Week 3 of the college football season presents us with the potential for a seismic shift in how we view the top teams in the country.

With premier matchups like SMU vs. Louisville, Houston vs. Texas Tech, and even Alabama vs. Florida State, numerous teams can rise after this week. But there’s no bigger matchup to change our opinions on these teams than the potential biggest game of the year between LSU and Ole Miss.

With so much on the line, here are my top 10 teams in college football before the ball is kicked off on Saturday

10. BYU

BYU had an incredibly impressive win against Arizona and right now appears to be the best team in the Big 12. The Cougars are building something legitimate, and their dominance in that game was hard to ignore.

9. Alabama

The Tide responded despite having a rough start against Kentucky. Even though the Crimson Tide are figuring things out on offense, it’s clear their defense can cause serious problems. Currently, they’re sixth in 3rd/4th down success rate, which is making them impossible to move the ball against.

8. Ole Miss

Ole Miss has a chance to prove they deserve to move up depending on how they play against LSU this week. I still have some concerns about their defense after they gave up 488 yards to Louisville, though. That number is alarming for a team with national championship aspirations.

7. LSU

It’s a similar situation as Ole Miss, but the Tigers being sixth in EPA per play on offense and third on defense indicates they could be an elite team. This week’s matchup between these two programs should tell us a lot about where both stand.

6. Indiana

While the Hoosiers haven’t played many games, they still have the same level of offensive efficiency that helped them win last year. They’re 19th in EPA per play, which suggests they haven’t missed a step from their breakout 2025 campaign.

5. Notre Dame

While beating Wisconsin 41-13 doesn’t mean a whole lot, doing it with a C+ level performance shows the Fighting Irish have plenty of room to improve and could be even better by the end of the season. That ceiling is scary.

4. Ohio State

I don’t think the Buckeyes should fall very far despite losing to Texas. If they can get back on track and remain consistent offensively throughout the course of a game, Ohio State will be in the national championship hunt. One loss to the No. 1 team in the country shouldn’t erase everything we’ve seen from this roster.

3. Georgia

The Bulldogs also haven’t really played anybody, but early signs suggest this offense is deep and has a ton of different weapons. The Bulldogs are averaging 576.5 yards per game, and their first real test comes next week against Oklahoma. That game will tell us whether Georgia is truly a contender or just beating up on inferior competition.

2. Miami

I know some people will say the Hurricanes haven’t played anybody. I don’t care. Their offense looks effortless. It’s comical how easily they are moving the ball. Quarterback Darian Mensah completing 41 of 45 passes with eight touchdowns is remarkable. When an offense operates with that level of precision, the strength-of-schedule argument loses some weight.

1. Texas

They own the best win on the season. The fact that the Longhorns had three sloppy quarters and then locked in, going on a 21-0 run to win the game, shows that when they play four full quarters, they could potentially win a national championship. That kind of resilience against a team as talented as Ohio State separates Texas from the pack right now.