College Football HQ

Robert Griffin III names No. 1 team in college football after Week 7

Joe Cox|
FOX analyst Robert Griffin III weighed in with his top team in college football after Week 7
FOX analyst Robert Griffin III weighed in with his top team in college football after Week 7 | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

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Indiana Hoosiers

FOX analyst Robert Griffin III dropped his top 12 teams in college football after Week 7 on social media, and the top spot contained a surprise. Griffin bypassed Miami (No. 3) and Ohio State (No. 2) and picked Indiana as his top team in college football. That said, it's an opinion that seems to be gaining supporters by the day.

RG III's pick

Griffin's methodology seems to give substantial respect to all undefeated teams, with squads like Georgia Tech (No. 8) and BYU (No. 7) popping up in his Top 12. But as for the Hoosiers, Indiana's case is pretty strong.

A year ago, Indiana rode a light schedule to a 10-0 start and a CFP berth. The Hoosiers didn't play a ranked team until Ohio State in the next to last week of the regular season. Indiana also was favored in every game until the OSU battle.

This year, Indiana already took down a then-No. 9 Illinois team 63-10 and won at then-No. 3 Oregon 30-20 as a 7.5 point underdog. Admittedly, no one left on the schedule is currently ranked, but Indiana certainly couldn't have anticipated Penn State's slide to mediocrity.

The Hoosiers rank fourth in the nation in scoring offense (44.8 points per game) and eighth in yardage (502.8 yards per game). Indiana is also fourth in scoring defense (11.3 ppg) and fourth in yardage allowed (229.0 ypg).

Indiana boasts a legitimate Heisman Trophy favorite in QB Fernando Mendoza, who is completing over 71% of his passes for 1,423 yards and 17 touchdowns against just two interceptions. The running back tandem of Roman Hemby and Kaelon Black have combined for almost 800 yards. Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr. have joined forces for 999 yards and 13 scores at receiver.

Defensively, Indiana might not have superstars, but they have succeeded with an agreessive style of play. The Hoosiers lead the Big Ten with 57 tackles for loss, a dozen ahead of second place USC. Indiana's 22 QB sacks also pace the league by two sacks ahead of the nearest competitor. IU's +7 turnover margin speaks to being good at forcing turnovers (10) and stingy at giving them away (3).

ESPN's FPI metrics place the Hoosiers second nationally, a reflect a 92.5% chance at a CFP berth for the Hoosiers. But Robert Griffin III's pick, as he indicated, is a spot higher still.

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Joe Cox
JOE COX

Joe is a journalist and writer who covers college and professional sports. He has written or co-written over a dozen sports books, including several regional best sellers. His last book, A Fine Team Man, is about Jackie Robinson and the lives he changed. Joe has been a guest on MLB Network, the Paul Finebaum show and numerous other television and radio shows. He has been inside MLB dugouts, covered bowl games and conference tournaments with Saturday Down South and still loves telling the stories of sports past and present.

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