Nearly every FBS program has played at least six games, which means the grand majority of programs have reached the halfway point of the regular season.
So if you’re a fan, by this point of the year, you should have a firm grasp of what your team is and what it isn’t. You may be content with how things are going, you may be pleasantly surprised or you may be disenchanted with your head coach, ready to give up on your offensive line or tired of watching your linebackers tackle.
You might be trying to supplement your fan experience by rooting for a team with legitimate College Football Playoff aspirations or an underdog program with its sights on a breakthrough season. Wherever you fall on the fan enjoyment spectrum, The Athletic has options for you with the help of the midseason bandwagon fan’s guide.
Fun potential College Football Playoff team: Indiana
Indiana is 6-0. OK, now, repeat that to yourself out loud for full effect. The Hoosiers have posted a winning record over a 12-game season just twice in the past 30 years. They’re well on their way to doing that, but expectations should probably be higher for what this team can accomplish.
Indiana hasn’t played the nation’s toughest schedule. The combined record of the opponents the Hoosiers have faced is 14-23 and that’s including FCS Western Illinois. But they’ve done what you’re supposed to against a schedule of that caliber and they’ve dominated. Games against Maryland and Northwestern were tight in the second half, but the Hoosiers managed to separate and create some breathing room.
Quarterback Kurtis Rourke, an Ohio transfer, is 12th nationally in passing yards (1,752) and 13th in touchdown passes (14). The offense is averaging 7.62 yards per play (fifth among all FBS programs) and the defense allows 4.41 yards per play, eighth nationally. The Hoosiers are second in scoring offense (47.5 points) and 11th in scoring defense (14.8).
There’s a lot to like. The remaining schedule isn’t murder’s row but it’s certainly more challenging than what Indiana has faced so far. Remember, this is Indiana. The Hoosiers will be at a talent deficit eventually and it may come from somewhere unexpected. A date at Ohio State on Nov. 23 seems like a certain loss, but if Indiana can go 4-2 down the stretch and finish 10-2, it’ll certainly be in the conversation for a Playoff bid.
It’s going to be extremely difficult to replicate the Cinderella stories that pop up every year in March Madness, but this might be as close as college football will get.
Group of 5 team: Army
Army and Navy are both ranked in the Top 25 this week, are undefeated and currently sit atop the AAC standings.
We highlighted the Midshipmen in this column a few weeks ago. But the thing is, Army (6-0, 5-0) has scored more points and allowed less than Navy (5-0, 3-0). Army is averaging 6.87 yards per carry, second nationally, and is seventh in the country in yards per play at 7.37 yards. The offense is spearheaded by quarterback Bryson Daily, who has rushed for 738 yards and 14 scores while throwing for 482 and six touchdowns with no interceptions.
Because Army controls time of possession, the defensive stats should always be solid. That’s no different this season. The Black Knights are second in scoring defense (9.8 points) and 14th in yards per play allowed (4.58).
Army’s smallest margin of victory was 17 points in a 24-7 victory over FAU.
The flip side of the comparison to Navy is that the Black Knights have played an easier schedule. As my colleague Chris Vannini pointed out in his weekly rankings of all 134 FBS teams: Army has beaten five teams with just one or two wins this season.
A matchup with a 3-3 East Carolina squad this weekend will be the Black Knights’ toughest test to date. So while it would be fun to hop on this bandwagon, know challenges are coming. Air Force is 1-5 and not very good, but that’s a rivalry game to beware of. There is a game against a 5-1 North Texas team on Nov. 9 and a date with Notre Dame to follow. Of course, the regular season finale against Navy looms large.
The plucky underdog: Louisiana-Monroe
This is a repeat entry from a couple of weeks ago, but it’s impossible to overstate how well coach Bryant Vincent has done in his first year with the Warhawks.
ULM has had one winning season in the past 30 years: an 8-5 finish in 2012. The program has never won a bowl game and has appeared in just one.
Quarterback General Booty was the big name on the team but it’s been quarterback Aidan Armenta, a New Mexico transfer who followed Vincent from Albuquerque to Monroe this past offseason, who has come off the bench and taken control of the starting role.
Armenta threw for 188 yards and two scores in a win over Southern Miss last week and he led the Warhawks to a pretty stunning upset over James Madison the week before. The Warhawks have beaten some bad teams, like Southern Miss and Troy, but that win over James Madison proves they have the potential to make noise in the Sun Belt.
ULM is 5-1 but more importantly, it’s 3-0 in conference play. It won three Sun Belt games combined over the previous two seasons, including an 0-8 record in league play last year.
This is a fun team to get behind, a feel-good story and a good coach to keep an eye for the future. Keep in mind the offense is challenged. The Warhawks are 105th in scoring offense (22.8 points) and even though the remaining conference slate isn’t super intimidating, that is something that can catch up to this team on the wrong day.
Potential chaos team: Colorado
The Buffaloes excel in providing some sort of chaotic theater week in and week out. In Week 1, there was an entertaining win over North Dakota State. A few weeks later, there was the infamous Hail Mary against Baylor that turned a sure loss into a win. Colorado beat UCF in a much more dominant fashion than anyone expected a week after. And just last week, Colorado and Kansas State staged a dramatic, back-and-forth affair that was decided in the final moments of the fourth quarter (which ended in a 31-28 Wildcat win).
Colorado is an entertaining team and one that has been better than most observers predicted coming into the season. Two-way star Travis Hunter suffered a shoulder injury against Kansas State, but Deion Sanders said Hunter should be back this week for a high-profile matchup against standout Arizona receiver Tetairoa McMillan.
There are difficult tests ahead, but if the Buffaloes play to the level they have lately, they’ll be in the mix for a Big 12 title. Of course, a team as thin on depth as the Buffaloes could also lose a few of those games.
Any scenario seems plausible for Colorado right now, which should make the Buffaloes a compelling product over the second half of the season.
Fun player on a random team: Jalen Catalon, UNLV
Catalon was so good for Arkansas as a redshirt freshman during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The safety recorded 99 tackles, picked off three passes and was named to The Athletic’s freshman All-America team while playing for the Razorbacks and then-Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom.
The sky appeared to be the limit for Catalon. Unfortunately, his next two seasons at Arkansas were cut short by injury. He transferred to Texas last season but was limited to eight games and four starts because of injury.
The sixth-year senior re-entered the portal this offseason and reunited with Odom in Las Vegas and he’s resembling the player that we saw in 2020. Catlon is second on UNLV’s defense with 45 tackles (2.5 for loss) and he’s tied for the team lead with four interceptions in six games.
That’s three interceptions in three games at UNLV for Jalen Catalon.
If he stays healthy, he’s an All-America caliber safety. pic.twitter.com/QfmuAzlvdS
— Andrew Hutchinson (@NWAHutch) September 14, 2024
Catalon will be a strong presence and a playmaker for the Rebels’ defense as it looks to challenge Boise State for the Mountain West championship and a potential spot in the Playoff.
(Top photo of the Army football team: Danny Wild / Imagn Images)
