Need some help with your college football bets? Well, our college football power rankings are here to help you make the tough decisions and find some added betting value this season — not to mention bragging rights for your favorite school.
Check back each week for Andrew Caley’s updated power rankings, where he lists his Top 25 teams in college football, highlighting the risers and fallers while also identifying some betting value in the college football futures market.
People might have thought their phones were broken with all the upset alerts they were getting in Week 2, but it was no mistake in what was one of the craziest Saturdays in recent memory. So, you know there was an earthquake-level shakeup in the power rankings. Besides at the very top of course.
Andrew Caley's college football power rankings
| Rank (Last Week) | Team | AP Rank | National Title Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (2, ↑) | Georgia | 1 | +210 |
| 2 (1, ↓ 1) | Alabama | 2 | +200 |
| 3 (3, -) | Ohio State | 3 | +290 |
| 4 (5, ↑ 1) | Michigan | 4 | +2,000 |
| 5 (4, ↓ 1) | Oklahoma | 6 | +4,000 |
| 6 (8, ↑ 2) | Clemson | 5 | +1,200 |
| 7 (14, ↑ 7) | USC | 7 | +1,200 |
| 8 (15, ↑ 7) | Mississippi | 20 | +12,000 |
| 9 (16, ↑ 7) | Penn State | 22 | +8,000 |
| 10 (17, ↑ 7) | Arkansas | 10 | +10,000 |
| 11 (13, ↑ 2) | Miami | 13 | +8,000 |
| 12 (18, ↑ 6) | Kentucky | 9 | +10,000 |
| 13 (24, ↑ 11) | Tennessee | 15 | +7,000 |
| 14 (11, ↓ 3) | Florida | 18 | +15,000 |
| 15 (12, ↓ 3) | Utah | 14 | +12,000 |
| 16 (25, ↑ 9) | BYU | 12 | +18,000 |
| 17 (6, ↓ 11) | Baylor | 17 | +18,000 |
| 18 (19, ↑ 1) | Michigan State | 20 | +12,000 |
| 19 (20, ↑ 1) | Mississippi State | NR | +15,000 |
| 20 (23,↑ 3) | Oklahoma State | 8 | +12,000 |
| 21 (NR) | Wake Forest | 19 | +20,000 |
| 22 (22, -) | NC State | 18 | +12,000 |
| 23 (NR) | Kansas State | NR | +15,000 |
| 24 (21, ↓ 3) | Pittsburgh | 24 | +30,000 |
| 25 (NR) | Air Force | NR | +60,000 |
Dropped out: Wisconsin, Texas A&M, Notre Dame
Odds courtesy of DraftKings. Compare updated national championship futures before betting to ensure you get the best number.
Rocky Top Rise: Tennessee (No. 13)
It’s interesting that in a week full of crazy movement it’s Tennessee that ended up as my biggest riser of the week. The Volunteers pulled out an impressive 34-27 overtime victory at Pittsburgh (who were my No. 21 ranked team last week) as 2.5-point road underdogs.
Quarterback Hendon Hooker and wide receiver Cedric Tillman continue to be a problem for opposing defenses. Hooker threw for 325 yards and two touchdowns with 162 yards and one of those scores went to Tillman on nine catches. But maybe more impressive was seeing the Vols' defense limit a solid Panthers offense to 5.1 yards per play.
Tennessee has another warm-up game this week against Akron before we get to see how good it really is. After the matchup with the Zips, they run a tough three-game SEC gauntlet, starting with East Division rival Florida on Sept. 24, followed by a trip to Death Valley to take on LSU on Oct. 8, and capped off when they welcome Alabama to town on Oct. 15.
Time to Bear down: Baylor (No. 11)
Baylor endured the biggest fall of the week for teams that remained in the power rankings. Pour one out for Texas A&M, Notre Dame, and Wisconsin. But the Bears stay in the Top 25 because their loss was a good one to what looks like an increasingly strong BYU team (now ranked No. 16 in my power rankings this week) in overtime, in a hostile environment at Provo.
Now the Bears' offense will have to improve if they hope to climb up the rankings again. Particularly QB Blake Sharpen, who went just 18-28 for 137 yards in the loss. However, the defense was still ferocious as it held the BYU offense to 5.0 yards per play last week.
Baylor will play a get-right game this week against Texas State before getting the chance to prove it is still a contender in the Big 12 with back-to-back games at Iowa State and then hosting No. 20 in my power rankings this week — Oklahoma State — in a rematch of last year’s conference title game.
All aboard the Lane Train: Mississippi (No. 8)
I am clearly higher on Mississippi than most of the pundits and rankings voters in the college football world. But the betting market doesn’t think I am as crazy.
Yes, the 2-0 Rebels are +12,000 to win the national championship. But outside of seven teams in the country (Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Clemson, USC, Michigan, and Oklahoma), the teams that fall between No. 8 and No. 23 are all on the board between +7,000 and +20,000. And I think a team like Tennessee might be a little overvalued.
OK. Back to the Rebels. Lane Kiffin loaded up in the transfer portal this off-season. They haven’t asked a lot of former USC quarterback Jaxson Dart to this point, preferring to grind down opponents with their running back duo of Quinshon Judkins and Zach Evans.
Mississippi’s first real test comes on Oct. 1 when it hosts Kentucky (No. 12). But after the way Kiffin has seen some of his SEC counterparts struggle early on this season, you know he’s ready to make a run, all culminating with another matchup with Nick Saban and Alabama on Nov. 12.
