From a surging Ole Miss squad to a rising Mississippi State team, here are the teams making the strongest cases through 3 weeks.

The college football season is starting to take shape, and three weeks of action have provided enough evidence to separate the contenders from the pretenders. With week 4 approaching, it’s time to lay out my top 10 teams in the country.

No. 10: Mississippi State

Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself, but Kamario Taylor is special. When you have a player that good, you can accomplish a lot of great things during a season. Look at LaNorris Sellers from a couple of years ago, whom Taylor just beat. So far this season, he has over 1,000 yards of total offense, and he’s only going to get better. Mississippi State is a team worth watching.

No. 9: Alabama

The Crimson Tide struggled against Florida State, which is why they dropped a bit in my rankings. Alabama gave up 377 passing yards, but Keelon Russell stepped up to the challenge. They just need to be more consistent on both sides of the ball after a shaky past couple of weeks.

No. 8: LSU

I don’t think it’s fair to drop the Tigers that far after they played as well in the second half, rallying from a slow start. If LSU starts hotter, they have the talent to reach the College Football Playoff.

No. 7: Indiana

The Hoosiers haven’t played anyone. They’ve beaten North Texas, Howard, and Western Kentucky. That said, this roster is still really good. Until Indiana actually loses and performs poorly, I’m not taking them out of my top 10.

No. 6: Notre Dame

The Fighting Irish are in a similar spot to Indiana, but they’ve actually played Power Four teams. I know that they didn’t score a ton of points against Michigan State this past week, but they did have a really interesting development. Micah Gilbert exploded for 170 yards, and it’s clear that Notre Dame actually has a big-play threat.

No. 5: Ohio State

I’m still very high on the Buckeyes, but they have questions to answer when they start playing Big Ten opponents. The biggest question is whether a playmaker other than Jeremiah Smith is going to step up.

No. 4: Georgia

Similar to Indiana, the Bulldogs haven’t played anyone. There’s nothing to go off of. Arkansas isn’t a real opponent to judge how good you are. That said, Georgia has been smothering everybody, and their offense looks really explosive.

No. 3: Miami

I get that things weren’t perfect against Wake Forest, but Darian Mensah and Malachi Toney are playing at an insane level right now. I think the rest of this Miami team is going to catch up, and they’ve got plenty of time to do so.

No. 2: Ole Miss

Ole Miss has two great wins this season. After Louisville beat SMU, it’s clear Louisville is one of the best teams in the ACC, which makes that Ole Miss victory even more impressive. This team is great on both sides of the ball, and it’s not just Trinidad Chambliss carrying the load.

No. 1: Texas

The Longhorns stay at the top. Texas has the best win of the season. Arch Manning needs to bounce back after not looking great against UTSA, but the Longhorns clearly have a loaded roster. Their defense could be one of the best in the country, and that alone keeps them in the No. 1 spot heading into week 4.