Louisville Cardinals

Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 6: Chaos hits the SEC, and the debate begins

Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 6: Chaos hits the SEC, and the debate begins

Editor’s note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams. Every college football season contains a Chaos Week that throws these rankings up in the air. This year’s was bigger than any we’ve had in a long time. Four top-10 teams lost on Saturday, three of them to unranked opponents. […]

Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 6: Chaos hits the SEC, and the debate begins Read More »

Mandel’s Final Thoughts: In zany day of upsets, Vanderbilt-Alabama stands above the rest

Mandel’s Final Thoughts: In zany day of upsets, Vanderbilt-Alabama stands above the rest

And now, 20 Final Thoughts from an upset-crazed Week 6 in college football. 1. It’s always the Saturdays that look lightest on paper that deliver the zaniest results. This one saw five of the nation’s top 11 teams go down, four of them to unranked opponents. It was arguably the most hectic day the sport

Mandel’s Final Thoughts: In zany day of upsets, Vanderbilt-Alabama stands above the rest Read More »

Week 6’s top 10 college football games: Time to find out if Mizzou is a paper tiger?

Week 6’s top 10 college football games: Time to find out if Mizzou is a paper tiger?

Perhaps the schedule makers thought we would need a breather after Georgia–Alabama last week? There’s only one ranked matchup across the entire slate and nothing that jumps out on paper. That said, there are some intriguing matchups that could yield potentially telling results. No judgment if you opt for the pumpkin patch this weekend, but

Week 6’s top 10 college football games: Time to find out if Mizzou is a paper tiger? Read More »

Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 5: Alabama is inevitable

Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 5: Alabama is inevitable

Editor’s note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams. “You could not live with your own failure. Where did that bring you? Back to me.” When Nick Saban retired, many wondered whether Alabama would take a step back. It had to, right? The greatest coach in the history of

Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 5: Alabama is inevitable Read More »

Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Don’t blink! Bama-Georgia just another NIL-era classic

Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Don’t blink! Bama-Georgia just another NIL-era classic

And now, 20 thoughts from college football’s Week 5, where, if you blinked, you missed a 75-yard touchdown. 1. I keep waiting for college football to go the way of BlackBerry and Blockbuster as so many have predicted. But this weird thing keeps happening. When these teams full of amazing athletes step onto the field

Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Don’t blink! Bama-Georgia just another NIL-era classic Read More »

Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 4: Tennessee to the top 3; BYU, Navy soar

Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 4: Tennessee to the top 3; BYU, Navy soar

Editor’s note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams. Much of the talk going into Tennessee’s trip to Oklahoma was about Volunteers coach Josh Heupel’s return to his alma mater, Heupel was right when, through teary eyes, he told his players that Saturday’s 25-15 win against the Sooners was

Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 4: Tennessee to the top 3; BYU, Navy soar Read More »

Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Remember Travis Hunter’s dominance. Plus, ‘new’ CFB is here

Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Remember Travis Hunter’s dominance. Plus, ‘new’ CFB is here

And now, 20 thoughts from Week 4, where Colorado conjured quite a 30th-anniversary tribute of Kordell Stewart’s Hail Mary to beat Michigan, while Michigan itself earned the biggest win of the weekend. 1. Saturday’s USC-Michigan thriller was a three-hour advertisement for New College Football. Two marquee brands that may have previously only met in a Rose

Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Remember Travis Hunter’s dominance. Plus, ‘new’ CFB is here Read More »

Ranking Week 4’s top 10 college football games: From NC State-Clemson to Tennessee-Oklahoma

Ranking Week 4’s top 10 college football games: From NC State-Clemson to Tennessee-Oklahoma

College football conference play is (mostly) underway and the stakes will be raised accordingly. The sport dips its toes this weekend with ranked matchups in the Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC featuring College Football Playoff favorites and some remaining question marks. Let’s rank the top 10 games of Week 4, starting with a few

Ranking Week 4’s top 10 college football games: From NC State-Clemson to Tennessee-Oklahoma Read More »

AP Top 25: Texas passes Georgia for first No. 1 ranking in football poll since 2008

AP Top 25: Texas passes Georgia for first No. 1 ranking in football poll since 2008

College football has a new No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 poll, as Texas jumped past Georgia for the top spot on Sunday. The move comes after the Longhorns demolished UTSA 56-7 and the Bulldogs barely escaped Kentucky 13-12. Texas made an early-season statement last week with its blowout win at Michigan, and

AP Top 25: Texas passes Georgia for first No. 1 ranking in football poll since 2008 Read More »

Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 2: A historic rise and new No. 134

Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 2: A historic rise and new No. 134

Editor’s note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams. It took just two weeks for college football to descend into chaos. We’ve had two top-10 teams lose to unranked opponents. Notre Dame appeared to have a clear path to the College Football Playoff, then lost to Northern Illinois. Oregon

Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 2: A historic rise and new No. 134 Read More »