After a thrilling week of college football, it is time to go over our top 25! Produced by my SAM (Simulated Adjusted [Elo] Model) model, this top 25 is made purely with mathematical methods (no opinion involved!).

Key takeaways:

  • Our top 5 contains 3 surprises (Florida State, Baylor, and North Carolina)! After strong week 0 and 1 performances against talented opponents, these teams secured top spots in the rankings!
  • Florida at 10 overall. After an incredible win against Utah, the Gators have secured a top 10 spot!
  • Texas at 18–is Texas back? Are the Longhorns gearing up for a major upset against Alabama week 2?

Notable top 25 makes:

  • Miami, Vanderbilt, Auburn, Arkansas State

Notable top 25 misses:

  • Little Brother (Michigan State), Notre Dame, Utah

In case you missed the games last weekend, here are the game scores corresponding to each game!

*Note that I define ‘Big Plays’ as plays where the WPA (win % added) was greater than 10%, ‘Game Changing Plays’ as plays where a team’s WPA went from below 50% to above 50% (or vise versa), and ‘Breakout Plays’ as plays that net over 25 yards. ‘Game Score’ is a composite score of all the statistics listed in the table (exact details in the game scores link above).

Some key takeaways:

  • Florida vs. Utah comes in at 12–with a game-sealing interception in the end zone, it’s hard to get better than that!
  • LSU vs. Florida State missed the top 50! With a game score of 241, this game got quite frantic towards the end, but dragged until then
  • Houston vs. UTSA coming in at 37–this game finished in triple OT! Watch those highlights if you get the chance!

What to watch for in week 2:

  • Texas vs. Alabama–this is the true test for Texas, for if they can keep this one close, they could prove themselves as a contender
  • Tennessee vs. Pittsburgh is a massive game for both teams to keep their playoff and top 25 hopes alive
  • Wake Forest vs. Vanderbilt–Vandy’s first real test…is this team legit?
  • Baylor vs. BYU–an AP Poll top 25 matchup, this showdown gives Baylor a chance to show the world what they are made of
Advertisement