PERFECT, BUT FOR HOW LONG?
Excluding Alabama, unbeaten teams will start to fall
It’s October, believe it or not, and there are 14 unbeaten teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Enjoy it while it lasts, since it’s during this month that true contenders tend to pull away from the herd.
Four of the 14 unbeaten teams hail from the SEC, and the matchup of Georgia and LSU on Oct. 13 ensures that no more than three will head into November without a blemish. The three unbeaten teams in the East Division of the American Athletic Conference — that’s Central Florida, South Florida and Cincinnati — will pick themselves off eventually, at the latest when the three are scheduled to meet in November.
It’s highly probable that it won’t come to that. All good things must come to an end for the majority of the current crop of unbeaten teams, if not for every single one: UCF in 2017 is the only FBS team to run the table in the past four seasons.
The unknown is when and where. Here’s our best guess for when the 14 unbeaten teams suffer their first loss.
Cincinnati (5-0)
First loss: at Temple, Oct. 20. Look for the Bearcats to keep rolling in this week’s game against Tulane, though the Green Wave are tough to handle, before suffering their first setback in a road trip to Temple.
South Florida (4-0)
First loss: at Houston, Oct. 27. The Bulls have been fine — not good, not terrible, not great, just fine. A loss is coming. It won’t be in Saturday’s game against Massachusetts and shouldn’t come in a road trip to Tulsa on Oct. 12.
No. 25 North Carolina State (4-0)
First loss: vs. Boston College, Oct. If not this Saturday against the Eagles then a week later at Clemson.
No. 22 Colorado (4-0)
First loss: at Southern California, Oct. 13. It’s the Trojans’ chance to salvage their season, which is a pretty powerful motivator. Besides, what do we know about Colorado? The team’s weak September schedule might have papered over any and all of Colorado’s weaknesses.
No. 15 Kentucky (5-0)
First loss: vs. Georgia, Nov. 3. Here’s betting one of the nation’s feelgood stories continues into November. TBut Georgia will be waiting on the first Saturday of November.
No. 13 Central Florida (5-0)
First loss: Bowl game vs. TBD. Based on how they looked in September, there’s no team on the Knights’ conference slate capable of ending their FBS-best 17-game winning streak.
No. 8 West Virginia (4-0)
First loss: at Texas, Nov. 3. With Kansas, Iowa State and Baylor on the schedule, West Virginia’s not losing in October. The Longhorns’ defense and home-field advantage are two assets in their corner, along with the idea that Tom Herman’s team seems to be improving on a weekly basis.
No. 7 Notre Dame (5-0)
First loss: at Southern California, Nov. 24. The Trojans play spoiler again, this time derailing Notre Dame’s quest for an undefeated regular season and adding a heavy dose of controversy to the playoff debate.
No. 6 LSU (5-0)
First loss: vs. Georgia, Oct. 13. This is assuming LSU gets past Florida in Saturday’s road trip, which might be assuming too much.
No. 5 Oklahoma (5-0)
First loss: at West Virginia, Nov. 23. It’ll be a prime-time kick in Morgantown, where things get weird under normal circumstances and are guaranteed to get rowdy and run off the rails when a potential playoff berth is on the line.
No. 4 Clemson (5-0)
First loss: at Boston College, Nov. 10. Clemson will lose once during the regular season, win the ACC title and reach the playoff, since this is the Tigers’ way of doing things.
No. 3 Ohio State (5-0)
First loss: vs. Michigan, Nov. 24. This is the year it happens, finally, and we’ll see if the Earth remains in orbit or spins off its axis.
No. 2 Georgia (5-0)
First loss: vs. Alabama, Dec. 1. Georgia will run the table through November but lose to Alabama in the SEC championship game.
No. 1 Alabama (5-0)
First loss: Fall of 2019. Alabama’s not losing. Check back next season.