The college football season has reached the point where we now have enough information to identify who the 10-best teams in the country are right now and can make informed guesses on which squads with make the College Football Playoff this year, but most teams have yet to reach the most difficult portions of their respective schedules.
It’s an exciting time of the year — the questions that exist at the start of the year have largely been answered, but in their place are a fresh batch of question marks about what teams can accomplish this year. To help wade through those waters, we spoke to Brady Quinn of Fox Sports, who gave his analysis of each of the top-10 squads in the most recent AP Poll, identified a pair of darkhorses who can crash the Playoff party, and picked the four teams he believes will play for a championship at this point in the year.
10. Penn State
The newest entrant into the top-10 are James Franklin’s Nittany Lions. Whether they’re the beneficiaries of a relatively down schedule or a really good team that will be tested soon — they travel to Iowa this week, host Michigan the next, then go to East Lansing to take on Michigan State — but right off the bat, Quinn is a fan of their speed on both sids of the ball.
“There’s comparable team speed to what, I think, you see from Ohio State, I just don’t know if some of those guys are as talented or as proven for what Ohio State is working with,” Quinn said.
For how fast the Nittany Lions are, the biggest thing in Quinn’s eyes is the question many pundits have pointed to when expressing skepticism about the team: the lack of Trace McSorley, who was replaced by first-year redshirt sophomore quarterback Sean Clifford. While Clifford has put up big numbers so far, his biggest tests are on the horizon, especially when he leads the Nittany Lions into Columbus on Nov. 23.
“The only question really comes down to how this team can compete and be considered one of those top-10, top-4 teams, if you wanna talk about it that way, is can Clifford lift them up like McSorley did for so many years, in particular vs. Ohio State,” Quinn says.
9. Notre Dame
The Fighting Irish are unique among the squads ranked in the top-10. Notre Dame is the only one that has suffered a loss, falling to Georgia, 21-17, in a tightly-contested matchup in Athens. It was, to whatever extent one can be, a good loss, but Quinn is skeptical that helps their case to make the Playoff.
“I think a lot of people were into moral victories from that one, and I tend to be more critical because I have really high expectations of this team,” Quinn says of his alma mater’s program. He does praise how this team looks like a contender, and how weapons like wide receiver Chase Claypool and tight end Cole Kmet are dangerous, but if the Fighting Irish are going to back into the conversation, he wants to see more out of signal caller Ian Book.
“The thing that I think I came away from thinking was really it’s gonna be the play of Ian that’s gonna take them to the College Football Playoff, which, to be quite honest, I don’t know if they have a shot,” Quinn says. “Now that they’ve lost, I think they’re on the outside looking in. But this team is gonna be able to beat the more talented teams they face with his play late in games.”
8. Wisconsin
Wisconsin is Wisconsin — the defense is stout, while running back Jonathan Taylor is a star. What makes this team different from past Badger sides has been the impressive play of junior quarterback Jack Coan, although Quinn is a little hesitant to heap praise on what he’s done so far.
“I haven’t seen Jack Coan tested.” No one’s been able to stop Jonathan Taylor, he’s running against loaded boxes every single game, Kent State had like 10 guys in there last week and they couldn’t stop him. Until I see a game — it may not be until Ohio State — but until I see a game where a team legitimately takes away Jonathan Taylor’s ability to run the football, it’s hard to think that this team is gonna be able to compete.”
The good news for the Badgers is that they might get that test on Saturday with a matchup against a tough Michigan State side. Perhaps the Spartans can limit Taylor and put the game in the hands of Coan and the Badger passing game, although after it was gashed last week against Ohio State, questions exist.
If not, we may not get answers on how good Wisconsin really is until they head to Columbus on Oct. 26.
“They’re sound, they’re solid defensively, especially their front seven,” Quinn says. “Their secondary is an experienced group, in particular at safety. But I’m still hesitant, I wanna see how they match up if they have to win a game in a shootout throwing the football and if their defense is really tested with a prolific offense.”
7. Florida
The Gators have the unenviable task of having to navigate an SEC schedule with a backup quarterback in. But even though Feleipe Franks is banged up, Quinn likes what his backup, Kyle Trask, has been able to do with his time on the field.
“I thought Trask has done a really good job for Franks,” Quinn says, making a point to say this is not meant to disparage Franks. “I feel like they’ve had a little bit more consistency in the passing game with him since he came in in Lexington compared to what Franks looked like earlier in the year.”
Between a consistent passing game, a solid rushing attack, and a nasty defense, the Gators have a case for being the favorites in the SEC East. That’ll especially be the case if they can survive this weekend’s trip to Death Valley to take on LSU, a game where Quinn believes the Florida defense will offer up a challenge for Tigers signal caller Joe Burrow.
“It’ll be interesting to see, really for both teams,” Quinn says. “How Trask handles the road environment and the challenge of that and how Burrow handles the pass rush for Florida.”
6. Oklahoma
The Sooners will do what the Sooners always do under Lincoln Riley: score a whole lot of points. It helps that Oklahoma went out and got the top transfer signal caller on the market in former Alabama standout Jalen Hurts, who has turned into a Heisman contender in Norman.
Having said that, the Sooners haven’t quite been tested this year, either. This intrigues Quinn, and not just because he’ll be in Dallas this weekend for Fox’s coverage of the Red River Shootout between Oklahoma and Texas. The team’s defense is statistically better, albeit against offenses that won’t test them as much as the Longhorns will on Saturday. As for Hurts, while he’s certainly talented, Quinn has some reservations about the sustainability of what he’s done this year.
“The one thing you notice with Hurts is he’s leading the team in rushing and it’s not all by design,” Quinn says. “There are times he’s taking off if he doesn’t see something downfield, and that’s fine versus lesser opponents, but when you get in the College Football Playoff, those teams are hoping you do that, and then they’ve got a spy or two spies waiting for you. That could be a potential issue down the road, even though Hurts has played great.”
Quinn has some skepticism about that test coming this weekend due to injuries to the Longhorn defense, and he is excited to see some of the Sooner playmakers like wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and Charleston Rambo go to work. This might even be a formula that wins them the Big 12, but come Playoff time, you need a little more, and when asked which teams he trusts more in a shootout, Quinn picked a trio that could make the Playoff and draw Oklahoma: Alabama, LSU, and Ohio State.
“Every one of those teams I named, I think you’re looking at a team that has better defensive play and can put up just as many points as Oklahoma can,” Quinn said.
5. LSU
The Tigers can put up points with the best of them, but boy, is their schedule a problem. LSU is about to embark on a brutal stretch that includes three games against ranked squads — Florida, Auburn, Alabama — in a month. The one matchup against a non-ranked foe is an always tricky trip to Starkville to play Mississippi State. Basically, if the Tigers can get through this stretch with only a loss to the Crimson Tide, there’s a path to them making the Playoff if a conference champion slips up and has two losses.
It also helps that Ed Orgeron and co. have looked awfully dangerous this season, beating up on foes and winning a tricky road test against Texas.
“Looking at the eye test right now, LSU is one of the top-4 teams,” Quinn says, putting them in the same grouping as Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio State.
Quarterback play has been huge thus far for the Tigers, something that isn’t always the case in Baton Rouge. Burrow, a transfer from Ohio State, has been magnificent, and this week, Quinn thinks it’s possible he’ll have to show that he can do more than spread the ball all over the field with his arm.
“He’s able to pick teams apart because their o-line’s been so good,” Quinn says. “I think he’ll be challenged [by Florida]. His athleticism’s gonna have to display itself, he’s a great athlete, he’s running it a little more on some designed quarterback runs in their zone read scheme, but he might actually have to scramble a little more this week with what that defense presents.”
T-3. Georgia
You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who would reject that Georgia’s good. The Bulldogs’ issue the last two years is that despite being a good team, they keep running into Alabama, and the Crimson Tide have been able to take care of business.
This year, Quinn thinks it might be a bit different. In his estimation, Kirby Smart’s team boasts the best rushing attack in the SEC, a signal caller in Jake Fromm who can win games, and a whole lot of speed on defense. Add in that Alabama’s offense is more pass-happy than usual and Quinn believes they can execute a game plan that takes down the Tide if it comes to that.
“If someone can implement the right strategy against that Alabama team — control the game with a rushing attack that still is scoring points, limit Bama’s possessions, limit their production, yeah, Georgia to me is definitely a team with their formula, how they play, I think it could very easily beat Bama in the SEC Championship game,” Quinn says.
It also helps that, unlike some other teams in the top-10, the Bulldogs have been tested this year during their win over Notre Dame in Athens. For Quinn, while we’re going off of the eye test, that’s a feather that Georgia can proudly wear in its cap.
T-3. Ohio State
No Urban Meyer, no problem. The Buckeyes have been a juggernaut during Ryan Day’s first full year at the helm in Columbus. Quinn credits this to a “simplified” defense, making it so a unit that struggled mightily at times last year is now among the sport’s best.
“That’s the side of the ball that I felt like calling their games last year, Greg Schiano just did too much,” Quinn says. Simplifying things has worked out beautifully for the Buckeyes through their first five games, and has made it so some of their talented defenders have been able to impact games — Quinn specifically shouted out Chase Young, who may be the best defensive player in the Big Ten.
On the other side of the ball, he’s a fan of how Ohio State’s new quarterback, Justin Fields, is able to use his legs to open make life easier for the 10 dudes around him.
“Fields can incorporate his athleticism and his mobility running it,” Quinn says. “The quarterback designed runs, how much better it makes things for J.K. Dobbins and the offensive line when they have to account for the quarterback and you can hold that backside end on the zone read or you can hold a linebacker with an RPO. It makes the angles easier for the offensive linemen, and it obviously equates the number count in the box to force defenses to simplify what they do, and leave more 1-on-1 coverage on the outside, which they’re exploiting and taking advantage of.”
The Buckeyes have a pair of tough home tilts on the horizon: Wisconsin on Oct. 26 and Penn State on Nov. 23. Both have the potential to be title fights, but in Quinn’s eyes, the speed of the Nittany Lions make them the bigger threat.
2. Clemson
Have the Tigers looked a touch off at times this year? Sure, but Quinn is hardly concerned about Clemson’s ability to navigate a down ACC. In fact, there’s only one team that Quinn believes can keep Dabo Swinney’s bunch from reaching their full potential.
“I don’t foresee [opposing teams] stopping them, I see them kinda stopping themselves,” Quinn says. “If Trevor Lawrence doesn’t find a way to generate more production in the passing game, continues to make mistakes, throwing into coverage as he has at some points in time. I think the thing that stood out is their offensive line hasn’t played as well, I don’t see that group moving people quite as much, I don’t see the rushing game being as good as it was last year.”
Between this and the step back its defense was expected to take due to the amount of talent it lost from last year’s bunch, Quinn has a hard time calling Clemson one of the four-best teams in the sport to this point. Having said that, he finds it hard to write them off, even if he would like to see them be a bit more dominant.
“Clemson’s got that equity, they’re the defending champs,” Quinn says. “Even if they’re a one-loss ACC champ, it’s hard to keep them out. I know the strength of schedule’s weak, but you knew what to expect from Dabo, you know what to expect from Trevor Lawrence in big moments.”
1. Alabama
It’s business as usual for Nick Saban’s top ranked Crimson Tide … well, kind of. Alabama is 5-0 and flying high this year, but unlike past squads, Quinn is impressed by this team’s ability to torch opponents through the air behind Tua Tagovailoa and the best group of wide receivers in the sport.
“It’s been more of a pass-heavy attack,” Quinn says. “I feel like that’s not always how Nick Saban has wanted it done, but it’s how they’re doing it now because there’s so talented out there. I mean, they can have three first round picks, maybe four, between [Jaylen] Waddle and Henry] Ruggs and [DeVonta] Smith and [Jerry] Jeudy. They’ve got an embarrassment of riches. So it’s business as usual until LSU. I think that’ll be the real question.”
He believes the way to beat Alabama involves slowing down Tagovailoa’s ability to process what a defense is doing and keeping their offense off the field by being able to run the ball and “condense the game.” But still, Alabama is Alabama, and as always, Saban boasts a dangerous bunch in Tuscaloosa.
We’ve seen in college football that being in the top-10 at this juncture doesn’t mean a ton, meaning the chase for a championship could certainly involve a squad that’s currently on the outside looking in. For Quinn, his eyes go to Eugene, where the 13th ranked Oregon Ducks have piqued his interests. He’s a big fan of them bringing back 10 of 11 starters on offense from last year’s squad, especially with a potential No. 1 overall pick in signal-caller Justin Herbert, while their defense has impressive speed.
“It just comes down to if they can win the Pac-12 or if they stumble,” Quinn says. “And then how the committee views their schedule, I think they’ll get some credit for playing Auburn.”
Speaking of the 12th ranked Tigers, Quinn is bullish on them, too, even though they fell to Florida in The Swamp last week. While acknowledging that freshman quarterback Bo Nix “played like crap” against the Gators, there’s still plenty to like about Auburn.
“They’re good enough defensively and they’re good enough around him where if Gus Malzahn can help him grow, help him avoid making those critical mistakes and errors,” Quinn says, “then that’s a team that, because of their schedule, if you look at them as a one-loss SEC champ, then yeah, you can make the case that they’d potentially be able to climb back up.”
As for which squads make the Playoff, Quinn believes that things are shaping up for it to be more of the same.
“Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Clemson,” Quinn predicts. “I think Oklahoma and Clemson will end up being undefeated, Ohio State, even as a one-loss, still gets in, and Alabama, at worst, will be a one-loss SEC champ.”
