Two weeks ago, I decided to have a top-37 for College Football (I may also have rankings for College Basketball). I wanted a ranking system that didn’t overrate Notre Dame and Ohio State based on their names.
I took last week off to study each team. Do we need rankings every week? The answer is no; rankings only matter for TV dollars. Waiting two weeks is perfect and how the BillWill Top-37 will operate.
I noticed that no one cares about my thoughts on the 37th best team in the nation, so I’m changing things up. You will still see the rankings, but only the top-12 teams will have associated write-ups. The top-12 teams because I want a 12 team playoff-like…now.
You can check it out here if you want to recap my rankings after two weeks of the season. I had Clemson at 9 and mentioned that they shouldn’t drop out of the top-10 with the weakest schedule in football, but it turns out Clemson is BAD BAD and barely cracked the top-37 this week.
Michigan was ranked inside the top-20 when the AP Voters didn’t want to put them in the top-25. I also had Arkansas in the top-20 after their big win over Texas, which looks even better now. Finally, look at SMU; I had them in the top-37 two weeks ago and took them on the ML as a 9.5 underdog against TCU.
Here is the top-37 after week 4 of College Football.
37. Oregon State Beavers
36. UTSA Roadrunners
35. Louisville Cardinals
34. Liberty Flames
33. Wyoming Cowboys
32. Clemson Tigers
31. Purdue Boilermakers
30. Army Black Knights
29. San Diego State Aztecs
28. Arizona State Sun Devils
27. Maryland Terrapins
26. Kentucky Wildcats
25. Boston College Eagles
24. UCLA Bruins
23. NC State Wolfpack
22. Texas A&M Aggies
21. Oklahoma State Cowboys
20. Fresno State Bulldogs
19. Texas Longhorns
18. SMU Mustangs
17. Baylor Bears
16. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
15. Ohio State Buckeyes
14. Michigan State Spartans
13. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
12. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
Jamey Chadwell has the Chanticleers 4-0 with wins over Kansas and Buffalo. Yeah, I know, big deal. But there aren’t many Power 5 opponents with the balls to schedule Coastal.
Quarterback Grayson McCall leads the 5th best scoring offense in the nation scoring 45.5 points per game. Only Ole Miss, Pittsburgh, Texas, and Alabama score more points per game.
11. Oklahoma Sooners
The way Oklahoma has played the last two weeks, they have no business being inside the top-10. Last week Nebraska hung around the whole, and West Virginia should have won on Saturday.
If the Sooners want to be top-4 at the end of the season, they have to get better production from Spencer Rattler. The third-year quarterback has 470 passing yards on 50-for-70 passing with two touchdowns and one interception.
10. Michigan Wolverines
It’s time to admit that maybe Michigan is a good football team. This past weekend, they didn’t look great in a 20-13 win over Rutgers but don’t sleep on the Scarlet Knights.
Running back duo Blake Corum and Hassan Haskins leads a Wolverines squad that ranks 5th in rushing offense. Michigan averages 6.29 yards per attempt and 290.75 yards per game.
9. Cincinnati Bearcats
Cincinnati has a HUGE game on the road at Notre Dame this weekend. A win could go a long way for a run at the College Football Playoff.
The Bearcats already have a dominating road win over Indiana this season. Can they do it again?
Cincinnati will need quarterback Desmond Ridder to have a good game. Ridder and the Bearcats are 5-2 against Power 5 opponents during his career. He’s thrown for 1,105 yards with 7 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Ridder also added 236 yards on the ground with 4 rushing touchdowns.
8. Ole Miss Rebels
The more I watch other teams, the more I love Ole Miss. It’s unfortunate the week I ranked the Rebels 8th; they take on Alabama. But, doesn’t it feel like if anyone is going to beat Nick Saban, it would be Lane Kiffin?
With a 3-0 record, Ole Miss averages 638.3 yards per game, with their closest contest coming in a 19-point win to start the season against Louisville.
7. Arkansas Razorbacks
YEEEEEESSSS SIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRR!
What a guy and what a coach Sam Pittman is. Think about how awful Arkansas was for a second. In 2018 and 2019, the Razorbacks went 2-10. Now, Arkansas is 4-0 with two pretty impressive wins over Texas and Texas A&M.
Arkansas being this good gives me hope Tennessee can do the same.
6. Iowa Hawkeyes
The team is BLAH and plays BLAH football. Maryland, Penn State, Purdue, and Wisconsin are coming up the next four games.
I don’t have anything against Iowa; I just don’t want to watch 1950s football. I hope they loose*.
5. Florida Gators
Does Dan Mullen have a National Championship type of team down in Gainesville? I know you’re laughing, but hear me out. They should have pulled the upset against Alabama even without Anthony Richardson.
It all comes down to the Georiga game, which right now I think the Bulldogs are slightly better. However, in a 12-team playoff, I would hate my favorite team pulling the Gators.
4. Penn State Nittany Lions
At the time, the Wisconsin win to start the season was a great win. And, same could be said about the Auburn win. However, Penn State’s toughest games are still ahead.
At Iowa in two weeks will be a test. Still lurking are Ohio State, Michigan, and Michigan State. We will see if the Nittany Lions have what it takes to finish the season in the top 4.
3. Oregon Ducks
The Ohio State win isn’t as impressive as we thought, but it was a road win early in the season.
The Ducks have scored over 30 points in each of their first 4 games. But the defense has been outstanding, especially the past two weeks.
Games will Stanford and California coming up, Oregon should move to 6-0 before traveling to play UCLA.
2. Georgia Bulldogs
I wanted to put Georgia at number one. On Saturday, they could have scored 100 on Vanderbilt; it was like 35-0 within 10 minutes.
The Bulldogs have the best total defense in the nation giving up just 3.34 yards per play and 185.3 yards per game. If Georgia can beat Florida, I think they will make the College Football Playoff despite what happens in the SEC Championship Game.
1. Alabama Crimson Tide
Until someone beats them, Alabama will continue to be number one. Fingers crossed, Ole Miss gets it done.
12-Team Playoff
Round 1
8. Ole Miss Rebels vs 9. Cincinnati Bearcats
5. Florida Gators vs 12. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
7. Arkansas Razorbacks vs 10. Michigan Wolverines
6. Iowa Hawkeyes vs 11. Oklahoma Sooners
Round 2
1. Alabama Crimson Tide v Winner of 8/9
4. Penn State Nittany Lions v Winner of 5/12
2. Georgia Bulldogs v Winner of 7/10
3. Oregon Ducks v Winner of 6/11
