Sports
Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 1, from Georgia to Temple
Editor’s note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams.
Week 1 is complete, and we’ve finally gotten a look at everyone in FBS. Well, not everyone (sorry you have to wait, Ball State).
After a weekend that gave us only a few upsets but several mighty impressive performances, where does everyone move in this week’s edition of The Athletic 134?
Welcome back to the top spot, Georgia, for its 34-3 domination of Clemson. Welcome to the top 25, Vanderbilt! The Commodores were ranked 95th in the preseason rankings, but after an overtime win against popular ACC darkhorse Virginia Tech, why shouldn’t Vandy move up near the top 25 for now? It was the most shocking result of the season, against a team in my preseason top 25.
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Penn State, Miami and Georgia Tech also moved up, while Florida State, Florida and others have dropped.
A reminder: The rankings will be volatile early. Wins against quality and competent teams are rewarded and skewed. Teams can make big jumps quickly with good wins. Teams that beat up on inferior competition won’t move much or might even “drop,” but that’s simply because someone else jumped with a notable win. Don’t worry. Relax. It will take a few weeks for everything to sort out, once everyone has played at least one game of note. I try to emphasize results, and it takes time for everyone to have one.
Here is the Week 2 edition of The Athletic 134.
1-10
I considered moving Notre Dame to No. 2 just for this week. I did. The 23-13 win at Texas A&M was better than anything anyone in the top six did outside of Georgia. But Notre Dame isn’t the second-best team in the country, and everyone else looked fine against low-level competition, so it’s a slight move up for the Irish for now. Don’t expect them to move out of this area for a while with a favorable schedule for the next month. But this Notre Dame win may look better as the season goes on, which would impact the ranking.
Penn State, welcome to the top 10. I was a preseason skeptic. I didn’t believe in Drew Allar, but Saturday’s 34-12 win at West Virginia was a complete physical domination, and we saw an offense willing to throw the ball down the field and one that schemed those receivers open. It felt different than last year’s game. Maybe it’s a Week 1 overreaction, but it made me think this isn’t just a team that could make the College Football Playoff but one that could win a game or two.
Michigan and Oregon nearly dropped out of the top 10 after too-close-for-comfort wins against Fresno State and Idaho, respectively. Both teams were in a one-score game deep into the fourth quarter. But they won, so they get some Week 1 benefit of the doubt, for now. Next up is Texas and Boise State for each, so we’ll learn quickly if they’re for real.
11-25
Rank | Team | Record | Prev |
---|---|---|---|
11 |
1-0 |
10 |
|
12 |
1-0 |
11 |
|
13 |
1-0 |
14 |
|
14 |
1-0 |
15 |
|
15 |
1-0 |
33 |
|
16 |
0-1 |
13 |
|
17 |
1-0 |
18 |
|
18 |
1-0 |
19 |
|
19 |
1-0 |
20 |
|
20 |
1-0 |
21 |
|
21 |
1-0 |
22 |
|
22 |
1-0 |
25 |
|
23 |
0-1 |
16 |
|
24 |
1-0 |
62 |
|
25 |
1-0 |
95 |
Hello, USC. The overhauled defense looked more than competent, and Miller Moss looked like a proper Lincoln Riley quarterback as the Trojans upset LSU 27-20 and now move up to No. 15, while the Tigers drop to No. 16.
Clemson hangs on in the top 25 for now at No. 23. This is mostly based on my belief Georgia would do that to almost everyone. Boston College’s 28-13 win at Florida State was more dominant than the final score, as the Eagles jump from No. 62 to No. 24, and Vanderbilt’s overtime win at Virginia Tech moves the Commodores to No. 25.
26-50
Georgia Tech rises to No. 26 after a 2-0 start. The Yellow Jackets would’ve been in the top 25 until BC’s dominant win Monday night made the win over FSU in Ireland look less impressive. That’s how things can change week to week.
No. 27 NC State needed to come back in the fourth quarter and hold on against Western Carolina. The same for No. 29 Boise State against Georgia Southern. The Wolfpack and Broncos stay put in their positions for now. North Carolina moves up 10 spots to No. 36 after a win at Minnesota, thanks to a missed Gophers field goal, but the loss of quarterback Max Johnson for the season could be a problem.
Florida State drops from No. 9 to No. 46 after its dreadful 0-2 start, and right behind the Seminoles are the Florida Gators, two programs with fans facing existential crises.
Colorado moves up a few spots and into the top 50 after beating North Dakota State 31-26. The Buffaloes looked a lot like last year’s team, and some questionable clock management by Deion Sanders gave the Bison a shot at the end, but it was still a solid victory against a very successful program with its share of FBS upsets. TCU sits at No. 49 after a 31-24 win at Stanford.
51-75
UNLV just misses out on the top 50 after a dominant 27-7 win at Houston that was nearly a shutout. If you thought last year’s UNLV season was a fluke, the Rebels opened with a statement win, though concerns about the passing game persist after Week 1.
Arizona State’s 48-7 win against Wyoming might’ve been the most shocking margin of victory of the weekend, and ASU moves all the way up from No. 89 to No. 53. A Sun Devils program that finished 124th nationally in scoring last year (17.8 points per game) put it on a Wyoming defense that is usually very solid.
South Carolina drops nine spots and out of the top 50, falling to No. 54 after coming back and barely holding on for a 23-19 win against Old Dominion. The same goes for Texas Tech, which falls to No. 57 after needing a two-point stop in overtime to escape an Abilene Christian team that put up 615 yards of offense.
Coastal Carolina put it on Jacksonville State 55-27 in a surprisingly dominating performance to move up 30 spots to No. 64. The Chanticleers have now won seven of their last nine under head coach Tim Beck.
76-100
Is it already time to believe in Jeff Choate’s Nevada? The Wolf Pack hung with SMU in Week 0 and showed it wasn’t a one-off with a 28-26 win at two-time defending Sun Belt champion Troy. Nevada rockets up more than 50 spots to No. 76, after being lifeless for the past two seasons.
Old Dominion and Georgia Southern move up despite their losses as they put in good performances with fourth-quarter leads. Why lean on a preseason ranking if they both played better than expected in defeat? North Texas’ solid win at South Alabama moves the Mean Green up to No. 93.
Sam Houston was my preseason Conference USA team to watch, and the Bearkats made a statement with a 34-14 win at Rice to move up to No. 99. The Bearkats started last year 0-8 but won three of their last four and now start 2024 at 1-0. Hawaii played sloppy in a Week 0 win against Delaware State but nearly knocked off UCLA in Week 1, losing on a last-second field goal. So the Rainbow Warriors move up a few spots to No. 98. We’ll see which is the real Hawaii. Florida Atlantic moved up one spot into the top 100 after a close (but sloppy) 16-10 loss at Michigan State.
101-134
Arkansas State needed a last-second touchdown to beat Central Arkansas, so the Red Wolves drop to No. 103. New Mexico is 0-2, but buy that Bronco Mendenhall stock while you can. The Lobos had a 17-point fourth-quarter lead against Montana State in Week 0 and trailed Arizona by just three at halftime in Week 1. New Mexico lost both of those games, but the team has more of a pulse than we’ve seen in a while. As a result, the Lobos move up six spots to No. 116. New Mexico State needed a touchdown with less than two minutes left to beat Southeast Missouri State, so the Aggies drop to No. 117.
There is a new No. 134. Kennesaw State played UTSA deep into the fourth quarter, so the Owls move out from the bottom. In comes a different group of Owls. Temple turned the ball over six times in a 51-3 loss to Oklahoma. Things have been rough in Philly for the past few years, and it didn’t look any better Saturday.
The Athletic 134 series is part of a partnership with Allstate. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
(Photo of Kirby Smart: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)
Sports
Talking Aston Villa with Prince William… in the pub: Pints, playmakers and burner accounts
“I got this call from Aston Villa asking if I wanted to meet the future King of England at a train station Wetherspoon’s.”
No, this is not a set-up line to a gag, nor a conversation with a large dollop of irony. It happened.
William, Prince of Wales, the next in line to the throne, asked to meet a group of Villa supporters for a midweek pint. It was Steve Jones, the chairman of Chasetown Football Club — a team playing in the Northern Premier League Division One West league, the eighth tier of the English football league system — who was tasked with making it all happen.
Two days after, Jones meets up with The Athletic to recall a Wednesday afternoon like no other. Over a Bulmers cider and for 45 minutes, the prince joined eight other Villa supporters to talk all things Unai Emery, his players and their Champions League run.
Tucking into sausage rolls and drinking coffee, Jones and his friend Darren Johnson, try to reflect on a frantic, disbelieving 72 hours. They are hardened home and away Villa fans, with season tickets in the new ‘Legends Lounge’ at Villa Park, situated between the Trinity Road Stand and Holte End. Jones has sponsored players in the past and before moving seats this season, would sit in lounges where club directors would be.
“I got a call from Villa’s commercial department,” says Jones, 56. “They wanted to know if I was going to the Everton game on Wednesday evening, which I was. They asked if I could meet somebody, but they wouldn’t tell me who at first. ‘Is it the owners?’, I asked. ‘No, it’s royalty and they want you to meet at this place’.
“I knew it could only be one person. Villa asked if I could gather some fans. I decided I would bring my wife, Julie, and son Daniel and the regulars in our lounge. I called each one of them and said, ‘Listen, are you available tomorrow before we go to Everton? I want to meet for a pint. I can’t say why yet, but just trust me’.”
“The dress code was a nightmare,” laughs Johnson, 54. “So we just showed up as if we were going to the football.”
Let’s get the obvious question out of the way — how did all this happen? How did Johnson, Jones and their Villa friends and family end up in the pub with Prince William?
The answer was a combination of fortune and discreet planning. As it happened, the prince’s schedule was fully booked on Wednesday morning. He would be attending the College of Paramedics’ inaugural emergency and critical care conference in Birmingham, making a speech that paid tribute to the country’s paramedics.
Once official duties were over and before returning south, a gap in his diary emerged. William, 42, realised he would have an hour and a half to kill.
An idea came to mind. An understandable one, too — what would be better than a midweek drink talking football?
The prince knew there would be pockets of Villa supporters at the station before heading to Merseyside later that afternoon. His aides contacted Villa, asking if they could arrange a group of supporters to meet him inside Birmingham New Street station and, just tucked round the corner of the entrance, where The London and Northern Western Wetherspoon’s pub was.
“He wanted it to be very low-key,” says Jones. “He said, ‘After I’ve done this engagement, I want to meet some Villa fans’.”
Jones was told to arrive at 2.30pm but, with a pet hate for lateness and the small matter of meeting the heir to the throne, he arrived at 1.10pm. No one at the pub, staff or customer, knew about the royal arrival.
“I needed to find a decent table,” he says. “We walked in and it was rammed, but we got to the back where there was space. I started moving tables around so it fitted enough of us. Despite the pub manager saying we couldn’t do it, we put three tables together and with a mish-mash of chairs — like going to your nana’s on Christmas Day. People were asking to use some, but we just put our coats on them.”
Strangely, another group followed Jones and his friends in and began putting tables together. But with the greatest of respect, they were not public house regulars. They chose coffee and tea over beer and dressed smartly, though plain-clothed.
“One of these guys came up to us; they were his protection team,” says Jones. “They were glad we had got there early and chose that table. Every time a customer left, one of them would take over that seat or booth. When William turned up, we had no idea how many plain security people there were. It was very subtle, which was great.
“We asked his team how should we address him. They simply said, ‘He’s off duty, he’s here of his own time, so call him what you want, Will or William’. There was no briefing — we could talk about whatever.”
“He came in and he wasn’t surrounded by loads of security, just one of his aides,” says Johnson. “Bold as brass, he introduced himself, shook everyone’s hand and said, ‘Right, shall we have a round?’.”
Although Prince William only attended his first match at Villa Park in November 2013 — in former owner Randy Lerner’s private box — he has followed the club since his childhood, with his earliest experience as a fan being the FA Cup semi-final win over Bolton Wanderers on penalties at Wembley in 2000.
The Prince makes an effort to watch every game and whenever his schedule permits, will attend in person. On a handful of occasions last season, he and his dignitaries entered the dressing room to wish Emery’s squad well. He is known to most of the players and has been to Bodymoor Heath, Villa’s training campus, to watch practice sessions.
“The first question was why he got involved in Villa,” says Johnson. “He told us that one of the people who looked after him and would take him to school was a Villa fan. They took him to his first game against Bolton. Will said none of the Royals are into football apart from him and his son, George.
“There was never a dull moment or awkward silence throughout. None of his entourage sat with him or tried to listen in. His eyes were always on us, just talking to the table like a normal bloke talking about Villa.
“I asked him if he was going to watch the game against Everton later. He said, ‘Yeah, me and George are watching’. I made a joke about whether he would get the remote or whether Kate (his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales) would have the TV that night.
“George is a Villa fan and we asked about the rest of the children. He said he wouldn’t force a football team onto them as long as it wasn’t Chelsea because all the people around him are Chelsea fans.”
The prince once asked for Jack Grealish’s No 10 shirt, received Christian Benteke’s boots and became close friends with another former Villa forward, John Carew. When Grealish was punched in the second city derby against Birmingham City in 2019, William hand-wrote a supportive letter, addressed to the player’s home. More profoundly, when Stiliyan Petrov, another former Villa captain, had acute leukaemia, The Prince acted similarly.
“He had a vast knowledge of Villa,” says Jones. “We brought up a couple of topics and he was very eloquent. He didn’t have to look up to his aides, he knew everything. We spoke about the recent West Ham game and the changes Emery made in the second half. He started talking about double pivots and how Emery moved Youri Tielemans’ position. We were like ‘What?’.
“He was talking about possible transfers, who might leave and who might come. We spoke about PSR (profit and sustainability rules) and Chelsea selling their women’s team. He admitted he would love to have more opinions on certain things within the game but he can’t in his role as president of the FA.”
As the subject of Villa spindled one way and the other, from PSR to Tielemans’ playmaking abilities, Prince William disclosed one of the more royally guarded secrets: in his spare time, he is a regular contributor to online fan forums.
“He said he keeps abreast of Villa gossip because he is on all the fans’ forums,” says Jones. “He goes under different names and he posts on there because that’s how he gets the feeling of what’s going on and what’s the opinion.”
The prince finished his pint and after three-quarters of an hour, an aide, who had been sitting, as Jones puts it, “quite far back” from the Villa huddle, reminded him that his train would be leaving shortly.
He was in no rush, however. Such was the lack of urgency to move and being immersed in conversation, he had to be reminded twice more that his train was swiftly approaching.
“It was a release into normality,” says Johnson. “At the end, he just said, ‘OK, shall we get some photos done?’. Everyone had one on their own before a couple of group photos. Once he left, we had another pint. It was a once-in-a-million lifetimes thing.”
(Top photo: Steve Jones)
Sports
Lions waste best season in franchise history after falling apart to underdog Commanders in home playoff game
A franchise-record 15 regular season wins was washed down 8-mile road for the Detroit Lions.
In a disastrous 45-31 loss to the Washington Commanders on Saturday, the Lions watched their best regular season in franchise history go to waste.
Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels threw for two touchdowns in a near flawless performance, as Washington reached the NFC championship game for the first time since winning the Super Bowl 33 years ago.
“It’s a surreal moment,” Daniels said.
The sixth-seeded Commanders (14-5) were nearly double-digit underdogs against the Super Bowl favorite Lions (15-3) and overcame doubts as they did all season with a rookie quarterback, new coach and general manager.
“I always believed that we could achieve more than people give us credit for,” Daniels said.
Detroit, the NFC’s No. 1 seed for the first time, doomed its chances by turning it over five times.
“If you turn the ball over five times against that team, it is going to be hard to win,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said.
Washington rookie Mike Sainristil had two interceptions, including one on a trick play with receiver Jameson Williams throwing into coverage off a reverse in the fourth quarter. And Quan Martin returned a pick 40 yards for a touchdown.
Jared Goff threw three picks and lost a fumble, turning it over three times in the ill-fated first half.
Daniels finished with 299 yards passing and 51 yards rushing, and — just as important — didn’t turn the ball over.
He became the second rookie quarterback to knock off a top-seeded team, joining Joe Flacco, who led Baltimore past Tennessee on Jan. 10, 2009.
“Nothing surprises me with him,” said receiver Terry McLaurin, who turned a short pass from Daniels into a 58-yard touchdown.
First-year coach Dan Quinn led Washington to its first playoff win in 19 years last week. The Commanders rallied past Tampa Bay for their sixth comeback win and fifth straight on the final play from scrimmage in regulation or overtime.
The Commanders, who converted 3 of 4 fourth downs, didn’t let Detroit keep it that close.
“Give them credit,” Campbell said. “They earned that game, and we didn’t.”
Washington outscored Detroit 28-14 in the second quarter — the highest-scoring quarter in NFL playoff history — to take a 31-21 lead at halftime.
Daniels had 242 yards passing in the first half, setting a rookie record one week after becoming the first rookie to lead his team in yards rushing and passing in a playoff win.
The former LSU star, who was the No. 2 pick overall, was 22 of 31, including the long TD on the screen to McLaurin and a 5-yard throw for a score to Zach Ertz in the second quarter.
Brian Robinson ran for 77 yards and two touchdowns.
5 MOST INFAMOUS FAN MOMENTS IN SPORTS
Goff finished 23 of 40 for 313 yards with a touchdown pass to Sam LaPorta that gave the Lions their last lead midway through the second quarter.
Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 105 yards and two touchdowns while Amon-Ra St. Brown had eight receptions for 137 yards.
Goff fumbled in a collapsing pocket on third-and-1 from the Commanders 17 late in the first quarter and Washington took advantage.
Daniels converted a fourth-and-3 from the Detroit 9 to extend a drive capped by Robinson’s 2-yard touchdown run.
Three snaps after Daniels’ TD throw to McLaurin, Goff overthrew his intended target and Martin intercepted it and took it to the end zone, putting the Commanders ahead 24-14. Goff took a hit from linebacker Frankie Luvu on the interception return and was evaluated for a concussion.
With backup Teddy Bridgewater under center, Williams scored on a 61-yard reverse.
Detroit’s defense, though, could not stop the Commanders all night. Washington set a season high in points.
The Lions had a chance to cut into the deficit in the final minute of the first half, but Goff’s pass over the deep middle was picked off by Sainristil in the end zone.
The Lions lost season will now find a place in the franchise’s chronicled history of disappointment.
The Lions organization is often considered one of the least successful in the NFL, being just one of four franchises that has never reached the Super Bowl.
The Lions are also one of two franchises that had an 0-16 season, becoming the first team to do it in 2008. The Cleveland Browns became the only other team to do it, joining the club nine years later in 2017. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers went 0-14 in their first season in the NFL in 1976, before the league expanded to 16 games.
Prior to last season, Detroit had gone 32 years without even winning a playoff game. It snapped that streak last postseason with wins against the Los Angeles Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, the Lions’ run halted after blowing a 24-7 third-quarter lead to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game.
The Lions never had such a lead against Washington on Saturday, but the stunning loss sent many Detroit fans home in a bitter mood, all the same.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Sports
Prep basketball roundup: Brentwood girls finally return to action after Palisades fire
After not playing for 13 days because the Palisades fire closed its campus and disrupted dozens of school families, Brentwood’s girls’ basketball team returned to the court Saturday and adopted the words of legendary Chicago Cubs shortstop Ernie Banks: “Let’s play two.”
The Eagles played a morning game against Buena Park, winning 66-39. Jessica Liu scored 19 points and Lev Freiman had 16 points. In the evening, they played Sage Hill and were beaten 60-42.
Coach Charles Solomon said in the morning, “We played great, like we didn’t miss a beat. We had 12 threes. I asked them, ‘Do you want me to make up all the games we missed even if it means playing twice in a day? ‘Please coach, every game we want to play.’”
Brentwood is 14-6 and remains a possible contender for Open Division playoff spot even though the Southern Section rankings fail to reflect that with a No. 52 ranking after missing two weeks of action.
Palos Verdes 56, Palisades 47: Elly Tierney had 14 points for the Dolphins.
Boys basketball
Sierra Canyon 60, Georgia Grayson 46: The Trailblazers (16-3) picked up the victory at the HoopHall Classic. Maximo Adams scored 17 points and Bryce James had 16 points, including four threes.
Miami Columbus 75, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 53: In Springfield, Mass., the Knights (17-3) were no match for nationally ranked Columbus, led by the Duke-bound Boozer brothers. Caleb Agbo had 16 points for Notre Dame. Cam Boozer scored 25 points for Columbus.
Fairfax (Va.) Paul VI 60, St. John Bosco 57: The Braves tried to tie on a last-second three-point attempt that failed in Springfield, Mass. Chris Komin scored 16 points and Christian Collins had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Brandon McCoy, who hasn’t been seen on the court since an injury in November, did not make the trip for the 18-3 Braves.
Redondo Union 92, Los Alamitos 75: Brayden Miner contributed 24 points for the Sea Hawks (20-2).
Mater Dei 79, Campbell Hall 66: Luke Barnett made four threes and nine of 10 free throws en route to a 33-point performance for the Monarchs. Isaiah Johnson scored 30 points for Campbell Hall.
Inglewood 84, Anaheim Canyon 75: Brandon Benjamin contributed 40 points for Canyon in the defeat. Jason Crowe Jr. had 24 points for Inglewood.
Rancho Cucamonga 67, Saugus 63: Aaron Glass had 18 points to lead Rancho Cucamonga. Braydon Harmon scored 24 points and Max Guardado 20 points to lead Saugus.
Damien 53, Crean Lutheran 36: Eli Garner made 10 of 17 shots and finished with 23 points for Damien.
Rancho Verde 63, North Torrance 47: Trestyne Nguru finished with 21 points for Rancho Verde.
Rolling Hills Prep 59, Etiwanda 44: Kawika Suter had 18 points and 10 rebounds for Rolling Hills Prep (17-6).
Wiseburn Da Vinci 60, Grant 49: Jameson Johnson scored 22 points for Wiseburn. Champ Merrill scored 21 points for Grant.
Windward 61, Corona Centennial 49: JJ Harris finished with 18 points for Windward.
Pilibos 77, Chatsworth 56: Anto Balian led the Eagles (14-6) with 34 points.
Oxnard 66, Palisades 64: Marcos Ramirez led Oxnard with 24 points.
Crespi 71, St. Francis 63: The Celts won the Mission League game to go to 16-5 and 1-1 in league. Carter Barnes scored 21 points for Crespi. DeLan Grant led St. Francis with 26 points.
Venice 70, Washington Prep 67: The Gondoliers go on the road and win, putting them in the City Section Open Division conversation. Micah Jahn scored 16 points and Lucca Trujillo had 15 points for Venice.
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