Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 7: Why Oregon’s on top at midseason

Editor’s note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams.

If there’s one lesson to be learned from the first half of this college football season, it’s that the gap between the top teams and the middle-tier teams looks as small as it’s been in a very long time.

It’s a new week, and we have yet another new No. 1 in The Athletic 134. Welcome to the top, Oregon.

The reasoning is straightforward: The Ducks are undefeated and have one of the two best wins of the season after beating Ohio State 32-31 in a thriller in Eugene. It was the first win over a team in the AP poll’s top two in Oregon history and the program’s first real big win under coach Dan Lanning, one that was desperately needed. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel played one of the best games of his career, receiver Evan Stewart looked like the five-star talent he entered college football as, and the defense made enough plays.

The win puts the Ducks in the driver’s seat to reach the Big Ten championship game and get a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. And given the surprises we’ve seen so far this season, having a bye could be massive.

Oregon needed to come back late to beat Boise State and struggled with FCS program Idaho early in the season. Perhaps the gap between No. 1 Oregon and No. 16 Boise State is not that far. Perhaps the gap between Alabama and Vanderbilt is not far. Even Georgia couldn’t bury a Mississippi State team that was plastered by Toledo a few weeks ago. Who are the great, elite teams? I’m not sure there is one this season.

Whether that uncertainty is a product of NIL, transfers, coaching changes or a combination of it all, this has been one of the most fun and unexpected college football seasons in a long time. We’re in store for many more exciting Saturdays, and then perhaps a postseason that will be more open than we initially envisioned.

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College Football Playoff 2024 projections: Texas, Oregon at top; Indiana moves into bracket

Here is this week’s Athletic 134.

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Aside from Oregon’s elevation to No. 1, the big move here is Alabama dropping from No. 3 to No. 7. I got a lot of heat for keeping Alabama in the top three after its loss to Vanderbilt. My reasoning was that Alabama and Georgia were still on the same tier, and their head-to-head result informed that ranking. Not anymore. After barely hanging on for a 27-25 win against South Carolina, Alabama is tumbling. The Crimson Tide have now played five consecutive halves of bad football since halftime against Georgia. This team is going in the wrong direction.

You could flip No. 4 Penn State and No. 3 Georgia, as the polls have, and I wouldn’t argue with you. Both teams have one win against a team with a winning record. Georgia’s is No. 9 Clemson, while Penn State’s is a No. 27 Illinois team that nearly lost to Purdue this weekend. Georgia has played two top-10 teams; Penn State hasn’t played a team in my top 25. Both have close wins against .500 teams (Kentucky, USC), and both struggled a bit against weak competition (Mississippi State, Bowling Green).

Ohio State drops to No. 5 because although the Oregon game came down to the final seconds, the rest of the Buckeyes’ resume doesn’t have anything else that jumps out like Georgia’s has. The gap between these top five teams is incredibly small, and we’ve got Texas-Georgia and Ohio State-Penn State coming up in the next few weeks to shake it up again.

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Oregon’s epic win a testament to Dan Lanning’s elite talent-stacking

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Tennessee falls out of the top 10 to No. 12 after needing overtime to beat Florida at home. The Volunteers’ only notable win came against an Oklahoma team that is struggling. It’s clear the Vols offense is not what we thought it was early in the season. Boise State jumps up to No. 16 after a win at Hawaii, mostly thanks to Oregon’s elevation to No. 1 and Washington State’s move up to No. 24. To follow some transitive property tiebreakers here, Arizona State’s win against Utah moves the Sun Devils up, but Texas Tech beat Arizona State, and Wazzu beat Texas Tech.

Undefeated Pitt moves into the top 25, up to No. 20 after a 17-15 win against Cal. Vanderbilt’s 20-13 win at Kentucky moves the Commodores up to No. 21.

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AP Top 25: Texas still No. 1 as Oregon jumps to No. 2

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I really wanted to get Arizona State into the top 25, but the Texas Tech and Washington State situation explained above kept the Sun Devils one spot out. Michigan dropped to No. 29 and was jumped by Iowa due to the last two Washington results (Iowa beat the Huskies 40-16 one week after the Huskies beat Michigan). No. 31 Oklahoma and No. 32 Nebraska also dropped out of the top 25.

No. 39 USC continues to fall. One play in any of those three losses could’ve changed the outcomes, but the Trojans are also 5-8 in their last 13 games. Wisconsin jumps up to No. 40 after a stunning 42-7 win against Rutgers.

Army moves up to No. 50 and is now No. 23 in the AP Poll. I got some criticism about where I had the Black Knights last week. They haven’t trailed all season, but their six wins have come against five teams with one or two wins, plus an FCS team. Navy, meanwhile, has a win against 5-1 Memphis (plus three one-win teams and an FCS team). That’s the difference. The good news is Army still has 5-1 North Texas, Notre Dame and Navy on the schedule, and it’s well-positioned to make the AAC title game. There will be opportunities for good wins.

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Arizona State’s surprising surge continues, capped by an all-time postgame interview

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Cincinnati jumps up to No. 54 after a 19-13 win at UCF. No. 56 Louisiana-Monroe is now 5-1 after beating Southern Miss. Liberty needed overtime to beat FIU, so the Flames slip to No. 61, but the path to an undefeated season is still very open.

Texas State moves up to No. 66 after beating Arkansas State, and Louisiana is up to No. 67 after beating App State. The two Sun Belt West leaders will play right before Halloween. Oregon State drops to No. 70 after a loss to Nevada, while Northwestern jumps to No. 72 after beating Maryland 37-10. North Texas is up to No. 75 after coming back to beat FAU.

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Group of 5 mailbag: Where will the Pac-12 and Mountain West look next?

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No. 77 Buffalo has wins against Northern Illinois and Toledo, but the Bulls’ 47-3 loss to UConn two weeks ago helps move the idle Huskies up to No. 76. San Jose State slips to No. 81 after losing to Colorado State.

The three lowest-ranked Power 4 teams all put in solid performances this week. UCLA led Minnesota at halftime and lost in the final seconds; Mississippi State stayed within arm’s length of Georgia in a 41-31 loss; Purdue took Illinois to overtime. They all move up and now sit just behind Florida State, Kansas and Baylor.

In the wildest comeback of the season, No. 82 Georgia Southern overcame a 23-3 deficit with seven minutes left to beat Marshall 24-23.

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Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Dillon Gabriel’s legend grows, and more from Week 7

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We had a lot of matchups within this group.

Rice beat UTSA in the final seconds, sending Rice up to No. 117 and UTSA down to No. 118. No. 120 Louisiana Tech got a 48-21 win against No. 127 Middle Tennessee, No. 111 San Diego State beat No. 122 Wyoming, No. 114 Jacksonville State beat No. 124 New Mexico State, No. 115 New Mexico beat No. 123 Air Force, and No. 113 Western Michigan beat No. 131 Akron.

Kent State played Ball State close but ultimately remains at the bottom.

The Athletic 134 series is part of a partnership with Allstate. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.

(Photo: Ali Gradischer / Getty Images)