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Do you ever look at the AP Poll or some other poll and wonder which college football team they were watching to have them ranked where they do? Me too. We have a feature here at RotoBaller this year in which we will have a rundown of the NCAA college football power rankings every week. This is just like a top-25 poll anywhere else except I probably watch more football than most of them. Take that for what you will.
This is also going to be far different than traditional polls because I will only look at what has been done on the field so far, not what is expected of a specific team. These rankings will normalize throughout the year, but it could look a little crazy in the first month. Also, I do put a little more into the teams I had ranked in the preseason. That means that I won't dock a team that much for beating up on an inferior opponent and not playing someone better.
Many teams have played at least one conference game so far, or at least one Power Five opponent. The rankings should start to normalize here a little. I will tell you that beating South Florida by 14 probably isn't enough to land the Tide back on the list. That doesn't mean that I don't think they're top-25 material. They just haven't played like it.
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(25) Central Florida (3-0) (NR)
Last week: W 48-14 vs. Villanova
A win on the Smurf Turf in Boise has them in my top 25, but just barely. The domination of Kent was slightly more impressive than Syracuse's domination of Western Michigan.
(24) UCLA (3-0) (NR)
Last week: W 59-7 vs. North Carolina Central
The Bruins still don't have a quarterback and still haven't left California, but a win at San Diego State by 25 points is a strong win. So is a win over Coastal Carolina (maybe).
(23) James Madison (3-0) (NR)
Last week: W 16-14 at Troy
The Dukes have wins in Charlottesville and at Troy, both are tough places to play. James Madison has already thrown down the gauntlet for the best team in the Fun Belt and we are only halfway through September.
(22) Iowa (3-0) ⇑2
Last week: W 41-10 vs. Western Michigan
Western Michigan's battle plan was a little weird, but Iowa scoring 41 points on anyone is impressive. They hadn't done so since October 1 of 2021 against Maryland.
(21) Oklahoma (3-0) ⇑2
Last week: W 66-17 at Tulsa
1. Oklahoma has the No. 3 scoring offense in the country.
2. Oklahoma has the No. 5 scoring defense in the country.
3. Don't mind Oklahoma. pic.twitter.com/fMUZRa5GRp
— RJ Young (@RJ_Young) September 21, 2023
This was a recipe for playing for Championships under Bob Stoops in the early 2000s. Of course, the only decent team we have played is SMU. SMU has had a top 15 offense every year since 2017, but that was with Tanner Mordecai and Shane Buechele, both Big 12(14) transfers. Preston Stone isn't either of those guys.
(20) Oregon State (3-0) ⇔
Last Week: W 26-9 vs. San Diego State
The Aztecs are about as close as you can get to a Power Five team without actually being one. Oregon State gets a big chance at a statement win over Washington State in the Pac-2 Championship...in September.
(19) Fresno State (3-0) (NR)
Last week: W 29-0 at Arizona State
Three wins, including two at Power Five teams, finally gets Fresno ranked. Shutting out the Sun Devils in Tempe goes a long way toward this ranking as well.
(18) Michigan (3-0) ⇔
Last week: W 31-6 vs. Bowling Green
Another methodical beating. Don't get bent, Michigan fans. This schedule will even itself out soon enough and the Wolverines will be in the top five like we all believe them to be.
(17) Miami (FL) (3-0) ⇓1
Last week: W 48-7 vs. Bethune-Cookman
The Hurricanes hold serve with a methodical pounding of Bethune-Cookman.
(16) Georgia (3-0) ⇑2
Last week: W 24-14 vs. South Carolina
The Bulldogs were in a fight with Spencer Rattler for a half or so, but they did what good teams do: outlast and persevere.
(15) Oregon (3-0) ⇓1
Last week: W 55-10 vs. Hawaii
This was another nice tune-up for Bo Nix and company.
(14) USC (3-0) ⇓1
Last week: BYE
Not much to see here. Just a Heisman contender and the best team money can buy.
(13) Washington (3-0) ⇓2
Last week: W 41-7 at Michigan State
This was total destruction again by Washington State, but Ohio State and Notre Dame also have road wins over Power Five teams and looked good this week. I can't really move them down.
MICHAEL PENIX JR. IS A MAN ON A MISSION ? pic.twitter.com/ytKd3Uorht
— ESPN (@espn) September 17, 2023
(12) Ohio State (3-0) ⇓3
Last week: W 63-10 vs. Western Kentucky
The Buckeyes showed up for this one. Kyle McCord only had four incompletions and threw three touchdowns. This was exactly the kind of game that the Buckeyes wanted to see before the game with the Irish.
Kyle McCord had a big-time game today. ?
Watch each of his 3 @OhioStateFB TDs passes. ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/zYbaRiyx34
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) September 16, 2023
(11) Notre Dame (4-0) ⇓3
Last week W 41-17 vs. Central Michigan
Another methodical win for the Irish.
Nole fans I’m glad we do t have to play this guy again ?. I see a lot of Ohio state people keep saying they ain’t navy. Sam Hartman has been picking apart the ACC for years and they’ll find this out on Saturday. I’m rooting for this dude fr pic.twitter.com/XQE1nbWqBb
— Zachery Griggy ?? (@ZGriggy1995) September 20, 2023
(10) Penn State (3-0) ⇑2
Last week: W 30-13 at Illinois
Another road win over a Power Five team moves Penn State back up the list. The defense looks as advertised and the offense is getting the job done.
(9) North Carolina (3-0) ⇑1
Last week: W 31-13 vs. (21) Minnesota
So we can now infer that Appalachian State is better than Minnesota. Some of us thought so anyway. This is another Power Five win over one of my ranked teams, so the Tarheels move up a little.
(8) Missouri (3-0) (NR)
Last week: W 30-27 vs. (19) Kansas State
The win over a ranked team at home leaves them a little below the ones above them. Ole Miss beat Tulane on the road and Utah also has a road Power Five win. This was a wild game, and the Thicker Kicker deserves another look.
?HARRISON MEVIS 61 YARD FG FOR THE MIZZOU WIN!!! DOWN GOES #15 K-STATE!!!? pic.twitter.com/TYOZtcbFkO
— Video from: @TSV__1 (@TSV__1) September 16, 2023
Build the Mevis statue pic.twitter.com/UBN97mcwS1
— Calum McAndrew (@C_McAndrew95) September 16, 2023
(7) Utah (3-0) ⇔
Last week: W 31-7 vs. Weber State
The Florida win gains a little traction after the Gators dumped the Vols, but we really won't know what we have in Utah until Cameron Rising takes the field. We were supposed to get an update on his status by today, but as per usual NCAA protocol, no official announcement has been made regarding Rising or UCLA's starting quarterback for the game.
(6) Mississippi (3-0) ⇔
Last week: W 48-23 vs. Georgia Tech
Ole Miss really didn't put on that great of a show this week. They ended up covering with a fourth quarter flurry, but it was a 10-point game with about 10 minutes left. I didn't see quite enough to move them up over the Cougars, but I couldn't really argue with it either.
(5) Washington State (3-0) ⇓1
Last week: W 64-21 vs. Northern Colorado
That Cameron Ward to Lincoln Victor connection could win a lot of games for the Cougars this year.
(4) Duke (3-0) ⇑1
Last week: W 38-14 vs. Northwestern
Duke has a conference win over a ranked team and another Power Five victory. That gives them the edge over Washington State for this week.
(3) Colorado (3-0) ⇔
Last week: W 43-35 vs. Colorado State (2 OT)
The Ralphies have beaten a ranked team on the road, a Power Five team, and an archrival. That's good enough to keep them up here.
This is a major win for Colorado Football. Both CU and CSU. The nation is losing sleep over two teams who won 4 games COMBINED last year. Overtime here we come! #RockyMountainShowdown
— Justin Adams (@justinadamsTV) September 17, 2023
(2) Florida State (3-0) ⇔
Last week: W 31-29 at Boston College
I wanted to move the Seminoles down after nearly blowing a 21-point lead. They didn't do much beat the Eagles as the Eagles beat themselves with a program-worst 18 penalties. Something can be said for survival and the Welles game always gets BC charged up. The LSU win still counts big, especially with their destruction of the Bulldogs in StarkVegas.
(1) Texas (3-0) ⇔
Last week: W 31-10 vs. Wyoming
The win in Tuscaloosa is still king of the season so far. Texas was played tough by Wyoming but pulled away late. I'm not really going to dock them for that. This Wyoming team is strong enough to make noise in the Mountain West.
Others Receiving Votes
- Syracuse
- Rutgers
- BYU
- Kentucky
- Maryland
Stay tuned for the college football rankings here at RotoBaller throughout the entire season!
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