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Before noon yesterday, my best stab at identifying the nation's top team was Ohio State.

Not a convicted feeling at all -- because, well, it's not even November in a season that has brought all sorts of craziness -- but the basic premise was that the Buckeyes had an excellent quarterback and an embarrassment of riches at receiver, and that combination has been synonymous with most of the recent national champions (including two from the team with the paws on the helmets).

Then the game started, and in a development that's perfectly fitting for this season the Buckeyes went out and made an extended case for not being the supreme being of 2022.

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Those stud receivers didn't seem interested in blocking on horizontal throws. A great looking offensive line continued the recent trend of struggling to get push in the running game. And the Buckeyes' secondary ... woof.

Even though Ohio State did pull away after seemingly deciding it'd had enough, the game reinforced an idea that seems pretty close to factual based on the available evidence:

This looks to be the most flawed collection of "elite" teams in the CFP era. Which is kind of awesome if you're a college football fan.