Well, that’s new. Vanderbilt is in the top 10!

You read that right.

College football stayed true to its wild and crazy ways on the season’s opening weekend. The Miami Hurricanes swept through Gainesville with an unexpected attrition; Iowa City featured a newfound offense; the Oregon Ducks survived a scare from Idaho (yes, Idaho); and the Vanderbilt Commodores surprised Virginia Tech in Nashville, a win that catapulted them into the first top 10 of the 2024 season.

How long will the Commodores stay here? Well, we’ll see. The ‘Dores have a real chance to be 3-0 before they travel to Missouri on Sept. 21. It’s a pivotal year for Vandy coach Clark Lea to right a ship that veered off course last year in his third season (they were 2-10).

But enough about Vandy. In Austin, Arch Manning threw his first college touchdown as a backup, and in Georgia, the top-ranked Bulldogs defeated Dabo Swinney’s squad. Also in Georgia, Boise State, one of the CFP Group of Five favorites, traveled cross-country to showcase perhaps the most important player it signed in the offseason: running back Ashton Jeanty, who broke school records with 267 rushing yards and six touchdowns in a 56-45 win over Georgia Southern. His performance could be the start of the rare G5 Heisman campaign.

In Tuscaloosa, Alabama’s new coach got a familiar result (a big win). And on the set of GameDay from College Station, Alabama’s former coach dropped an S-bomb on live television.

And finally, after a slow start in Iowa City, the Hawkeyes’ new-found offense under Tim Lester finally got rolling, scoring three touchdowns in a single game for the first time since… 2021!

But you’re not here for the recaps. You’re here for the top 10.

There’s something very important to keep in mind about our top 10. It’s a judgement-free zone! We don’t take preseason polls or previous season results into account when ranking teams. What happened in the past is, well, the past.

For example, you won’t find Ohio State (it played against Akron) or Texas (it played against Colorado State) here. However, as mentioned above, you will find Vanderbilt!

This system usually rewards teams with tougher opponents early in the season, but it also makes for an unusual group in the first few weeks. By mid-season, our top 10 may not be much different than many others. But for now…

1. Georgia

This week: 34-3 against Clemson

Next week: against Tennessee Tech

You can argue about which team had the most dominant performance against the best Week 1 competition – Georgia (vs. Clemson), Miami (at Florida) or Notre Dame (at Texas A&M). We’re picking the Bulldogs, who blasted the Tigers with a 31-point second-half bashing that prompted coach Dabo Swinney to use a flowery phrase – “kick ass” – during his postgame press conference. Georgia’s defense held Clemson to fewer than 200 yards, and Carson Beck passed the ball to five-star players during those electrifying final two quarters.

2. Miami

This week: 41-17 against Florida

Next week: against Florida A&M

Mario Cristobal and his Hurricanes have lived up to all the hype of the offseason, at least for one game. New quarterback Cam Ward ripped his way through the Gators defense for 385 yards and three touchdowns in a game that pitted two third-year coaches, Cristobal and Billy Napier, who desperately needed a season-opening win in an in-state clash. It’s still a long way from The U being able to say it’s back, but a dominating performance on the road against an SEC team is a solid start.

3. Notre-Dame

This week: Beat Texas A&M 23-13

Next week: against Northern Illinois

Transfer quarterback Riley Leonard’s first game for the Irish is a road win against an SEC team in a hostile environment and against his former coach Mike Elko. It wasn’t easy or pretty, but Leonard and the Irish managed just enough offensive output. Marcus Freeman’s defense did most of the work, rattling and battering A&M quarterback Conner Weigman (12 of 30 for 100 yards) and intercepting him twice.

4. Penn State

This week: 34-12 win against West Virginia

Next week: against Bowling Green

In the first game under new OC Andy Kotelnicki, QB Drew Allar showed off his precise rocket arm, completing 11 passes for a whopping 216 yards (12 yards per pass) and three touchdowns. Morgantown is not an easy place to play, but James Franklin’s squad certainly made it look that way. Penn State’s defense forced three turnovers and held the Mountaineers to less than 300 yards.

5. Georgia Tech

This week: 35:12 against Georgia State

Next week: in Syracuse

The Yellow Jackets are in the top 10 not because of their win over Georgia State, but because of their Week 0 win in Ireland against Florida State. Trailing by 10.5 points entering the game, Coach Brent Key’s team held the vaunted FSU defense to a halt and held the Noles to nearly 200 yards. Could GT be in the race for the ACC championship in Key’s second full season as coach? There are still plenty of games to win before facing UNC, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and Miami in October.

6. Vanderbilt

This week: 34-27 win over Virginia Tech in overtime

Next week: against Alcorn State

The Commodores are in the top 10 after surprising a Virginia Tech team that many people expected to contend for the ACC championship. Transfer QB Diego Pavia threw for 190 yards and ran for another 104 yards in the upset.

7. North Carolina

This week: 19:17 against Minnesota

Next week: against Charlotte

Yes, this Thursday night affair featured some ugly football. The Tar Heels almost did enough to lose. They needed a missed field goal from the Gophers as time expired to survive, and they did so without their starting quarterback. Max Johnson, who transferred from Texas A&M and LSU before that, will miss the season after breaking his right leg in the second half. Still, new DC Geoff Collins’ defense was a bright spot for a UNC program that has struggled with consistent defense since the arrival of Mack Brown.

8. Colorado

This week: Victory against North Dakota State with 31:26

Next week: in Nebraska

Typically, teams don’t find themselves in the season debut edition of our Top 10 after beating an FCS team, but you have to hand it to the Buffaloes, who (1) faced FCS power North Dakota State and (2) beat FCS power North Dakota State. Unless Deion Sanders’ group improves on defense, they won’t stay in the rankings very long. A trip to Lincoln next week will test a defense and offensive line that isn’t playing as a complement to QB Shedeur Sanders and world-class WR/CB Travis Hunter.

9. Alabama

This week: 63-0 against Western Kentucky

Next week: against South Florida

The Tide are the only team in our top 10, along with Colorado (No. 9), that has yet to win against a power conference opponent. They’ve been so dominant, and against a Group of Five team, Western Kentucky, that’s not too bad (WKU has three consecutive winning seasons in a row). The Kalen DeBoer era began with six touchdowns on the first eight drives. How about this line: QB Jalen Milroe completed seven passes for 200 yards. Three of those went for touchdowns.

10. Technical data

This week: Stanford beaten 34:27

Next week: against Long Island University

Look, there aren’t many power conference programs that went on a road trip to another power conference program in Week 1. In fact, there are seven. The Horned Frogs didn’t look good at times; TCU trailed for most of the game, fumbling three times and taking seven penalties. But they managed to pull enough off, with QB Josh Hoover throwing for 353 yards. After an up-and-down season last year, Hoover is off to a good start.