Chris Vannini of The Athletic Ranks All 134 FBS College Football Teams: 3 Big Ten in Top Ten

Oregon's Game Six opponent Ohio State gained the top spot in The Athletic's preseason ranking of all 134 College Football teams, compiled by veteran writer Chris Vannini in an exercise he'll complete weekly throughout the season.

Vannini wrote, "Welcome back to college football, now bigger and weirder than ever."

He places Oregon third behind the Buckeyes and Georgia. Defending national champion Michigan lands at #8 a year after their perfect 15-0 run to the title in 2023.

About the Ducks he says, Dan Lanning is 22-5 at Oregon, with three of those losses coming against Washington. Former UCF/Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel should slide in for Bo Nix and keep the Ducks rolling, and Michael Penix Jr. is no longer at Washington, so that helps.

Loaded with talent on both sides of the ball, #1 Ohio State will be a formidable matchup for the rest of the conference, especially with the addition of 5-star safety Caleb Downs from Alabama and Mississippi's Quinshon Judkins at running back. Vannini writes, "The Buckeyes look like the most complete roster top to bottom."

Michigan's quest for a repeat conference crown hinges on the development of new quarterback Alex Orji and running back Donovan Edwards' ability to duplicate his national championship heroics, a game that saw the senior blast the Washington defense for 104 yards and two touchdowns on just six carries. Sherrone Moore takes over fulltime from the departed Jim Harbaugh. About the defense there is little question with defensive end Derrick Moore, tackles Kenny Grant and Mason Graham and cornerback Will Johnson providing the star power.

The rest of his Top Ten looks like this:

1. Ohio State

2. Georgia

3. Oregon

4. Texas

5. Alabama

6. Ole Miss

7. Notre Dame

8. Michigan

9. Florida State

10. Missouri

Vannini slots Oregon's West Coast rival Washington at #39, calling the Huskies "incredibly difficult to predict" after a complete roster turnover. The bottom three teams are UMass, Kent State and Kennesaw State, the newest member of the FBS.

In addition to compiling the 134-team ranking each week, Vannini covers national college football issues and the coaching carousel for The Athletic and The New York Times. A co-winner of the FWAA's Beat Writer of the Year Award in 2018, he previously was managing editor of CoachingSearch.com.