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.
GO DEEPER
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.
GO DEEPER
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.
GO DEEPER
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
2026 NASCAR Odds: Pole-sitter Shane van Gisbergen Favorite for Watkins Glen
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Last August, when the NASCAR Cup Series went to the road course at Watkins Glen, Shane van Gisbergen captured the checkered flag.
Now SVG finds himself at the top of the oddsboard to win again when the series goes Bowling at The Glen on Sunday, May 10 (3 p.m. ET, FS1).
Let’s take a look at where the rest of the field sits as of May 10 at DraftKings Sportsbook.
This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.
NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling at the Glen 2026
Shane van Gisbergen: -135 (bet $10 to win $17.41 total)
Connor Zilisch: +360 (bet $10 to win $46 total)
Christopher Bell: +900 (bet $10 to win $100 total)
Tyler Reddick: +1200 (bet $10 to win $130 total)
Ty Gibbs: +1400 (bet $10 to win $150 total)
Chris Buescher: +1800 (bet $10 to win $190 total)
Michael McDowell: +2000 (bet $10 to win $210 total)
Austin Cindric: +2200 (bet $10 to win $230 total)
Ross Chastain: +2500 (bet $10 to win $260 total)
Chase Elliott: +2500 (bet $10 to win $260 total)
Carson Hocevar: +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
Ryan Blaney: +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
Chase Briscoe: +3500 (bet $10 to win $360 total)
William Byron: +4000 (bet $10 to win $410 total)
Kyle Larson: +4500 (bet $10 to win $460 total)
AJ Allmendinger: +5000 (bet $10 to win $510 total)
Joey Logano: +5500 (bet $10 to win $560 total)
Kyle Busch: +7500 (bet $10 to win $760 total)
Denny Hamlin: +8000 (bet $10 to win $810 total)
Alex Bowman: +9000 (bet $10 to win $910 total)
Daniel Suarez: +9000 (bet $10 to win $910 total)
Brad Keselowski: +10000 (bet $10 to win $1,010 total)
Bubba Wallace: +13000 (bet $10 to win $1,310 total)
Ryan Preece: +30000 (bet $10 to win $3,010 total)
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: +35000 (bet $10 to win $3,510 total)
Riley Herbst: +40000 (bet $10 to win $4,010 total)
Austin Dillon: +60000 (bet $10 to win $6,010 total)
Zane Smith: +60000 (bet $10 to win $6,010 total)
John Hunter Nemechek: +60000 (bet $10 to win $6,010 total)
Erik Jones: +60000 (bet $10 to win $6,010 total)
Todd Gilliland: +70000 (bet $10 to win $7,010 total)
Josh Berry: +70000 (bet $10 to win $7,010 total)
Noah Gragson: +80000 (bet $10 to win $8,010 total)
Cole Custer: +80000 (bet $10 to win $8,010 total)
Ty Dillon: +90000 (bet $10 to win $9,010 total)
Katherine Legge: +100000 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Josh Bilicki: +100000 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Cody Ware: +100000 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
The Favorite: Last year at Watkins Glen, Shane van Gisbergen finished eighth in Stage 1, 22nd in Stage 2 and led 38 laps on the day before getting into Victory Lane. And as it stands currently, SVG could use a win; the driver of the No. 97 car hasn’t won yet in 2026. He’s also 19th in the standings. However, he has two top 10s this year and one top-five finish. Bettors also might want to note that van Gisbergen won five of the six NASCAR road courses in 2025 and finished second at COTA earlier this year.
One to Watch: Another driver fans might want to keep their eyes on is Ryan Blaney. At The Glen in 2025, Blaney won the pole, finished seventh in Stage 1, won Stage 2 and finished the race sixth overall after leading 35 laps. On No. 12’s resume so far this year are seven top 10s, three top-five finishes and one win. He’s currently fourth in the standings.
Sports
After years of playing through tears, Angel City players are grateful team supports moms
For Sarah Gorden, Mother’s Day is special because it’s not just a celebration of motherhood. For her, it’s also a celebration of perseverance, grit and survival.
Especially survival.
Gorden became pregnant during her junior year of college and for most of the next 12 years, she tried to balance her life as a professional soccer player with her responsibilities as a single mother. It wasn’t easy.
“I honestly look back and I have no idea how we got through that,” said Gorden, who made $8,000 as an NWSL rookie with the Chicago Red Stars in 2016, less than the city’s minimum wage. “We’re making no money. We were definitely using government assistance and government aid. And then the help of family and friends.
“I’m impressed and proud of the part of me that got through that. But it was no way to live.”
As the memories come flooding back, so do the tears.
Angel City midfielder Ariadina Alves Borges walks off the pitch with her son, Luca, at BMO Stadium on May 2.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“It’s so difficult to explain,” said Gorden, now 33 and the captain at Angel City, as she dabbed at the tears with a tissue. “Not having enough money, not having enough time, wondering if I’m being selfish, wondering if I’m making the right decision. Ultimately it came down to: I didn’t feel like I had another [choice].”
A decade later, the NWSL minimum wage is $50,500 and the league’s collective bargaining agreement guarantees mothers job protection, full salary and benefits for the duration of a pregnancy-related absence, stipends for child care and subsidized arrangements for women traveling with children up to age 14.
Angel City, founded by three mothers, has gone beyond what the league has mandated by supporting mothers with perks that include a well-stocked nursery at the team’s training facility on the campus of Cal Lutheran University.
“From the beginning, we always strive to support the whole player. Physically, mentally, emotionally, psychologically,” said Julie Uhrman, one of Angel City’s founders and now a principal adviser to the team. “And then to support them if they came in as parents or became parents. That’s not just players. Staff too.”
Uhrman, who raised two children while building a successful career as a media and entertainment executive, speaks from experience.
“They can do both and they can excel at both,” she said of her players. “And we’re going to provide the support and the environment for them to do that.”
On its active roster of 25 players, Angel City has four mothers — the most in the NWSL. The work that went into the infrastructure now in place for them originated with Sarah Smith, the team’s former director of medical and performance.
Smith, who left the club in January and now advises elite athletes — primarily skiers — in Utah, said the support she got from Uhrman and others during her own pregnancy two and a half years ago inspired and informed her work with Angel City.
“Having the leadership of the club and the female leaders in the club, and then wanting to be able to support all of the players through their different journeys, through motherhood, I was really glad to be part of that,” she said. “But it really started with the fact that I had just gone through it, and I was able to share those experiences.”
Angel City forward Sydney Leroux’s 9-year-old son, Cassius, waits for his mom to leave a team huddle at BMO Stadium on May 2.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
The first player she guided through that journey was Scottish forward Claire Emslie, who gave birth to a son in December.
“I’ll be honest. Having seen how much she wanted to do for moms in the game made me excited to become a mom,” Emslie said. “We weren’t even thinking about having a kid. But knowing what she wanted to do if there was a pregnant player made me want to have a kid because I knew that this is the best place I could possibly be.”
Emslie, 32, was cleared to suit up for Angel City’s game with San Diego on Saturday — the day before Mother’s Day — after missing the past 12 months on maternity leave. But she continued to train until just before giving birth and that, combined with the year off from the weekly pounding of professional soccer and the physiological changes her body went through during pregnancy, have made her better, she says.
“I feel better. I’m different,” she said. “I got a lot stronger and that’s something you can’t build while you’re in competition. My speed is back. I think I’m actually faster. And there’s also sort of an effect where you’ve got more red blood cells in your system now. So they say your cardio is actually better.”
The prime years for a women’s soccer player — between the ages of 25 and 29 — overlap with their prime reproductive years. Until recently, however, women had to make a choice between a family and a career. Now many are choosing to do both.
Sophia Wilson, a former NWSL scoring champion and MVP, and Mallory Swanson, her teammate on the U.S. Women’s National Team, both missed play in 2025 to give birth. They are among the 28 mothers in the league, and more are coming with the most recent NWSL availability report showing six teams missing players going on maternity leave.
Angel City player Claire Emslie, who is pregnant, tours a nursery the team built for players.
(Courtesy of Angel City FC)
Emslie’s own experiences tell her those numbers will continue to grow.
“I got to a point where I need[ed] to start thinking about life after football. And if I want to have a family, because of the biological clock, I need to start trying soon,” Emslie said. “It’s now kind of a normal thing to have a baby and come back.”
“Now I wish I’d done it younger,” she added. “Having a baby and continuing to play, they’re on the journey with you. So to have, say, five, six years professional football with a family, that’s amazing.”
Smith believes the willingness of star players such as Wilson and Swanson — and before them, Alex Morgan and Manchester United’s Hannah Blundell — has brought important focus to the issue of motherhood in soccer.
“That is where the game is going. I think you probably can see it across the league, the number of mothers,” Smith said. “And that’s a variety of circumstances. It may be mothers whose partners have carried children. It may be also players that are thinking about having children later and want to freeze their eggs. What I wanted to make sure is that we, we supported all of those different circumstances.”
That included designing and stocking the nursery at the training facility Angel City inherited from the NFL’s Rams in the fall of 2024.
“We put stuff in there for Caiden, for Sarah’s son, because it wasn’t just for Claire,” Smith said. “We wanted to make sure that all of the players and their partners felt good and comfortable. You just want to take a little bit of stress off of the players.”
Angel City captain Sarah Gorden with her oldest son, Caiden, during a photo shoot.
(Courtesy of Angel City FC)
When the club inherited the nine-acre practice facility in 2024 from the Rams, Angel City designated the largest of the offices for the nursery. The office belonged to head coach Sean McVay, and now it features walls painted pink and light blue and a crib, a changing table and a menagerie of stuffed animals.
“We want players to come to Angel City because we are the absolute best place for you to grow as an athlete, as a human,” Uhrman said. “And, you know, thinking about the fact that they might want to become mothers at some time or they’re coming in as mothers is really important.”
Gorden remembers a time not so long ago when that wasn’t the case. Early in her career in Chicago, she said she had to bring her son to a team meeting and was punished by being benched. Another time she couldn’t find child care on the day of a game — a Mother’s Day game.
“I just remember bawling all morning and just feeling so stressed,” she said.
Gorden has a fiance who is helping with parenting and her son Caiden, now in middle school, has grown into a sweet, empathetic boy.
“So yeah,” Gorden said, smiling through the tears, “a lot of progress. The league gets it now.”
Sports
Wings rookie Azzi Fudd sets dubious WNBA record with lowest-scoring debut by top pick
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The highly anticipated 30th WNBA season tipped off Friday with three games, including the expansion Toronto Tempo’s first-ever contest.
The action continued Saturday with a full slate, including Caitlin Clark’s return after an injury-riddled sophomore season.
Clark and the Indiana Fever hosted the Dallas Wings on Saturday afternoon in a matchup featuring the four most recent No. 1 overall picks. The Wings outlasted the Fever 107-104, but the game was defined by Azzi Fudd’s — the most recent top pick — underwhelming debut.
Dallas Wings guards Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers react during the first half of the Fever’s season opener at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on May 9, 2026. (Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Fudd played 18 minutes off the bench, scoring three points — the lowest ever by a No. 1 overall pick in a WNBA debut.
Wings coach Jose Fernandez addressed Fudd’s performance after the game, encouraging the rookie to, “Keep doing what she’s doing, it’s her first year in the league. We got five really talented backcourt players.”
EX-WNBA STAR CRITICAL OF SKY ROOKIE HAILEY VAN LITH, BELIEVES POPULARITY PLAYED ROLE IN DRAFT SELECTION
In addition to Fudd, Dallas’ backcourt features last year’s top draft pick Paige Bueckers, last season’s No. 12 overall pick Aziaha James, four-time All-Star Arike Ogunbowale and starting guard Odyssey Sims.
Until Saturday, Kelsey Plum held the record for the lowest-scoring debut by a No. 1 pick. Selected first overall by the then-San Antonio Stars in 2017, she scored just four points in her debut. The Stars relocated to Las Vegas in 2018 and was subsequently rebranded as the Aces.
Dallas Wings guard Azzi Fudd warms up before the game against the Indiana Fever at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, on May 9, 2026. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
Despite the slow start to her first season in the league, Plum ended the year with All-Rookie team honors. In the years since, she’s been named to four All-Star teams and won two championships with the Aces.
The Wings’ decision to take Fudd with the No. 1 overall pick drew controversy, raising questions about whether Bueckers’ personal relationship with her influenced the selection. Late last month, Bueckers said last month it did not.
Azzi Fudd poses with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected first overall by the Dallas Wings during the 2026 WNBA Draft at The Shed in New York City on April 13, 2026. (Angelina Katsanis/Getty Images)
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“Azzi Fudd was the No. 1 draft pick because she earned it, and it had nothing to do with me and everything to do with who she is as a human being, who she is as a basketball player,” Bueckers said, according to ESPN.
Neither Bueckers nor Fudd has publicly updated their relationship status since the April draft.
“Quite frankly, I believe me and Azzi’s personal relationship is nobody’s business but our own,” Bueckers also said in April. “And what we choose to share is completely up to us.”
Next up, the Wings play their home opener on Tuesday when they host the Atlanta Dream.
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