Always Prospering Media

photo from https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports/football/roster/marvin-harrison-jr/5684

As we have finished the eighth week of the college football season, teams are beginning to separate themselves from the others. Teams like Alabama reminded us that they’re still very much alive as they outscored rival Tennessee 27-0 in the second half on Saturday afternoon in Tuscaloosa to avenge last year’s defeat. While some teams soared, others sunk. USC suffered their second loss on the year as Caleb Williams and company once again fell short against Utah. With that having been said, who’s in the Top 4 right now and who’s just on the outside looking in?

1. Ohio State – This will bother people. I know that and I’m perfectly alright with it. My reasoning for why the Buckeyes are the nation’s best team is essentially for one reason: strength of schedule. Ohio State is a team who has beaten two top ten opponents, one on the road in South Bend and one in the Horseshoe against Big Ten foe, Penn State. They won at Notre Dame, the same Notre Dame that won on the road against a tricky Duke team and completely dismantled USC at home. They did so with a quarterback who is in his first year as starter in the biggest game of the week. Ohio State also beat a tough Maryland team, a team that was undefeated coming into that game, by the way. The scarlet and grey most recently defeated Penn State, who was ranked 7th and was undefeated as well. The score of that game was 20-12 but don’t let that fool you, Ohio State was dominant. The 2023 Buckeyes have their best defense since the 2019 days when Chase Young and Jeff Okudah were terrorizing offenses. In fact, Penn State managed just 36 yards of total offense in the second half before they finally got in the end zone with thirty seconds left to play. Oh, and by the way, the Buckeyes’ best cornerback Denzel Burke didn’t even play against PSU. In this whole explanation of why Ohio State is the best college football team so far, I haven’t even mentioned that they have the best two wide receivers in the game. Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka make up the best wide receiver room in the nation, not to mention Carnell Tate and Julian Fleming as well as TE Cade Stover. This is the best team in college football and if they can remain undefeated going into Ann Arbor for “The Game”, it could be the game of the century.  
2. Michigan – The best running back room in the country. Donovan Edwards and Blake Corum have combined for 14 touchdowns and they both contribute as pass catchers out of the backfield. The Wolverines’ quarterback hasn’t been an afterthought either. J.J. McCarthy has been spectacular, passing for a yard under 1800 on the season with 18 touchdowns and 3 picks. Additionally, Michigan is winning in style. They have blown out every opponent they’ve played to this point. Their closest margin of victory was 24 points against Rutgers. They’ve put up north of 45 points in their previous four contests as well, including a demoralizing defeat of in-state rival Michigan State 49-0 in East Lansing. However, and this is the reason Michigan isn’t ranked at the top, Michigan’s strength of schedule is bad. Like, it’s really bad. Michigan’s signature win so far this year is a home victory against Rutgers. They haven’t played a ranked opponent yet and they wont until the third to last game of the season. However, those last three games are no joke. The Wolverines will travel to Happy Valley for Penn State, College Park for Maryland, and then go home to play “The Game”. Despite them not playing a ranked opponent until mid-November, we will soon see what this 2023 Michigan team is made of. For right now, however, this is a really good team and a national title contender. And once again, as previously mentioned, “The Game” might just be The Game … of the last decade, and certainly of this season. 
3. Georgia – For a while, I had UGA ranked at #1 and for good reason, the back to back champs hadn’t yet lost in 2023. They still haven’t but while we have been waiting for them to definitively separate themselves as the same powerhouse from the previous two seasons, they really haven’t. They had a whole lot of trouble at home with a 2-5 South Carolina team. They had a whole lot of trouble with a 3-4 Auburn team that they had to rally back to defeat. They also didn’t dominate against a 2-6 Vanderbilt team. Quarterback Carson Beck threw for a mediocre 260 yards with a touchdown and a pick. However, I do want to give them some credit and address the reality that when formerly ranked Kentucky came to Athens, the Bulldogs beat them in convincing fashion, 51-13. However, that same Kentucky team then lost to Missouri by 17 at home the following week, begging us to question how good they really are. The Bulldogs do, however, play Florida this week and will be able to let their play speak to why they should still be the country’s best. 
4. Florida State – I was between FSU and Washington for the last spot in the Top 4. However, I’m going to give the edge to the Seminoles for now because they have two ranked wins whereas Washington has just the one, despite it being an impressive win against Oregon. Florida State began the season playing the LSU Tigers, who at that point were ranked 5th in the nation. They now are ranked at 15th. They nearly doubled up the Tigers, beating them 45-24 in Orlando on prime time national tv. The Tigers closed as favorites in that contest too, for what it’s worth. Most recently, FSU beat a scrappy Duke team at home this past week after finding themselves in a halftime deficit. The Seminoles did, however, struggle at Boston College and managed to sneak one out in Clemson in an overtime victory on the road. As we currently sit, the Seminoles truly control their destiny to the College Football Playoff because they have no ranked teams on the rest of their schedule. I would note, however, that they do have tricky games against Miami and Florida remaining. That being said, the Noles will be the better team in every remaining contest they play in 2023. 

written by Andrew Petrino