Greg McElroy’s latest Top 15 brings a little order to the chaos at the top of college football, but it also makes room for a few surprises once you get past the first handful of teams. Georgia sits where most people would expect after its statement road win at Alabama, while Indiana, Miami and Notre Dame fill out the next three spots in McElroy’s rankings on his Always College Football podcast.
From there, the list starts to separate from the AP Top 25 in a real way. Alabama lands at No. 5 after the loss to Georgia, Texas drops to No. 6 following its first defeat of the season against Oklahoma, and Ohio State comes in at No. 7 with its only loss still looking respectable.
At the top, though, there wasn’t much mystery. Georgia checked in at No. 1 after what McElroy viewed as one of the season’s best results so far, a thorough road win over Alabama. The Bulldogs also took the top spot in the AP Top 25, so the consensus there is pretty clear.
Indiana holds the No. 2 position after opening 6-0, and McElroy made note of how long it has been since the Hoosiers last lost under Curt Cignetti. The Hoosiers haven’t looked as overpowering as they did late last season, but they’ve kept stacking wins, and quarterback Josh Hoover has settled in after transferring from TCU. The next major checkpoint is Ohio State.
Miami is right behind at No. 3.
The Hurricanes have already handled Wake Forest, which McElroy views as one of the ACC’s better teams, and they now turn to Florida State this weekend. He pointed to Miami’s offense as the obvious calling card and said it would be hard to imagine someone simply outmuscling the Hurricanes in a shootout-style game.
The defense, though, remains part of the bigger question.
Notre Dame checks in at No. 4 after surviving some of the early-season issues that have dogged Marcus Freeman teams in recent years. Wins over North Carolina on the road and Wisconsin have aged well, but the schedule is about to get real.
A trip to BYU is first, followed by a home game against Miami on Nov. 7.
McElroy framed those two matchups as the ones that could shape the Irish’s playoff path.
Alabama’s spot at No. 5 reflects the loss to Georgia, but not a collapse. McElroy still has the Crimson Tide in the thick of the SEC race and the playoff picture. Tennessee is next, and LSU stands out as the toughest remaining challenge after that.
Texas fell to No. 6 after a loss to Oklahoma that felt like a missed chance. McElroy pointed to Arch Manning’s two interceptions and a few other plays that could have changed the outcome, but didn’t.
Even with the loss, Texas still owns one of the sport’s best résumés because of the win over Ohio State and the victory against Tennessee. The problem is what comes next: Ole Miss, Mississippi State, at Missouri and at LSU.
Ohio State lands at No. 7, and McElroy treated the Buckeyes’ loss as a clean enough one for now, since it came on the road against a Top 5 opponent. Still, the margin for error is slimmer now, especially with Indiana coming to town this weekend.
Win that one, and the playoff picture stays comfortable. Lose it, and things get murkier fast.
UCLA is the biggest eyebrow-raiser in the top 10 at No. 8.
McElroy has been impressed enough by the Bruins’ rapid turnaround under Bob Chesney to put them ahead of several more established contenders. The schedule has been manageable, but the Oregon win last week gave the ranking some real weight.
Wisconsin this weekend is next, followed by trips to Minnesota and Michigan before a home finale against USC.
Utah comes in at No. 9 after a first half that has been as dominant as any in the country. The Utes have won every game by at least two touchdowns, and even when things have been messy, the margin has stayed comfortable. Houston and BYU remain notable games, though both are at home, and McElroy also pointed to the four road games still on the slate as potential trouble spots.
BYU rounds out McElroy’s top 10 at No. 10 after a 5-0 start. Only one of those wins has been decided by single digits, the 17-10 win over TCU, which speaks to how efficiently the Cougars have handled business.
That gets put to the test this weekend with No. 2 Notre Dame coming to town, a matchup McElroy clearly believes could tell us plenty about where BYU really stands.
Greg McElroy’s Top 15 continues with spots 11-15.
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