College Football’s 5 National Championship Contenders Ranked From Worst to Best

College football's national championship race runs through five favorites entering Week 6, and Ohio State, Notre Dame, Miami, Georgia and Texas each bring a different blend of offensive firepower, defensive control and schedule strength to the chase.

The DraftKings betting market lists Ohio State at +430, Georgia at +500, Notre Dame at +620, Texas at +660 and Miami at +700, but this ranking moves Notre Dame and Miami ahead of both SEC powers.

The rankings run from fifth to first, weighing each team's latest results, remaining schedule and advanced stats.

5. Texas Longhorns (5-0)

College Football’s 5 National Championship Contenders Ranked From Worst to Best — Texas quarterback Arch Manning (16) celebrates after a college football game against Tennessee | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Texas has the best resume of the group. The Longhorns have been No. 1 in the AP poll for four straight weeks, handed Ohio State its only loss with a 24-23 win in Austin on Sept. 12 and recorded 10 sacks in a 20-17 win at Tennessee. ESPN still gives them a 14.8% chance to win the national title, the best of these five.

Texas sits fifth because of an offense that ranks 11th in the SEC in scoring, and quarterback Arch Manning landed on our list of college football's most overrated quarterbacks after Week 4. Head coach Steve Sarkisian said during the bye week that the fix goes beyond his quarterback.

"We can't just say, 'Well, Arch needs to play better,'" Sarkisian said. He added, "We need to keep the simple things simple."

The Longhorns face Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET, the first of eight straight SEC games. That defense can win plenty of conference games, but Texas hasn't yet shown an offense built to win several straight playoff games.

4. Georgia Bulldogs (5-0)

Georgia's results look like a champion's, but its schedule leaves doubt. The Bulldogs led Oklahoma 28-0 at halftime of a 41-13 win on Sept. 26 after quarterback John Mateer turned the ball over on three straight possessions. Then quarterback Gunner Stockton threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-14 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday.

Head coach Kirby Smart liked how his offense finished. "We're a very efficient offense. We wear you down. It's the anaconda effect," Smart said.

He was less pleased after Vanderbilt stayed within 21-14 at halftime. "It was not great," Smart said. "But it's a lot of things we can do to improve."

Georgia has faced ESPN's No. 97 schedule, the softest of these five, and Game on Paper ranks its defense 67th even though ESPN puts it 11th. The Bulldogs stay ahead of Texas because of their scoring punch, but Saturday's trip to Alabama is their first major test, and Georgia hasn't won in Tuscaloosa since 2007.

3. Miami Hurricanes (5-0)

Miami passed its first major test with a 41-13 win at Clemson on Oct. 3, starting 5-0 for the second straight season. Duke transfer quarterback Darian Mensah has completed 84.2% of his passes for 15 touchdowns and no interceptions.

"He had command of the offense, putting us in the right run checks," head coach Mario Cristobal said. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney went further: "That quarterback, he might be the first pick in the NFL draft."

The Hurricanes' defense recorded six sacks at Clemson and averages 22 pressures per game, and its run defense is among the nation's stingiest. Still, Clemson's Tait Reynolds threw for 295 yards in the loss, and pass defense keeps Miami behind the top two.

Last season's national runner-up is off this week before hosting Florida State on Oct. 17.

2. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-0)

Notre Dame has won 15 straight games, and its 37-26 win at North Carolina showed a different way to win. With rain limiting the passing game, the Irish ran for a season-high 241 yards, and quarterback CJ Carr still threw four touchdown passes and ran for another.

"We were really in rhythm that third quarter of just sustaining that drive and being able to run the ball when they knew we were running the ball," head coach Marcus Freeman said.

The Irish entered that game allowing a national-low 199.3 yards per game, and Freeman wasn't satisfied after the Tar Heels scored 26. "Our guys didn't play crisp in the pass game and their guys made some plays, so we've got to go back and get that fixed," he said.

That afternoon is the only blemish on a resume built on routs of Wisconsin, Michigan State and Purdue.

Notre Dame stays second because Ohio State has faced the tougher schedule, but a No. 1 ranking for the Irish would be defensible. After missing last year's playoff when the final at-large spot went to Miami, Notre Dame hosts the Hurricanes on Nov. 7.

1. Ohio State Buckeyes (4-1)

The Buckeyes' lone loss came by a point at Texas, and they've looked like the most dangerous team in the country since. Wide receiver Jeremiah Smith had 206 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-14 win at Iowa, becoming the first Buckeye with back-to-back 200-yard receiving games and setting the program's career records for receptions and touchdown catches. Quarterback Julian Sayin threw for 324 yards and three touchdowns at Kinnick Stadium.

"Every coach in America is going to say 'we've got to take this guy away.' The challenge is trying to figure out ways to get it to him," head coach Ryan Day said.

Smith's goal is simpler. "Bring the team in that national championship, and that's all I've been chasing since the season started," he said.

Matt Patricia's defense set the tone at Iowa with a strip sack on the Hawkeyes' first possession, and Ohio State allows just 12.6 points per game. The hardest stretch remains, with trips to Indiana on Oct. 17 and USC on Oct. 31 before Oregon visits on Nov. 7.

Still, the Buckeyes sit first in ESPN's Football Power Index, and an elite passing attack backed by a top-10 defense gives them a narrow edge over Notre Dame.

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