#1 – Ohio State Buckeyes

Ohio State has not been tested to this point in the season which is not a surprise given the weakness of their schedule.  Justin Fields is the perfect fit for their offense and their defense is loaded with future NFL stars.  With 12 starting seniors and two Top 10 draft-eligible juniors, Ohio State is the most complete team in the country right now.  With the Buckeyes facing Michigan State, Wisconsin and Penn State at home the season sets up perfectly.

#2 – Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama is another team with a weak schedule to start the season.  In my opinion, Tua is playing the best football of his career and the wide receiver trio of Jeudy, Ruggs, and Smith is nearly unstoppable.  The young defense will improve with each passing week.  The Tide will get their first decent test of the season after their bye week when they travel to Kyle Field to face the disappointing Texas A&M Aggies.

#3 – Georgia Bulldogs

With Notre Dame’s performance against the Virginia Cavaliers, the Dawgs win over the Fighting Irish looks even better.  Jake Fromm and the Georgia offense has been steady but not as explosive as the other Top 7 teams on this list.  The defense is improving each week and has the potential to be the strongest in the country because of the combination of speed, depth, and experience.

#4 – Oklahoma Sooners

Lincoln Riley is the ultimate quarterback whisperer in college football.  Jalen Hurts is playing elite football and with his power running ability, the Sooners offense may be the most explosive it has been in the past three years.  The Sooner defense has also been performing at a higher level than years past.  It will be fascinating to see what happens if the Sooners face an opponent that has the personnel to load the box and force Hurts to beat them with their arm.

#5 – Clemson Tigers

Through five weeks the Clemson Tigers have been thoroughly unimpressive.  Their skill position talent is elite and it is only a matter of time until Trevor Lawrence hits his stride but they are soft as Charmin along both lines of scrimmage.  Their schedule is pathetic this season so unless they start winning more impressively they could potentially be on the outside looking in of the Playoffs.

#6 – Auburn Tigers

The Tigers have a big-time game this weekend in The Swamp against the Florida Gators.  I will be very intrigued to see which team declares themselves as a contender after that matchup.  Auburn’s defense is elite and their havoc rate is 100%.  I’m still not sold on the Auburn offense and Bo Nix against a high-level defense.  If they shred the Gators on Saturday it is time to consider Auburn among the elite.

#7 – LSU Tigers

The LSU offense has been incredible through the first five weeks of the season and they get another game to pad the stats against Utah State.  The only reason the Tigers aren’t higher on this list is that they struggle to run the ball and their defense has been non-existent.  Allowing Vanderbilt to score 38 points is embarrassing.

#8 – Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Eight sacks by the Notre Dame defensive line against Vanderbilt the week after a physical slugfest with Georgia was impressive.  The Irish are still too one dimensional on offense but they are one of the most fundamentally sound defensive teams in the country.  Once Jafar Armstrong returns from his injury it will be intriguing to see if their offense can elevate their game to a new level.

The Next 4

• Penn State
• Texas Longhorns
• Florida Gators
• Wisconsin Badgers