Joel Klatt has a new team no. 1 in the country.
Oregon and Florida join the top 10 after wins over USC and Ole Miss, respectively. Meanwhile, Ole Miss and LSU both drop out.
Georgia takes over the No. 1 spot after another dominant win, this one over Oklahoma. Texas drops to No. 2 after a lopsided 20-17 win at Tennessee.
Now that month of college football is in the books, here are Klatt’s top 10 teams in the country.
Klatt’s thoughts: “I had a very tight debate in my head between Utah and BYU and I gave it to Utah. I know BYU fans – and I’ve met a bunch of you by the way – your guys are right there. Doesn’t mean I don’t like BYU. I think BYU is a very good team. But there’s just something about this Utah team and the efficiency with which they play, and Morgan Scalley. I also love Kalani Sitake, but Utah will get that 10th spot.
“Wayshawn Parker ran it for 174 yards. They took care of things in their Big 12 opener at Iowa State.”
Record: 3-1
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Klatt’s thoughts: “Oregon deserves to be in my top 10. I don’t know if I’d want to play Oregon and I certainly wouldn’t want to play them in their building.
“Oregon’s big win has big implications for the rest of their season. Obviously, they still have a tough road ahead of them. They have to go to Ohio State and they have a lot of monster games on their schedule. But I’ll come back to this point: They can walk on the court and know that if they play their best, they can beat the best team in their country right now.”
Record: 4-0
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Klatt’s thoughts: “Florida Challenge: How to get to Missouri and put your best foot forward?
“Where do I have Florida? I have them in the top 10. Yes, I do. I have them at No. 8. That was an impressive win, albeit at home, but a fantastic win. They beat Ole Miss and they did it with 53 runs for 300 yards.
“I really like Florida, and it’s not just because of their performance Saturday. I liked what they did against Auburn the week before. I liked what they did against Ole Miss. They were ready. They were tough. Is it the best team in the SEC? I don’t think it’s the best team in the SEC, but I think there’s a path to the football playoff.”
Record: 4-0
Previous ranking: 6 ↓
Klatt’s thoughts: “It wasn’t the best performance against Northwestern, but they were doing it with a broken back. Turbo Richard left that game early. It looks like he avoided a major injury and there is some hope that he will be back in a fairly short time. He took a hit out of bounds, and it looked bad, kind of a foot and ankle injury. But Lee Beebe Jr. came in and ran for more than 200 yards.
“Now, here’s the thing: I don’t think you can just say that Indiana has struggled with Northwestern. Do I think there’s much of a difference between Northwestern and Missouri? No, I don’t. I think Northwestern is a pretty good football team. Quarterback Aidan Chiles was a highly ranked recruit, Chip Kelly is a very creative coach, offensively, coming in at tight end coordinator. He’s doing.”
Record: 4-0
Previous ranking: 9 ↑
Klatt’s thoughts: “Their offense is getting scary, good scary. They beat South Carolina by 31.
“Quarterback Keelon Russell is dynamic as a runner, and he can throw the football down the field. They have talent all over the outside, and he’s getting better and better. Almost 400 yards of total offense, five touchdowns for Russell.”
Record: 4-0
Previous ranking: 7 ↑
Klatt’s thoughts: “If I were you, and I was picking this for inconsistency, that’s where I’d get knocked, because I think that’s probably my bias to jump in my ranking. I will never admit when I am wrong or when I think I might be wrong. This could be that place.
“I thought Notre Dame took care of business in the play they had to. They were up 35-0 on Purdue and won 49-10. I think that’s a very good football team with an elite quarterback. I’d like to see them run the ball and continue to run it better.”
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Record: 4-0
Previous ranking: 5 ↑
Klatt’s thoughts: “This is a team that knows it’s really good. They are battling some injuries right now and are extremely explosive with one of the best players in the country.
“They played Central Michigan and won 52-3. Quarterback Darian Mensah has 12 pass completions on the season and 14 touchdowns. It wakes me up when they play somebody. Maybe it’s Clemson, I don’t know. Wide receiver Malachi Toney had 120 yards and a touchdown that’ll be pretty good, they’ll be done.”
Record: 3-1
Previous ranking: 3
Klatt’s thoughts: “I think Matt Patricia and Ryan Day are going to look at that defense and think, ‘We’ve got to do something to support what we have on that side of the football.’ Illinois had a fourth down conversion to make it an interesting game.
“Ohio State is going to be No. 3. It’s a very good team, and still a team that I absolutely believe can win the Big Ten, can win the playoffs and maybe even win the national championship. It’s a deep team and it’s a young team on the defensive end. They have the best player, Jeremiah Smith.”
Record: 4-0
Previous ranking: 1 ↓
Klatt’s thoughts: “I had Texas at No. 1. I was honoring that win against Ohio State, but Texas will lose a spot because, let’s face it, it was too slow.
“What wasn’t weak was the defense. The defense was outstanding and has elite talent, led by a guy who I think could be one of the two, three or four picks in the NFL draft: Colin Simmons. What we have to talk about is the day he had. He had five sacks. You’re young, so I understand that’s a JJ Watt thing.
Record: 4-0
Previous ranking: 4 ↑
Klatt’s thoughts: “Georgia will be No. 1. There’s something about that team, that coach. We haven’t had to see Gunner Stockton be great in the fourth quarter, but we know he can be. So I’m not even worried about them not being in a one-possession game.
“Do I still have concerns about some areas of their team? Yeah, like everybody has some flaws. I don’t know how they can throw the football and Stockton threw a touchdown in that game. Oklahoma’s defense is great and it’s not in any way, shape or form indicative of what their offense is. Georgia jumped out to a 28-0 lead in the first game but was only 28-04 at halftime. 306 yards of total offense.
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“Are they head and shoulders above everybody else? No. But to this point, I can say to myself, ‘OK, I trust that coach, I trust that quarterback, I trust that culture to not lose games on its own and be one of, if not the best teams in the country.’
