I think we should have a top 15 poll on this site

Can I be the Wilner of the site? Ha ha. Only top 15? Not top 25? I’ll bite. Here is my top 25: 

rank – team – top win – P5 wins

1- Clemson 4-0 (#13 Auburn, #14 Loui) (3-0)

2 – Georgia 4-0 (#24 ND, #17 Miss St) (2-0)

I put Clemson and Georgia 1 and 2 because they have done the most. Two ranked wins, undefeated. 

3- Oklahoma 4-0 (#2 tOSU) (2-0)

4- USC 4-0 (#14 Stanford) (3-0)

USC and Oklahoma are tough. USC has three P5 wins, but I gave the edge to Oklahoma because they beat #2 tOSU. I’m not a big Stanford believer yet either. 

5- Alabama 4-0 (FSU) 4-0 (#3 FSU) (2-0): Alabama gets penalized because FSU is 0-2. 

6- TCU 4-0 (#6 OKSt) (2-0): Great win for TCU. They get OKSt’s spot. They get penalized over Alabama because they aren’t Alabama and #6 is too low for Alabama. 

7- Michigan 4-0 (#17 Florida) (1-0)

8- San Diego State 4-0 (#19 Stanford) (2-0): I don’t expect them to stay here, but they belong here based on what they’ve done this year. 

9- Virginia Tech 4-0 (#22 WVU) (1-0)

10- Memphis 3-0 (#25 UCLA) (1-0): Here is where I will have a problem moving forward. How do you weigh teams that were ranked vs where they are now? Should Memphis get credit for beating a “ranked” UCLA team that is now 2-2 and 0-1? Well, as for right now, yes. 

11- Duke 4-0 (NRW) (3-0): This is where the first debate comes in. What is more important? SOS or undefeated? Should Duke be this high because they have no losses or should a one loss team come in here who lost to a team ranked above them? Well, the playoff committe has shown that losses hurt more than a good SOS helps. So, I will grade the same way. Duke has zero losses and has beaten 3 P5 schools. That is a better resume than anyone else, so they get #11. 

12- Washington 4-0 (NRW) (2-0)

13- Penn State 4-0 (NRW) (2-0): Washington goes above Penn St because Penn St is the moral garbage hole of the universe. 

14- Washington State 4-0 (NRW) (1-0)

15- Utah 4-0 (NRW) (1-0): Utah has a better resume than South Florida or Wake Forest. 

16- South Florida 4-0 (NRW) (1-0)

17- Wake Forest 4-0 (NRW) (1-0)

18- Texas Tech 3-0 (NRW) (1-0): Texas Tech is 3-0. The other teams above them are 4-0. 

19- Minnesota 3-0 (NRW) (1-0)

20- UTSA 3-0 (NRW) (1-0)

21- UCF 2-0 (NRW) (1-0)

22- Miami 2-0 (NRW) (0-0): Here comes the “no P5 wins” group of ranked teams. 

23- Wisconsin 3-0 (NRW) (0-0)

Now we are out of undefeated teams, outside of Navy. BUT Navy has not played a P5 school, and they won’t until Notre Dame and one P5 school won’t keep you ranked and knowing that Navy has zero shot at being ranked at the end of the season, I will not put them into my early rankings. 

24- Mississippi State 3-1 (#12 LSU) (1-1)

25- Florida 2-1 (#23 Tennessee) (1-1)

Other teams considered: 

Navy 3-0 (NRW) (0-0), Ohio State 3-1 (NRW) (1-1), Oklahoma State 3-1 (NRW) (1-1), Auburn 3-1 (NRW) (0-0), Louisville 3-1 (NRW) (2-0), Oregon 3-1 (NRW) (1-1), LSU 3-1 (NRW) (0-1), Florida State 0-2 (NRW) (0-2)

Some surprises left off: Ohio State: No ranked wins, one loss. Remember, playoff committee has shown that undefeated/less losses is more important than tough SOS. Miss St and Florida both have losses, but better wins. Same with OKSt, Oregon, LSU and Louisville. Auburn has no P5 wins. FSU has no wins.