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What do the Army, Navy, Indiana, James Madison, Duke, BYU, UNLV and Rutgers have in common?
All are, surprisingly, undefeated with more than a month left in the college football season. Those eight schools are 35-0: two military academies, a private, religiously affiliated university in the mountains of Utah, three basketball schools, a basement-dwelling Big Ten school in New Jersey and a school in Virginia that runs the name of the fourth president of the United States.
But after another crazy Saturday in college football, these programs find themselves among the FBS’s 18 total undefeated list.
The 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 the FBS, is 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 quarterback Matthew Sluka, posted a 59-14 blowout of Fresno. Down 20-0, Duke rallied to beat North Carolina and improve to 5-0 in Manny Diaz’s first season.
Who would have thought?
Meanwhile, on Saturday, Mark Stoops’ Kentucky Wildcats pulled off the biggest upset of the day, defeating Ole Miss in Oxford. Out West, Boise State running back and Heisman contender Ashton Jeanty continues his early-season streak. His 259 yards against Washington State give him 845 on the season. He averages an astonishing 10.3 yards per carry.
Enough! It is in our ranking.
One last reminder: We do not consider any preseason polls or any results from last season. What happened in the past remains in the past. The important thing is who you beat and how you beat them!
1. Alabama Crimson Tide
This week: beat Georgia 41-34
Next week: at Vanderbilt
The Tide now owns arguably the best win of the season in the country. Kalen DeBoer’s team outscored the Bulldogs to take a 28-0 lead, got a record-breaking performance from their quarterback, Jalen Milroe, and survived down the stretch with a pair of incredible catches from two true freshmen. With a win at Wisconsin already in the bag, Bama has a good enough resume to claim our top spot.
2. Tennessee Volunteers
This week: goodbye
Next week: in Arkansas
The Vols earned their quality wins against NC State and Oklahoma, two convincing power conference wins, but will be tested even more in Fayetteville, where the Hogs are feeling frisky after winning at Auburn. It’s a big game for Arkansas coach Sam Pittman’s future. Can Tennessee’s nasty defensive front stop 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, an interception and a missed field goal. They never mounted a drive of more than 50 yards after the initial score. PSU’s win at West Virginia to start the year and their smothering of previously ranked and undefeated Illinois keeps them firmly in our rankings.
4. Texas Longhorns
This week: beat Mississippi State 35-13
Next week: goodbye
There is no Quinn Ewers; no problem. Arch Manning started his second straight game and led the Longhorns to victory over a struggling Bulldogs team. Manning failed on only five passes, threw for 324 yards and threw two touchdowns. The Longhorns get a bye before their annual clash against Oklahoma in Dallas. That’s enough time for Ewers to regain enough strength to return against the Sooners.
5. Miami Hurricanes
This week: beat Virginia Tech 38-34
Next week: goodbye
Survive and advance! The Hurricanes came back to avoid what would be a devastating loss at home to a Tech team that had already lost two games. And they needed a controversial replay of what would have been a game-winning Hail Mary for the Hokies. Miami quarterback Cam Ward threw two interceptions and lost a fumble.
6. BYU Cougars
This week: beat Baylor 34-28
Next week: goodbye
Some within the industry thought coach Kalani Sitake, in his ninth season, needed a strong year to cool off his seat after going 5-7 in Year 1 in the Big 12 in 2023. Here are the Cougars, four games after the season, and without a loss. They led 21-0 against the Bears before holding on for the win. Add to that the wins at SMU and against Kansas State, and the Cougars have a pretty solid resume so far.
7. Iowa State Cyclones
This week: beat Houston 20-0
Next week: against Baylor
Cyclones are not flashy. They don’t have a world-class quarterback or players with truly incredible skills. But wow, do they have a defense? In four games, Matt Campbell’s team has conceded a total of 29 points. Their one-point win at Iowa is shaping up to be one of the best wins of the season so far. Speaking of Campbell, he became the school’s all-time wins leader with victory number 57. Fifty-seven!
8. Oregon Ducks
This week: beat UCLA 34-13
Next week: vs. Michigan State
The Ducks haven’t necessarily faced any top-10 juggernauts, but they beat one of the G5’s best (Boise State), dominated at UCLA on Saturday and defeated Oregon State two weeks ago. That’s enough to (barely) move them into the Top 10. The Ohio State game is coming up in two weeks.
9. Georgia Bulldogs
This week: lost to Alabama 41-34
Next week: against Auburn
The Bulldogs become the first team this year to make our rankings despite a loss. Remember, they have a couple of quality wins on the road (at Kentucky, which beat Ole Miss on Saturday; and against Clemson in Atlanta). Losing to Alabama, our number one ranked team, is understandable. And the Dawgs almost came back to win!
10. Missouri Tigers
This week: goodbye
Next week: at Texas A&M
The Tigers are new to our ranking. While we understand that they haven’t played the toughest schedule, nor have they earned the most convincing wins, they have beaten a pair of power conference programs in Vanderbilt and Boston College, each of which has shown flashes of greatness this season.
abandoned: Utah (4), Illinois (6), Washington State (9)