Who is the best team in college football? Week 2 of the 2024 college football season is drawing to a close, with Saturday’s action providing plenty of close games and upsets to reflect on from the best college football teams. As everything draws to a close, it’s time for our Week 3 college football rankings.
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We only got a few ranked versus ranked matchups in Week 2, including Texas vs Michigan and Tennessee vs NC State. However, there are plenty of things to take away from how the best college football teams performed. With that in mind, let’s finally jump into our Week 3 college football rankings.
25. Washington Huskies (Unranked) – 2-0
Not a bad start for the Washington Huskies. It’s all great for head coach Jedd Fisch, who is doing for the Huskies’ offense what he did for the Arizona Wildcats last year. Meanwhile, quarterback Will Rogers exits Week 2 with a 5-0 TD-INT ratio and just over 500 passing yards, a big improvement upon his 2023 season at Mississippi State. Let’s see what Rogers and Fisch have for Washington State.
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24. Boston College Eagles (Unranked) – 2-0
Kudos to Bill O’Brien for the hot start in his first season back as a college head coach. The Eagles haven’t started a season 2-0 since 2021 and the last time they did it, they certainly didn’t have a win over Florida State. O’Brien is already doing great work for this program, though, we’d admittedly be stunned if Boston College finds a way to beat Missouri in Week 3.
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23. Memphis Tigers (Unranked) – 2-0
Week 3 proved to be a little bittersweet for the Memphis Tigers. Mario Anderson dominated in this one, leading the team with 148 scrimmage yards and 2 touchdowns in a blowout victory over Troy. Unfortunately, Memphis also lost offensive weapon Sutton Smith (knee) for the remainder of the season. On the bright side, with how the Florida State Seminoles have looked in 2024, Memohis could certainly go into Tallahassee next Saturday and send FSU to a 0-3 record.
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22. Oklahoma State Cowboys (22) – 2-0
A win is a win, but the Oklahoma State Cowboys are raising plenty of concerns after their first two games. Quarterback Alan Bowman, who threw 17 touchdowns for Texas Tech back in 2018, has been up-and-down. Meanwhile, Arkansas made it look easy to bottle up Ollie Gordon (2.9 ypc on 17 carries). We’ll give some credit for the 2-0 record, but we won’t be surprised if Oklahoma State beats Tulsa in Week 3 and then gets steamrolled by the Utah Utes on September 21.
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21. Clemson Tigers (21) – 1-1
Some will argue that the absolute demolition of App State by the Clemson Tigers in Week 2 is a big step forward. After all, the Tigers obliterated a program that has pulled off plenty of upsets in recent years. It’s worth remembering that App State now exits Week 2 with a 16-12 record in the last three seasons. Sure, this victory is more than enough to keep Clemson in the Week 3 college football rankings, but let’s also not act like the Tigers beat a high-end team in decisive fashion.
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20. Michigan Wolverines (12) – 1-1
Davis Warren is a feel-good story, winning the battle against leukemia to become a starting quarterback for the Michigan Wolverines. Unfortunately, the story needs to end, because he’s already shown he isn’t fit to start for one of the best college football teams. Saturday proved the Wolverines are worlds removed from where they were a year ago. If Michigan loses at home in two weeks to the USC Trojans, picking up their second loss before October, this will probably be one of the program’s worst seasons since the Brady Hoke era.
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19. LSU Tigers (19) – 1-1
The LSU Tigers get their first win of the year, but the season-opening loss is going to sting for Weeks. Losing to USC raised serious doubts about how the Tigers will fare against the likes of Ole Miss and Alabama, even with those SEC duels being played at Tiger Stadium. At the very least, we’ll need to see LSU easily handle its business against South Carolina and UCLA.
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18. Kansas State Wildcats (17) – 2-0
We’ll start with the good news. After allowing 20 first-half points to Tulane, the Kansas State Wildcats defense locked things down in the second quarter and even delivered the game-winning touchdown. That’s why the Wildcats survived in Week 2. Now for the bad. Quarterback Avery Johnson, who many hoped would deliver a breakout season, has been alarmingly shaky in his first two starts. If he can’t turn things around quickly, Johnson will cause a Wildcats loss to Arizona in Week 3.
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17. Louisville Cardinals (Unranked) – 2-0
We wanted to hold off on vaulting the Louisville Cardinals into our top 25 college football rankings until they faced Georgia Tech. The chaos in Week 2 changed that. Louisville had a nice balance on Saturday, with quarterback Tyler Shough leading 4 scoring drives in the first half, while the run game punched it in each time. Now the Cardinals can prepare for Georgia Tech, with that matchup looking even more favorable to start the year hot just like it did in 2023.
16. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5) – 2-0
Well, that was embarrassing. A year ago, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish brought in Sam Hartman from the transfer portal with the hope he would push this team over the hump. Instead, his interceptions in big games proved costly. Fast forward to 2024, Riley Leonard is brought in to be the hero. He threw 2 interceptions on Saturday, doesn’t have a passing touchdown entering Week 3 and he certainly seems to lack the poise and decision-making you’d expect from a veteran quarterback. Maybe the Fighting Irish are cursed, maybe it’s their evaluation of quarterbacks. Either way, the Fighting Irish are in the same spot they’ve been stuck in for years and that’s well short of everyone’s expectations.
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15. Oklahoma Sooners (15) – 2-0
Surviving does matter, especially in a chaotic Week 2, but this wasn’t a pretty victory for the Oklahoma Sooners. Jackson Darnold was extremely inconsistent, but so was a Sooners’ ground game that averaged under 4 yards per carry. Oklahoma will take a 2-0 record, but the Sooners need to play a much higher level to beat Tulane (Week 3) and it will take a complete team effort to take down Tennessee (Week 4).
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14. Nebraska Cornhuskers (20) – 2-0
The Nebraska Cornhuskers are just a different team with Dylan Raiola, we tried to tell you. For one thing, Raiola’s very presence on the field helps make running the football much easier for the Cornhuskers offense. The freshman quarterback also shows poise beyond his years and his playmaking ability could soon make him one of the best quarterbacks in college football. Maybe this game said more about the true state of Colorado, but we believe it’s a testament to this Nebraska team.
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13. Arizona Wildcats (13) – 2-0
At one point on Saturday night, the Arizona Wildcats trailed Northern Arizona 10-6 at the half. Fortunately for the Wildcats, on a day with upsets and close calls, they joined company in the latter. Noah FIfita wasn’t particularly sharp in this one and Tetairoa McMillan (11 receiving yards was completely erased. We’ll still give credit for the 2-0 record, but this is the last performance Arizona needed to have before facing Kansas State and Utah in consecutive games.
12. Miami Hurricanes (16) – 2-0
The next litmus test isn’t coming for the Miami Hurricanes for over a month. For now, The U gets to beat up on the likes of Ball State (Sept. 14), South Florida (Sept. 21) and Virginia Tech. One thing that remains clear is this is the best Hurricanes roster in years and while Mario Cristobal might not be one of the best coaches in college football, Cam Ward and the rest of the talent on Miami’s roster can put this team in position for double-digit wins.
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11. USC Trojans (13) – 2-0
One of the best moves in college football this offseason is clearly the USC Trojans hiring of D’Anton Lynn. Prior to his arrival, the Trojans legitimately had one of the worst defenses in college football for nearly 2 seasons. Coming out of Week 2, the Trojans’ defense has a shutout for the first time in years and this defense came through in some big spots in the season opener against LSU. We didn’t even highlight Lincoln Riley and Miller Moss this week, which should tell you how impressive USC’s defense has been this year already.
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10. Penn State Nittany Lions (9) – 2-0
The James Franklin experience can be best described as the head coach calling for his defense to get more national attention on Monday and that very same Penn State Nittany Lions defense allowing nearly 400 yards and 27 points to Bowling Green on Saturday. Penn State barely survived, with running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen – 220 rushing yards on 27 touches – carrying this team to victory. Penn State is 2-0 and currently in a position to make the College Football Playoff, but a Franklin-coached team once again proved why so many don’t trust Penn State in big games.
9. Oregon Ducks (6) – 2-0
The Oregon Ducks were supposed to learn from their scare against Idaho in Week 1. Instead, still playing at home, Oregon needed a second-half rally and 10 unanswered points in the first quarter, including a field goal to take out Boise State. Labeled one of the best college football teams entering the 2024 season, the Ducks haven’t looked anything close to it right now. If Oregon isn’t careful, it will lose on the road in the Civil War because Oregon State is playing with some confidence right now.
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8. Missouri Tigers (11) – 2-0
With Notre Dame losing and the Penn State Nittany Lions needing a rally to survive Bowling Green at home, the Missouri Tigers jump into the top 10. The Brady Cook-Luther Burden III connection is one of the best quarterback-receiver duos in college football and Missouri’s defense boasts more than enough talent and quality coaching to cause problems for opponents. The Tigers will have their shot at Boston College in Week 3, but we don’t expect it will be as big of an issue for Mizzou.
7. Utah Utes (8) – 2-0
We were quite high on the Utah Utes entering the season, putting them in the No. 8 spot entering Week 1. So, while there’s still no movement for Kyle Whittingham’s program in our Week 3 college football rankings, the Utes are showing why we believe this is one of the best college football teams in 2024. Utah quarterback Cameron Rising simply elevates this offense to another level and when you pair that with the Utes defense, you have a very dangerous team.
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6. Tennessee Volunteers (10) – 2-0
Plenty of things will have to go right for the Tennessee Volunteers to make the College Football Playoff, but some of them already have. Nico Iamaleava did throw his first collegiate interception, but he’s been very sharp in his first 3 starts for the Vols outside of that. Tennessee should easily dispatch Kent State on Sept. 14, but that road trip to battle the Oklahoma Sooners is a fantastic test for both programs. As of now, even as road dogs, we’d give a 6-point edge to Tennessee.
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5. Alabama Crimson Tide (7) – 2-0
It wasn’t pretty until late for the Alabama Crimson Tide, who only held a one-point lead over South Florida in the third quarter, but they secured the double-digit victory. It’s alarming to see the level of success USF had slowing down Kalen DeBoer’s offense with Alabama allowing a ton of penetration into the backfield in the first 3 quarters. Winning does matter on a week when plenty of ranked teams lost, but Alabama is multiple tiers behind the three best college football teams right now. If that O-Line can protect, freshman Ryan Williams is going to make big things happen for Milroe and DeBoer.
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4. Ole Miss Rebels (6) – 2-0
On a Saturday that saw several of the best college football teams narrowly escape with victories, the Ole Miss Rebels handed their business at home. Week 2 woes from the likes of Notre Dame and Penn State don’t necessarily have a direct impact on the Rebels, outside of potential playoff seeding implications, but it does show why this can be one of the nation’s elite teams. Week 2 certainly proved that surprises can happen but the looming Ole Miss schedule – Wake Forst, Georgia Southern, Kentucky and South Carolina – offers a clear path to a 6-0 record before facing LSU and Oklahoma.
3. Ohio State Buckeyes (2) – 2-0
The Ohio State Buckeyes drop in our Week 3 college football rankings but there are still plenty of positives to take away from Saturday’s Week 2 action. First, the Michigan Wolverines are clearly so much worse than last season that Ohio State should probably be a double-digit favorite when they meet in November. Second, after a strong season opener, the Penn State Nittany Lions didn’t look anything close to one of the best college football teams in Week 2. Oh yeah and Ohio State won, that’s just the cherry on top this Saturday.
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2. Texas Longhorns (3) – 2-0
We’ll likely finish the 2024 season realizing that Michigan wasn’t one of the best college football teams this year. That doesn’t necessarily matter right now. The Texas Longhorns went into Ann Arbor and decimated the Wolverines, taking complete control of the game and silencing a raucous environment. Texas’s defense certainly stood out, but it’s also clear that Quinn Ewers took another step in his development. Texas made the CFP last year and it’s a national title contender in 2024.
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1. Georgia Bulldogs (1) – 2-0
The Georgia Bulldogs are the best team in college football. Bulldogs starting running back Trevor Etienne returned to the field in Week 2 and impressed – 78 yards on 5 carries – but QB Carson Beck (5 touchdowns, 242 yards on 18 completions – stood out even more. Tennessee Tech certainly proved to be a cakewalk for the Bulldogs, but this same Georgia team steamrolled Clemson in the first half of the season-opener. In short, this is the No. 1 team in the nation.