Every team that wins wants to walk away feeling good about itself, but the final score never tells the entire story. Some teams win without looking particularly good. Others step onto the field and make you believe they may be capable of doing something special.
This is not another Top 10 ranking. I’m looking strictly at what happened this past weekend—who controlled the game, who passed the eye test and who showed qualities that should carry over when the competition gets tougher.
1. Miami
Miami was the most impressive football team I watched this weekend.
The Hurricanes were explosive, confident and damn near unstoppable through the air. Darian Mensah completed 26 of 29 passes for 396 yards and five touchdowns before being taken out late in the third quarter.
That is video-game production.
Miami has the quarterback, receivers and overall athletic ability to compete for a national championship. I still want to see more consistency from the ground game, but if Mensah continues playing anywhere close to this level, the Hurricanes are going to be a problem for everybody on their schedule.
2. LSU
There is no need to dance around what happened: LSU went into Clemson and whipped their ass.
Winning in Death Valley is never easy, but LSU looked like the stronger, tougher and better-prepared football team. The Tigers controlled the line of scrimmage and never appeared intimidated by the environment.
That kind of victory carries more weight than running up 60 points against an overmatched opponent. LSU went on the road, faced a nationally recognized program and made a statement.
They looked like a legitimate SEC and national championship contender.
3. Georgia
Georgia looked exactly like Georgia.
The Bulldogs were physical, disciplined and extremely comfortable doing what they wanted to do. Their ground game was powerful, and once again, they appear to have the kind of depth that wears opponents down over four quarters.
There may be teams with flashier offenses, but very few programs are constructed as well as Georgia from top to bottom. Kirby Smart’s team still looks capable of beating you in several different ways, and that makes the Bulldogs one of the most dangerous teams in the country.
4. Ohio State
Ohio State looked like one of the most complete teams in college football.
The Buckeyes have elite talent all over the field, but what continues to separate them is their strength along the lines of scrimmage. They can match up with anybody athletically while still playing a physical brand of football.
They did nothing this weekend to make me question whether they belong among the leading national championship contenders.
5. Texas
Arch Manning needed to show us something, and he did.
Manning completed 20 of 27 passes for 305 yards, accounted for multiple touchdowns and finally began looking like the quarterback everyone has been telling us he would become.
I’m not ready to hand him the Heisman Trophy after one game, but this was a strong performance. More importantly, Texas looked balanced and dangerous around him.
If Manning continues playing like this, Texas will remain firmly in the championship picture—and he will earn his way into the Heisman conversation instead of being placed there because of his last name.
6. Oklahoma
John Mateer may have glided right into the early Heisman conversation.
He threw for 225 yards and three touchdowns and immediately gave Oklahoma’s offense a different personality. He played with confidence, created opportunities and looked completely comfortable running the offense.
Oklahoma has plenty left to prove, but Mateer raises the ceiling of this team considerably. If that performance was a sign of what is coming, the Sooners could become one of the most dangerous teams in the country.
7. South Carolina
Yes, it was Kent State. No, Kent State is not Alabama across the line of scrimmage.
Now that we have gotten that out of the way, 653 yards of offense is still 653 yards of offense.
South Carolina produced its most points against an FBS opponent in 20 years. LaNorris Sellers completed 19 of 23 passes for 270 yards and multiple touchdowns, the ground game was productive, and Kendall Briles did an excellent job distributing the football and getting his playmakers involved.
There are things that must be corrected. Sellers underthrew several deep balls, the screen defense concerned me, and the Gamecocks will not get away with the same mistakes against SEC opponents.
But it was still a damn good opening performance. South Carolina looked organized, aggressive and far more dangerous offensively than it did a year ago.
8. Indiana
Indiana continues to look like a disciplined, well-coached football team that deserves to be taken seriously.
They may not have the collection of five-star players found at Georgia, Ohio State or Texas, but they execute, avoid beating themselves and play with confidence. That combination can take a team a long way in college football.
At some point, people are going to have to stop treating Indiana like a nice little story and start recognizing it as a legitimate national program.
Who Didn’t Make the Cut?
Oregon won, but the Ducks did not look like a national championship football team. Boise State gave them everything they could handle, and Dante Moore did not produce the kind of performance expected from a supposed Heisman contender.
Ole Miss also escaped by the skin of its ass. A win is a win, but surviving a game is not the same thing as looking impressive.
That is the point of this list.
I’m not interested in rewarding helmet logos, preseason hype or poll position. I’m looking at what happened between the lines.
Miami and LSU made the strongest statements. Georgia and Ohio State looked like the powerful, complete teams we expected. Texas and Oklahoma showed us quarterbacks who could change the direction of their seasons.
And South Carolina showed enough offensive firepower to make the rest of the SEC pay attention.
It was only one weekend, but first impressions matter—and these were the teams that made the best ones.
