Fourty names, games teams and trivialities making college football news (book of quarterback tricks for juggling sold separately by Tuscaloosa).Second Quarter:
First Quarter: Deion’s Great Expectations | Second Quarter: Coaches as instigators
Third Quarter: Unranked, Undefeated… Are You Good?
The FBS has 18 teams that are undefeated but not ranked. We’re still gathering intel on whether they’re actually good or just benefiting from a lenient early schedule. Here’s a quick breakdown of 18 of the most popular Dash games:
Auburn (21). Sagarin rank: 27th. Schedule rank: 163rd. A notable win was at California. How good are the Tigers: Better than they were before Michigan State transfer quarterback Payton Thorne arrived in May, that’s for sure. Thorne led the Auburn offense to a 400 yard total offense against Samford on Saturday, including a career high 123 rushing yards. The rest is solid but not outstanding. The defense was good. They led the SEC for fewest yards permitted per play with 4.17, and were tied for first in takeaways (7). The next four games will tell us how Hugh Freeze’s first season is going to pan out: at Texas A&M, Georgia, at LSU, Mississippi. First loss: Saturday at A&M.
Mickey Welsh/Advertiser/USA TODAY Network
Kentucky (22). Sagarin rank: 38th. Schedule rank: 191st. Notable win: None. It’s hard to tell how good the Wildcats are right now, but they could be sneakily good in the coming weeks. Transfer quarterback Devin Leary from North Carolina State has shown a steadily increasing efficiency rating in each game. And transfer runningback Ray Davis from Vanderbilt has become a major threat. Kentucky’s defense ranks last in the SEC for third-down conversion rates (47.7%), a cause of concern considering the level at which the team has competed so far. First loss: Florida Sept. 30.
Rutgers (23). Sagarin rank: 50th. Schedule ranking: 96th. Notable win: Virginia Tech. The Scarlet Knights are capable of six wins, for the first decade. They can also make Michigan feel uncomfortable at the Big House on Saturday. Rutgers’ last three wins were all by 17 or more points. That was in 2007. There is not a lot of pop in the passing game, but neither are there interceptions—the Knights are one of 14 teams that are yet to throw the ball to the wrong team. This is a classic wood-chopping Greg Schiano team, riding running back Kyle Monangai (357 rushing yards and five touchdowns) and stopping the other team’s running game (second in the Big Ten in both rushing yards allowed per game and per play). First loss: Saturday against Michigan.
Maryland (24). Sagarin rank: 40th. Schedule rank: 23rd. No notable win, unless Virginia is winless. How good are the Terrapins: Not great, but the schedule offers an opportunity to start 5–0 and potentially win up to nine games. The Terps have started very slowly the last two games, trailing Charlotte and Virginia both 14–0 before getting untracked and dominating the second half. An offense that in the past has been over-reliant on quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa’s arm is off to a more balanced start, averaging 176 yards rushing yards and 296 passing. First loss: Sept. 30 against Indiana.
Louisville (25). Sagarin rank: 34th. Schedule ranking: 114th. Georgia Tech, Indiana and other notable victories. How good are the Cardinals: Inconsistent but intriguing, and potentially undefeated when Notre Dame comes to The ’Ville in October. The streakiest team in the country outscored Georgia Tech by 20 in the second half of the season opener and Indiana by 21 in the first half Saturday—but was outscored by 15 in the first half by the Yellow Jackets and 14 in the second half by the Hoosiers. Louisville is solid on defense and has big play threats at running back and receiver (Jamarithrash averages 23.5 yards for each catch). First loss: Notre Dame on Oct. 7.
Syracuse (26). Sagarin rank: 32nd. Schedule rank: 162nd. Important win: Purdue. Orange’s potential: The Orange have the ability to cause some ACC turmoil over the next few weeks. However, the season-ending injury suffered by star tight end Oronde Gadsden III is a serious blow. Quarterback Garrett Shrader was at his dual-threat best in West Lafayette, producing 379 yards total offense—more than half of which came on the ground. A defense that made great strides under former coordinator Tony White looks every bit as good under White’s former mentor, Rocky Long, who has been coaching since the Earth cooled. First loss was Oct. 7, at North Carolina. Dash calls the Clemson Dome win on September 30. Syracuse is known for making Tigers sweat, and Clemson just played Florida State on Sept. 23, so the Orange has the advantage of the schedule.
Alex Martin/Journal and Courier/USA TODAY Network
Wake Forest (27). Sagarin rank: 64th. Schedule rank: 164th. Notable win: Vanderbilt, allegedly. How good are the Demon Deacons: Good enough to outscore Old Dominion 20–0 over the final 18:50 Saturday. Also bad enough to fall behind Old Dominion 24–7 before coming back. Wake is doing well despite the loss of its all-time top passer, Sam Hartman. Dave Clawson continues to develop and find new talent. His defense has produced the most sacks this season in one game against ODU, with 10. First loss: October 7, at Clemson.
Central Florida (28). Sagarin rank: 25th. Schedule rank: 142. Boise State is a notable victory. How good are they? They’re good enough to cause some disturbance in the Big 12 It looks like the trademark Gus Malzahn offensive, with the Knights ranking second in the nation for rushing yards (299.5 per game), and mixing enough passing to be the top team in the country in total offense (617.7 yards per game), even after John Rhys Plumlee’s injury. Of course, trademark Malzahn teams often drop a game or two they shouldn’t, too. Stay tuned for that. First loss: Saturday against Kansas State.
Fresno State (29). Sagarin rank: 66th. Schedule ranking: 81st. Notable wins: at Purdue, at Arizona State. How good are they? Legit good. Again. As usual. Jeff Tedford, the underappreciated coach of the country. With two road wins over power-conference competition, there is no reason why Fresno is unranked other than being Fresno, which is the voters’ problem. The Bulldogs have a difficult time running the ball or protecting the passer. This can make it hard to finish drives. They attempted seven field goal attempts against Arizona State and made five. They are able to throw and catch the ball and have been opportunistic in their defensive play, creating 10 turnovers. First loss, maybe against Wyoming on October 7? If not, then it could be November.
Missouri and Memphis (30). Both teams are unbeaten and will face off in St. Louis in what was originally planned as a Memphis at home game. Mizzou had expressed an interest to buy out of this game. As a compromise, the Tigers will play a semi home game in St. Louis in front of thousands of Tigers fans and alumni.
Schedule rank: 99th. Schedule rank: 99th. Notable win: Kansas State. The Tigers are capable of a first seven-win year since 2018 if they can beat the Memphis Tigers. Harrison Mevis scored a field goal of 61 yards on the final play to give them their biggest win of the Eli Drinkwitz period. Mizzou released receiver Luther Burden who was ranked No. Last year, he was the No. 1 wideout recruit across the country. However, he struggled in 2022 to make an impact. No problems this year: He’s got 22 catches for 327 yards, and three touchdowns. He’s helped out quarterback Brady Cook immensely. First loss: LSU Oct. 7.
Schedule rank: 207th. Schedule rank: 217th. Notable victory: none. How good are the Tigers (as opposed to the Missouri Tigers): They won a wild one over Navy last week but really haven’t played anyone else. Blake Watson, the Old Dominion running back who transferred from that school to play at Virginia Tech, has been an excellent addition. Seth Henigan is a quarterback who can be on the ball or off it from one drive to the next. Ryan Silverfield probably still has some work to be done to ensure his future employment. First loss: Saturday against Missouri.
BYU vs Kansas (31). Another matchup of unranked unbeatens … and now Big 12 colleagues. This will be the Cougars’ first game as a member of the conference—or any conference since 2010.
Sagarin ranking for BYU is 41st. Schedule rank: 139th. Noteworthy win: Arkansas. How good are the Cougars: They are 3–0 through clean living and opportunism, not via greatness. BYU beat Arkansas despite being outgained 143 yards, and giving up a kick-return touchdown. The Cougars’ running game has been abysmal, with Kedon Slovis largely playing the role of game manager. First loss was Saturday at Kansas.
Sagarin ranking for Kansas: 49th. Schedule rank: 124th. Notable win: Illinois. The Jayhawks are still a strong offensive team, but a sketchy one on defense. They looked dominant against Illinois, but struggled to beat winless Nevada. Quarterback Jalon Daniels has not gotten his running game revved up yet; we’ll see if that changes this week. First loss was at Texas on Sept. 30,