What do Army, Navy, Indiana, James Madison, Duke, BYU, UNLV and Rutgers have in common?
They are all — shockingly enough — undefeated more than a month into the college football season. Those eight schools are 35-0: two military academies, a private religious-affiliated university in the mountains of Utah, three basketball schools, a Big Ten cellar-dweller located in New Jersey and a school in Virginia named after the fourth U.S. president.
But after another wacky Saturday in college football, these programs sit among the list of 18 total FBS unbeatens.
Army and Navy are 4-0 for the first time since World War II. Indiana is 5-0 for the first time since the Vietnam War. JMU, in just its second year in FBS, sits at 4-0. BYU leads the Big 12 with an undefeated record. Rutgers is 4-0 for the first time in more than a decade.
UNLV, without QB Matthew Sluka, cruised to a 59-14 trouncing of Fresno. Down 20-0, Duke stormed back to beat North Carolina to improve to 5-0 in Manny Diaz’s first season.
Who woulda thunk it?
Meanwhile, on Saturday, Mark Stoops’ Kentucky Wildcats provided the most stunning upset of the day, downing Ole Miss in Oxford. Out West, Boise State running back and Heisman hopeful Ashton Jeanty continues his early season tear. His 259 yards against Washington State give him 845 on the season. He’s averaging an astonishing 10.3 yards a carry.
Enough already! It’s on to our rankings.
One last reminder: We do not consider any preseason polls or any past season results. What happened in the past is in the past. It’s who you’ve beaten and how you’ve beaten them!
1. Alabama Crimson Tide
This week: beat Georgia 41-34
Next week: at Vanderbilt
The Tide now own arguably the country’s best win of the season. Kalen DeBoer’s team knocked around the Bulldogs for a 28-0 lead, got a record-breaking performance from their quarterback, Jalen Milroe, and survived in the end with a pair of incredible catches from two true freshmen. A win at Wisconsin already in the bag, Bama’s got a good enough resume to claim our top spot.
2. Tennessee Volunteers
This week: Bye
Next week: at Arkansas
The Vols got their quality wins against NC State and at Oklahoma — two convincing power conference victories — but they’ll be tested even more in Fayetteville, where the Hogs are feeling frisky after winning at Auburn. It’s a big game for the future of Arkansas coach Sam Pittman. Can Tennessee’s nasty defensive front slow OC Bobby Petrino’s attack with QB Taylen Green?
3. Penn State Nittany Lions
This week: beat Illinois 21-7
Next week: vs. UCLA
After Illinois scored on its first drive of the game, the Nittany Lions defense forced the Illini into four punts, a fumble, interception and missed field goal. They never mounted a drive longer than 50 yards after the opening score. PSU’s win at West Virginia to start the year and its smothering of a previously ranked and undefeated Illinois has them firmly in our rankings.
4. Texas Longhorns
This week: beat Mississippi State 35-13
Next week: Bye
No Quinn Ewers; no problem. Arch Manning started his second straight game and led the Longhorns to victory over a struggling Bulldogs team. Manning misfired on just five passes, threw for 324 yards and tossed two touchdowns. The Longhorns get a bye before their annual clash against Oklahoma in Dallas. That’s plenty of time for Ewers to regain enough strength for a return against the Sooners.
5. Miami Hurricanes
This week: beat Virginia Tech 38-34
Next week: Bye
Survive and advance! The Hurricanes stormed back to avoid what would be a devastating home loss to a Tech team that had already lost two games. And they needed a controversial replay overturn of what would have been a game-winning Hail Mary for the Hokies. Miami QB Cam Ward threw two interceptions and lost a fumble.
6. BYU Cougars
This week: beat Baylor 34-28
Next week: Bye
Some within the industry thought coach Kalani Sitake — in his ninth season — needed a strong year to cool his seat after going 5-7 in Year 1 in the Big 12 in 2023. Here the Cougars are, four games into the season, and without a loss. They led 21-0 against the Bears before hanging on for the win. Couple that with victories at SMU and against Kansas State and the Cougars have a pretty strong resume thus far.
7. Iowa State Cyclones
This week: beat Houston 20-0
Next week: vs. Baylor
The Cyclones aren’t splashy. They don’t have an all-world quarterback or truly incredible skill players. But, boy, do they have a defense. Through four games, Matt Campbell’s team has given up a grand total of 29 points. Their one-point win at Iowa looms as one of the best victories of the season so far. Speaking of Campbell, he became the school’s all-time wins leader with Win No. 57. Fifty-seven!
8. Oregon Ducks
This week: beat UCLA 34-13
Next week: vs. Michigan State
The Ducks haven’t necessarily played any top-10 juggernauts, but they have beaten one of the G5’s best (Boise), dominated at UCLA on Saturday and whipped Oregon State two weeks ago. That’s enough to (barely) move them into the Top 10. The Ohio State game looms in two weeks.
9. Georgia Bulldogs
This week: lost to Alabama 41-34
Next week: vs. Auburn
The Bulldogs become the first team this year to make our rankings despite a loss. Remember, they’ve got a pair of quality victories away from home (at Kentucky, which knocked off Ole Miss on Saturday; and against Clemson in Atlanta). Losing at Alabama — our No. 1-ranked team — is understandable. And the Dawgs almost came back to win!
10. Missouri Tigers
This week: Bye
Next week: at Texas A&M
The Tigers are new to our rankings. While we understand they haven’t played the toughest schedule — or had the most convincing wins — they have beaten a pair of power conference programs in Vanderbilt and Boston College, each of whom have shown flashes of greatness this season.
Dropped out: Utah (4), Illinois (6), Washington State (9)
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