Sports
Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 7: Why Oregon’s on top at midseason
Editor’s note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams.
If there’s one lesson to be learned from the first half of this college football season, it’s that the gap between the top teams and the middle-tier teams looks as small as it’s been in a very long time.
It’s a new week, and we have yet another new No. 1 in The Athletic 134. Welcome to the top, Oregon.
The reasoning is straightforward: The Ducks are undefeated and have one of the two best wins of the season after beating Ohio State 32-31 in a thriller in Eugene. It was the first win over a team in the AP poll’s top two in Oregon history and the program’s first real big win under coach Dan Lanning, one that was desperately needed. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel played one of the best games of his career, receiver Evan Stewart looked like the five-star talent he entered college football as, and the defense made enough plays.
The win puts the Ducks in the driver’s seat to reach the Big Ten championship game and get a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. And given the surprises we’ve seen so far this season, having a bye could be massive.
Oregon needed to come back late to beat Boise State and struggled with FCS program Idaho early in the season. Perhaps the gap between No. 1 Oregon and No. 16 Boise State is not that far. Perhaps the gap between Alabama and Vanderbilt is not far. Even Georgia couldn’t bury a Mississippi State team that was plastered by Toledo a few weeks ago. Who are the great, elite teams? I’m not sure there is one this season.
Whether that uncertainty is a product of NIL, transfers, coaching changes or a combination of it all, this has been one of the most fun and unexpected college football seasons in a long time. We’re in store for many more exciting Saturdays, and then perhaps a postseason that will be more open than we initially envisioned.
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College Football Playoff 2024 projections: Texas, Oregon at top; Indiana moves into bracket
Here is this week’s Athletic 134.
1-10
| Rank | Team | Record | Prev |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
6-0 |
5 |
|
|
2 |
6-0 |
1 |
|
|
3 |
5-1 |
4 |
|
|
4 |
6-0 |
6 |
|
|
5 |
5-1 |
2 |
|
|
6 |
6-0 |
7 |
|
|
7 |
5-1 |
3 |
|
|
8 |
6-0 |
8 |
|
|
9 |
5-1 |
10 |
|
|
10 |
6-0 |
11 |
Aside from Oregon’s elevation to No. 1, the big move here is Alabama dropping from No. 3 to No. 7. I got a lot of heat for keeping Alabama in the top three after its loss to Vanderbilt. My reasoning was that Alabama and Georgia were still on the same tier, and their head-to-head result informed that ranking. Not anymore. After barely hanging on for a 27-25 win against South Carolina, Alabama is tumbling. The Crimson Tide have now played five consecutive halves of bad football since halftime against Georgia. This team is going in the wrong direction.
You could flip No. 4 Penn State and No. 3 Georgia, as the polls have, and I wouldn’t argue with you. Both teams have one win against a team with a winning record. Georgia’s is No. 9 Clemson, while Penn State’s is a No. 27 Illinois team that nearly lost to Purdue this weekend. Georgia has played two top-10 teams; Penn State hasn’t played a team in my top 25. Both have close wins against .500 teams (Kentucky, USC), and both struggled a bit against weak competition (Mississippi State, Bowling Green).
Ohio State drops to No. 5 because although the Oregon game came down to the final seconds, the rest of the Buckeyes’ resume doesn’t have anything else that jumps out like Georgia’s has. The gap between these top five teams is incredibly small, and we’ve got Texas-Georgia and Ohio State-Penn State coming up in the next few weeks to shake it up again.
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Oregon’s epic win a testament to Dan Lanning’s elite talent-stacking
11-25
Tennessee falls out of the top 10 to No. 12 after needing overtime to beat Florida at home. The Volunteers’ only notable win came against an Oklahoma team that is struggling. It’s clear the Vols offense is not what we thought it was early in the season. Boise State jumps up to No. 16 after a win at Hawaii, mostly thanks to Oregon’s elevation to No. 1 and Washington State’s move up to No. 24. To follow some transitive property tiebreakers here, Arizona State’s win against Utah moves the Sun Devils up, but Texas Tech beat Arizona State, and Wazzu beat Texas Tech.
Undefeated Pitt moves into the top 25, up to No. 20 after a 17-15 win against Cal. Vanderbilt’s 20-13 win at Kentucky moves the Commodores up to No. 21.
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AP Top 25: Texas still No. 1 as Oregon jumps to No. 2
26-50
| Rank | Team | Record | Prev |
|---|---|---|---|
|
26 |
5-1 |
30 |
|
|
27 |
5-1 |
24 |
|
|
28 |
4-2 |
32 |
|
|
29 |
4-2 |
25 |
|
|
30 |
5-1 |
26 |
|
|
31 |
4-2 |
22 |
|
|
32 |
4-2 |
21 |
|
|
33 |
4-2 |
34 |
|
|
34 |
5-1 |
35 |
|
|
35 |
5-1 |
36 |
|
|
36 |
4-2 |
37 |
|
|
37 |
3-3 |
40 |
|
|
38 |
5-1 |
42 |
|
|
39 |
3-3 |
33 |
|
|
40 |
4-2 |
65 |
|
|
41 |
5-2 |
47 |
|
|
42 |
3-3 |
41 |
|
|
43 |
3-3 |
38 |
|
|
44 |
4-2 |
39 |
|
|
45 |
4-3 |
43 |
|
|
46 |
4-2 |
44 |
|
|
47 |
4-2 |
46 |
|
|
48 |
3-3 |
45 |
|
|
49 |
4-2 |
48 |
|
|
50 |
6-0 |
57 |
I really wanted to get Arizona State into the top 25, but the Texas Tech and Washington State situation explained above kept the Sun Devils one spot out. Michigan dropped to No. 29 and was jumped by Iowa due to the last two Washington results (Iowa beat the Huskies 40-16 one week after the Huskies beat Michigan). No. 31 Oklahoma and No. 32 Nebraska also dropped out of the top 25.
No. 39 USC continues to fall. One play in any of those three losses could’ve changed the outcomes, but the Trojans are also 5-8 in their last 13 games. Wisconsin jumps up to No. 40 after a stunning 42-7 win against Rutgers.
Army moves up to No. 50 and is now No. 23 in the AP Poll. I got some criticism about where I had the Black Knights last week. They haven’t trailed all season, but their six wins have come against five teams with one or two wins, plus an FCS team. Navy, meanwhile, has a win against 5-1 Memphis (plus three one-win teams and an FCS team). That’s the difference. The good news is Army still has 5-1 North Texas, Notre Dame and Navy on the schedule, and it’s well-positioned to make the AAC title game. There will be opportunities for good wins.
GO DEEPER
Arizona State’s surprising surge continues, capped by an all-time postgame interview
51-75
Cincinnati jumps up to No. 54 after a 19-13 win at UCF. No. 56 Louisiana-Monroe is now 5-1 after beating Southern Miss. Liberty needed overtime to beat FIU, so the Flames slip to No. 61, but the path to an undefeated season is still very open.
Texas State moves up to No. 66 after beating Arkansas State, and Louisiana is up to No. 67 after beating App State. The two Sun Belt West leaders will play right before Halloween. Oregon State drops to No. 70 after a loss to Nevada, while Northwestern jumps to No. 72 after beating Maryland 37-10. North Texas is up to No. 75 after coming back to beat FAU.
GO DEEPER
Group of 5 mailbag: Where will the Pac-12 and Mountain West look next?
76-100
No. 77 Buffalo has wins against Northern Illinois and Toledo, but the Bulls’ 47-3 loss to UConn two weeks ago helps move the idle Huskies up to No. 76. San Jose State slips to No. 81 after losing to Colorado State.
The three lowest-ranked Power 4 teams all put in solid performances this week. UCLA led Minnesota at halftime and lost in the final seconds; Mississippi State stayed within arm’s length of Georgia in a 41-31 loss; Purdue took Illinois to overtime. They all move up and now sit just behind Florida State, Kansas and Baylor.
In the wildest comeback of the season, No. 82 Georgia Southern overcame a 23-3 deficit with seven minutes left to beat Marshall 24-23.
GO DEEPER
Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Dillon Gabriel’s legend grows, and more from Week 7
101-134
We had a lot of matchups within this group.
Rice beat UTSA in the final seconds, sending Rice up to No. 117 and UTSA down to No. 118. No. 120 Louisiana Tech got a 48-21 win against No. 127 Middle Tennessee, No. 111 San Diego State beat No. 122 Wyoming, No. 114 Jacksonville State beat No. 124 New Mexico State, No. 115 New Mexico beat No. 123 Air Force, and No. 113 Western Michigan beat No. 131 Akron.
Kent State played Ball State close but ultimately remains at the bottom.
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: Ali Gradischer / Getty Images)
Sports
Law firm fighting for women’s sports in SCOTUS battle comments on ruling possibly impacting SJSU trans lawsuit
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A law firm leading the charge in the ongoing Supreme Court case over trans athletes in women’s sports has responded after a federal judge suggested the case’s ruling could impact a separate case involving a similar issue.
Colorado District Judge Kato Crews deferred ruling in motions to dismiss former San Jose State volleyball co-captain Brooke Slusser’s lawsuit against the California State University (CSU) system until after a ruling in the B.P.J. v. West Virginia Supreme Court case, which is expected to come in June.
Slusser filed the lawsuit against representatives of her school and the Mountain West Conference in fall 2024 after she allegedly was made to share bedrooms and changing spaces with trans teammate Blaire Fleming for a whole season without being informed that Fleming is a biological male.
Meanwhile, the B.P.J. case went to the Supreme Court after a trans teen sued West Virginia to block the state’s law that prevents males from competing in girls’ high school sports.
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is the primary law firm defending West Virginia in that case at the Supreme Court, and has now responded to news that Slusser’s lawsuit could be affected by the SCOTUS ruling.
“We hope the ruling from the Supreme Court will affirm that Title IX was designed to guarantee equal opportunity for women, not to let male athletes displace women and girl in competition. It is crucial that sports be separated by sex for not only the equal opportunity of women but for safety and privacy. Title IX should protect women’s right to compete in their own sports. Allowing men to compete in the female category reverses 50 years of advancement for women,” ADF Vice President of Litigation Strategies Jonathan Scruggs said.
Slusser’s attorney, Bill Bock of the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, expects a Supreme Court ruling in favor of the legal defense representing West Virginia, thus helping his case.
(Left) Brooke Slusser (10) of the San Jose State Spartans serves the ball during the first set against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Court at East Gym in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Oct. 19, 2024. (Right) Blaire Fleming #3 of the San Jose State Spartans looks on during the third set against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Court at East Gym on October 19, 2024 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. ( Andrew Wevers/Getty Images; Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)
“We’re looking forward to the case going forward,” Bock told Fox News Digital.
“I believe that the court is going to find that Title IX operates on the basis of biological sex, without regard to an assumed or professed gender, and so just like the congress and the members of congress that passed Title IX in 1972, allowed this specifically provided for in the regulations that there had to be separate men’s and women’s teams based on biological sex, I think the court is going to see that is the original meaning of the statute and apply it in that way, and I think it’s going to be a big win in women’s sports.”
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared prepared to rule in favor of West Virginia after oral arguments on Jan. 13.
Slusser spoke on the steps of the Supreme Court on Jan. 13 while oral arguments took place inside, sharing her experience with a divided crowd of opposing protesters.
With Fleming on its roster, SJSU reached the 2024 conference final by virtue of a forfeit by Boise State in the semifinal round. SJSU lost in the final to Colorado State.
Slusser went on to develop an eating disorder due to the anxiety and trauma from the scandal and dropped out of her classes the following semester. The eating disorder became so severe, that Slusser said she lost her menstrual cycle for nine months. Her decision to drop her classes resulted in the loss of her scholarship, and her parents said they had to foot the bill out of pocket for an unfinished final semester of college.
President Donald Trump’s Department of Education determined in January that SJSU violated Title IX in its handling of the situation involving Fleming, and has given the university an ultimatum to agree to a series of resolutions or face a referral to the Department of Justice.
Among the department’s findings, it determined that a female athlete discovered that the trans student allegedly conspired to have a member of an opposing team spike her in the face during a match. ED claims that “SJSU did not investigate the conspiracy, but later subjected the female athlete to a Title IX complaint for ‘misgendering’ the male athlete in online videos and interviews.”
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SJSU trans player Blaire Fleming and teammate Brooke Slusser went to a magic show and had Thanksgiving together in Las Vegas despite an ongoing lawsuit over Fleming being transgender. (Thien-An Truong/San Jose State Athletics)
SJSU Athletic Director Jeff Konya told Fox News Digital in a July interview that he was satisfied with how the university handled the situation involving Fleming.
“I think everybody acted in the best possible way they could, given the circumstances,” Konya said.
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Sports
Myles Garrett cited for speeding a ninth time, an elite pass rusher seemingly always in a rush
Myles Garrett is in a hurry to become the greatest pass rusher in NFL history. The Cleveland Browns All-Pro defensive end set the single-season sack record in 2025 and has cracked the top 20 career leaders after only nine seasons.
“I’m going to take that down, and I prefer I take it down in the next five years,” Garrett told Casino Guru News last month.
Off the field, however, his urgency to get from point A to B is a problem. He’s accumulating speeding tickets at an alarming rate.
On Feb. 21, Garrett was handed his ninth speeding ticket since his NFL career began in 2017. He was cited for driving 94 mph in a 70-mph zone on Interstate 71 between Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio.
The citation from the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office says Garrett was driving his green 2024 Porsche at 1:35 a.m., returning home after attending a Miami of Ohio basketball game in Oxford.
Body cam footage shows the officer telling Garrett that she kept the charge under 100 mph so that a court appearance wouldn’t be mandatory. Garrett reportedly still holds a Texas driver’s license — he attended Texas A&M — and told the officer that he did not have an Ohio license.
Cleveland Browns’ Myles Garrett wears a jacket displaying his girlfriend Chloe Kim before the women’s snowboarding halfpipe finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy.
(Lindsey Wasson / AP)
The officer wrote that the famously affable Garrett was “kind and cooperative,” and that drugs and alcohol were not a factor.
Garrett’s need for speed flies in the face of his persona. He has written poetry since high school, peppers social media with inspirational sayings and donates time and money to several charities.
His girlfriend is two-time gold-medal-winning U.S. Olympic snowboarder Chloe Kim, for whom he wrote a poem he shared on social media: “You enrapture fools to kings, and exist without a peer, put on this Earth for many things, but our love is why you’re here.”
Verse hasn’t slowed his roll. On Aug. 9 he was cited for ticket No. 8, clocked at 100 mph in a 60-mph zone in a Cleveland suburb a day after the Browns returned home from a preseason game at Carolina.
Garrett’s seventh ticket followed a frightening crash in 2022. He flipped his gray 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S off State Road in Sharon Township and he and a female passenger were injured. He was cited for failing to control his vehicle due to unsafe speeds on what had been a slick roadway.
A witness told a responding police officer that Garrett’s vehicle went airborne, took out a fire hydrant and rolled three times. Garrett sustained shoulder and biceps sprains and was sidelined for the Browns’ game that week against the Atlanta Falcons. His companion was not seriously injured.
Cleveland television station WKYC reported that in September 2021 Garrett was stopped twice in a 24-hour period — for driving 120 and 105 mph. The infractions occurred on Interstate 71 in Medina County, where the speed limit is 70 mph, and he paid fines of $267 and $287.
A year earlier, Garrett was cited for driving 100 mph in a 65-mph zone of Interstate 77 — again while driving a Porsche — and paid a $308 fine. He accumulated his first batch of speeding tickets in 2017 and 2018, and the police reports recite similar circumstances: Garrett driving well over the speed limit, cited without incident, paid a nominal fine.
The piddly fines certainly aren’t a deterrent. Garrett, 30, and the Browns agreed to a four-year contract extension in March 2025 that made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history at the time. The deal pays the seven-time All-Pro more than $40 million a season and includes more than $123 million in guaranteed money.
He set the NFL single-season sack record with 23.0 last season, surpassing the 22.5 accumulated by T.J. Watt and Michael Strahan. Garrett has 125.5 career sacks, averaging 14 a season, a pace that would enable him to break Bruce Smith’s career record of 200 in five years.
“That is definitely on my mind to go out there and get,” Garrett said. “That’s a goal I’ve had for years now since college.”
Garrett has declined to discuss his driving habits.
“I’d honestly prefer to talk about football and this team than anything I’m doing off the field other than the back-to-school event that I did the other day,” he told reporters after ticket No. 8 in August, referring to a charity appearance.
“I try to keep my personal life personal. And I’d rather focus on this team when I can.”
Sports
Keith Olbermann under fire for calling Lou Holtz a ‘scumbag’ after legendary coach’s death
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Former ESPN broadcaster Keith Olbermann once again incited backlash on social media Wednesday after he called late legendary college football coach Lou Holtz a “legendary scumbag” in an X post on the day Holtz was announced dead.
“Legendary scumbag, yes,” Olbermann wrote in response to a clip of Holtz criticizing former President Joe Biden in 2020 for supporting abortion rights.
Olbermann received scathing criticism in response to his post on X.
“You’re a scumbag that needs mental help,” one X user wrote to Olbermann.
One user echoed that sentiment, writing to Olbermann, “You’re the real scumbag here. Lou Holtz had more class, integrity, and genuine decency in his pinky finger than you’ll ever show in your lifetime.”
Another user wrote, “You’re a grumpy, lonely, Godless man. All the things Lou Holtz was not.”
Keith Olbermann speaks onstage during the Olbermann panel at the ESPN portion of the 2013 Summer Television Critics Association tour at the Beverly Hilton Hotel July 24, 2013, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
Olbermann has made it a pattern of sharing politically charged far-left statements that are often combative and ridiculed on social media, typically resulting in immense backlash.
After the U.S. men’s hockey team’s gold medal win, Olbermann heavily criticized the team for accepting an invitation from President Trump to the State of the Union address. Olbermann wrote on X that any members of the men’s team who attended the event were “declaring their indelible stupidity and misogyny,” while praising the women’s team for declining the invitation.
In January, Olbermann attacked former University of Kentucky women’s swimmer Kaitlynn Wheeler for celebrating a women’s rights rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court during oral arguments for two cases focused on the legality of biological male trans athletes in women’s sports.
Former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz listens before being presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House in Washington, D.C., Dec, 3, 2020. (Doug Mills/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“It’s still about you trying to find an excuse for a lifetime wasted trying to succeed in sports without talent,” Olbermann wrote in response to Wheeler’s post.
In 2025, Olbermann faced significant backlash after posting (and later deleting) a message on X aimed at CNN contributor Scott Jennings, that said, “You’re next motherf—–,” shortly after the assassination of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.
Holtz was a stern supporter of President Donald Trump, even saying in February 2024 that Trump needed to “coach America back to greatness!”
Near the end of Trump’s first term, shortly after former President Joe Biden defeated him in the 2020 election, Trump awarded Holtz with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award of the United States.
After Holtz’s death was announced Wednesday, several top GOP figures paid tribute to the coach on social media.
Those GOP lawmakers included senators Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala.; Todd Young, R-Ind.; Tom Cotton, R-Ark.; and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; representatives Greg Murphy, R-N.C.; David Rouzer, R-N.C.; Erin Houchin, R-Ind.; and Steve Womack, R-Ark.; and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis; Indiana Gov. Mike Braun; U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon; and Rudy Giuliani.
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Lou Holtz, former Notre Dame football coach, addresses the America First Policy Institute’s America First Agenda Summit at the Marriott Marquis July 26, 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)
At the time of publication, prominent Democrat leaders have appeared silent on Holtz’s passing, including prominent Democrats with a football background.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who worked as an assistant high school football coach; Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., who was a recruiting target for Holtz in 1986 as a college prospect; Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, who played in the NFL; and Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Ill., who played football for the University of Illinois, have not posted acknowledging Holtz’s death.
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