Ranking 131 college football teams after Week 10: No debate about Georgia at No. 1

We tried, we thought, we hoped. But ultimately, like Thanos, Georgia is inevitable.

The Dawgs’ 27-13 win over No. 1 Tennessee was never as close as the final score and made it clear that Georgia is easily the best team in the country. So it’s back at #1 in The Athletic 131.

Georgia played against Kent State and Missouri with his food, but at the end of the day, at one big point, no one compares to his depth and talent. The College Football Playoff Committee should be allowed to keep slots 2-4 open just to score a point.

Tennessee still has a shot at the CFP even if they lose. Georgia’s chances of winning the SEC likely increased when LSU beat Alabama in overtime, and if Tennessee finishes 11-1 with just that loss, the Vols will have a case. (Don’t forget that Tennessee blew up the doors of LSU in Baton Rouge.)

But there’s only one case for the No. 1. Though Georgia lost a record 15 NFL draft picks to last year’s team, she could still throw a touchdown pass to Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, a former Top 60 draft pick. Recruits who had a touchdown starts his career on Saturday. Tight end Brock Bowers is perhaps the most talented player in the country. Quarterback Stetson Bennett threw for 226 yards in the first half and attempted just four passes in the second half as the Dawgs melted the clock away.

Georgia is #2 in 247Sports’ Team Talent Ratings, and only Alabama and Ohio State are close to the Dawgs. Georgia likely won’t have to play Alabama this year after the Tide lost a second game, and Ohio State was rarely tested. Kirby Smart made Georgia the Alabama-like Death Star people always thought it could be.

Georgia may be inevitable, but nothing else in this sport is. After another crazy weekend, here’s the Week 11 edition of The Athletic 131.

1-10

I was surprised to see that the CFP committee ranked Ohio state as #2 last week. The Buckeyes move up to No. 3 here this week, but reluctantly after an ugly 21-7 win at Northwestern. Yes, the weather was bad, but the Buckeyes struggled at times to lead the ball and were far from dominant. However, the win against Notre Dame is looking better as time goes on after the Fighting Irish dominated Clemson 35-14. Still, I kept Michigan ahead and brought it to 2nd place. The Wolverines have started slowly in recent weeks, lagging behind at half-time on Saturday at Rutgers, but they have never been in danger of losing. The weak non-conference schedule hurts, but with the Illinois and Ohio states closing, it ultimately doesn’t matter. The Michigan-Ohio state winner will almost certainly get into the CFP, and the loser will need help.

TCU moves up to 4th after another comeback win, this time over Texas Tech 34-24. People were worried about seventh place in the CFP, but if you win your games, you’ll be fine. The 9-0 Horned Frogs trailed five straight games, winning the last three by double digits. They also have a two-game lead over the rest of the Big 12 and almost secured a spot in the Big 12 title game. If TCU wins, it’s in. If it loses a game before that but still wins the Big 12, it still has a chance. Trips to Texas and Baylor will be big tests.

LSU moved up to 7th after their OT win over Alabama. (Stephen Lew / USA Today)

I had LSU well below the CFP committee last week, but the win over Alabama puts the Tigers well into the top 10. LSU now has wins over Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Alabama. Those are very good wins, which is why the Tigers are ahead of USC and UCLA. (Oregon has the win against UCLA to thank.) I didn’t include LSU in my list of possible playoff teams last week because no two-loss teams made it, but the Tigers now have an outside shot.

USC and UCLA are difficult to compare. USC’s only loss was in Utah and by a narrow margin on the road. UCLA easily defeated Utah but also lost a one-sided game in Oregon, which USC won’t play in the regular season. This will eventually play out as Michigan-Ohio State unwinds on the field on November 19th.

11-25

Alabama drops out of the top 10. With so many close finishes, it’s not hard to imagine a scenario where Alabama is still unbeaten or has four losses. The bottom line is that this Bama team just isn’t that good compared to previous seasons, with major weaknesses in receiver and defense. Not only did Clemson lose, but some of his wins (Syracuse, Wake Forest) were devalued while another (Florida State) looked better. North Carolina is 8-1 but barely held their own against Virginia 31-28. Texas also barely held against Kansas State 34-27 and set up a big home game against TCU next week. NC State def. Wake Forest 30-21 and is 3-1 as Devin Leary sustained a season-ending injury.

Liberty moves into the top 25 after a 21-19 win in Arkansas. However, the Flames do not qualify as an independent team for the Group of 5 New Year’s Six bid. Illinois lost 23-15 to Michigan State after going 1-for-6 in fourth place and huffing on a punt. Florida State beat Miami 45-3, two years after Miami won that game 52-10, showing the direction of these programs. The Seminoles are bowl-eligible for the first time since 2019.

UCF had the largest gap between rankings in the CFP (No. 25) and The Athletic 131 (No. 46) last week. That loss in Louisville that had weighed on the Knights no longer does because of the Cardinals’ turnaround. Wins over SMU and Cincinnati at home and now Memphis away give the Knights a boost into the top 25. Next up is a big game in Tulane.

26-50

Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Wake Forest and Syracuse fall out of the top 25 after losses. Baylor (win vs. Oklahoma) and Notre Dame (win vs. Clemson) are close to the top 25. Coastal Carolina beat Appalachian State for their first real quality win of the season and the Chants are finally moving into the top 30.

Notre Dame and Louisville are difficult to classify. The Irish won against Clemson and Notre Carolina but lost to Marshall and Stanford. Louisville has won against UCF and Wake Forest and lost to Boston College. Ultimately, both have been trending upwards since the beginning of the season, so that carries weight.

Kansas eventually bounced back with a win over Oklahoma State. The Cowboys were without their starting QB, but so was Kansas.

Maryland beat Michigan State, which beat Wisconsin, which beat Maryland on Saturday, so you can order these three teams any way you like. Duke is bowl-qualified in Mike Elko’s first season as head coach after the 38-31 win over Boston College, and the Blue Devils move into the top 50.

51-75

BYU ended a four-game losing streak with a 31-28 win at Boise State, ending the Broncos’ four-game winning streak. SMU defeated Houston 77-63 in the highest-scoring FBS game in modern college football history. Texas A&M has lost five straight games, most recently a 41-24 home loss to Florida while the Aggies were battling a flu virus. North Texas is bowl-eligible and is 10-1 in their last 11 Conference USA games, including a 52-14 win over FIU on Saturday.

76-100

Miami would fall even further after a 45-3 loss to Florida State were it not for nearly all teams below the Hurricanes also losing. Memphis narrowly lost to UCF, advancing a spot only on losses from Middle Tennessee (to Louisiana Tech) and Miami. Fresno State has won four straight games after beating Hawaii 55-13.

UConn is 5-5 after beating UMass and has the most wins in a season since 2015. Rice grabbed a much-needed 37-30 win over UTEP. Ohio is bowl-qualified 6-3 and sits 45-24 atop the MAC East Division after beating Buffalo. Virginia Tech gambled away an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter, losing to Georgia Tech. The Hokies lost six straight games for the first time since 1987.

101-131

Bowling Green is 4-1 in the MAC and has lost 5-2 to Eastern Kentucky since losing seven overtime. The regular season finale against Ohio could be for the MAC East title. Temple’s 54-28 win over USF was one of the most striking results of the weekend, leaving the Bulls almost at the bottom. USF then fired coach Jeff Scott. UMass remains in 131st place after losing to UConn.

(Top Photo: Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)