SUBSCRIBE to our emails here.

We’ve finally reached the chaos point in college football, and there’s no turning back.

Midway through October is always the transition point in the college football calendar. As we enter the second half of the season, the pretenders are exposed, and the legitimate contenders rise through the ashes.

With new and significant data points from last week, A to Z Sports’ fantastic college football staff released their latest top 25 rankings. Let’s dig into the five teams that stood out the most.

#10 Tennessee

“The Tennessee Volunteers are your classic case of a team who can play down to inferior opponents at times, but also has the talent to win against anyone if they are playing well. Quarterback Joey Aguilar has played a lot of good football for them, but the Tennessee run game is what that offense hangs their hat on. If star cornerback Jermod McCoy is able to get back on the field soon, the Volunteers have one of the very best defensive back duos in college football along with Colton Hood. This is a team that can’t be slept on because they have more than enough fire power to beat you.” —Ryan Roberts

The hype for Tennessee this year has been perplexing for me. I agree with Roberts that they’re playing down to opponents, and they have a talented roster. However, I’m hung up on this consistent talking point of star cornerback Jermod McCoy is their missing piece. He is without a doubt the best cornerback in college football, but his return date has been kicked down the road every single week. This season, the Volunteers’ defense has been atrocious, currently standing at 91st in EPA per drop-back allowed. This week against Alabama is only going to expose that further unless McCoy returns.

#13 Oklahoma

“I think we are going to read too much into Oklahoma’s struggles in Red River against the Texas Longhorns as the product of who they are rather than a one-off. Yes, John Mateer was coming off of thumb surgery, but the turnover luck was not with them, as the game was lost not due to the injury, but rather what happens in between the ears. Mateer was making bad decisions left and right and the Longhorns made them pay for it … Oklahoma will be just fine and likely come back swinging.” —Tyler Forness

I’m entirely out on Oklahoma after the way that they played against Texas. Like Forness pointed out, their defense looked dominant against the Longhorns. However, we can’t overlook the evidence of the volatility of their offense. With a banged-up John Mateer who could barely throw, they could not generate the splash plays through the air needed to hang with the Longhorns. The five sacks they allowed are indicative of how weak the offensive line is, and it will only get worse throughout their demanding schedule.

#14 Notre Dame

“It was only a matter of time before Notre Dame rose back into the CFP ranks. Despite its two losses early, the Fighting Irish have more credibility with AP voters because of their championship game run last year and obvious recruiting pedigree. While I don’t disagree with pro-Notre Dame takes at all, my justification has more to do with rewarding teams with fewer losses. Losing to Miami and Texas A&M looks even better now, but it feels a bit unfair to overly reward the Irish just for losing those games in a close manner.” —Ian Valentino

Valentino did a fantastic job illustrating the confusion in projecting Notre Dame with his analysis. While their two losses are respectable and look better each week when Texas A&M and Miami keep winning, they still don’t have a win over a solid team they can point to. Thankfully, this week they have a shot at home to bolster their resume against a ranked USC team.

#19 USC

“The USC Trojans have scored at least 31 points in every single game this season. Their only loss was a 34-32 thriller where they almost came back from down 14 at Illinois (a team our staff ranked 26th this week, but could be higher). The Trojans rank first in almost every meaningful offensive efficiency category. Yards per play, EPA per play, success rate, yards per drop back. You name it. The Trojans likely lead or nearly lead in it. Now their defense is starting to come together too as they completely shut down Michigan this past weekend. Jayden Maiava and Makai Lemon continue to be the best QB-WR connection in the country.” —Travis May

Everything May pointed out about this USC squad is precisely why I’m fully bought in on the Trojans. Even if they were to lose to Notre Dame on the road this week, they need to be championed for the efficiency and explosiveness of their offense. Not enough people nationally are respecting the fact that Lincoln Riley has his best offense yet in Los Angeles, and that’s saying a lot with his history as an offensive guru. Makai Lemon and Jayden Maiava are a perfect combo and will continue to gash opposing defenses if their secondary can play more reliably down the stretch.

#25 USF

“The biggest blemish on USF’s resumé is obviously the 49-12 loss to Miami. That’s a bad loss, but I’m willing to give USF the benefit of the doubt. That game felt like a classic letdown game after USF knocked off Florida in the Swamp the previous weekend. USF has easily taken care of business in recent weeks against inferior opponents, winning by an average of 35 points over its last three games (South Carolina State, Charlotte, North Texas). I don’t blame the rest of the A to Z team for ranking USF lower than I did — it’s just that my feeling is that the loss to Miami doesn’t accurately reflect who USF is as a team.” —Zach Ragan

We need to start taking this USF team more seriously after the beatdown they put on North Texas. Those not paying attention to the G5 don’t understand the significance of the win they had last Friday night against a UNT squad that was at the top of the AAC. Ragan makes a lot of great supporting points. We shouldn’t base our analysis on the Miami loss. If they’re mauling G5 teams, they should be ranked as the best G5 team.

---

Only A to Z Sports newsletter subscribers get the rest of this email, which has the latest CFB news and more.

Don’t miss out on our upcoming full newsletter: SUBSCRIBE to our FREE weekly CFB newsletter to receive updates on your favorite CFB team and the rest of the league straight to your inbox.

College Football

The real reason Penn State had no choice but to fire James Franklin & the top coaches they must target next – CFB Newsletter

Who should Penn State hire to replace James Franklin as their next head coach?

Joe DeLeone