SI Top 10: SEC Sends Pac-12 to the Woodshed

College football’s most dominant conference reinforced its place atop the hierarchy in a couple of heavyweight clashes.

We begin this year’s Top 10 with a message of advice for the Pac-12: stay west of the Mississippi, y’all.

On the first full Saturday of college football season, the league saw its two CFP hopefuls, Oregon and Utah, suffer beatdowns at the hands of the big, bad SEC. The Ducks never stood a chance against Georgia in Atlanta, and the Utes got swallowed up at the Swamp in coach Billy Napier’s first game as the Gators coach.

The Pac-12 is barreling toward the unthinkable, it would seem: a sixth straight year without advancing to the CFP. That 12-team playoff can’t get here soon enough!

What else did Week 1 deliver? Well, college kickers did college kicker things (see: East Carolina); a Kirk Ferentz team pulled its best Kirk Ferentz (the Hawkeyes didn’t score a TD! And won!); and Arizona won a football game for just the second time in 23 tries (I know!).

The noon window delivered in a big way and we can all thank the state of North Carolina for that. North Carolina’s state motto is “to be, rather than to seem” but it sure seemed like the state’s big dogs, UNC and NC State, were about to fall to its little brothers, App State and East Carolina. The Tar Heels gave up a whopping 61 points and needed a ghastly overthrow of a two-point conversion to survive. The Wolfpack, starting the season ranked No. 13, didn’t score in the second half and needed a missed extra point and a missed field goal at the buzzer to escape ECU’s upset bid.

Meanwhile, Iowa managed to win a game without getting into the end zone in an amazingly dysfunctional contest against South Dakota State. Houston beat UTSA in a wild triple overtime affair, the SEC went 15–0 (Oklahoma and Texas included) and Nebraska had trouble with, uh, North Dakota (Scott Frost isn’t long for Lincoln).

The nightcap delivered in the best way. Ohio State stormed back to beat Notre Dame in their top-5 tangle, and Napier’s Gators stunned No. 7 Utah on a humid night in Gainesville. Chalk one up for Anthony Richardson, the Florida quarterback who passed for 168, ran for 104 and scored three times.

Ohio State barely escaped Notre Dame’s grasp at The Horseshoe :: Joseph Maiorana/USA TODAY Sports

But enough already. Let’s get to our 2022 inaugural Top 10!

1. Alabama (1–0)

Last game: Beat Utah State 55–0
Next game: at Texas on Saturday

QB Bryce Young and the Tide got a nice tune-up before a trip to Texas. Nick Saban’s team gouged the Aggies on the ground for 278 yards and didn’t allow Utah State a drive of more than 39 yards. Young rested up for next weekend’s big game in Austin; he played just one series in the second half.

2. Georgia (1–0)

Last game: Beat Oregon 49–3
Next game: vs. Samford on Saturday

Think Georgia’s defense lost too many stars? Think Stetson Bennett is still a game manager? Think again! The Bulldogs opened a can of you-know-what to make former DC Dan Lanning’s first-ever game as the Ducks coach a not-so-memorable one. UGA scored a touchdown on its first seven possessions of the game.

3. Ohio State (1–0)

Last game: Beat Notre Dame 21–10
Next game: vs. Arkansas State on Saturday

O.K., so no one expected the Buckeyes to have just seven points late in the third quarter, but there they were, trailing 10–7 until two remarkable second-half drives. One went 10 plays and 70 yards and the other 14 plays and 95 yards. RB Miyan Williams put the game away with five straight carries to cap the 95-yard march. He had runs of 5, 15, 12, 0 and a two-yard touchdown.

4. Clemson (0–0)

Last game: Last year!
Next game: at Georgia Tech on Monday

The Tigers get the spotlight on Labor Day night in a duel against a Yellow Jackets team that’s fighting for its coach’s job. Geoff Collins needs wins and needs them badly. What a great tune-up for this hot-seat season of his by opening with Clemson.

5. Michigan (1–0)

Last game: Beat Colorado State 51–7
Next game: vs. Hawaii on Saturday

Cade McNamara kicked off the weird, two-quarterback derby thing that triggered Jim Harbaugh to cite biblical verses earlier this week, but he wasn’t the star. Michigan’s defense swallowed the Rams, who didn’t score until their 11th possession of the game and didn’t crack 200 yards until the final minutes.

6. Notre Dame (0–1)

Last game: Lost at Ohio State 21–10
Next game: vs. Marshall on Saturday

The Irish put up quite the fight. That defense of theirs held the Buckeyes in check until their final two drives. Sure, it’s a loss and coach Marcus Freeman has now started his tenure 0–2, but it was an impressive showing at the No. 2-ranked team in the country.

7. Oklahoma (1–0)

Last game: Beat UTEP 45–13
Next game: vs. Kent State on Saturday

Remember Dillon Gabriel? He’s a Sooner now after spending three seasons at UCF and then nearly enrolling at UCLA in January. Caleb Williams’s departure to USC shifted Gabriel’s path to Norman and he impressed in Game 1: 233 yards and two touchdowns.

Florida left the Swamp with what could be a season-defining victory :: Kim Klement/USA Today Sports

8. Florida (1-0)

Last game: Beat Utah 29–26
Next game: vs. Kentucky on Saturday

In arguably the best game of the day, the Gators got the job done against a Utes team that didn’t handle the cross-country trip and humidity very well. Oh, and they didn’t handle Florida’s athletic quarterback well, either.

9. Arkansas (1-0)

Last game: Beat Cincinnati 31–24
Next game: vs. South Carolina on Saturday

What? Surprised to see the Hogs in the Top 10? Hey now, Sam Pittman’s crew is coming off a nine-win season and beat last year’s CFP semifinalist. It’s one of the more impressive victories of Week 1. Don’t sleep on the Hogs and QB KJ Jefferson, who was responsible for 285 yards.

10. Oklahoma State (1-0)

Last game: Beat Central Michigan 58–44
Next game: vs. Arizona State on Saturday

QB Spencer Sanders broke records with a 406-yard passing day, but former defensive coordinator Jim Knowles’s absence sure seems like a problem (Knowles is at Ohio State now). The Pokes gave up 546 yards and allowed three 70-plus yard touchdown drives. Not great.

11*: Iowa (1-0)

Last game: Beat South Dakota State 7–3
Next game: vs. Iowa State on Saturday

Iowa is our Bonus 11 this week, after it managed to win a football game without scoring a touchdown (a field goal and two safeties—yes, two). The Hawkeyes had the same amount of first downs (10) as it had punts (10). It was a remarkably ridiculous performance that reeked of a Ferentz-led group. Neither team cracked the 170-yard mark.

*This is the Bonus No. 11. It’s not the 11th-best team in the country but is instead a squad that emerged in some extraordinary way this week.