Well, this is a new one. Vanderbilt is in the Top 10!

You read that right.

College football continued its wild and crazy streak on the season’s true opening weekend. The Miami Hurricanes blew away Gainesville with an unexpected drubbing; there was a new offensive game in Iowa City; the Oregon Ducks survived a scare from Idaho (yes, Idaho); and the Vanderbilt Commodores stunned Virginia Tech in Nashville for a win that moves them into the inaugural Top 10 for the 2024 season.

How long will the Commodores be here? Well, we’ll see. The ‘Dores have a legitimate chance to go 3-0 before they travel to Missouri on Sept. 21. It’s a crucial 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, playing a reserve role, threw his first college touchdown, and in Georgia, the top-ranked Bulldogs demolished Dabo Swinney’s group. Also in Georgia, Boise State, one of the Group of Five’s CFP picks, made the cross-country trip to showcase perhaps the most important player to have held onto this offseason: running back Ashton Jeanty, who broke the school record with 267 yards rushing and six touchdowns in a 56-45 win over Georgia Southern in a performance that may well mark the beginning of a rare G5 Heisman campaign.

In Tuscaloosa, Alabama’s new coach achieved 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 TV.

And finally, after a slow start in Iowa City, the Hawkeyes’ new offense led by Tim Lester finally got it going, scoring three touchdowns in a single game for the first time since… 2021!

But you’re not here for the summaries. 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! When ranking teams, we don’t take into account preseason polls or results from previous seasons. What’s happened in the past is, well, past.

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

This system normally rewards teams with stronger opponents early in the season, but it also creates an unusual group in the first few weeks. By the middle of the season, our Top 10 may not be much different than many others. But for now…

1. Georgia

This week: defeated Clemson 34-3

Next week: vs. Tennessee Tech

It’s debatable which team had the more dominant performance against Week 1’s top competition: Georgia (over Clemson), Miami (at Florida) or Notre Dame (at Texas A&M). We went with the Bulldogs, who shut out the Tigers with a 31-point second-half bashing that featured coach Dabo Swinney using colorful language — “ass-kicking” — in his postgame press conference. Georgia’s defense held Clemson to fewer than 200 yards and Carson Beck passed the ball around to five-star skill players during those electric final two quarters.

2.Miami

This week: Florida defeated 41-17

Next week: against Florida A&M

Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes lived up to all that offseason hype, at least for one game. New QB Cam Ward blasted 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. We’re still a long way from The U claiming it’s back, but a dominant performance away to an SEC team is a solid start.

3. Notre-Dame

This week: Texas A&M defeated 23-13

Next week: against Northern Illinois

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

4. Penn State

This week: West Virginia defeated 34-12

Next week: against Bowling Green

In the first game under new OC Andy Kotelnicki, QB Drew Allar showed off his accurate, rocket arm, completing 11 passes for 216 yards (12 yards per completion) and three touchdowns. Morgantown isn’t an easy place to play, but boy, did James Franklin’s group make it look that way. Penn State’s defense forced three turnovers and held the Mountaineers to fewer than 300 yards.

5.Georgia Tech

This week: Georgia State defeated 35-12

Next week: in Syracuse

The Yellow Jackets are in the Top 10 not because of their win over Georgia State, but because of that Week 0 victory in Ireland against Florida State. Coach Brent Key’s team, a 10.5-point underdog entering the game, held its own against FSU’s vaunted defensive line and held the Noles to nearly 200 yards rushing. Can GT make a run at the ACC championship race in Key’s second full season as coach? There are plenty of wins ahead of an October slate of games with UNC, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and Miami.

6. Vanderbilt

This week: Virginia Tech defeated 34-27 in overtime

Next week: against Alcorn State

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

7. North Carolina

This week: Minnesota defeated 19-17

Next week: against Charlotte

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

8. Colorado

This week: defeated North Dakota State 31-26

Next week: at Nebraska

Teams typically don’t land in the season-debut edition of our Top 10 after beating an FCS team, but give it to the Buffaloes for (1) scheduling FCS powerhouse North Dakota State and (2) beating FCS powerhouse North Dakota State. If Deion Sanders’ group doesn’t improve defensively, they won’t stay in the rankings for long. A trip to Lincoln next week will test a defensive and offensive line that doesn’t play complementary to QB Shedeur Sanders and all-world WR/CB Travis Hunter.

9.Alabama

This week: Western Kentucky defeated 63-0

Next week: vs. South Florida

The Tide join Colorado (No. 9) as the only team in our Top 10 without a win over a power conference opponent. They were just that dominant, and against a Group of Five team like Western Kentucky, that’s not so bad (WKU has had three straight winning seasons). The Kalen DeBoer era started with six touchdowns on its first eight drives. How about this line: QB Jalen Milroe completed seven passes for 200 yards. Three of those were touchdowns.

10.TCU system

This week: Stanford defeated 34-27

Next week: against Long Island University

Look, there aren’t many power conference programs that went on the road to another power conference program in Week 1. In fact, there are seven. The Horned Frogs didn’t look great at times, with TCU trailing most of the game, fumbling three times and drawing seven penalties. But they did enough with QB Josh Hoover throwing for 353 yards. After an inconsistent season last year, Hoover is off to a hot start.