RJ Young

FOX Sports National College Football Analyst

Florida State’s unexpected loss to Boston College on Monday night put a stop to an opening week of college football that had been full of surprises – Vanderbilt’s shutout (more on that later) – surprises (Iowa outscores … Oregon) and dominance (hello, Georgia).

I posted my Week 1 college football rankings and it turns out that the Associated Press poll voters agree with me on who the top six teams in the country should be. After Georgia (1), Ohio State (2) and Texas (3), I had Ole Miss at 4, Alabama at 5 and Notre Dame at 6. The AP poll went with the Crimson Tide at 4, the Fighting Irish at 5 and Lake Kiffin’s Rebels at 6.

But after the AP Top 25 Poll was released on Tuesday, there were three things that stood out to me above all else:

(Related: College football rankings 2024: Georgia, Ohio State top; Nebraska cracks top 25)

1. Florida State is a mess

Boston College’s win over Florida State marked the Eagles’ first victory over a top-10 team since 2014, when BC upset No. 9 USC. Boston College held the ball for 14 minutes in the first quarter and outgained FSU in total yardage, 102-4. And that was an indication of how the game played out in BC’s 28-13 victory.

Florida State wasn’t in my final 25, and they’re not in the AP Top 25 Poll either. In fact, not only are the Seminoles missing from both polls, but the AP actually gave Vanderbilt more points than FSU.

Go on that retreat. Talk to the Pastor. Think of Isaiah 40:31. I hope to see you at the Wednesday night service.

2. It’s Georgia’s national title until someone beats them

Georgia held a top 25 team to three points. Ohio State trailed a MAC team late in the first quarter.

At this stage, at this level, style matters. If the third-best SEC team in the country can name its number against Furman, Ohio State can’t afford slow starts.

The standard for Ohio State is Georgia. And the Buckeyes didn’t meet it.

Georgia has won 40 straight regular-season games and 43 of its last 45. Coming off a statement win against a top-25 program that has won as many national titles in the CFP era as the Dawgs, UGA has earned the right to be the No. 1-ranked team in the country. Georgia is giving me what I asked for.

3. Is Oregon good?

The Associated Press voters agreed with me, dropping Oregon from the upper echelons of the rankings. The AP dropped the Ducks to No. 7, while I dropped them to No. 9 after their narrow win over FCS Idaho.

They were more disappointing than Sony’s launch of Concord.

Idaho defeated an FBS opponent last year, finishing 9-4. But that opponent was Nevada, neither of the two programs picked to play in the Big Ten title game later this year.

Nike Inc. no longer feels like the second-best team in the league, but it is in fifth place. There is no playoff spot for the fifth-best team in the Big Ten.

RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast “The best college football show.“Follow him up @RJ_Young And Subscribe to “The RJ Young Show” on YouTube.

(Want to receive great stories straight to your inbox? Create a FOX Sports account or log in, follow competitions, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter every day.)

Get more out of College Football Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more