Florida is back in the mix! This week’s power ratings from Tom Fornelli just dropped, and the Gators are leading a wild charge of three new teams into the Top 12. What’s even crazier? Two of those teams are from the Big 12, and Texas Tech isn’t even the highest-ranked one of them. Talk about a shake-up!
Forget the Old School: Performance Is EVERYTHING Now
Look, we all know how those AP Top 25 and Coaches Polls can get. Voters sometimes live in the past, giving way too much credit for what a team did last year instead of focusing on *this* season. It’s frustrating to see a 7-3 team getting love over a 9-1 squad just because no one expected the 9-1 team to be, well, 9-1! That’s just lazy. But power ratings? They’re different. History still matters a bit, but for the first time this season, Fornelli’s ratings are overwhelmingly based on 2026 performance. That’s the way it should be! As the season rolls on and new data piles up, what’s happening *right now* has to be the main thing. While the top eight teams are pretty much holding steady, everything behind them is shifting dramatically.
No. 1 Ohio State Is Skating By While Georgia Has a Rough Go
Speaking of the top, Ohio State is still sitting at No. 1 for another week, but man, they’re barely hanging on. That defensive showing against Illinois? The 19 points allowed looks good on paper, but the key metrics Fornelli uses tell a different story. It was one of the Buckeyes’ worst home defensive performances under Ryan Day. Remember those concerns when Texas wore them down earlier this year? Yeah, they’re still there. You can’t just keep hitting the Jeremiah Smith button and expect it to fix everything. Meanwhile, Georgia had its worst offensive performance of the season against Oklahoma, but let’s be real, Oklahoma’s defense is legitimately incredible. Not many teams are going to have their best day against that unit. Still, if the Bulldogs had performed just a little better, they might be No. 1 right now. Notre Dame is also hanging around at No. 3, and while their schedule hasn’t been the toughest, they’ve still handled three Big Ten teams.
So, with new blood in the Top 12 and the top teams navigating some early season bumps, it’s clear this season is just getting started. As more data comes in each week, expect these power ratings to keep evolving, making every Saturday even more critical for these programs. It’s going to be wild!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
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