Rankings of 134 college football teams after week 3: Texas or Georgia? Give it a month

Editor’s Note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams.

Sometimes you have to stand in awe of what Georgia has done. The Bulldogs have now won 43 straight regular season games. Up until last Saturday, none of them had come by a margin of three points or less.

But every now and then Georgia pulls off an odd performance, usually against Missouri or Kentucky. This year, it was Kentucky’s turn. Georgia won 13-12 in Lexington, needing a fourth-quarter comeback to do so, a week after Kentucky lost 31-6 to South Carolina and cost itself the honor of hosting “College GameDay.” Welcome to the oddness of college football.

As a result, Texas rises to No. 1 on this week’s edition of The Athletic 134, the third different No. 1 team we’ve had in four weeks. The Longhorns lost Quinn Ewers to injury against UTSA, a week after the quarterback’s dominant performance at Michigan. But his replacement, Arch Manning, has skipped no steps and has made plenty of them himself, throwing for four passing touchdowns and a 67-yard touchdown run. Only time will tell what Ewers’ status is, but the Longhorns are rolling in all phases now, even with the backup quarterback on the field. And so they take the top spot.

But guess what? In exactly one month, we have Georgia vs. Texas in Austin.

GALLING DEEPER

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These rankings are starting to settle in now. Almost every team has played at least one notable opponent. The wild swings will be fewer, although there are a few this week (hello, Georgia State). Head-to-head records still play a big role at this point. The further we get into the season, the less transitive things will become.

Here is the week 4 edition of The Athletic 134.

1-10

In addition to Texas’ rise to No. 1, there are some minor adjustments here. Tennessee jumps over Miami to No. 5 because the Canes’ opening win against Florida doesn’t look as good as it did back then. Tennessee’s win against NC State looks better now. Penn State also drops to No. 10 after Oregon tied it in a 49-14 win over Oregon State and Missouri defeated Boston College at home in a good win for the Tigers. Penn State’s win against West Virginia has also lost its luster, as the Mountaineers are now 1-2.

GALLING DEEPER

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11-25

Without many ranked matchups or upsets in Week 3, there are only a few moves in this group. LSU moves up one spot to No. 14 after a comeback to defeat South Carolina, while Kansas State defeated Arizona 31-7 to move up to No. 15. Oklahoma drops two spots to No. 16, and the Sooners’ offensive struggles are concerning, particularly in the passing game, though the defense has been strong. Tennessee travels to Norman this week.

Welcome to the top 25, Illinois and UNLV. Both have beaten Kansas. The Illini have really come into their own in three weeks, while the Rebels are 2-0 in Big 12 play with wins over Houston and KU.

26-50

Here come the shakeups. I really wanted to put Memphis in the top 25. They’ve played really well all season. They’re just right there. But a win against Florida State just doesn’t mean what it used to (sorry, Noles — more on you later). Iowa drops to No. 29 after needing a second-half comeback to beat a winless Troy team.

Washington State jumps to No. 34 after beating Washington to move to 3-0. The Cougs have two Power 4 wins and quarterback John Mateer is a ton of fun. Louisville remains at No. 35 because the Cardinals have only played Austin Peay and winless Jacksonville State. UCF climbs to No. 36 after a big comeback win at TCU.

Indiana fans were very upset that the Hoosiers weren’t making much progress after scoring 77 points against a bad FCS team. I said I just wanted to see them play a better opponent, like Louisville. Well, a 42-13 win at UCLA is what I wanted to see, so the Hoosiers jump from No. 82 to No. 38. Pitt makes a similar jump to No. 39 after another fourth-quarter comeback win, this time against West Virginia, to move to 3-0.

Georgia State jumps from No. 116 to No. 42 after beating Vanderbilt. I have a feeling Vandy is falling back to earth, but with a limited sample size, that’s what happens. So even though Virginia Tech took care of Old Dominion, the Hokies fall because that loss to Vandy was so recent. (Georgia State lost to Georgia Tech.) Welcome to the top 50, No. 48 Toledo, after beating Mississippi State 41-17.

51-75

I realize Liberty keeps winning and keeps falling. The Flames, now ranked No. 52, simply haven’t played their rankings. They didn’t play great against Campbell, needed a comeback against New Mexico State and were mediocre against UTEP. Fresno State, meanwhile, beat New Mexico State 48-0 on Saturday. Texas State drops just one spot to No. 58 after a three-point home loss to Arizona State.

Wisconsin drops to No. 66 after a 42-10 loss to Alabama. I know that’s a big drop for a loss to Alabama, but the Badgers just haven’t been good this season and they’re not getting any benefit of the doubt. Duke is 3-0 but drops a few spots to No. 60 after needing a fourth quarter comeback to beat UConn. Florida drops to No. 67 after a nasty loss to Texas A&M and their backup quarterback. Appalachian State drops to No. 69 after needing a second half comeback to beat East Carolina in a 21-19 win.

GALLING DEEPER

Billy Napier doesn’t blame Florida fans for boos as his ‘proven-it’ season deteriorates

76-100

Baylor jumps a few spots to No. 76 after beating Air Force. No. 79 Houston may be in good shape after a solid performance against Oklahoma with a 33-7 win over Rice. Mississippi State looks to be one of the worst Power 4 teams after losing to Toledo at home and dropping to No. 81. Same goes for UCLA, now at No. 86 after a blowout loss to Indiana, topped off by a last-second win over Hawaii.

But it’s even more true for Florida State, now at No. 87 as the only 0-3 team in the Power 4. The only reason the Seminoles aren’t lower is because they’ve played three pretty good teams. But don’t lose to Cal next week and go 0-4.

Western Kentucky has risen to No. 88 after beating Middle Tennessee 49-21, and looks like the WKU of old. Sam Houston looks even better after beating Hawaii, rising to No. 94.

GALLING DEEPER

Navarro: Florida State’s 0-3 debacle is a product of poor evaluation, development

101-134

Not much changes in this group, even at the bottom. Kent State was already at No. 134, and the Golden Flashes may stay there for a while. Trailing Tennessee 37-0 after one quarter and 65-0 at halftime after an FCS loss is about as ugly as it gets.

The Athletic 134 series is part of a partnership with Allstate. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories prior to publication.

(Photo: Tim Warner/Getty Images)