Ranking every Top 10 college football team by how worried we are after Week 1

Most of the teams in the AP top 10 entering the season had easy times in Week 1 of the college football season. This does not mean we are completely sold on all of them.

There were no upsets to speak of, but teams like Oregon and Ole Miss were in bitter fights and many of the others were never in danger against cupcakes.

So, after the slate of games, what is the level of concern around these teams? Here's the top-10, ranked by how worried they should be, from least to most.

10. Ohio State over Ball State, 56-3

What can you say about Jeremiah Smith which has not already been said? Nothing, so we are not going to try.

Smith finished with 8 catches for 151 yards and 2 touchdowns. Had Malachi Toney not had the game of the week, then everyone would be talking about Smith. He is still the best receiver in the country, but Toney is No. 2 and will quickly take the mantle in 2027. 

Running Back Bo Jackson, who is coming off a 1,000-yard freshman season, showed he is ready to be the lead back with a 65-yard run to open the second half while freshman Legend Bey also showed promise with 37 yards on 6 games in his first game action. If the run game can match the receiving game, which also saw freshman Chris Henry Jr. score his first collegiate touchdown, the Ohio State will cruise to a national championship.

Ball State is a bad MAC team, so not much is gleamed from this showdown. But this will change in Week 2 when Ohio State travels to Austin to battle Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns. Texas will challenge both the offense of Ohio State with Collin Simmons and the defense with Manning, Cam Coleman and the rest of the offensive weapons compiled this off season. 

The winner of this game should be No. 1 next week. The Buckeyes are hoping they can go into the lion’s den and come out with a second win in two years over Texas.

9. Notre Dame over Wisconsin, 41-13

The Irish started off this game slow as they only led 13-10 at halftime against the Wisconsin Badgers. But the second half was a different story as Notre Dame pulled away while the defense gave up just three points and the offense scored 28.

This has been a familiar scene as Notre Dame has started out slow in recent years. Even in the Orange Bowl against Penn State and the National Championship Game against Ohio State in 2024, the Irish got down multiple scores before finally staging their comebacks. 

This is a dangerous way to live against good teams. Lucky for Notre Dame, they only have two of those left in SMU and Miami. 

If Notre Dame loses any game before Nov. 7, against Miami, it will be a major upset. If the Irish handle their business, they will remain right where they are.

8. Miami (FL) over Stanford, 45-6

We all agree that Malachi Toney is decent. It turns out, so is Darian Mensah who found Toney for 3 touchdowns and found wide receiver Cooper Barkate for another against a Stanford team which was not ready to play on Friday night.

Toney also finished with 12 receptions for 232 yards and Mensah finished his night with 401 yards and 5 touchdowns on 27-of-30 passing and vaulted himself into the pole position in Heisman Trophy odds.

If there is any concern for Miami, it lies on the defensive line. Even though the defense sacked the Stanford quarterback three times, there should have been much more push and pressure with the Cardinal missing three offensive line starters.

Miami will find an easy road ahead with their next game coming Thursday against Florida A&M. After the Rattlers, Miami will face Wake Forest, Central Michigan and Clemson before a Week 6 bye.

In their first eight games, their most challenging game will be Pitt in Week 8. If Mason Heintshal continues his magnificent play from Week 1, he will bring the first test at the quarterback position for the Hurricanes.

7. Georgia over Tennessee State, 63-3

This game should not even count. 

Many Power Four teams take on FCS schools in Week 1. But not even Indiana or Penn State would have the audacity to schedule such a bad FCS team as Tennessee State, who is a small public school, just outside of Nashville who can barely keep their football team afloat. 

While this is the reason they took on the challenge of Georgia, it is also the reason Georgia gets no points good or bad for the game. If anything, the Bulldogs should be punished for allowing three points.

If anything is to be taken from this game, it is that running back Nate Frazier finished the game with 72 yards and 3 touchdowns on just 4 carries. But again, I could have probably done this against Tennessee State.

6. Texas over Texas State, 59-7 

Another one with not much to speak about. Texas did exactly what they were supposed to do. They got a big win and did so without getting anyone injured. 

The real test comes this week as the Longhorns will host Ohio State in a rematch — a 14-7 victory for Ohio State in Week 1 of 2025, the first start of the Arch Manning era for Texas. If Manning has improved as much as Steve Sarkisian and Texas’ coaching staff hopes, this will be another battle in Austin. If Texas can win, the Longhorns will certainly move up. Perhaps even to No. 1 in the Polls. Even if they lose, they will not drop out of the top 10 and there are no signs of concern with this team yet.

5. LSU over Clemson, 51-10

While this result says more about the Clemson Tigers program under Dabo Swinney
than LSU, it was still a wonderful showing for the fresh look Tigers in the first game of
the season.

Kiffin, among other things, brings in an offensive scheme which is conducive to high
scores. But, with the high scores, many times come high point totals given up by the
defense. This was not the case this week as defensive coordinator Blake Bell, the most
important returning staff member, was able to use the fast, explosive defense to contain
what is left on the Clemson offense.

Sam Leavitt only went 16-of-28 for 230 yards and 1 touchdown in the air, but showed that
he is fully healed from the foot injury which limited his 2025 at Arizona state by running
for an additional 113 yards and 2 touchdowns on 12 carries. This made Leavitt both the
leading passer and rusher for either team.

If the defense can remain at this level and the offense can be efficient to this level, Kiffin
will finally have his chance to coach in a playoff game in 2026. We just have to wait and
see what happens moving forward with the Kiffin Bros. Lane & Sam Circus.

4. Oregon over Boise State, 34-27

Oregon always gets challenged by Boise State. 

This was the fifth time Oregon had faced the Broncos, and it was nearly the fourth loss.

Dakorian Moore and Jeremiah McClellan were the stars, with McClellan having 150 yards on 6 receptions and Moore catching the winning touchdown from Dante Moore. But the offensive looks to be the weakness of the Oregon team. The only weakness, but still a weakness. 

The defensive line, spoken of so much this off season for returning all its starters, got manhandled by the Boise State offensive line — something which should never happen. Both lines need to improve if the Ducks want to win a national championship.

3. Indiana over North Texas, 52-16

This game was just unfair. 

North Texas came into Bloomington with 70 fresh players and an entirely different coaching staff. Indiana came into this game with Josh Hoover looking to prove himself to former coach Sonny Dykes and the rest of his detractors. Wide receivers Nick March and Charlie Becker helped him, with each having a touchdown reception.

The only downside of the offense for Indiana was Turbo Richardson at running back who did not even manage to break 80 yards on the ground against a rebuilt Mean Green defense. 

The only thing higher than the number of new players for North Texas was the on-field temperature, which was registered at 121 degrees.

Indiana has plenty of time to get things in order as their next four games come against Howard, Western Kentucky, Northwestern and Rutgers. This is followed by four straight games against Nebraska, Ohio State, Michigan and Minnesota before a bye week. This is the stretch where the Hoosiers need to be in order.

There is no concern for this team right now. But the running game and the offensive line continuity will be key if Indiana wants to beat Ohio State for a second season in a row.

2. Ole Miss over Louisville, 41-38

Although Trinidad Chambliss started slow, the quarterback showed his skills in the second half, finishing 21-of-36 for 336 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. Chambliss not only helped himself immensely with his second half, but he also led the Rebels down to a game-winning field goal as time expired, and did so without Kewan Lacy.

Lacy — a top-three running back in the country this season — went out early with an ankle injury and did not return. This loss was felt deeply by Ole Miss and the inability to run without him allowed the Louisville defense to be on the field more. The Cardinals took advantage of this to get back into the game late and tie it before the game-winning kick.

The concern level for Ole Miss is based on the severity of the injury to Lacy. If he is healthy and ready, Ole Miss will still be a top 10 to 15 team in 2026. If he misses considerable time, including Week 3 against LSU, who just demolished Clemson 51-10, Ole Miss will be on the margins of the top 25 soon.

1. Texas A&M over Missouri State, 50-0

There is not much to speak of with the Aggies victory over Missouri State.

Marcell Reed finished with 233 yards passing and had 2 touchdowns for the Aggies. Running back Rueben Owens led the way against Missouri State with 77 yards on the ground and added 25 through the air. The entire running game finished with a total of 236 yards on 47 carries as, all three top backs for Texas A&M finished with at least 44 yards rushing.

The first real test for the Aggies will be in Week 2 when Arizona State comes into Kyle Field. While not the Sun Devils of two seasons ago with Cam Skattebo, Kyle Dillingham consistently has Arizona State punching above their weight. If the Aggies can win the game convincingly, people will need to begin thinking about them. Until that time, the Aggies are still seen as the 2025 Aggies who beat up on lesser competition before folding against quality teams. 

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