Forget Preseason Rankings, Who Will Be No. 1 Come October?

So who will be No. 1 in October?

The preseason rankings are well and good, but honestly, who will be the top dog five weeks into the season? Coincidentally, the fifth college football week is Sept. 27.

I will go down by the current preseason rankings top 10 for our candidates.

1. Georgia Bulldogs
Five games in five weeks. They are one of four teams that play every week, thus, they are most likely to lose. After two seemingly easy games in Georgia Southern and Central Michigan, they have tough road games against conference rival South Carolina and Top 25 team Arizona State.

If that weren’t enough, they come back home to an improving Alabama squad, who faces two top 10 teams in their first five weeks, but just missed being ranked in the Top 25 themselves.

Georgia has the biggest chance to lose of all the teams, and quite frankly, with as daunting a schedule they have, I see the hype deflating by October.
Prediction: 4-1

2. USC Trojans
The Trojans have the fewest games of all the Top 10 teams in the first five weeks with three. Just one problem, they take on No. 3 Ohio State at home.

With Georgia possibly going down and Ohio State (who will be reviewed next) looking good, the battle between the Pac 10 giant and the Big Ten leader may provide us with a new No. 1 by October.

The Trojans will march on against the other opponents, Virginia and Oregon State.
Prediction: 2-1

3. Ohio State Buckeyes
Another five games in five weeks. The difference between their five games and Georgia’s, The Buckeyes don’t face an opponent in the top 40 other than visiting USC in week 3.

The other opponents are Youngstown State, Ohio, Troy, and Minnesota. I think the Buckeyes have what it takes to be the No. 1 team come October.
Prediction: 5-0

4. Oklahoma Sooners
As a Longhorns fan, there is nothing more I would love than to tell you than OU will be dropping a game or two by October. I can't do that, though.

The Sooners will look to ride the wagon into October spotless, with three games at home versus Chattanooga, Cincinnati, and TCU and another up in Washington. TCU gives them a good game, but Boomer Sooner lives on.
Prediction: 4-0

5. Florida Gators
Team Tebow and the Gainesville Boys will be looking to finally take the SEC without Chris Leak, but two daunting games sit in their way.

Week 2 against rival Miami and Week 4 against conference foe Tennessee will tell us whether the Gators can chomp their way into October in the top 5.

June Jones-less Hawaii and Ole Miss may just be Gator bait.
Prediction: 4-0

6. LSU Tigers
The Tigers have lined up five bite-sized opponents themselves in the first five weeks, minus a conference trip to Auburn in the battle of the best-colored Tiger that’s not really orange in week 4.

Appalachian State may not be able to pull off incredible upset of the century No. 2 with this squad. Troy and North Texas may be jambalaya for these bayou bengals, and conference foe Mississippi State always comes to play.
Prediction: 5-0

7. Missouri Tigers
These Tigers, the second of three in the top 10, are known for their big offense and near-miss of a BCS Bowl last season. With all opponents but Illinois in week 1 presenting themselves as mere scratching posts (SE Missouri State, Nevada and Buffalo), rest assured Missouri’s BCS campaign this year will be well on track into October.
Prediction: 4-0

8. West Virginia Mountaineers
The Rich Rodriguez–less crew will show up to their first four games in five weeks hoping to capture the magic they produced most of last season.

Their offense will be back with a bang with the returning Pat White, and they should be able to get by Villanova, East Carolina, Colorado and in-state rival, Marshall.

They will have more trouble than one would imagine, but West Virginia is for real.
Prediction: 4-0

9. Clemson Tigers
The Orange and Purple Tigers face opponents in each of the first five weeks of the season, putting their highest pre-season ranking in history in jeopardy already.

Although South Carolina State and Citadel will present themselves as mere tidbits for these Tigers, Clemson will face formidable opponents in three of their games in Alabama, and ACC rivals North Carolina State and Maryland.
Prediction: 4-1

10. Texas Longhorns
The Horns hope to stampede the competition and go into October battling the Sooners for supremacy. Before the Texas State Fair comes, Texas will have a rodeo of a time with FAU, UTEP, and former SWC rivals Arkansas and Rice.

With only a trip to the Sun Bowl versus UTEP away from Austin and Arkansas debuting a new program, the Horns should Hook’em all the way to the shootout.
Prediction: 4-0

The question remains, who will be No. 1 come October?
The Ohio State Buckeyes will be on top of the bunch, followed by Oklahoma, Florida, and LSU, all of which will get some first-place votes. There will be plenty of undefeated teams but the preseason No. 1 may not be spotless in October.