Who Is College Football's Real No. 1 Team?

Even before the 2014 college football season got underway, mock four-team playoffs were being formed.

It's a projection that's been drawn up every week since. Bleacher Report and USA Today are just two outlets that have weekly features with mock playoff committees.

Interestingly, there seems to be less emphasis on which team is actually No. 1. That likely comes down to it being merely the first week in October. There's a lot of football left to be played and no need to concentrate heavily on seeding just yet.

But the question remains: After one month, which team is the best in college football?

Oregon's stunning home loss to Arizona on Thursday night means it's safe to eliminate the Ducks from that conversation—for now. It's not even that the Ducks lost; as B/R's draft guru, Matt Miller, and Chris B. Brown of Grantland.com tweet, there's little help for quarterback Marcus Mariota:

There are 16 undefeated teams heading into Saturday, but obviously, not every undefeated team is created equally. There are also three games this weekend that pit undefeated Top 25 teams against one another. We're going to have a much clearer idea of who's rising to the top when Sunday rolls around.

In the meantime, who's No. 1? Based on the latest mock playoff rankings from B/R's playoff guru, Samuel Chi, Oklahoma, Auburn, Florida State and Alabama would make the field if the season ended today. There are certainly cases to be made for Texas A&M and a few other teams, but going off Chi's rankings, which team would be the top seed?

Below is a glance at each.

Oklahoma

Tyler Evert/Associated Press

The Sooners might be the most complete team in the country. There's no standout win on the resume, per se, though beating West Virginia on the road in a tough environment is solid.

Oklahoma's strength is in its defensive front seven, and the Sooners average three sacks and just under seven tackles for loss a game. And despite breaking in a mostly new group of wide receivers, Oklahoma ranks in the top 10 nationally in scoring offense. It helps that OU has incredible depth and talent at running back.

Oklahoma will be tested again Saturday at TCU, which appears to be a much-improved team on offense from a year ago. The Frogs defense is once again a formidable group. The good news for the Sooners going forward is that all of their toughest games on paper—against Kansas State, Baylor and Oklahoma State—are at home.

Auburn

It's hard to believe Auburn could be trucking along quietly after the miraculous season it had in 2013, but the Tigers have been somewhat low-key this season, aside from a Thursday night win at Kansas State.

That is going to change in earnest. The Tigers are coming up on a brutal stretch of games that extends, well, through the rest of the season. It starts this Saturday at home against LSU and continues with the following conference schedule: at Mississippi State, South Carolina, at Ole Miss, Texas A&M, at Georgia and at Alabama.

No big deal—the SEC West just has four other undefeated teams at the moment.

Florida State

Gerry Broome/Associated Press

The interesting thing about the Seminoles is that they appear to be in an opposite situation from a year ago. In 2013, Florida State was undoubtedly the most talented team in the country, steamrolling its way through a soft schedule.

This year, Florida State has shown far more weaknesses, but it already has two quality wins over Oklahoma State and Clemson. (The Tigers are much more dangerous now than they were in Week 1 thanks to a change at quarterback.) Plus, there's the come-from-behind win over North Carolina State, which showed a ton of leadership.

The chemistry isn't all there for the Noles. The offensive line is getting beat more regularly, and the defense isn't as stifling. However, head coach Jimbo Fisher still thinks (understandably) that his team should be No. 1.

"We ain't lost in 19 straight games, we're No. 1 until somebody beats us," Fisher said after beating Clemson without quarterback Jameis Winston and defensive end Mario Edwards (h/t Brendan Sonnone of the Orlando Sentinel).

Alabama

Just as Auburn is approaching a brutal stretch in its remaining schedule, so too is Alabama. The SEC West, as Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports opines, is the best in college football. There are five teams that think they're the best team in the country...in the same division.

The Tide travel to Oxford to take on Ole Miss on Saturday, a game that could say more about the Rebels. Still, the tough SEC West stretch means there's little room for error for Alabama.

The Tide found their quarterback in veteran Blake Sims, who has been a pleasant surprise. Young players in the secondary like Tony Brown are coming along nicely. Alabama doesn't look indestructible like it has in some recent years, but it also feels like this is a team that can (and will) get better as the season progresses.

Who's No. 1?

Of the four teams listed, Florida State has the best resume. But the Seminoles haven't looked like a No. 1 team. That leaves three other options whose toughest games have yet to be played.

Of Alabama, Auburn and Oklahoma, the Tide have a slight edge. All three teams have had good quarterback play, with Alabama getting the most out of Sims. Bama's offense also has arguably the best receiver in the country in Amari Cooper.

The defense hasn't been a shutdown unit, but it has been solid. Both Alabama and Oklahoma did a nice job with second-half adjustments against West Virginia, a team whose offense is much improved from a year ago.

The overall playmaking ability from Alabama's offense gives the Tide an oh-so-close edge over the Sooners, but trust that it was a close call.

It could also change in 24 hours. That's the beauty of college football.

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All stats courtesy of cfbstats.com.