain at the top of our rankings and at the top of playoff contention.
Tier 4: Revenge of the Nerds: Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech
I know it was only Georgia State and Temple respectively, but Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech deserve credit for their seasons so far. Vanderbilt demolished a Georgia State team that beat them last year, scoring 8 touchdowns on the ground and having 635 yards of offense. Vanderbilt is a Utah State game away from being undefeated and possibly higher ranked than Alabama when they visit Tuscaloosa in two weeks. Meanwhile, Brent Key will have to keep his squad focused as they start an underwhelming portion of their ACC schedule. We all know his record against ranked ACC foes at 7-1, but only .500 against unranked ACC opponents.
Tier 5: The SEC tier where Alabama should be at but I had to hype up the weekend slate: Missouri, Tennessee, Texas, Auburn
Beating Sam Houston or UAB isn’t impressive. Beating South Carolina, even at home, is. And so is going wire to wire with Oklahoma in Norman despite your atrocious offensive line and questionable officiating (more on that later). Missouri may quietly be the best team in the SEC, or at least have the best healthiest quarterback in Beau Pribula. And even though Tennessee, Texas, and Auburn all have losses, you can’t count them out in the SEC race yet. With all that being said, we’re looking at SEC teams that have razor thin margins between the CFP and the Gator Bowl. Should be a fun ride as conference play heats up.
Tier 6: We’re just waiting for the Big 12 to get wild: Iowa State, TCU, BYU, Utah, Arizona State
I don’t think any team in this tier is currently better than Texas Tech, however, as we saw last year, the Big 12 can get wild and rowdy, and that is what we are expecting here soon. It starts this Friday as Josh Hoover and TCU travels to Tempe to face Arizona State, while BYU has a road trip to Boulder and Iowa State hosts an undefeated Arizona team. If you want fun football, the Big 12 has it for you.
Tier 7: Is the Big Ten deeper than we thought?: Michigan, USC, Maryland, Washington
The only loss we have in this group is a road loss at Oklahoma, and everyone but Washington is already 1-0 in the Big Ten. Michigan did just enough to outduel Nebraska in Lincoln, Maryland went into Camp Randall and destroyed Wisconsin, and USC is quietly looking like a good team with Jayden Maiava. It’s also a huge week for this tier – as USC travels to Champaign to face a battered Illini and Washington hosts Ohio State.
Tier 8: America the Beautiful: US Ryder Cup Team, Memphis, South Florida, North Texas, Navy, Tulane
I can confidently say that I think the American is the best group of 5 conference and their champion will be in the CFP. Memphis solidified this point with upsetting Arkansas at the Liberty Bowl, USF and Tulane already have a power 4 win under their belt despite a power 4 blowout loss, and North Texas and Navy remain undefeated.
Speaking of America, it is Ryder Cup weekend as well, and I have to shoutout the boys of the red, white, and blue as they get ready to go to battle at Bethpage this weekend. Led by the best golfer in the world Scottie Scheffler and the always entertaining Bryson DeChambeau, I’m confident Team USA will make the scene on Long Island rival the scenes in Athens, State College, and Oxford this weekend.
Tier 9: The AP Poll is weird: Notre Dame and Syracuse
Why is Notre Dame ranked? Why did Syracuse not get a single vote? I think Notre Dame is a top 30-40 team, but how do you move up in the polls for beating Purdue? And let’s talk about Syracuse. Syracuse looked like the better team in Death Valley against Clemson, yet still did not get a single vote. I know they looked less than impressive against Tennessee, but is the perception of Clemson that bad? I included them here because they deserve their props, call me nicer than the AP Poll. Also, I love Fran Brown. What a guy.
Tier 10: Five more to watch: Mississippi State, Louisville, UCF, Houston, Europe Ryder Cup Team
Miss State did their job in non-conference and won all 4 games, meaning they only need 2 wins in conference to get to a bowl. It will be tough, but let’s see how they look against Tennessee this weekend before calling them the SEC’s doormat. Louisville, UCF, and Houston are each 3-0, and Louisville and Houston could be undefeated when they play Miami and Texas Tech respectively.
And we must watch out for the Europe Ryder Cup team, even though this year’s edition is on home soil. Although Rory McIlroy has been up and down this season after winning the Masters, Tommy Fleetwood is riding high after the Tour Championship win and will look to upset the USA on home soil.
Bonus tier: Ouch, that must’ve hurt: Illinois, Wisconsin, Clemson, Cal, SEC refs
To recap – Illinois lost by 53, Wisconsin looked pitiful against Maryland as fans were calling to Fire Fickell, Clemson is back to Clemsoning, and Cal got blanked by San Diego State! To top it off, SEC refs had an atrocious day in Norman, as they overturned an Auburn scoop and score touchdown that probably should’ve been upheld and missed the illegal “fake substitution” on one of Oklahoma’s touchdowns. We’ve seen better weekends than what this group went through this past weekend. If you’ve read this far, I hope this upcoming weekend doesn’t get as bad as this tier.
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