College Football

2024 college football rankings: Joel Klatt's top 10 teams after Week 6

Updated Oct. 9, 2024 1:32 p.m. ET

When we recorded our preview episode for Week 6 on the "Joel Klatt Show," I reminded listeners that every time we don't feel like there's a great slate of games, there are upsets and something drastic happens.

Lo and behold, five teams in the top 11 went down to unranked or lesser-ranked opponents this week. It's almost like someone knew something about it. It made for quite an incredible Saturday.

All five upsets were conference road games, but there are more reasons than that for why days like Saturday happen. It's very difficult for teams that we talk about glowingly to get back to the drawing board at the start of each week when they're working to grow if they haven't dealt with failure. It's human nature as our biggest driver of growth is failure. As for the teams that pulled off the upsets, they've likely gone through straining moments in practice after losing earlier in the season.

Every team in college football has a bell curve. You rarely get to see a team's best or worst possible performance. Teams who've dealt with failure already are more likely to be on the plus side of the bell curve after straining to get better, while teams who've had success are more likely to become more complacent and be on the negative side of the bell curve. Suddenly, you get two teams we don't think are very even with bell curves that match with one another.

Most teams are also just beginning conference play. Saturday marked the first conference road game for three of the teams in the top 11 that lost Saturday, meaning it was the first occasion that teams went on the road to go up against a team with similar talent.

That said, let's get to my top 10.

1. Texas (Last week: 2)
Record: 5-0
Week 6 result: Idle

Welcome back to No. 1, Texas! The Longhorns enjoyed watching chaos ensue around them during their bye week. Texas takes on Oklahoma Saturday in the Red River Rivalry and is looking to get revenge for the one loss it had in the regular season last year. Texas is expected to get quarterback Quinn Ewers back for that matchup.

Quinn Ewers (No. 3) has watched Arch Manning (No. 16) put up strong performances over Texas' last two games, but he's expected to return from injury in Week 7.

2. Ohio State (Last week: 2)
Record: 5-0
Week 6 result: Defeated Iowa, 35-7

Some people might point out that Ohio State was only up 7-0 at halftime against Iowa. Ohio State had a couple of sloppy turnovers in the second quarter, and it kept the game close on the scoreboard.

But Ohio State owned the line of scrimmage in that game. The Buckeyes rushed for over 5 yards per carry, which generally doesn't happen against Iowa. In fact, it only happened one time last year. Teams just don't win the line of scrimmage against Iowa.

Defensively, Ohio State had 4.0 sacks and nine tackles for a loss. Iowa only had a sack and two tackles for loss.

Ohio State already has the best skill position players in the country. Jeremiah Smith made another touchdown grab that was Randy Moss-esque. Emeka Egbuka reminded everyone why he's a top-five receiver in the country with three touchdowns.

I wanted to point out the Buckeyes' play in the trenches because that was one of our few questions about them entering the season, particularly the offensive line. When you match the way they played on Saturday with their skill position players, it makes them tough to beat.

The biggest question, though, remains quarterback Will Howard. He doesn't have to be great and can game-manage this group to a national title. We're going to find out how well he can play over the next three games. Ohio State goes to Oregon on Saturday before hosting Nebraska and traveling to Penn State. We'll find out a lot about Ohio State soon, but this team will be at No. 1 if it wins at Oregon.

Michigan & USC lose in upsets on Saturday, Ohio State dominates

3. Georgia (Last week: 5)
Record: 4-1
Week 6 result: Defeated Auburn, 31-13

As five top-11 teams lost conference road games this weekend, you might come out of Week 6 more impressed with Georgia's performance in its loss to Alabama. Georgia played great in the second half of that game, and this weekend, it was evident that it's tough to win your first conference road game of the season. It was right there with Alabama in that game. Now that the book is completely out on Alabama's defense, QB Carson Beck must be scratching to play the Tide again.

4. Oregon (Last week: 7)
Record: 5-0
Week 6 result: Defeated Michigan State, 31-10

Oregon continues to get better after a sluggish first two weeks of the season. Running back Jordan James has been dominant on the ground, rushing for a season-high 166 yards in a double-digit win over Michigan State. Oregon didn't allow a sack, marking the third straight game the O-line kept Dillon Gabriel upright.

Michigan State Spartans vs. No. 6 Oregon Ducks Highlights

5. Penn State (Last week: 6)
Record: 5-0
Week 6 result: Defeated UCLA, 27-11

I like Penn State a lot, particularly its run game. Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen are tremendous running backs. Singleton didn't even play in Saturday's win over UCLA due to injury, and it wasn't an issue with Allen rushing for 78 yards and a touchdown. Penn State is expecting Singleton back for its big tilt against USC this weekend.

UCLA Bruins vs. No. 7 Penn State Nittany Lions Highlights

6. Alabama (Last week: 1)
Record: 4-1
Week 6 result: Lost to Vanderbilt, 40-35

This team reminds me of Lincoln Riley's squads at Oklahoma. Alabama is elite offensively, but the defense isn't very good. It's just not good, and we're starting to see that come to fruition after I rang the alarm bells for weeks.

When I prepared to call Alabama's matchup with Wisconsin in Week 3, I noticed its secondary wasn't great, and it could possibly find itself in some surprising shootouts. Now, I didn't expect it to happen against Vanderbilt, but it has happened in each of the last two weeks. In its last six quarters, Alabama has given up 67 points and 784 yards.

Alabama's defense is not getting better. The same things that I saw on tape in its wins over USF and Wisconsin are still happening. It's not a one-off. Crimson Tide fans, prepare yourself for several more of these high-scoring games. It's a good thing you have Jalen Milroe and Ryan Williams (who was spectacular again Saturday), because you've lost the one game where you haven't scored at least 41 points.

I just continue to be reminded of those Riley squads at Oklahoma when I analyze this team. No matter who was the quarterback for those Sooners teams, they had to will their offense to outscore the opponent. That's the direction this team is heading in. Those Oklahoma teams would make the College Football Playoff, but once they got there, we all said the same thing: They don't have a good enough defense to win a national championship.

At this point, that's the truth about Alabama. That's why I said I believed more in Georgia following last week's thrilling game. There are so many little things Alabama doesn't do well in pass defense (can't play picks well, poor communication), but it couldn't stop Vanderbilt from running the football, either. Alabama was constantly out of position and not gap sound. It looked like little kids' soccer at points when it was chasing Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia.

This offense is going to have to be one of the best and most explosive offenses in the nation, which it is, to avoid a couple more losses.

Alabama loses to Vanderbilt, what’s next for the Crimson Tide?

7. Clemson (Last week: 10)
Record: 4-1
Week 6 result: Defeated Florida State, 29-13

Clemson is the new top-ranked team in the ACC, at least in my poll. I get that the Tigers aren't undefeated, but they have shown continued improvement since their Week 1 loss to Georgia. If you look at what they've done offensively since that loss, Clemson's been spectacular. Quarterback Cade Klubnik and offensive coordinator Garrett Riley are meshing well. Dabo Swinney is revving up that Clemson culture again. Watch out for little ol' Clemson.

8. Miami (Fla.) (Last week: 8)
Record: 6-0
Week 6 result: Defeated Cal, 39-38

Miami's win over Cal reinforced everything I believed about the ACC title race entering the weekend. Cam Ward is incredible and is on his way to becoming a Heisman finalist. He'd be in my top three of Heisman voting if I had to vote today. He threw for 437 yards and had three total touchdowns.

I don't trust Miami, though. It's the second straight week that this team was bailed out by some late-game officiating. I fear that Miami is going to play games like this. It's sort of Mario Cristobal's M.O. as a head coach. Miami's defense is giving up far too many yards and points.

Miami (Fla.) QB Cam Ward leads the nation in passing yards (2,219) and passing touchdowns (20).

9. Tennessee (Last week: 4)
Record: 4-1
Week 6 result: Lost to Arkansas, 19-14

Tennessee's loss was far less concerning than, say, Missouri's 41-7 loss to Texas A&M. Entering the season, I had a feeling that Missouri's relatively high ranking was more of a projection based on what it did last season with players and coaches no longer with the team along with a schedule that's easier than what other top SEC teams will have to deal with this season.

Tennessee, on the other hand, has things that we can point to show that Saturday's loss was an anomaly. QB Nico Iamaleava didn't play well against Arkansas, two weeks after an unspectacular performance against Oklahoma. Even though he has two subpar conference road game performances under his belt, Tennessee decisively won its game at Oklahoma in Week 4, and it still had a great chance to win Saturday because the supporting cast around its quarterback is so good. The defense is still outstanding. Tennessee can run the football, which allows Iamaleava to grow through this as the season progresses.

Now, Iamaleava looked spooked when I watched the film of Saturday's game. He held the ball far too long; his footwork wasn't great and there were plays to be made that he didn't make. He's got to learn how to anticipate. It's a tough thing to learn how to be an anticipatory thrower as a young quarterback, especially when you aren't playing your best. It takes guts to make certain throws. He can make those throws (he had one on Tennessee's final drive, in fact) and I have confidence that he can learn those throws.

The things Iamaleava has struggled with are things he can learn and improve on. That, along with Tennessee's supporting cast, are why I'm still high on the Volunteers.

Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava has only thrown for one touchdown in the last two games.

10. Iowa State
Record: 5-0
Week 6 result: Defeated Baylor, 43-21

If you haven't watched Iowa State, you should. Matt Campbell's got a hell of a team again. The Cyclones rank sixth nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 10 points per game so far this season.

Joel Klatt is FOX Sports' lead college football game analyst and the host of the podcast "The Joel Klatt Show." Follow him at @joelklatt and subscribe to the "Joel Klatt Show" on YouTube.

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