Welcome back to college football tier rankings, as we look ahead to Week 6. Dang, we’re almost half way done with the college football season. Why does college football always fly by? What a weekend it was, especially if you were a European who somehow got degrees from both Alabama and Oregon while being a Reds fan. In this week’s edition of tier rankings, we take a stab at ranking what we have seen on the field so far, while also bringing in two little round ball sports into the fray as well. As a reminder, we don’t rank straight 1-25, and the gaps in tiers aren’t linear and don’t necessarily mean one tier is straight up “better” than the other. You’ve seen Barstool Big Cat’s NFL Rankings. Our college rankings are quite similar! Onward!
Tier 1: Title favorites: Ohio State, Oregon, Brewers, Phillies, Blue Jays, and Mariners
Even as an SEC grad, I am not blind or biased enough to admit that the top of the Big Ten has passed the SEC by. For the third year in a row, the best team in the nation probably comes from the Big Ten. The question is, which one is it? Ohio State answered the test with an easy win over Washington where the defense only gave up 234 total yards, and Oregon went into Happy Valley and won in double OT despite whiteout conditions, holding the outstanding rushing duo of Kaytron Allen and Nic Singleton to 75 yards on the ground. Ohio State gets Minnesota at home before going to Illinois, and Oregon gets to recover with a bye week before hosting another top 10 matchup with Indiana. Both teams will be favored in every remaining game heading towards a collision in Indianapolis.
And not to distract from college football, but one of my favorite months is upon us with postseason baseball. All four bye teams in the Brewers, Phillies, Blue Jays, and Mariners earned it, winning 90 or more games each, and will get to avoid any short-series shenanigans in the Wild Card round. Despite the unpredictability of postseason baseball, we could easily see one of these teams hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy in four weeks. I can’t wait to see the scene in Seattle on Saturday in particular.
Tier 2: Might want to start looking at Atlanta hotels in December: Alabama, Ole Miss, Texas A&M
Although still early in the conference season, I think Alabama, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M are rising to the top in the SEC. Ole Miss looked like the better team all afternoon behind Trinidad Chambliss’s 385 scrimmage yards, Texas A&M made life miserable once again for the Auburn offense, despite failing to pull away, and Alabama went into Athens and ended Georgia’s 33 game home winning streak, despite failing to score in the second half.
As a Georgia fan, I don’t want to talk about it much, as I am left to wonder how different Alabama looks when they play Georgia compared to other opponents. 2021 Auburn, 2023 Auburn, 2024 Vanderbilt, and 2025 Florida State all come to mind. But Ty Simpson can zip the ball and remain poised under pressure, which doesn’t bode well for opposing defenses when Ryan Williams, Germie Bernard, Isaiah Horton, and even somehow Kadyn Proctor can catch balls in the tightest of windows. Alabama still has question marks with their rush defense and lack of rush, but they already own the tiebreaker over Georgia and would also own it over Vanderbilt, Missouri, and Tennessee if they can get through the next month unscathed.
Tier 3: AQ or Bust: Miami, Texas Tech
Miami enjoyed a bye week in between their in-state rivalry games while Texas Tech also enjoyed a week off before they face off with an in-state rival in Houston. However, after watching Florida State fall to Virginia, TCU fall to Arizona State, and BYU barely scrape by Colorado, these teams are the rightful favorites in their conference, and an AQ would go a long way in CFP seeding.
Tier 4: Down, but not out: Georgia, Penn State, Yankees, Red Sox, Padres
It was a tough Saturday night for my Bulldogs and for the Nittany Lions. However, not all is lost. Both teams are still good and will be favored to win every game remaining on their schedule, except for Penn State’s trip to Columbus. 10-2 will get both teams into the CFP and most likely hosting home games come December 20th. If both teams want to be title contenders, they will have to squeeze a little bit out of both Gunner Stocker and Drew Allar. Both quarterbacks were fine on Saturday night, but Allar’s overtime interception cost them the game and Stockton only had 130 yards passing and failed to use his legs more.
And now back to more baseball. The Yankees get put here because they lost the tiebreaker to the Blue Jays, meaning they go from 1 seed to 4 seed in the American League, while the Red Sox and Padres get rewarded with road trips to the Bronx and Wrigley for their seasons. At least for them, it’s not a one-game playoff. All three of the teams can win a divisional series if they can survive the wild card.
Tier 5: Broken thumbs, sore necks: Oklahoma, Europe Ryder Cup team
Injuries suck, especially if they cost a Heisman favorite up to a month and somehow gift the European Ryder Cup team a half of a point without earning it. I still think Oklahoma is a legitimate CFP contender, but they need John Mateer back sooner than later (pun intended). And going to golf, I said last week the European team wasn’t to mess with and I was sadly right. However, despite the disastrous start, the US somehow had a chance to win or tie on Sunday. But could you imagine the European pressure if the US had all of the Hovland match point? How does a forfeit result in a half point instead of forfeiture of a full point?
Tier 6: Eyes on the Midwest: Indiana, Iowa State, Cubs, Guardians, Reds, Kansas Speedway
Indiana survived an always tricky Kinnick Stadium with a late touchdown and another solid performance from Fernando Mendoza, Iowa State knocked around Arizona and looked good doing it behind Rocco Becht’s arm and legs, each maintaining their spot at the top of their conference with their second conference win in as many tries.
Additionally, all the Midwestern baseball teams (plus the Brewers mentioned in tier 1) can make noise in the postseason. How about the Guardians coming back from 15.5 games down to win the AL Central? And the Reds knocking out the Mets with their billion-dollar payroll? And bonus content – Georgia’s own and NASCAR’s most popular driver Chase Elliott won a wild NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway this past weekend coming from 10th with two laps left to make a dramatic bump pass in turn four on the last lap. At least someone from Georgia won this weekend!
Tier 7: How’s the sugar from that cupcake?: Vanderbilt, Missouri
Not much can be said about beating Utah State and UMass, but Vanderbilt and Missouri keep winning, ensuring both teams will be undefeated when playing Alabama. Vanderbilt travels to Tuscaloosa this Saturday with College Gameday and all the hoopla surrounding that, while Mizzou gets a bye week before hosting Bama on October 11th. We will know if these teams are true SEC contenders after the Alabama games.
Tier 8: I don’t trust you: LSU, Texas, Dodgers, Tigers
I know LSU only lost by 5 to Ole Miss, but I still don’t trust them to win against Alabama, Texas A&M, and even Vanderbilt. Call it the Brian Kelly effect. Texas can prove to me that they can be trusted if they go into Gainesville and dominate, but I don’t see Arch lighting up the Gator defense no matter how many bad spots Lagway puts them in.
And wrapping up our MLB postseason teams, the Tigers choked a 15.5 game lead and are only in because of what feels like Astros injuries, and the Dodgers have an awful pen which doesn’t bode well for a short-series and especially two games in Philly shall they advance. Source: me, a Braves fan, who still has nightmares from the 2022 and 2023 NLDS.
Tier 9: Survive and advance: Tennessee, Georgia Tech, BYU, Arizona State
Georgia Tech and Arizona State were both down 17-0 and won, BYU was down 14-3 and won, and Tennessee survived cowbells with an overtime win. All of these teams are poll-worthy, but just how good are they? Can Georgia Tech survive the ACC “gauntlet” of no ranked teams since they only turn into the Avengers playing ranked ones? Can Tennessee survive the SEC grind? Can BYU and Arizona State give Texas Tech and Iowa State some company at the top of the Big 12? Questions remain for all four of these teams.
Tier 10: Orange and blue, not black and blue: Illinois, Virginia
Illinois rebounded nicely against USC, winning on a last second field goal despite blowing a two-touchdown lead, and how about that scene in Charlottesville on Friday night, player safety considered. Virginia got its signature win of the Tony Elliott era, which has us wondering if they can crash the ACC party. As a reminder, their loss to NC State is a non-conference loss and has no effect on Charlotte.
Tier 11: Young gun quarterbacks, lead the way: Notre Dame, Michigan
Michigan and Bryce Underwood enjoyed the week off, but Notre Dame demolished Arkansas and ended the Sam Pittman era behind CJ Carr’s 354 passing yards and 4 touchdowns. Notre Dame has a legitimate chance to win out, and Michigan has a chance to win out before playing Ohio State. Each team’s toughest test remaining will be back-to-back tests against USC, as Michigan travels to Los Angeles in two weeks and Notre Dame hosts them in three weeks.
Tier 12: 12 seed incoming: Memphis, South Florida, North Texas, Navy, Tulane
Another week has passed, and nothing convinces me otherwise that the 12 seed and G5 bid to the CFP won’t be coming from the American. Memphis, North Texas, Navy, and Tulane all handled business while USF enjoyed a bye week. However, Boise State, Fresno State, and James Madison are all lurking, but I don’t see them being able to pass any of these 5 teams if they end up American champs.
Tier 13: Five more to watch: Utah, Louisville, Maryland, Cincinnati, Houston
Utah rebounded nicely with a blowout of West Virginia, Louisville survived Pitt and Houston came back from the dead against Oregon State, Maryland hosts Washington undefeated after a bye week, and Cincinnati went into Kansas and beat the Jayhawks. Houston, Louisville, and Cincinnati all host ranked teams this week in Texas Tech, Virginia, and Iowa State respectively.
Tier 14: Bad, bad weekend: Florida State, US Ryder Cup team, and the Mets
Florida State blew their chance to host Gameday with a tough loss to Virginia, the US Ryder Cup team failed to show up until Sunday, and the Mets three month collapse finally came to its bitter end (or sweet end for Braves fans like me) as the Marlins knocked them out of the postseason. Florida State gets a chance to immediately redeem themselves with a home primetime matchup against Miami, but the US Ryder Cup team will have to wait two long years before trying to get revenge on opposing soil in Ireland, and the Mets will see Pete Alonso test free agency after missing the postseason despite having the best record in baseball in June at 45-24.
That’s all for this week, enjoy your college football and postseason baseball this week!
Check Out All EasySportz College Football Content Here!
