Yahoo Top 10: After so many Week 1 blowouts, which team deserves the No. 1 spot?
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Notre Dame entered the 2026 season as the trendy pick to make a deep run in the playoff, if not win it all.
The Irish returned 10 starters and their top six tacklers from last year's salty defensive unit, have an experienced and talented guy behind center in CJ Carr and, despite losing two of the best running backs in the country, returned a plethora of dynamic skill players.
Check.
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Notre Dame cruised to a 41-13 win over Wisconsin at Lambeau Field on Sunday night in a prime-time affair that turned into a rout by the end of the third quarter. Marcus Freeman's team turned a 13-10 halftime lead into a whipping in the second half through a variety pack: a pick-6, a 28-yard touchdown pass and two rushing scores from new featured back Aneyas Williams.
Freeman told NBC in the postgame interview that he and his team were "pressing" during a lackluster first half.
"The offense stayed on track because we had some successful runs," Freeman said. "The establishment of the rushing game really helped us."
The performance sprung Notre Dame into our No. 2 spot in our debut of the Top 10, only behind Lane Kiffin's LSU Tigers, who picked up the weekend's most impressive victory.
Before getting to the rankings, there is something very important to keep in mind about our Top 10. It is a Judgement Free Zone! When ranking teams, we do NOT consider any preseason polls or any past season results. What happened in the past is, firmly, in the past.
For instance, you won't find on here … Georgia (it played Tennessee State!) or Ohio State (it played Ball State!). This system normally rewards teams with tougher early-season opponents, but it also makes for an unusual group in the first few weeks. By midseason, our Top 10 may not be much different than many others.
But for now …
1. LSU Tigers
This week: beat Clemson, 51-10
Next week: vs. Louisiana Tech
LSU and coach Lane Kiffin drubbed Clemson so much that, somehow, the focus nationally seemed to switch from Kiffin's rousing debut to Dabo Swinney's uncertain future (it would cost Clemson around $50 million to fire him, by the way). But back to the Tigers from Baton Rouge. They're fast, big and tough, and they've finally got a run game in Red Stick, which has been missing now for years. LSU topped 300 yards rushing, much of it from Wisconsin transfer Dilin Jones, a redshirt sophomore who averaged 5 yards a carry and scored twice. LSU barely edged Notre Dame for the most convincing win over a power league opponent in Week 1, which puts them atop our rankings.
2. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
This week: beat Wisconsin, 41-13
Next week: vs. Rice
That defense everyone's been talking about all offseason showed up in impressive fashion against the Badgers. Five of Wisconsin's eight drives ended in punts and UW managed just 284 yards of offense. LB Drayk Bowen & Co. had a field day against a Wisconsin team that moves slow. Notre Dame didn't allow a run of longer than 7 yards. But enough about the defense! Carr, the second-year starter and the grandson of former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, was a steady 19-of-29 for 239 yards and two touchdowns. It's no secret that Notre Dame is pouring resources into its football roster — and it's showing.
3. Miami Hurricanes
This week: beat Stanford, 45-6
Next week: vs. Florida A&M (Thursday)
In his debut at QB, Darian Mensah, at his third school in three years, torched the Cardinal with plenty of help from Malachi Toney, the slippery wideout who racked up 234 yards, three touchdowns and surged into the Heisman conversation after just one week. Don't slouch on this victory. Miami traveled across the country (the U got there two days early to acclimate to the time zone) and played on a sleepy Friday night. It had the makings for one of those sleep-walk affairs that we've seen from some of Mario Cristobal's teams. But the reigning national runner-ups took care of business quickly (it was 28-3 midway through the second quarter).
4. Ole Miss Rebels
This week: beat Louisville, 41-38
Next week: vs. Charlotte
Remember that February court battle playing out in Mississippi over Trinidad Chambliss' tonsils? Well, it was well worth it. Chambliss, one of the Heisman Trophy favorites this year, passed for 336 yards, three touchdowns and added another 60 yards on the ground. He led the Rebels down the field on a 44-yard drive that ended with Lucas Carneiro's 48-yard game-winning field goal as time expired. Chambliss hit on an 18-yard completion on third-and-6 during that haul and he ran a few times, too. After a duel against Charlotte next week, the Rebels host their former coach in Oxford against LSU.
5. Oregon Ducks
This week: beat Boise State, 34-27
Next week: at Oklahoma State
Look, this was no dominant performance by the Ducks. In fact, the Broncos led at halftime and Oregon needed Dakorien Moore to turn a 10-yard completion into a 62-yard touchdown in the final minutes to break a tie game and deliver the win. However, keep in mind that this Boise team might well be a playoff contender as one of the Group of Six's best programs. The Ducks lost three starters on last year's offensive line and it showed. That'll need some improving against a nasty Big Ten schedule that includes USC, Ohio State and Michigan.
6. Virginia Cavaliers
This week: beat NC State, 34-8
Next week: vs. Norfolk State (Friday)
The Cavaliers picked up where they left off from last season's 11-3 mark. It didn't seem to matter that they were breaking in a new QB. Former Penn State and Missouri passer/runner Beau Pribula mounted 110 yards rushing and 155 in the air with two scores. Cavs defensive coordinator John Rudzinski's group ran circles around the Wolfpack. NC State didn't score until less than six minutes were left in the third quarter. Given Clemson and FSU's struggles, is UVA the class of the ACC behind the Hurricanes? The two programs miss each other during the regular season this year.
7. Colorado Buffaloes
This week: beat Georgia Tech, 14-13
Next week: vs. Weber State
The Buffaloes didn't muster much offense (307 yards), but QB Julian Lewis mounted an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 20-yard completion to Charlie Williams for the game-winner. It wasn't the finest performance from Coach Prime's crew, but it's enough for the Top 10 — traveling clear across the country in the season opener and controlling the line of scrimmage against what many believed to be one of the ACC's better programs. Speaking of controlling the line of scrimmage, Georgia Tech had 51 yards rushing — a testament to coordinator Chris Marve's unit.
8. Auburn Tigers
This week: beat Baylor, 17-16
Next week: vs. Southern Miss
Don't tell coach Alex Golesh we've got his Tigers in the Top 10. He wasn't pleased at all in Auburn's performance against Baylor. In fact, they were mostly outplayed much of the game. If BU quarterback DJ Lagway leads his receiver better on a 2-point conversion, the Bears would have completely ruined Golesh's debut. QB Byrum Brown and Auburn's O-line must get better. Brown was sacked five times and threw three interceptions. On the bright side, Auburn's defense forced a few turnovers and stuffed Baylor on some big third downs.
9. Boise State Broncos
This week: lost to Oregon, 34-27
Next week: vs. Memphis
This is a rarity. A Group of Six program that just lost a game finding its way into our Top 10? However, the Broncos showed their stuff in a hostile environment. In fact, we'll learn a lot about the G6 playoff race this coming weekend, when Boise hosts Memphis. And guess what? Boise also travels later in September to Western Michigan, another potential G6 playoff bid candidate. But back to Boise. QB Maddux Madsen — a 27-game starter — threw three touchdown passes and looked fairly sharp, especially in that kind of environment. But Boise's O-line and D-line was the most impressive units on the field.
10. UCLA Bruins
This week: beat Cal, 45-24
Next week: vs. San Diego State
Surprised to see the Bruins at No. 10? We are too, but this year's season-opening weekend did not afford many power conference-versus-power conference games from which to choose. First-year coach Bob Chesney's debut was a fun one. QB Nico Iamaleava seems like a new man in Chesney's offense. Sure, it wasn't anything prolific (184 yards on 14-of-22 passing), but he didn't make many mistakes. The Bruins got more than 100 yards rushing from Anthony Woods, too. Let's be honest: UCLA is unlikely to hang around our Top 10 for very long, but look for Chesney's group to surprise some folks.
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