Joel Klatt’s College Football Rankings: Texas is Back, But OSU is Still No. 1

In the latter part of the season, there are clearly defined tiers in the top 10. This is especially true in the middle. Texas is back in the top 10, after their recent rise, and there are some schools that have been penalized for playing “ridiculous opponents” during November. College football is becoming more and more clear. Football Playoff matchups some teams are going to want to avoid, too – or to exploit.Here are Joel Klatt’s top 10 rankings after another week of college football games. 1. Ohio State Klatt: They are the best team in America. Story: Adding a period. I know that some people are going to disagree with me on this. And if you want to argue résumés, I will absolutely agree with you – they do not have the best résumé in the country. They do have the best “turn the game on, watch them, tell me what you think about them” résumé, which is: eye test. You can tell that Ohio State is different when you watch them. Their players are all different. Talking to different coaches who have faced Ohio State throughout the year and especially those that played them in the championship year last year, you’ll hear them say things like “Yeah that’s a much better team than it was a year ago.” Most people are pointing to the quarterback. Everyone is pointing to the defense. Last year’s quarterback Will Howard was good, but he was not Julian Sayin. And that defense was the No. They were No. 1 in the nation, but had to rebuild during the year. The team lost a lot to Oregon and also didn’t perform well in other games, but they still managed to be ranked No. It is the best team in America. But this defense is suffocating. They are playing people. Indiana Klatt says: “I feel great about Indiana.” I’m among those who think the win over Penn State on Saturday was fantastic. This was a hard win. They were able win in tough situations and places without their A-game. I’m concerned about Indiana’s depth. You can tell that Indiana is a completely different football team when Elijah Sarratt and Drew Evans are not on the field. Aiden Fisher was not there the previous week. So there’s some issues right now from a health standpoint – they don’t have the depth. The last three, four and even five recruiting cycles haven’t been at the level necessary to cope with injuries. They need everyone healthy. Texas A&M Klatt’s take: Ohio State is No. Then I have these two teams. I hate having to choose between these two teams, as I love them both. Inevitably, you’ll be placed in these corners and someone will claim, “It’s because of the affiliation.”  Texas A&M at No. Indiana comes in at No. The coin could flip either way. A&M was fantastic against Missouri. And I love their balance, and the fact that different styles of games have been won. I am a huge Marcel Reed fan, and I love coach Mike Elko. It’s a good, great team that could do some damage in the coming year. And they are. My concern for A&M is their run defense, they gave up over 200 yards again. A&M is 132 out of 136 in yards per carry allowed when you strip out yards lost to sacks: when you strip out sacks, A&M is allowing 5.8 yards per carry. This is a problem. Some teams could or would exploit this. This will not be exploited in the SEC Championship Game if Alabama plays them. They could be exploited if they played Oregon in the playoff. Texas Tech can run the football, Notre Dame can run the football. 4. Georgia …and…5. Oregon Klatt says: Oregon and Georgia reminds me of eachother. They are great teams, and they have the physical strength to win football matches. They are able to win in tough games, in shootouts or on the road. Both teams remind me of each other. I would not like to play either in the playoff. These two teams are not my favorite. There’s no doubt that these coaches are all of the same caliber and will prepare their teams to play. Alabama Klatt: I think these three spots are grouped together in this 6-5-4 zone. When I put all three together in this grouping, I can clearly see that Alabama is third. The reason for this is what I said about the answers. Oregon and Georgia both have more answers and they’ve demonstrated that they are capable of answering the bell using more than their best answer. Alabama has risen to the top of my list as a result. 6. Bama has the answer to this with their passing game. This passing game is spectacular when it is on. The problem is that it can also turn at times. It turns off when Alabama needs it to. Now the defense showed up, and they did a lot of great things against LSU – and granted, LSU, who knows what’s going on there, that’s a bit of a dumpster fire. It isn’t that I dislike Alabama. It’s hard to slow down their passing game, and many teams will not be able. I believe Alabama can beat almost all teams in the nation. Alabama has no other option if this one goes away. Alabama’s running game hasn’t been perfected yet, and this could be a big problem. Texas Tech Klatt says: “I’m going to repeat: This is a team which will easily make it to the quarterfinals or even the semifinals of the national championship.” What a great year. Gosh! I’m glad for them. You know why? They invested, they pursued it. This is why I hate people who say, “I cannot believe what Texas Tech does.” Texas Tech is determined to win. They can do it because the rules permit them to. If you don’t like it, it’s probably because you’re not as committed as Texas Tech. 8. Ole Miss Klatt’s Take: I actually lowered Ole Miss a spot. I am really starting to like the idea of penalizing teams who play ridiculous opponents, especially in November. The Citadel, you say? Stupid. Coach Lane Kiffin, who is cool and collected, photobombed a selfie taken by the couple on the field. Lane, way to go. It was a lot of fun. It was fun. It’s likely they will love it. They’ll never forget it. Notre Dame Klatt’s take: I’ve got Notre Dame at No. 9. They defeated Navy by 49-10. Running back Jerimiyah Love (94 yards, 13 carries, 2 touchdowns vs. Navy) continues to be really good. 10. Texas Klatt says: I am going to be a target for this. That’s okay. You can’t. 10, Texas. I know. I don’t wanna see Texas! This is a group of talented players who are playing a quality defense. If QB Arch Manning starts playing like he has in the last couple of weeks and they figure it out… you know, they took a decent Vandy team and drilled them again. This game did not reflect the final score. Vandy was able to put together those drives because of some questionable decisions by the officials. I know it’s a really tough road – they may end up 8-4 and out of this thing. I may have missed this all along. I will keep Texas on my list of 10. 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2025-11-10 15:21:00