There are 10 winless teams remaining in FBS.
That’s not so surprising three weeks into the year.
What is surprising: One of those is Florida State, the reigning ACC champion who’s gone from a 12-0 regular season last year to 0-3 this year after losing at home to Memphis.
Things are not great in Tallahassee. Things are probably even worse in Gainesville, where Florida coach Bill Napier heard a constant chorus of boo birds as Texas A&M — with a first-year coach and first-year starting quarterback — crushed the Gators in the Swamp. If you’re curious about Napier’s buyout, it’s about $25-27 million. It depends on when (perhaps no longer “if”) Florida decides to end his tenure with the school — a three-year run that has produced a record of 12-16.
Now, for the good. How about the Group of Five? Not only did Memphis get the victory over FSU, but Toledo trounced Mississippi State in Starkville and UNLV beat Kansas on Friday night. Those three G5 programs keep hope alive in earning that new automatic spot in the expanded College Football Playoff. Not only that, but they continue to prove (like Northern Illinois last week) that NIL money doesn’t always lead to victories on the field. These little guys can still play! That goes too for Washington State, which pulled off the upset in Lumen Stadium, downing the rival Huskies (we’ll get to that later).
Meanwhile, Alabama, Oregon and Notre Dame recovered from Week 2 struggles against South Florida, Boise and Northern Illinois with romping road wins (at Wisconsin by 32, at Oregon State 35, at Purdue by 59).
Pat Narduzzi and Pitt further claimed the title of college football’s Cardiac Kids, clawing back for a second consecutive second-half comeback. They were down 10 with about 4 minutes left before beating rival West Virginia after storming back from 21 down to beat Cincinnati last week.
Indiana walloped UCLA in the Big Ten debut of the Rose Bowl; Vanderbilt lost to Georgia State to fall from our Top 10 (that didn’t take long!); and Georgia barely survived a tight one on the road at Kentucky.
OK, it’s time for the rankings, which, we remind you, do not consider any preseason polls or any past season results. What happened in the past is, well, in the past. It’s who you’ve beaten and how you’ve beaten them this year!
So, don’t expect to see Ohio State in our rankings since they’ve played the likes of Western Michigan and Akron.
1. Georgia Bulldogs
This week: beat Kentucky 13-12
Next week: Bye
Sure, the Bulldogs struggled enough to make us wary of leaving them at No. 1, but they’ve got two power conference wins (Clemson and Kentucky) and neither were at home. Mark Stoops and the Wildcats exposed some offensive issues with Kirby Smart and crew. They’ve got the bye week to iron things out before a trip to Alabama for a top-10 showdown.
2. USC Trojans
This week: Bye
Next week: at Michigan
Trojans at No. 2? What am I thinking? I’m thinking that they’ve got the best win, perhaps, in the entire country so far — a neutral-site victory over LSU. What’s a better win than that? Many teams saw their one quality power conference win take a hit Saturday. For instance, Miami’s win at Florida doesn’t look so great now, huh? West Virginia, Penn State’s best win, blew a lead at Pitt. Michigan, Texas’ big win, didn’t look great in limping to a 28-18 win over Arkansas State. Iowa State (a win at Iowa) and Northern Illinois (a win at Notre Dame) actually have arguments for the best victories of the year.
3. Texas Longhorns
This week: beat UTSA 56-7
Next week: vs. UL-Monroe
The Longhorns showed off their backup QB. You may have heard of him — Arch Manning? Ring any bells? Quinn Ewers left the game in the first half with an abdominal strain (it doesn’t seem serious), and Manning got the most significant playing time of his career in Year 3 at Texas. All he did was throw four touchdowns and run for another.
4. Miami Hurricanes
This week: beat Miami (Ohio) 62-0
Next week: at South Florida
Look out. The ol’ trap game awaits the Hurricanes next week in Tampa. Second-year coach Alex Golesh has the Bulls playing well. They put a scare into Alabama last week and throttled Southern Miss this week. Cam Ward and the Canes appear to be playoff worthy but that could be derailed quickly with a stumble against a Group of Five foe.
5. Iowa State Cyclones
This week: Bye
Next week: vs. Arkansas State
The Cyclones not only remain in the Top 10 but they move up despite not playing this Saturday. They’ve got an argument for the best victory of the season so far — the 20-19 win at Iowa last week. No one just walks into Kinnick Stadium, trails by two scores late in the game and storms back against Kirk Ferentz’s defense!
This week: beat Wisconsin 42-10
Next week: Bye
We talk plenty about Alabama’s offensive weapons — QB Jalen Milroe, the skilled receivers and hard-running tailbacks. But the Tide’s defense is suffocating. They’ve allowed three touchdowns through three games. On Saturday in Madison, the unit forced four fumbles (recovering two), and held Wisconsin to less than 300 yards and three third-down conversions.
7. Washington State Cougars
This week: beat Washington 24-19
Next week: vs. San Jose State
The Cougars, like Georgia, have two power conference wins — a rarity so early in the season. Not only that, but one of them was against an archrival on a neutral field Saturday. An emotional coach Jake Dickert entered his news conference after the win carrying a cigar and playfully asked the media if anyone had a light. Smoke ’em if you got’em! A well-deserved victory for the Pac-12 (or Pac-2 … or Pac-6), which is now 5-1 on the year.
8. Tennessee Volunteers
This week: beat Kent State 71-0
Next week: at Oklahoma
The Josh Heupel Bowl is next week in Norman — the SEC opener for both teams and Heupel’s return to a place where he played and coached. The Vols have outscored their first three opponents 191-13. Sure, those opponents are Chattanooga, NC State on a neutral field and Kent State. But still, sophomore QB Nico Iamaleava should have tons of confidence heading into the game with the Sooners.
9. Northern Illinois Huskies
This week: Bye
Next week: vs. Buffalo
Don’t act surprised. The Huskies have an argument of their own for the best win of the season so far. Their victory at Notre Dame looks even better after coach Marcus Freeman’s team steamrolled Purdue 66-7. The big question is, can NIU hold on to their Top 10 spot, remain undefeated and keep alive the chance to get the G5 playoff bid.
10. Penn State Nittany Lions
This week: Bye
Next week: vs. Kent State
Let’s stop for a minute here and talk about Penn State’s next opponent: Kent State. The same Kent State that got beat 71-0 by Tennessee. Also, the same Kent State that started the year with a 31-point loss to Pitt. What will the Nittany Lions do to them? We’ll see. Remember, the last time we saw Penn State, they were having trouble with Bowling Green.
Dropped out: North Carolina (7), Vanderbilt (10)
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