Top 25: Mississippi Schools are Top Two in Saturday Blitz College Football Rankings. Who’s No. 1?

Believe it or not, the Top 25 is harder to put together this week than it was last week. True, we had more undefeated teams last week, but after this past weekend we now have a cluster of 1-loss teams. So while the Top 5 is easy, where do we put everybody after that?

Once again, as we put together this list, remember we no longer care at all about preseason hype. We also couldn’t care less about margin of victory. All we’re basing these rankings on are records, head to head, quality wins, least bad losses, and style points if it absolutely has to come to that.

But we’re near the stage where even style points  won’t matter any time soon.

In a stunning turn of events, the Pac 12 has more Top 25 teams (despite two less conference teams) than the SEC. But don’t get too excited Pac-12 fans. The SEC is still by far the toughest conference and has another three teams that could make a case for being in the Top 25. We just didn’t have enough to put them there yet because Pac-12 teams with similar, but slightly better resumes to this point are getting the nod.

The Big 12 is also very well represented with half the conference in. It’s clear that the SEC, Big 12, and Pac-12 are the three elite conferences, while the ACC and Big Ten have some catching up to do as the other two Power Five Conferences.

So here is our Top 25 following Week 7 of the college football season. Just remember that these aren’t power rankings, so they’re not ranked based on how good we think each team is. They’re ranked based on body of work.

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With the First Pick

1. Mississippi State Bulldogs

This should not be a surprise to anybody. For three straight weeks, the Bulldogs have beaten quality opponents. It’s not like their schedule at the end of the year will have been any tougher than any other SEC West team, but for right now it definitely has been. And Mississippi State has not just beaten them. They’ve blown them out. There’s no question they deserve to be the No. 1 team in the country right now.

2. Ole Miss Rebels

Ole Miss has been equally as impressive as Mississippi State so far. So why are they No. 2? Because State has three quality wins, and Ole Miss only has two to this point. Both teams have played relatively weak non-conference schedules. The Rebels still have the most impressive win, though by beating Alabama. But they haven’t done as much as Mississippi State to this point. So they’re No. 2.

3. Florida State Seminoles

This is the problem with being Florida State. You are a loaded team talent-wise in a pathetic conference. That holds true this year as much as any. Oklahoma State has at least turned out to be a very quality non-conference win, and Clemson is a good team as well. But those aren’t the same quality wins as those on Ole Miss’s and Mississippi State’s resume. That could change with Notre Dame coming up, though.

4. Baylor Bears

The Baylor Bears finally proved they belong. After blowing out sub-par teams and beginning to look ugly in the process, Bryce Petty and Co. had a thrilling comeback victory against TCU over the weekend to remain undefeated. That quality win against a team that has proven to be legitimate is enough to vault the Bears into the Top 5, and right now they have complete control of their own destiny for the college football playoff watch.

5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Surprise! The Irish just keep on winning. Notre Dame has a lot of really good football players on the team, and they have earned this No. 5 spot in our Top 25. But with Stanford as the only quality win, they’re an undefeated team with a decent resume but with a lot more work to do to prove they belong with the elite of the elite. That chance comes this Saturday as they get set to take on the Florida State Seminoles.

6. Auburn Tigers

Auburn right now still has two pretty good wins on the schedule in Arkansas and LSU and a quality win on the road against Kansas State. That’s enough to keep them above all other 1-loss teams, particularly when you consider that their only loss is to the No. 1 team in the country.

7. Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama deserves to be just behind Auburn, but like the Tigers, the Tide have decent wins in West Virginia, Florida, and Arkansas. Also, their only loss was to the No. 2 team in our rankings, so by that alone we can’t drop them too far below other teams in the conference. They are still a power team.

8. TCU Horned Frogs

Sticking to this game we’re playing of good losses, the Horned Frogs lost to the No. 4 team in the country in Baylor. That’s nothing to be ashamed of, and when you consider that they still have a major quality win in Oklahoma, it’s enough to vault them ahead of a few other teams in this Top 25.

9. Arizona Wildcats

Was Arizona supposed to fall back below Oregon after losing on Saturday? Not going to happen. Both teams still only have one loss, and Arizona beat Oregon, who hasn’t played USC. That counts, and it’s enough to keep this team in the Top 10 for right now. Although it may not last since their luck appears to be running out. 

10. Oregon Ducks

The Ducks still have control of their destiny to do everything they want to do. But for right now, they belong as the No. 2 team in the Pac 12. We can’t put them ahead of the team that beat them on their home field. They still have enough quality wins though to belong in the Top 10, and after last Saturday’s blowout win against UCLA, this team is back to looking like a powerhouse.

11. Michigan State Spartans

The Spartans are getting better each week. They have to stay below Oregon right now simply because of the way Oregon blew them out. But this is a different team than that one, and it could be right back in the thick of things by the end of the year. A good win against Nebraska is points in their favor.

12. Oklahoma State Cowboys

You would think that with their only loss being to the No. 3 team in the country, the Oklahoma State Cowboys would be higher up on this list. But they haven’t gained any quality wins yet for that to happen. The Cowboys have been blessed so far with the easy part of the Big 12 schedule. Until they prove themselves with a signature win, we’re not going to vault them anywhere.

13. Oklahoma Sooners

The Sooners don’t have any great wins yet, still, and their loss to TCU right now stands to be a worse loss than the Cowboys’ loss to Florida State. Oklahoma still, like almost everybody else above them on this list, has a chance to accomplish everything it wants to accomplish. But it has yet to prove itself in any meaningful game.

14. Georgia Bulldogs

Georgia is clearly getting back on track after a bad loss to South Carolina. In fact, that loss alone is shaping up to be one worthy of keeping the Dawgs a lot lower on this list. But they also have good wins against Clemson and now Missouri. Those aren’t Top 25 teams, but they are definitely quality teams. So for Georgia, it’s enough to keep them in the Top 15.

15. Nebraska Cornhuskers

The Nebraska Cornhuskers still don’t have anything negative on their resume. This is a team that lost on the road in a close game to the Michigan State Spartans, who right now look like they are far and away the best team in the conference. Although they haven’t beaten anybody significant yet, a quality win over Miami and a good loss are enough to keep them here.

16. Kansas State Wildcats

The Wildcats still have not beaten anybody worth even coming close to mentioning, but they have a better loss than most in Auburn. True, the Tigers lost last Saturday, but they’re still a very good team. And Kansas State was a couple mistakes away from beating them. With that as their only loss, despite no quality wins, they have a pretty good resume so far.

17. Ohio State Buckeyes

The Buckeyes are getting better each week after that bad loss to Virginia Tech. But they still haven’t played anybody noteworthy. A bad loss and a lack of a quality win with their pathetic schedule so far is why we have them this low on the list. Maryland is their best win so far on the season. You could make a case for Marshall having a better resume.

18. Texas A&M Aggies

It may be true that Texas A&M is overrated. But their two losses are to our Top 2 teams in the country. Even if they’re blowouts, who cares? We don’t factor that into the equation unless we have to. Right now the Aggies still have two decent wins in Arkansas and South Carolina, and they have no losses to be ashamed of. So they’re our top 2-loss team.

19. Utah Utes

The Utes have a bad loss in Washington State but a good win in UCLA that unfortunately appears to be looking worse now. We had to put them below Texas A&M because they may not have a quality win that we thought they had, and they certainly have a bad loss. That’s enough to say that we have legitimate questions about Utah, and they don’t have a great 1-loss resume.

20. UCLA Bruins

The Bruins are starting to look worse than we ever would have thought. After falling apart last week against Utah, they simply got blown out by Oregon. Yes, we all know Oregon’s a great team, and that loss can’t hurt UCLA too much, but with 2 straight losses we have some legitimate questions. And they definitely belong below the 1-loss team that beat them.

21. Arizona State Sun Devils

The Sun Devils didn’t play over the weekend, but suddenly that win over USC is looking pretty good, isn’t it? A win like that after the Trojans knocked off Arizona, who is currently the best team in the Pac-12, is enough to keep them in our Top 25. But they still have to stay below UCLA, who blew them out and has played a tougher schedule. They’re at least still ahead of USC.

22. East Carolina Pirates

The Pirates keep on winning. So they haven’t played the toughest schedule, but South Carolina isn’t a terrible loss for a mid-major team, and Virginia Tech is a pretty good win. North Carolina isn’t a terrible when either. Making it to 5-1 is impressive enough to keep this team in the Top 25, and they’re currently the best mid-major team in college football.

23. USC Trojans

Let’s give credit where credit is due. Steve Sarkisian’s team is battling inconsistency right now in his first year, but this is the second major win they have pulled off this year. Arizona is a huge quality win, and USC has no reason not to be in the Top 25 after that. The tough losses to Arizona State and Boston College aren’t completely nullified, but they’re not enough for this team to be unranked.

24. Stanford Cardinal

The Cardinal have 2 unlucky losses and should be undefeated right now. USC beat Stanford at its own game, and Notre Dame needed a lucky fourth down play to win. Still, this team has a quality win against Washington, and it’s enough to say that they belong in our Top 25 for right now. Things could change down the road, but they have better wins than other 2-loss teams such as LSU. So for that we put them in.

25. Marshall Thundering Herd

This team remains in our Top 25 simply because they are undefeated. But they are still a pretty good team and deserve respect for how they have played. Marshall has beaten everybody by at least 25 points since their 15-point win over Miami (Ohio) in Week 1. 6-0 is 6-0. We can’t ignore that, and although they’ve done nothing to deserve being that high in our rankings, being undefeated is enough to be in our Top 25 at this point.