It was a great first weekend of college football, highlighted by some premier matchups between top flight programs who are sniffing the playoff. LSU, because the Tigers had to go on the road to Clemson, gets the top win in my book. LSU-Clemson, Ohio State-Texas and Miami-Notre Dame were all decided by seven or fewer points. This year, the top four teams in the ranking get the four CFP byes. Regardless of conference championships. The Group of Five will get a representative as well, and that is who (will likely be) No. 12 each week in these rankings.

1. LSU – The Fighting Tigers from Baton Rouge had the most impressive win of the weekend, going into the other Death Valley and topping the Clemson Tigers 17-10. LSU has some serious margin for error. Louisiana Tech heads to Baton Rouge Saturday.

2. Ohio State – The Buckeyes defense was tremendous, as they posted a 14-7 victory over Texas in The Horseshoe. The Longhorns came in ranked No. 1. Like LSU, Ohio State now has some big time margin for error. Grambling heads to Columbus Saturday.

3. Georgia – The Bulldogs took care of Marshall 45-7 in the season opener. Austin Peay heads to Athens Saturday, and then the Bulldogs open SEC play at Tennessee. Gunner Stockton, making his first start Between the Hedges, accounted for four touchdowns.

4. Texas – The Longhorns offense couldn’t get anything going, until very late in the game, in the 14-7 loss to Ohio State. There is a long way to go, and talented Texas figures to bounce back strong with a very talented roster. San Jose State goes to Austin Saturday.

5. Clemson – Just like Texas, the Tigers have everything in front of them still. Hey, somebody had to lose those two games. Clemson’s biggest concern right now is the running game. The defense is very talented. Troy heads to Death Valley Saturday.

6. Penn State – The Nittany Lions played well in their season opener, downing Nevada 46-11 (that could be a score-agami) in Happy Valley. Expectations are high for Penn State. Florida International will be at Beaver Stadium this Saturday.

7. Miami – The Hurricanes won a Sunday night thriller over Notre Dame 27-24 this past weekend. Miami’s defense can run, and there are weapons who can go with the football. The ‘Canes get Bethune Cookman this week, then it’s South Florida.

8. Oregon – The defending Big Ten champion Ducks (that sounds funny) blew away Montana State 59-13. Dan Lanning has another talented team in Eugene. Oklahoma State and Oregon square off Saturday in Eugene. It’s the Big 10 vs. the Big XII.

9. Tennessee – The Volunteers had one of the most impressive wins of the opening weekend, downing Fran Brown’s tough Syracuse Orange 45-26. Joey Aguilar had a terrific performance at quarterback. East Tennessee will be at Neyland Saturday.

10. Tech – The Yellow Jackets took down Colorado in Boulder last Friday. Haynes King is a lights out quarterback. It should be an easy 2-0 for Brent Key’s Yellow Jackets, who host Gardner-Webb Saturday. Then comes a huge ACC showdown against Clemson.

11. Notre Dame – The Fighting Irish came up short at Miami 27-24. The offense was slow to get going, but Notre Dame had a tremendous comeback in the fourth quarter. The Irish are off this week, then comes a critical game against Texas A&M in South Bend.

12. South Florida – The Bulls blew away Boise State 34-7 in Tampa to open the season in style and grab the pole position for the Group of Five frontrunners spot for the playoff. USF’s next two games are at Florida and at Miami. Now that’s a schedule.