Greg McElroy’s latest Top 15 has a familiar face at No. 1, but the real intrigue starts a little deeper down the board.
The ESPN analyst unveiled his rankings on this week’s Always College Football podcast, and while the top few spots track closely with the AP Top 25, McElroy carved out some clear differences once he got past the elite tier. UCLA, for one, is sitting inside his Top 10.
At the top, Georgia stands alone. The Bulldogs’ road win over Alabama was the kind of result that reshuffles the whole sport, and McElroy rewarded them with the No. 1 spot. It matches the general mood around the country too, since Georgia also landed No. 1 in the AP Top 25 by a wide margin.
Indiana comes in at No. 2, and there’s no real mystery why. The Hoosiers are 6-0, and McElroy highlighted just how long it has been since Curt Cignetti’s team last tasted defeat.
Indiana hasn’t looked as overwhelming as it did late last season, but it keeps finding a way to finish the job. Quarterback Josh Hoover has also settled in well after arriving from TCU.
The timing is notable, because Ohio State is up next.
Miami holds the No. 3 spot after building a strong early resume and knocking off Wake Forest, which McElroy views as one of the ACC’s better teams. The Hurricanes get Florida State this weekend, and their offense has been so explosive that few opponents look capable of blowing them out. The bigger question is whether the defense keeps improving enough to make Miami a more complete team.
Notre Dame checks in at No. 4 after surviving the kind of early-season uncertainty that has haunted Marcus Freeman teams in recent years. Wins over North Carolina and Wisconsin have aged well, but the schedule is about to get serious.
A road trip to BYU this weekend kicks off that stretch, followed by a home game against Miami on Nov. 7.
Those two matchups may go a long way toward deciding the Fighting Irish’s playoff path.
Alabama falls to No. 5 after the loss to Georgia, but McElroy is hardly writing the Crimson Tide off. They remain in the mix for the SEC title and the playoff, though the road ahead has its share of stress points.
Tennessee is next, and LSU still looms as the biggest challenge after that. Even with the setback, Alabama still has plenty in front of it.
Texas lands at No. 6 after suffering its first loss of the season to Oklahoma. McElroy framed that one through the lens of missed chances, including Arch Manning’s two interceptions.
Still, the Longhorns have one of the strongest résumés in the country thanks in large part to the win over Ohio State, plus another good mark against Tennessee. The problem is what comes next: Ole Miss, Mississippi State, at Missouri and at LSU in a brutal four-game stretch.
Ohio State sits at No. 7 with a loss that still looks respectable on paper, at least for now. The Buckeyes’ defeat came on the road against a top-five opponent, which softens the blow somewhat.
But the margin for error is narrowing quickly, and Indiana is the next major checkpoint. Beat the Hoosiers and the playoff picture stays clean.
Lose, and things get messy fast.
UCLA is the surprise at No. 8.
McElroy has the Bruins inside the Top 10 after what has become one of the most notable early-season stories in the sport, with Bob Chesney drawing comparisons to Curt Cignetti for the speed of the turnaround. The schedule has helped a bit, but the Oregon win last week gave the ranking real substance.
Wisconsin is up next, and the back half includes trips to Minnesota and Michigan before closing with USC at home.
Utah comes in at No. 9, and the Utes have been ruthless through five games. Every win has come by at least two touchdowns, which says plenty about how cleanly they’ve handled business.
Houston and BYU remain on the slate, both at home, and Utah still has four road games left. That kind of setup can always create trouble, even for a team rolling this well.
BYU rounds out McElroy’s top 10. The Cougars are also unbeaten, with only one game decided by single digits so far - a 17-10 win over TCU.
They’ve been efficient and steady, and now they get their biggest test yet when No. 2 Notre Dame comes to town.
McElroy clearly believes BYU belongs among the best teams in the country, and a win this weekend would make that case even stronger.
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