College Football Top 10: Week 4

Erik Buchinger -

New team at the top

In this week’s Deceptive Speed college football Top 10, we’ve got a new team at the top with a few new additions. Here’s a look at the rankings you should be looking for each week throughout the college football season. No other rankings matter.

1. Alabama

This had to happen eventually, and the time is now. Alabama vaults up to No. 1 in the Deceptive Speed Top 10 for the first time in 2018. Saturday’s first three plays were Alabama kickoff, Alabama interception, Alabama touchdown, and the Tide rolled to another dominant win over Texas A&M. It’s Alabama vs. the field at this point.

2. LSU

The Tigers had a bit of a challenge against Louisiana Tech leading by just three points in the fourth quarter, but Ed Orgeron tossed back a bowl of gumbo and LSU figured it out for a 17-point win. The Tigers still have the two best wins of the season against Miami and Auburn.

3. Stanford

From not even ranked last week all the way up to three. That’s what happens when you go on the road and steal a game from Oregon. What a crazy ending. Stanford trailed 24-7 late in the third quarter, and a lot of things went the Cardinal way for the overtime win.

4. Notre Dame

Out goes Brandon Wimbush and in comes Ian Book. Notre Dame made a quarterback switch before Saturday’s game and it payed off quite well. Wimbush held the Irish offense back in their three wins, and I’ve said previously it looks like Notre Dame is going to keep about 20 points a game, play down to its competition and win by 5 every week. But things have changed, as Notre Dame exploded for 56 points in a win over Wake Forest. Big two-game stretch for the Irish coming up with Stanford and Virginia Tech.

5. Ohio State

Urban Meyer is back. Ohio State scored 42 points before halftime against Tulane. Whateves as the kids say. The Buckeyes are here for their win over TCU. Game of the year for the Big Ten regular season is coming in Happy Valley against Penn State on Saturday night.

6. Georgia

This was a bit of a whacky game. A field goal that looked good was called no good for Missouri, and a Missouri player’s forward progress was stopped for several seconds before Georgia ripped the ball out for a touchdown. Georgia blocked a punt for a score, and Bulldogs scored their first offensive touchdown in the third quarter to make it 27-7. But Georgia took care of business on the road as it did at South Carolina. The Bulldogs will not be challenged for the SEC East title.

7. Clemson

Clemson went on the road and smacked Georgia Tech on Saturday to improve to 4-0. The ACC is Clemson’s to lose, and a loss in the conference title game is the only way I can see the Tigers losing a game before the Playoff. No ranked opponents the rest of the way.

8. Kentucky

How bout that? Kentucky makes an entrance to the Deceptive Speed Top 10. The Wildcats deserve it after an impressive 21-point home win over Mississippi State. Kentucky has two wins against top 25 teams this season (Florida was ranked No. 25 a few weeks ago, so this might be a stretch). The 4-0 Wildcats do not have that tough of a schedule remaining, so they’re going to rack up some wins this year.

9. Oklahoma

Oklahoma survived in overtime against Army, but nobody saw it because it was on pay-per-view for $55. Maybe this was a really cool thing where money was raised for the military or something, but who has time for research these days when I’m just trying to fire off takes hotter than the internet has ever seen.

10. Penn State

Penn State trailed Illinois 24-21 midway through the third quarter on Friday night and wound up winning 63-24. That’s quite a fourth quarter. The Nittany Lions will host Ohio State on Saturday for the biggest game of the Big Ten regular season. Get excited.

Leave a Reply