Tom Fornelli's College Football Power Ratings: Ohio State still No. 1 despite collapse, Oregon plummets

The Buckeyes are still on top after a tough finish in Austin, while the top 12 welcomes new teams from the Big Ten and SEC after Week 2

Sep 15, 2026 at 9:18 am ET • 7 min read

Am I the bravest human alive?

Courage comes in many forms. There's the courage to risk your life and run into a burning building to save someone else's life. There's the courage to start your life anew when you're unhappy. Just completely give up on your easy, comfortable existence to chase your passion and begin again.

And then there's what I'm about to do. I'm about to leave Ohio State at No. 1 in my power ratings even though the Buckeyes lost to Texas on Saturday. I'm doing this even though I know that the majority of people who read this column, or see the rankings shared on social media without reading a single word I've written here, will not understand how power rankings work.

They will think these are the same thing as an opinion poll, and they will drag my name through the internet mud. They will curse me. They will call me stupid. They'll probably call me ugly, too, just to be a little meaner than they need to be. Some may wish death upon me.

And all I have to do to avoid this undeserved punishment is move Ohio State down a couple of spots. But I will not! I have too much integrity! I will face the backlash, for I know I am right!

CBS Sports 138: Texas surges to No. 1 spot, Michigan returns to top 25 in college football rankings

Chip Patterson

We must remember that power ratings are meant to predict future results, not to react to past results. So, yes, Ohio State blew a 20-point fourth-quarter lead against Texas on Saturday night, and the Buckeyes have lost three of their last four games. There are plenty of questions to ask Ryan Day and the Buckeyes about what's going on and how they can fix things.

But you know what? There might not be much to fix. They lost the game, but their performance wasn't horrible. In fact, their performance was better than Texas' in a lot of the areas I look at. The Buckeyes outgained the Longhorns, averaged more yards per play, and had an edge in explosive plays. They also missed a 45-yard field goal with 4:16 left that proved rather consequential! If the kick is good, the Buckeyes probably win, and you're yelling at me for not knocking Texas enough instead.

Now, you can argue that I should knock Ohio State's rating down because it has a kicker who can't be relied on, but all those numbers are already baked in, and guess what? Kickers miss field goals. We just focus on them more when they come in key spots.

So, anyway, that's why I'm brave. Because I could've knocked Ohio State down a peg or two to avoid the backlash, but that would be dishonest, and I'm too courageous to be dishonest. No need to call me a hero, though I understand why you might be inclined to.

Title odds via DraftKings

Fornelli Power Ratings

1	Ohio State
As we've gone over, Ohio State lost to Texas, but it wasn't a performance worth worrying about. No, that performance was by another team that we'll get to later. As for the Buckeyes, my biggest concern isn't the team itself. It's that they've lost a game, and they have many other difficult games remaining on the schedule. Last Week: 1 | Title Odds: +510
2	Notre Dame
The Fighting Irish move up a spot this week for two reasons. One is that they were extremely impressive against Rice , which, in itself, doesn't mean much, but they looked good enough that I slightly improved their rating. The other reason is that the team that was ahead of them looked terrible in defeat. Last Week: 3 | Title Odds: +650
3	Texas
While Texas won, we can't ignore the problems we saw in the first half of the game. There were bad drops by Texas receivers, and bad throws that Texas receivers never had a chance to drop because Arch Manning missed them by yards. The good news here is that the defense tightened up in the second half, and the Longhorns' ground game looks more effective than it did last season. Those two things should help with the problems in the passing game over the long run. Last Week: 4 | Title Odds: +650
4	Georgia
Two things can be true at the same time. Georgia hasn't played anybody, and Georgia has looked incredible while playing nobody. Considering the Dawgs get an Arkansas team that got worked over by Utah this weekend, I don't know how much more we'll learn about Georgia, but they look scarily good so far. Last Week: 6 | Title Odds: +680
5	Indiana
I was concerned about Indiana's defensive performance against North Texas in the opener, but North Texas followed that game up with a 44-6 butt-whooping of UNLV , so there's a chance the Mean Green are pretty decent. Still, while Indiana has looked very good, they've been surpassed by Georgia just because the Dawgs have looked a little better, but don't get too mad, Indiana fans. I'd have Georgia as roughly a 0.1-point favorite against you on a neutral field. It's not exactly a wide margin. Last Week: 5 | Title Odds: +950
6	Miami (Fla.)
Another powerhouse team that hasn't played anybody, so we haven't had much of a chance to learn anything. What we know is that the Hurricanes are good, and they don't seem shy about posting numbers to help the Heisman campaigns of Darian Mensah and Malachi Toney . Perhaps we can witness a whiff of adversity to see how this team responds when they hit the road to face Wake Forest . Last Week: 7 | Title Odds: +800
7	Oregon
I am not writing off the Ducks for the rest of the season, but you can't ignore the results of the first two games. This team has simply not lived up to expectations. The Boise State game was forgivable because, while it was close, the Ducks outplayed the Broncos in many key areas. That wasn't the case against Oklahoma State . The Cowboys looked like the better team from start to finish, and the 39-31 final was misleading because it shouldn't have been that close. Having said all that, there's still a ton of talent on this roster. If things click (remember, there are two new coordinators in place), this team could suddenly prove to be terrifying as we all expected. That said, we shouldn't assume things will be fine, either. Last Week: 2 | Title Odds: +1800
8	LSU
LSU fans got their first glimpse of the Sam Leavitt rollercoaster this week. He threw three interceptions against Louisiana Tech , but it didn't matter in the long run because the Tigers' defense was incredible. It's atop the country in a lot of key statistics after two games, and it's possible it could prove to be one of the best defenses in the country. If it is? Good luck. Of course, it's also possible that LSU has played Clemson and Louisiana Tech. Go look at Clemson's performance against Georgia Southern if you think I'm being unfair to Clemson. Last Week: 8 | Title Odds: +1100
9	Alabama
I was very encouraged by what I saw from Alabama on the road against Kentucky . The Tide found themselves in a dogfight early, with Keelon Russell looking like a kid making his first road start. It was 17-13 Wildcats at halftime, but Alabama blew the doors off them the way you want to see Alabama blow the doors off Kentucky in the second half. I love the upside of this team as the season goes on and Russell becomes more comfortable. Last Week: 10 | Title Odds: +2800
10	Ole Miss
The Rebels beat Charlotte 41-9, and Charlotte might be the worst FBS team in the country, so there's nothing of real value here. That said, with LSU looming and the Rebels on a shorter week, there were some built-in excuses for a sloppy performance, but we didn't get one. My concern with this team remains the defense, which I don't believe to be very good, but Trinidad Chambliss makes up for a lot on his own. No QB in the country means more to a team's power rating in my book than he does. Last Week: 12 | Title Odds: +2700
11	Texas A&M
I can't lie. During the first half of A&M's 48-20 win over Arizona State , my eyebrows were raised by how often the Sun Devils beat the Aggies along the line of scrimmage. They won far less frequently as the game wore on, but it was something I had to make a mental note of. The other note was that Marcel Reed got off to a sluggish start but looked a lot better in the second half. On the negative side, is the defense a little too reliant on turnovers? It's hard to win that way against other good teams. Last Week: NR | Title Odds: +2500
12	USC
The Trojans have played three games already this season, and the offense looks phenomenal. On the flip side, the defense has allowed 56 points in two games against San Jose State and Louisiana , but nearly all of them have come in the fourth quarter when the starters are out, and the game is long decided. When doing power ratings, you need to account for garbage time; if we remove it, the defensive performance looks far better than it does on the surface. In a season where the Big Ten is off to a shaky start, the Trojans could prove to be a bright spot for the league. Last Week: NR | Title Odds: +3000