Three weeks into the college football season, a few teams have emerged as legitimate College Football Playoff contenders, others are trying to hone in on their identity to enter the conversation, while many schools are a long way from deserving a mention. It’s still early, but we’re moving quickly from the work-in-progress stage to something more lasting.
As the season starts to take shape, here are five CFP lessons from Week 3.
1. No league stacked like the SEC … ever
With six teams ranked in the top seven, the SEC is about to command the 12-team CFP field as it once did in the Bowl Championship Series. Unlike a couple of those years when perhaps a non-SEC team had a case for BCS inclusion, this year the SEC has a strong case for at least four at-large bids. As of now, the eye test reveals every top-10 team is worthy of CFP inclusion.
Sure, No. 1 Georgia struggled mightily on offense in a 13-12 win at Kentucky, which fell 31-6 last week against South Carolina. And there was much hand-wringing from Georgia coach Kirby Smart and ABC analyst Greg McElroy about the difficulty of obtaining road SEC wins. But the Bulldogs have earned that benefit of the doubt after blasting Clemson 34-3 in the opener and not allowing a touchdown yet this year. Oh, and they’ve won a record 28 consecutive SEC games.
Texas’ SEC entrance comes at the perfect time for the league to celebrate its strength. The No. 2 Longhorns blew out reigning champion Michigan in Ann Arbor last week to reaffirm that they are indeed back. Saturday, quarterback Quinn Ewers suffered what appeared to be a painful abdomen injury in a 56-7 win against UTSA. Instead of dealing with a post-Michigan hangover or flatlining after Ewers’ injury, Texas looked even stronger when backup quarterback Arch Manning filled in with four touchdown strikes, completed 9-of-12 passes for 223 yards and rushed for a 67-yard score. There’s no quarterback controversy — Ewers completed 14-of-16 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns before his injury — which makes Texas even more dangerous.
As good as Texas appears, it has a ton of peers in the SEC’s upper echelon. No. 4 Alabama dismantled Wisconsin 42-10 in Madison. Now, the Badgers aren’t what they were seven or eight years ago, but the Tide overpowered a motivated opponent and feature perhaps the nation’s top quarterback in Jalen Milroe. Against Wisconsin, Milroe completed 12-of-17 passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 75 and running for two more.
No. 5 Ole Miss put up 650 yards again and held Wake Forest to a pair of field goals in a 40-6 win. Not long ago, No. 6 Missouri would have pulled a Missouri and lost to No. 24 Boston College. It nearly went that way with BC taking a 14-3 lead, but the Tigers put together a solid comeback with both grit and flair in a 27-21 win. No. 15 Oklahoma survived with a 34-19 win against Tulane and No. 16 LSU rallied at South Carolina 36-33.
Of course, they’ll start to beat up on one another, but an SEC team with a 10-2 record has a legitimate claim to a CFP spot over their contemporaries from other leagues.
2. UT stands for underrated
Everybody likes the preseason rankings until games are played and teams are stuck because they started the year rated too low. That’s the case with Tennessee, which has been the most impressive of the SEC teams. It’s not as though the Vols have a long way to go; they’re currently No. 7 by the Associated Press. But they started at No. 15, then inched up a spot before jumping to No. 7. In reality, Tennessee might be six spots too low.
The Vols annihilated Kent State 71-0 on Saturday after beating Chattanooga and NC State by a combined score of 120-13. Against Kent State, Tennessee was up 65-0 at halftime, only eight points shy of their program single-game points high since 1929. The schedule gets more difficult next week at No. 15 Oklahoma, but the Vols appear ready for it. With one of the nation’s top young quarterbacks in Nico Iamaleava and perhaps the best defensive end in James Pearce Jr., Tennessee might not be playing just to reach the CFP or even host a first-round game. It might be competing for the No. 1 overall seed.
3. Big Ten still has questions to answer
The Big Ten is best positioned to challenge the SEC for football supremacy, and it still might as teams improve throughout the season. But outside of No. 3 Ohio State, which was off on Saturday, there are questions for just about every other team in the conference.
No. 9 Oregon started to look like what everyone expected by flattening in-state rival Oregon State 49-14 on Saturday. But that comes after consecutive disappointments in a 24-14 win against Idaho and a 37-34 last-second victory against Boise State. No. 8 Penn State, which was off Saturday, was impressive in the opener at West Virginia but floundered in a 34-27 win against Bowling Green.
Iowa and Michigan were expected to contend for CFP spots, but neither have reached anywhere near the consistency necessary to reach that level. Wolverines quarterback Davis Warren was 11-of-14 passing in a 28-18 win against Arkansas State, but all three incompletions were interceptions. Michigan did run for 301 yards, however. Iowa is similar despite gaining 284 rushing yards in a 38-21 win against Troy. The Hawkeyes’ defense allowed three scores of at least 60 yards, including two passes. Last year, Iowa allowed just two all season.
No. 23 Nebraska and No. 11 USC have looked impressive but both face challenges this week. The Huskers (3-0) host Illinois (3-0) on Friday, while USC (2-0) travels to Michigan in its Big Ten debut. Indiana (3-0) has beaten its three opponents 150-23, including a 42-13 pasting of UCLA on Saturday at the Rose Bowl.
When it comes to the eye test, only Ohio State and Oregon measure up to the SEC’s upper crust, although USC did beat No. 16 LSU 27-20 in Las Vegas. Perhaps Penn State in the future shows last week’s performance was a one-off situation or Nebraska keeps building momentum behind true freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola. Maybe Iowa and Michigan become more consistent or USC proves its defensive strides are for real. But it might take some convincing that more than two teams are CFP worthy based on what the SEC brings to the table.
4. ‘The U’ is, uh, good
With the ACC flailing a bit with Florida State’s 0-3 start and Clemson’s 31-point loss to Georgia in the opener, the Hurricanes have filled the ACC vacuum as league favorite. With a 62-0 win against Ball State on Saturday, Miami clearly is the ACC’s top team right now. Miami has outscored its three opponents, including Florida, a combined 159-26. Saturday, Miami outgained Ball State 750-115.
Cam Ward threw for five touchdowns before leaving the game early in the third quarter. After a pair of disappointing seasons, coach Mario Cristobal has the Hurricanes competing at a high level as they approach their final nonconference game at South Florida. Although its ACC schedule features several potential contenders, Miami clearly is the class of the conference.
5. Toledo, Memphis make G5 cases
One week after Northern Illinois put together one of the season’s signature moments with an upset at Notre Dame, other Group of 5 teams have earned their way into the CFP conversation. UNLV has two wins at Power 4 opponents after beating Houston 27-7 in the opener and knocking off Kansas 23-20 on Friday night. The Runnin’ Rebels can make it three wins over Power 4 teams when they play Syracuse on Oct. 4.
Among MAC teams, Toledo might have matched NIU on the impressive win scale. Saturday, the Rockets went to Mississippi State and convincingly destroyed the Bulldogs 41-17. Looking down the road, Toledo and Northern Illinois are slated to meet Oct. 19 in DeKalb, Ill. It might be the first of two meetings between the schools.
After a 20-12 win at Florida State, Memphis could emerge as the best of the group. The Tigers dominated the Seminoles along both sides of the line of scrimmage, and coach Ryan Silverfield called the victory “monumental.” As of now, all of these G5 teams have a victory that qualifies for that category.
(Top photo of Miles Kitselman: Randy Sartin / USA Today)
