2024 college football rankings: Joel Klatt’s top 10 teams after Week 7

When the college football schedules were made and set for this season, Oct. 12 was one of the dates we all circled. We anticipated that day for months, and it certainly delivered.

There were thrilling finishes all weekend. Penn State came back to win and remain undefeated following its trip to USC. LSU took down Ole Miss in overtime. Tennessee also needed overtime to beat Florida, which was a bit of a surprise. 

Of course, the big one was Oregon’s thrilling win over Ohio State. The Ducks played their best game of the year in their biggest game of the year. Well done, Oregon. That was a tremendous atmosphere, and Ohio State traveled well. The game lived up to the hype and delivered similarly to the Georgia-Alabama game just a couple of weeks ago.

It’s hard to argue with superconferences following games like that, isn’t it? That said, let’s get into my top 10. 

1. Texas (Last week: 1)
Record: 6-0
Week 7 result: Defeated Oklahoma, 34-3

I considered putting Oregon at No. 1, but the way Texas played Saturday was enough to keep the top spot. 

Texas’ win over Oklahoma was only close during the first quarter, when quarterback Quinn Ewers was knocking off some rust in his return. Texas outgained Oklahoma by 170 yards. Texas has both the No. 1 scoring offense and defense in the country. The latter might be a bit inflated based on the timing of its game against Oklahoma and Michigan. 

Simply put, the Longhorns look like the best team in the country. 

2. Oregon (Last week: 4)
Record: 6-0
Week 7 result: Defeated Ohio State, 33-32

The Oregon team we saw Saturday was the version we expected to see all season. Oregon got off to a bit of a slow start, winning a pair of games to open the year that were closer than they should’ve been. 

Saturday was the kind of game that Oregon brought in QB Dillon Gabriel for, and he delivered. Dan Lanning must be thrilled. I’ve watched Gabriel for a long time, and that was one of the best games he’s played. He was sensational. His downfield passing and ability to escape on some of his runs were tremendous. 

What impressed me the most about Gabriel’s elite performance — 397 total yards of offense and three total touchdowns — was that he played outside his strengths. I’ve said for a while that he’s a card dealer or a point guard. Ohio State’s game plan was designed to stop that. So, it was incredible to see Gabriel launch the ball down the field. As a result, Gabriel also launched his Heisman campaign. That’s how good he was.

We also must give credit to Oregon’s offensive line. That unit struggled in the first couple weeks of the season. Gabriel was pressured on roughly 40% of his dropbacks, but he wasn’t sacked. 

Gabriel and Oregon’s offense really lit up Ohio State’s defense. Ohio State gave up 7.5 yards per play in Saturday’s game, which is the most it gave up in a game since late in the 2022 season. Oregon wide receiver Evan Stewart really beat up Ohio State cornerback Denzel Burke in one of the bigger individual matchups of that game.

3. Ohio State (Last week: 2)
Record: 5-1
Week 7 result: Lost to Oregon, 33-32

Ohio State only fell a spot in the rankings after that close battle, but something needs to change with its defense. When you watch the film, it didn’t feel like Ohio State gave up nearly 500 yards of offense, 7.5 yards per play and five yards per carry. It felt like Ohio State played some great defense before allowing a big play on certain drives.

Why were these big plays happening? There were a few issues with Ohio State’s defense. It wasn’t a great tackling night. Great defenses always tackle well. That’s amplified when you’re playing man coverage like Ohio State largely did on Saturday. It’s like throwing gasoline on a fire. 

Another thing I saw on the film was Ohio State running field defense often, which means that the defensive lineman that’s considered a three-technique was to the wide side of the field, predominantly. It didn’t follow the tight end or strength of the offense as much as it was called to the wide side of the field. That means the one-technique defensive lineman is lined up over the center while there was a three-technique lined up over the tackles. There was an opening in the B-Gap and Ohio State wasn’t defending that gap well. Oregon was hurting Ohio State on short-side runs and the Buckeyes didn’t adjust in time.

Lastly, Ohio State didn’t get enough pressure on Gabriel. When you don’t get enough pressure on the quarterback, your defensive backs will be beaten. There’s not a defensive back in the country that will be able to cover for as long as Oregon was giving Gabriel to throw. 

As for Will Howard, he played tremendously for most of the game. In fact, Ohio State’s offense was more efficient throughout the game. But there were a couple of moments where Howard didn’t play well, and everyone will remember that. He had a dropped snap on a snap late in the third quarter, and he missed WR Jeremiah Smith at the sticks on a third-down throw on Ohio State’s penultimate drive. Of course, there was also the final play, where he didn’t know how much time was on the clock to get down and set his team up for a field goal. 

That was a phenomenal game, though. I can’t wait to see these teams play again. But Ohio State might have to run the table in the regular season to get to the Big Ten title game now.

4. Georgia (Last week: 3)
Record: 5-1
Week 7 result: Defeated Mississippi State, 41-31

I’m still riding with Georgia, but it’s got some warts. We might have to be a little concerned about the Bulldogs, though. While QB Carson Beck threw for over 400 yards on Saturday, Georgia hasn’t been great on the ground. It had a fine ground attack against Mississippi State, but the Bulldogs are a one-win team. Georgia has rushed for less than 4 yards per carry in half of its games so far. 

We’ll know everything we need to know about Georgia after Saturday’s game against Texas. I think Kirby Smart will have the Dawgs ready for that one. 

5. Penn State (Last week: 5)
Record: 6-0
Week 7 result: Defeated USC, 33-30 (OT)

This felt like a massive, monumental win for James Franklin. USC wasn’t ranked entering this matchup, but I think it’s far better than its 3-3 record suggests. We know that Penn State has come up short in these sorts of moments over the last few years. If Penn State lost that game, it would’ve gotten hit the “same old Penn State tag.”

PSU QB Drew Allar should receive some credit for this win. He didn’t play his best game, but he was great in big moments. He had two huge fourth-down conversions and threw for 391 yards, bouncing back from the three interceptions he threw to deliver some unconscious moments late in that game. WR Julian Fleming and TE Tyler Warren stepped up in huge moments, which I think was the biggest part of that win. If they become consistent threats, that’d really round out an already well-rounded team. We know PSU’s run game and defense are good, so that would be a major development for the Nittany Lions.

6. Clemson (Last week: 7)
Record: 5-1
Week 7 result: Defeated Wake Forest, 49-14

I’ve been on the Clemson bandwagon for at least a few weeks. Some people might not want to hear it after this team was blown out by Georgia in Week 1, but they’ve developed offensively and are far better now than what they were at the start of the year. The Tigers had another game where they were close to scoring nearly 50 points. With the way QB Cade Klubnik and offensive coordinator Garrett Riley are rolling, I believe Clemson is going to win the ACC.

7. Alabama (Last week: 6)
Record: 5-1
Week 7 result: Defeated South Carolina, 27-25

What was that game on Saturday, Alabama? Are we panicking, Alabama fans? The defense didn’t play great after it went up 14-0 against South Carolina. If this team plays a team that’s any good, they’re going to have to play perfectly on offense and will likely need to win in a shootout. If they play a team that they should beat, they will likely win by a significant margin, unless QB Jalen Milroe and the offense don’t play well. 

That’s what happened on Saturday. Alabama’s defense hasn’t gotten any better during this season. We’ll see if head coach Kalen DeBoer can get Alabama locked in on a week-to-week basis like Nick Saban did for nearly two decades.

8. LSU (Last week: Unranked)
Record: 5-1
Week 7 result: Defeated Ole Miss, 29-26 (OT)

LSU is in a great position moving forward after Saturday’s win. I’m looking at LSU’s game against Texas A&M on Oct. 26 as a game that is looking like it could determine one of the spots in the SEC Championship Game. QB Garrett Nussmeier was terrific against Ole Miss.

9. Iowa State (Last week: 10)
Record: 6-0
Week 7 result: Defeated West Virginia, 28-16

Is this an overrank? Maybe. But I trust Matt Campbell’s squad. That’s a really sound football team. It plays quality defense, and I think its offense is better than people realize. 

10. Miami (Fla.) (Last week: 8)
Record: 6-0
Week 7 result: Idle

I just don’t trust the Hurricanes right now, at least not with how the wins over Virginia Tech and Cal played out. Miami is in my top 10 because of QB Cam Ward, but only No. 10. 

Joel Klatt is FOX Sports’ lead college football game analyst and the host of the podcast “The Joel Klatt Show.” Follow him at @joelklatt and subscribe to the “Joel Klatt Show” on YouTube.

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