Well, this is a new one. Vanderbilt is in the Top 10!
You read that correctly.
College football kept to its wild and wacky nature on the true opening weekend of the season. The Miami Hurricanes blew through Gainesville with an unexpected clobbering; there was newfound offense in Iowa City; the Oregon Ducks survived a scare from Idaho (yes, Idaho); and the Commodores of Vanderbilt stunned Virginia Tech in Nashville, a victory that propels them into the inaugural Top 10 of the 2024 season.
How long will the Commodores stay here? Well, we’ll see. The Dores have a legitimate shot to be 3-0 before traveling to Missouri on Sept. 21. It’s a pivotal year for Vandy coach Clark Lea to right a ship that went off course in his third season last year (they were 2-10).
But enough about Vandy. Down in Austin, Arch Manning, in a backup role, threw his first college touchdown, and down in Georgia, the top-ranked Bulldogs bashed Dabo Swinney’s bunch. Also down in Georgia, Boise State, one of the Group of Five’s CFP favorites, made the cross-country trip to show off perhaps the most important offseason player retainment of any: running back Ashton Jeanty, who broke the school record with 267 yards rushing and six touchdowns in a 56-45 win over Georgia Southern in a performance that might just kick off the rare G5 Heisman campaign.
In Tuscaloosa, Alabama’s new coach produced a familiar result (a big win). And on the set of GameDay from College Station, Alabama’s former coach dropped an s-bomb on live TV.
And finally, after a slow start in Iowa City, the Hawkeyes’ new-look offense under Tim Lester eventually got it rolling, passing for three TDs in a single game for the first time since… 2021!
But you’re not here for the recaps. You’re here for the Top 10.
There is something very important to keep in mind about our Top 10. It is a Judgement-Free Zone! When ranking teams, we do not consider any preseason polls or any past season results. What happened in the past is, well, in the past.
For instance, you won’t find on here Ohio State (it played Akron) or Texas (it played Colorado State). However, you will find, as mentioned earlier, Vanderbilt!
This system normally rewards teams with tougher early season opponents, but it also makes for an unusual group in the first few weeks. By mid-season, our Top 10 may not be much different than many others. But for now…
1. Georgia
This week: beat Clemson 34-3
Next week: vs. Tennessee Tech
There is an argument to be made as to which team had the most dominating performance against the best competition of Week 1 — Georgia (over Clemson), Miami (at Florida) or Notre Dame (at Texas A&M). We settled on the Bulldogs, who put away the Tigers with a 31-point second-half bashing that had coach Dabo Swinney using colorful language — “ass-kicking” — during his post-game news conference. Georgia’s defense held Clemson to fewer than 200 yards, and Carson Beck sprinkled the ball around to 5-star skill players during that electric final two quarters.
2. Miami
This week: beat Florida 41-17
Next week: vs. Florida A&M
Mario Cristobal and his Hurricanes backed up, at least for one game, all of that offseason hype. New QB Cam Ward carved through the Gators defense for 385 yards and three touchdowns in a game that pitted two third-year coaches, Cristobal and Billy Napier, who badly needed a season-opening victory in an in-state collision. We’re a long way from The U claiming that it’s back, but a dominating performance on the road against an SEC team is a solid start.
3. Notre Dame
This week: beat Texas A&M 23-13
Next week: vs. Northern Illinois
Transfer QB Riley Leonard’s first game as an Aggie is a road win against an SEC team in a hostile environment and against his former coach, Mike Elko. It wasn’t easy or pretty, but Leonard and the Irish managed just enough offensive output. Marcus Freeman’s defense did most of the work. They rattled and battered A&M quarterback Connor Weigman (12-of-30 for 100 yards) and picked him off twice.
4. Penn State
This week: beat West Virginia 34-12
Next week: vs. Bowling Green
In the first game under new OC Andy Kotelnicki, QB Drew Allar showed off that accurate, rocket arm, completing his 11 passes for a whopping 216 yards (12 yards a completion) and three touchdowns. Morgantown isn’t an easy place to play but, boy, did James Franklin’s group make it look that way. Penn State’s defense forced three turnovers and held the Mountaineers to less than 300 yards.
5. Georgia Tech
This week: beat Georgia State 35-12
Next week: at Syracuse
The Yellow Jackets find themselves in the Top 10 not for their win over Georgia State but for that Week 0 victory in Ireland against Florida State. Coach Brent Key’s team, a 10.5-point underdog in the game, handled that vaunted FSU defensive front, pushing around the Noles for nearly 200 yards rushing. Could GT challenge in the ACC championship race in Key’s second full season as coach? There are plenty of winnable games before an October stretch of UNC, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and Miami.
6. Vanderbilt
This week: beat Virginia Tech 34-27 in overtime
Next week: vs. Alcorn State
The Commodores are in the Top 10 after stunning a Virginia Tech team that many people were expecting to contend for the ACC championship. Transfer QB Diego Pavia threw for 190 yards and ran for another 104 in the upset.
7. North Carolina
This week: beat Minnesota 19-17
Next week: vs. Charlotte
Yes, this Thursday night affair featured some ugly football. The Tar Heels nearly did enough to lose it. They needed a Gophers missed field goal as time expired to survive and they did so without their starting qaurterback. Max Johnson, the transfer from Texas A&M and before that LSU, will miss the season after breaking his left in the second half. All of that said, new DC Geoff Collins’ defense provided a bright spot for a UNC program that’s struggled at consistent D since Mack Brown arrived.
8. Colorado
This week: beat North Dakota State 31-26
Next week: at Nebraska
Teams usually don’t find themselves in the season debut edition of our Top 10 after beating an FCS team, but hand it to the Buffaloes for (1) scheduling FCS power North Dakota State and (2) beating FCS power North Dakota State. If Deion Sanders’ group doesn’t improve defensively, they won’t remain in the rankings for very long. A trip to Lincoln next week will test a defense and offensive line that isn’t playing complementary to QB Shedeur Sanders and all-world Travis Hunter.
9. Alabama
This week: beat Western Kentucky 63-0
Next week: vs. South Florida
The Tide join Colorado (No. 9) as the only team in our Top 10 without a win over a power conference opponent. They were just that dominant and against a Group of Five team, Western Kentucky, that isn’t all that bad (WKU has strung together three consecutive winning seasons). The Kalen DeBoer Era began with six touchdowns on the first eight drives. How about this line: QB Jalen Milroe completed seven passes for 200 yards. Three of them went for touchdowns.
10. TCU
This week: beat Stanford 34-27
Next week: vs. Long Island University
Look, there aren’t a lot power conference programs that went on the road to another power conference program in Week 1. In fact, that number is seven. The Horned Frogs didn’t look great at times; TCU trailed most of the game, fumbled three times and incurred seven penalties. But they managed to do enough with QB Josh Hoover tossing for 353 yards. After an up-and-down season a year ago, Hoover is off to a fine start.
