We’re more than one month into the college football season, which means we now have a substantive sample size to formulate real opinions about the country’s best teams and players. It’s premature to predict who’s going to win the National Championship or even the entire CFP field, but it isn’t too early to grade the teams that look like contenders right now based on how they’ve performed thus far.
Ohio State Buckeyes
- Record: 4-1
- CFB Ranking: No. 5
- Grade: B+
The Ohio State Buckeyes’ championship aspirations start and end with Jeremiah Smith, one of the best wide receiver prospects I have ever seen. Through five weeks, Smith has 44 receptions for 823 yards and nine touchdowns. He is averaging roughly nine receptions for 165 yards and two touchdowns per game. If quarterbacks weren’t valued the way they are, Smith would be the runaway Heisman Trophy favorite.
The unfortunate reality is that Smith cannot win games on his own, though, and we saw that when he had 164 yards and a touchdown against Texas, but the Buckeyes still lost that game. At times this year, it’s felt that Julian Sayin has forgotten that he has other weapons in his offense, and that can come back to bite them, as can a shaky offensive line. This Buckeyes team is very good with legitimate championship aspirations, but with their loss against Texas and noticeable offensive warts, the highest I can go is a B+. Wins against tough Big Ten competition would change that.
Miami Hurricanes
- Record: 5-0
- CFB Ranking: No. 4
- Grade: A
It felt like the Miami Hurricanes played a fairly shaky game at Clemson in Week 5, yet they won the game by a convincing 41-13 score despite injuries on the defensive side of the ball. If that’s not indicative of where the Hurricanes are right now, I don’t know what is. Darian Mensah looks like a top pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, Malachi Toney would be generating far more headlines if Jeremiah Smith didn’t exist, and we can’t forget about the dynamic duo of Mark Fletcher Jr. and Javian Mallory, either.
Say what you want about their strength of schedule, but the Hurricanes have scored 33 or more points and allowed 20 points or fewer in each of their games thus far. They’ve been dominant on both sides of the ball, and have the talent to win it all. Whether Mario Cristobal can lead them there is another discussion worth having, but for now, it’s hard to find places to ding this Miami squad.
Georgia Bulldogs
- Record: 5-0
- CFB Ranking: No. 2
- Grade: A
When the biggest complaint people have about a team is that they haven’t played anybody yet, you know you’re off to a pretty good start, and that’s what we can say about the Georgia Bulldogs. Georgia is 5-0 and ranked No. 2 in the country. They’ve scored 38 or more points in each of their first five games, allowing no more than 20 points in a contest. They’ve beaten teams by an average of 32.5 points per game, which is the best mark in the country.
I’d love to see how this Bulldogs team performs against Alabama this week (albeit in much better conditions than the ones we’re likely to get), but I can only grade them based on how they’ve looked so far, and on that front, so far, so good. I don’t know how explosive this offense can be, especially with Nate Frazier banged up, but Georgia’s defense is elite, and Gunnar Stockton has been remarkably efficient. At the end of the day, there’s a reason they’re ranked where they are. This is a really good football team.
Alabama Crimson Tide
- Record: 5-0
- CFB Ranking: No. 6
- Grade: A+
The Alabama Crimson Tide played a formidable and ranked Mississippi State team on the road last week, yet you wouldn’t know that based on the 56-23 final score. This wasn’t even their first big road win of the year against a quality SEC opponent, as they dismantled Kentucky on the road earlier in the year, too.
We saw what this defense was capable of by watching them slow Kamario Taylor down in a way no other team has (although his injury obviously played a role), and can we talk about Keelon Russell? This is his first year as a starter, yet you wouldn’t know that watching him play. He looks like one of the best three-to-five quarterbacks in the country. A dynamic offense paired with an elite defense and a rising head coach getting the most out of his team in Kalen DeBoer, and what’s not to like? You know Alabama is good when they probably should be ranked higher than No. 6 in the country. Their upcoming game against Georgia will be a huge test, but for now, it’s hard not to love what we’ve seen, especially given iffy preseason expectations.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
- Record: 5-0
- CFB Ranking: No. 3
- Grade: B
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are 5-0 and have impressed with their play. CJ Carr is a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate; their defense has held the opposition to 13 points or fewer in four of their five games, and Marcus Freeman continues to be one of the best head coaches in the country. However, this team’s strength of schedule is a glaring issue.
It’s to the point where they might need to go 12-0 to be taken seriously, and it’s not like they’ve been thoroughly dominant even against their weak schedule. Just last week, they allowed a subpar UNC team to score 26 points against them. Two weeks prior, they let Michigan State hang around for far too long. The Fighting Irish are good; there’s no disputing that, but they probably shouldn’t be ranked as high as they are, and that bumps them down grade-wise.
Texas Longhorns
- Record: 4-0
- CFB Ranking: No. 1
- Grade: A+
The Texas Longhorns might be the most confusing team in the country. There have been moments when Arch Manning hasn’t looked like he belongs, and there have been other moments when he’s looked like a possible No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. It feels like similar ups and downs have been prevalent on the defensive side of the ball, too.
With that being said, Texas is 4-0, has the most stacked roster in terms of top-end talent in the country (three of the top four picks on FanSided’s latest full first-round mock draft are Longhorns), and most importantly, they already have a couple of signature wins. They pulled out a gritty win at Tennessee in Week 4, and most impressively, were able to defeat Ohio State by a point in Week 2. When they’ve played lesser competition, they’ve won handily, and they’ve been able to take care of elite competition, too. They’re the National Championship favorites right now, and deservingly so.
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