By: Luke Brumm
Now that week four is completed, it’s now time again to take a look and rank the top teams using tiers. This will be ranging from my Championship Contenders to Sleepers. Let’s see where these teams sit after four weeks of football.
Championship Contenders
Georgia, Michigan, Florida State, Texas, & Ohio State
My championship contenders stay the same for this week. Georgia, Michigan, and Texas won in blowouts. And then Florida State and Ohio State won close ones on the road vs. quality opponents. I think Ohio State’s win is much more impressive, but they were both good nonetheless. This week, Georgia goes to Auburn, Michigan will go to Nebraska, and Texas hosts Kansas. Florida State and Ohio State will be on a bye.
Playoff Contenders
USC, Washington, Penn State, Notre Dame, & Oregon
Washington continues to impress and is close to moving up to championship contenders. I just need to see them perform against a ranked team. It won’t come this week, however, as they travel to Arizona. Them, USC, and Oregon will all have multiple opportunities to do that in the ironically good Pac-12. Penn State continues to look like a team that can compete with Michigan and Ohio State. I know Notre Dame just lost, but I liked what I saw from them, and I still could see them winning out. Other than the Huskies, the Trojans will travel to Boulder, Oregon will go to Palo Alto, Penn State goes to Northwestern, and Notre Dame will be on College Gameday at Duke.
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A Step Below the Playoff Contenders
Utah, LSU, Oklahoma, & North Carolina
Utah is a step below due to the QB situation. I like them a lot more when Cam Rising is healthy. LSU and Oklahoma have fought their way up from pretenders to here. However, I need to continue to see success. Then you have North Carolina, they beat South Carolina early on and haven’t really been tested since. I’m very interested to see how they fair once they play Miami, Duke, and Clemson. The Utes have a Friday game against Oregon State, LSU will host Ole Miss, Oklahoma will welcome Iowa State, and UNC is on a bye.
Sleepers
Washington State, Miami, Duke, Kansas
These teams could ruin some seasons. Washington State has a chance to beat Oregon and Washington. Miami plays North Carolina and Florida State. Duke still has Notre Dame on Saturday, and then Florida State and North Carolina. And finally, Kansas plays Texas tomorrow and a home game vs. Oklahoma on October 28. The Cougars and Hurricanes are on a bye meanwhile.
Pretenders
Alabama, Clemson, Colorado
I have low confidence in these teams. Clemson is already out of CFP conversation with two losses. Alabama only has one, but they have a hard schedule and a lot of problems they still need to fix. And Colorado just doesn’t have the strength or depth to keep up with the big dogs in the Pac-12. Their schedule does not get any easier, as they welcome in USC. Other than that, Clemson goes to Syracuse, and Alabama makes the trip to Starkville.
