Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in college football, where Dan Lanning is betting his car can go another 45 miles even though the gas gauge says his range is 30:
First Quarter: The Remaining Unbeatens, Ranked
We are down to a final 11 undefeated teams, but for purposes of this exercise we are calling it 10 because James Madison is ineligible for the Sun Belt Conference title as a transitioning program from FCS. (Sorry, Dukes, The Dash doesn’t make the rules.) So let’s rank them based on what we’ve seen so far.
Florida State (1). Record: 6–0. FBS opponents’ record: 20–19.
Beating LSU and Clemson aren’t the landmark achievements they looked like before the season started—but they’re both big victories. Neither was at home, and none of the other unbeaten teams has more than one big skin on the wall. The Seminoles have two.
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Florida State flexed on Syracuse Saturday, routing the Orange 41–3 in what was their best defensive performance of the season to date. As for offense: Only Michael Penix Jr. is ahead of FSU quarterback Jordan Travis in the Heisman Trophy race, but the highlight reel continues to belong to receiver/punt returner Keon Coleman. “God was showing off when he made him,” declared Syracuse coach Dino Babers after Coleman had 107 yards in punt returns and 140 yards receiving, including one preposterous first-quarter snag.
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Washington (2). Record: 6–0. FBS opponents’ record: 20–19.
The last unbeaten team in the best conference deserves a top-four ranking midway through the season. The Huskies won the Game of the Year to date on Saturday, beating Oregon 36–33 in a game that featured six lead changes and a Seattle sailgating boatload of suspense. The Huskies’ non-conference schedule hasn’t held up very well (Boise State and Michigan State both have losing records), but winning at Arizona is looking stronger after the Wildcats routed Washington State.
We knew how good Penix is, and we knew how good receivers Rome Odunze and Ja’Lynn Polk are—but the Washington offense got an additional boost from the 2023 debut of receiver Giles Jackson (six catches for 58 yards and a touchdown) and the first 100-yard rushing game from Mississippi State transfer Dillon Johnson.
Oklahoma (3). Record: 6–0. FBS opponents’ record: 21–16.
The Sooners’ victory over Texas had a lot in common with Washington’s win over Oregon, except it came at a neutral field as opposed to at home. Both games teetered back and forth, and Oklahoma mounted a game-winning drive that took a little longer than Washington’s two-play blitz for the final TD. Oklahoma’s non-conference schedule is a nothing burger (Arkansas State, SMU and Tulsa) but the win over Iowa State is looking better now that the Cyclones have won two in a row to improve to 4–3.
Some credit must be given to the Oklahoma defense, which has vastly improved over the past year. The Sooners are surrendering five yards per play, on pace to be their best average since 2015. Brent Venables wasn’t going to let Oklahoma stay bad on that side of the ball for long.
Ohio State (4). Record: 6–0. FBS opponents’ record: 19–15.
The final yard gained against Notre Dame continues to stand out as a stark dividing line between the fates of both the Buckeyes and the Fighting Irish. If Chip Trayanum hadn’t fallen onto the goal line with the ball, the Buckeyes would have shuffled down the one-loss pack. Instead they’re here, in the first half of the undefeated group. Game of inches, indeed. The rest of the resume is replete with nondescript opponents, but that’s about to change.
Marvin Harrison Jr. isn’t scoring touchdowns at the rate he did last year, when he had nine in the first six games, but he’s still leading the Big Ten in receiving yards per game and producing at a high level (31 catches for 604 yards and five TDs). Leading rusher TreVeyon Henderson, who hasn’t played since the Notre Dame game, could well be needed this week against Penn State.
Penn State (5). Record: 6–0. FBS opponents’ record: 17–16.
Playing both an FCS team (Delaware) and Massachusetts (1–7, dregs of FBS) is one way to lighten the schedule strength. But the 31–0 beating of Iowa looks better as the Hawkeyes have scraped their way to 6–1, and West Virginia was a quality win to start the season (even if the Mountaineers just lost on a Hail Mary to Houston). It’s abundantly clear that what lies ahead is what matters for the Nittany Lions.
Manny Diaz’s defense leads the nation in fewest yards allowed per game (193.7) and per play (3.42). The Nittany Lions also lead America in pass efficiency defense, having surrendered just a single passing touchdown. The defining test looms Saturday for that defense.
Michigan (6). Record: 7–0. FBS opponents’ record: 22–22.
The Wolverines have been absolutely dominant against absolutely nobody, unless you’re buying 5–1 UNLV as somebody. (Barry Odom is doing a nice job in his first season with the Rebels, but still.) Michigan has won every game by 24 points or more, has not allowed more than 10 points in a game and has upped the scoring in recent weeks, averaging 49.7 points in its last three games.
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An opponent did finally make it to the Michigan 10-yard line Saturday: Indiana’s second possession of the game resulted in a first-and-goal from the 10, the first team to snap the ball that deep in Wolverines’ territory this season. Michigan intercepted a pass on the next play.
Georgia (7). Record: 7–0. FBS opponents’ record: 15–26.
The two-time champion Bulldogs are ranked No. 1 in the polls through force of habit, not because of what they’ve done this season. The only victory of note is over Kentucky, which was 5–0 at the time but is now 5–2 after losing at home by 17 points to Missouri. Nobody else has a winning record.
This is a well-timed open date for Georgia, which saw star tight end Brock Bowers go out with a sprained ankle against Vanderbilt Saturday. The Bulldogs will want him back if possible for the Cocktail Party game against Florida on Oct. 28, not to mention subsequent games against Missouri (6–1), Mississippi (5–1) and Tennessee (5–1). One of the weakest schedules in school history does indeed get tougher down the stretch.
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North Carolina (8). Record: 6–0. FBS opponents’ record: 18–19.
The Tar Heels have played five of their six games against power-conference opponents—but not many of them have been very good. The victory over Miami Saturday stands out as the biggest to date and was their fifth by double digits this season. The only one-score game was double overtime against Appalachian State. The exceedingly rare big football game between Duke and North Carolina is looming in the distance on Nov. 11.
North Carolina has scored at least 31 points in every game this season, and 40 or more in all three Atlantic Coast Conference games. After throwing four interceptions in the first three games of the season, quarterback Drake Maye has eight TD passes and no picks in the last three.
Air Force (9). Record: 6–0. FBS opponents’ record: 13–21.
There was no meat on the bone at all until Saturday, when the Falcons won a wild, back-and-forth battle with 5–2 Wyoming. Nevertheless, Air Force could be a major player in the Group of Five race for a New Year's Six bowl game. The Falcons have Commander-in-Chief games against Navy on Saturday and Army on Nov. 4, while the Mountain West Conference regular-season race could come down to their game against UNLV in Colorado Springs on Nov. 18. This might be Troy Calhoun’s best team in a long and accomplished career at the Academy.
To the surprise of no one, Air Force leads the nation in rushing offense at 334.17 yards per game. But they also lead the nation in pass efficiency, getting a lot out of their 28 attempts and 20 completions on the season. The Falcons are one of three teams that have not yet thrown an interception, along with Navy and Penn State.
Liberty (10). Record: 6–0. FBS opponents’ record: 17–24.
The Jamey Chadwell hire is progressing quite well so far, picking up where he left off at Coastal Carolina. Liberty has beaten nobody, but with a 4–0 Conference USA record it has a chance to win a championship in its first year in the stripped-down league. That said, Liberty has no chance at a New Year's Six bowl bid.
The Flames are in the top 25 nationally in scoring at 35.3 points per game and the top ten in pass efficiency (171.74), with the Chadwell offense doing what it does. Kaidon Salter has done a decent Grayson McCall imitation as a dual-threat quarterback.
