CFB: Eight unbeatens - will any fall this weekend?
With Kansas defeating the Sooners on Saturday, the number of teams with an unblemished record this season has been reduced to eight (8).
Which team(s) - if any - will fall from the ranks of the unbeaten this weekend? Here’s the list – and this week's opponent, location, and kickoff. The unbeatens are bolded and their AP ranking is in parentheses.
- Georgia (1) hosting Missouri (14) - 3:30 pm
- Michigan (2) hosting Purdue - 7:30 pm
- Ohio State (3) at Rutgers (33) - noon
- Florida State (4) at Pitt - 3:30 pm
- Washington (5) at USC (24) - 7:30 pm
- Air Force (17) hosting Army - 2:30 pm
- James Madison (23) at Georgia State - 3:30 pm
- Liberty (28) hosting Louisiana Tech - 6:00 pm
Since inquiring minds want to know – specifically, who else is on the schedule for these teams, the above noted unbeatens remaining opponents are as follows:
- Georgia: Missouri (14), Ole Miss (11), at Tennessee (19), and at Georgia Tech.
- Michigan: Purdue, at Penn State (9), at Maryland, and Ohio State (3).
- Ohio State: at Rutgers (33), Michigan State, Minnesota, and at Michigan (2).
- Florida State: at Pitt, Miami (30), North Alabama, and at Florida.
- Washington: at USC (24), Utah (18), at Oregon State (16), and Washington State.
- Air Force: Army, at Hawaii, UNLV, and at Boise State.
- James Madison: at Georgia State, UConn, Appalachian State, and at Coastal Carolina.
- Liberty: Louisiana Tech, Old Dominion, UMass, and at UTEP.
In Division II - at least eleven teams remain undefeated, including sixth ranked Slippery Rock who has an 8-0 record.
What do you think? Which team(s) - in a post Halloween game - will deal with the Grim Reaper of an undefeated season?
Enjoy - Go Blue! (And, if you'll be in Ann Arbor this weekend - remember - it's Parents & Family weekend.)
October 30th, 2023 at 9:35 AM ^
I really cannot see any of the unbeatens going down this weekend. The only outside chance is USC somehow getting past Washington. Which COULD happen, but I don’t think it does.
But hey. Go Mizzou.
October 30th, 2023 at 9:42 AM ^
Washington at USC has a chance. Rutgers will put a scare into OSU.
I think its a mostly upset free weekend. Purdue is walking into an angry Michigan team. I guessing they will be laser focused for the remainder of the season with no intent on letting up
October 30th, 2023 at 11:27 AM ^
In my heart I want to say that Rutgers might have the offense to make OSU sweat for a while but not with “Maserati Marv”.
Honestly though, without Harrison are they better than 8-4???
October 30th, 2023 at 10:08 AM ^
That UGA has all the makings of a ranked matchup that ends 41-10. Not happening for Mizzou
October 30th, 2023 at 10:15 AM ^
I’ll go with Mizzou over GA as the only possible top 5 upset.
They had a tougher schedule and are coming off a bye week.
Georgia hasn’t played anyone yet.
October 30th, 2023 at 10:32 AM ^
Is Missouri really any better than Kentucky, whom Georgia crushed?
October 30th, 2023 at 10:43 AM ^
Yeah, I don't see it. Thought GA will be a little shaky on offense without Bowers, but they seem to be OK from the last game.
October 30th, 2023 at 10:53 AM ^
I really thought the cocktail party would be closer. It wasn't.
October 30th, 2023 at 12:39 PM ^
Mizzou outscore Kentucky 38 - 7 in Q2-4 of their match up this year. If Mizzou's Oline can stand up to Georgia, Mizzou will put up some points (they have a FCS RB that is a strong N-S runner and the QB has a good arm plus WR Luther Burden is a top 5 WR in the country).
October 30th, 2023 at 10:44 AM ^
USC would have to win 55-54 with both teams having over 500 yards of offense.
October 30th, 2023 at 11:30 AM ^
USC definitely has a shot with Caleb Williams. If they keep it as close as Stanford did . . .
Missouri is playing the back to back CFB Champion. Most teams will give it everything they have.
Rutgers could surprise folks because Schiano was a coach under Day and he has OSU's signals.
October 30th, 2023 at 11:53 AM ^
I have deep family roots in Missouri and at Mizzou, so naturally I'd love to see the Tigers upset Georgia. The Tigers were Georgia's toughest regular season game last year, losing by just four points in Columbia, but they're going to get smoked in Athens.
I agree on Washington-USC—if Penix has another subpar outing and USC can capitalize on turnovers, I can envision a Trojan victory.
October 30th, 2023 at 9:37 AM ^
Can't see any of the P5 losing.
I think USC is really broken on defense, so UW should roll despite the rough couple of weeks.
I thought UGA/UF would be closer, but it wasn't. I feel the same way about the Mizzou game, but maybe I'll be surprised (since I really haven't followed them at all and am just going based on historical mediocrity).
Maybe Rutgers will be competitive for a half or so before osu pulls away. Might be closer than you think, but osu still wins.
Army is bad, so AF should win.
No idea about JMU/GSU and Liberty/LaTech.
October 30th, 2023 at 9:39 AM ^
My JMU co-worker grad says JMU will run the table.
October 30th, 2023 at 10:01 AM ^
Washington is pretty darn bad on defense too
October 30th, 2023 at 10:39 AM ^
Per SP+, Washington has the #32 rated defense and USC has the #71 defense.
FEI has UW defensive efficiency at #29 and USC at #77.
FPI says UW is #33 and USC is #68.
So they're not great (I'd put them in the decent category), but a far sight better than USC which is just bad.
October 30th, 2023 at 9:37 AM ^
Of the big 5 undefeateds, OSU probably has the toughest game…and I can’t believe I just typed that about a Rutgers game in November.
October 30th, 2023 at 9:44 AM ^
My Kingdom for a Rutger's win over OSU.
October 30th, 2023 at 9:56 AM ^
Full or half?
October 30th, 2023 at 9:59 AM ^
Wouldn’t *that* be a program win for Schiano (former Ohio State DC) and Rutgers.
October 30th, 2023 at 10:18 AM ^
I would enjoy seeing the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers have a post Halloween treat of Buckeyes for an afternoon.
October 30th, 2023 at 11:39 AM ^
Does Rutgers have any way to pressure McCord?
October 30th, 2023 at 9:37 AM ^
Washington has been very inconsistent. If they decide to have a shaky performance at USC, they'll probably lose. That said, USC's defense is so atrocious that I doubt it will happen. But of the unbeatens (or at least the P5 unbeatens, IDGAF about JMU or Liberty), they seem most likely to lose.
October 30th, 2023 at 9:40 AM ^
If Caleb Williams cared about W/L , USC would have a chance. I’m not convinced he does.
Off topic but relevant in a way, Better half is an ND alum. I took her to the IU game in Ann Arbor. On the way back to the city we decided to grab tickets to the ND USC game since we drive through south bend anyways - having seen both play in the same day, and especially on that day, I’m genuinely happy #9 is suiting up for us. Williams might have talent, but he couldn’t care less about winning in college, which is a mindset that has always bothered the hell out of me
October 30th, 2023 at 9:42 AM ^
ND-USC might not have the usual luster to it this year, but that is a game that I always have wanted to see in person.
October 30th, 2023 at 9:53 AM ^
It was a lot of fun, but not on the level of UM OSU. We usually do 2 and 2. I was at ND OSU and USC. In Ann Arbor for OSU and IU this year.
Their student section is a lot smaller and they sit more during big games than I feel like we do. If you are a football fan in general though, rivalry aside, ND stadium has a very unique charm to it that is worth visiting at least once. It almost feels european looking from the outside, made mostly of stone.
I Can tell you that despite their NBC overlords removing us from their schedule, the ND UM rivalry is still alive and well.
October 30th, 2023 at 10:30 AM ^
Almost every ND fan / alum I know will constantly compare ND to Michigan. That applies to athletic and academic endeavors.
It will be interesting to see how often ND and Michigan play in the future.
October 30th, 2023 at 9:44 AM ^
Other than that, I wouldn’t bet the farm on Georgia playing a top 15 opponent without Bowers, but I would probably a significant amount of the money it made me. They seem to find a way. Despite what I want to be true, they are still a good well coached football team.
October 30th, 2023 at 9:52 AM ^
Last season, much was written about a QB's choice in fingernail polish and messaging. For some reason, I haven't read - or heard - anything about it this season.
Wilson's the perfect fit for USC - and JJ's the perfect fit for Michigan.
October 30th, 2023 at 9:56 AM ^
Agreed. I used to be very against putting your nfl career over your team. Now that I’m an adult, I do better understand the opportunity cost of losing a multi million dollar career. I still feel like you can pretend to give a shit about your team on the way.
October 30th, 2023 at 10:23 AM ^
I was honestly really taken aback by his body language vs Utah. He looked so apathetic all game. Looked as if he would rather be anywhere else than on that field playing for USC. It is interesting because they were still very much "in it" in terms of the CFP as they only had one loss and it was out-of-conference at that point. It is interesting that basically since Tim Tebow won it '07 then came back and won the National Championship, all returning Heisman winners have done worse the following year.
2022-Bryce Young (National Runner-up to not making the CFP)
2017-Lamar Jackson (9-4 to 8-5 although he was statistically as good/better so this may be an outlier)
2014-Jameis Winston (National Championship to semi-final loss and much more inconsistent than the previous year)
2013-Johnny Manziel (11-2 to 9-4 with much more "noise" and less impressive numbers)
2010-Mark Ingram (National Champion to Capital One Bowl; battled injuries)
2009-Sam Bradford (Runner-up to injury plagued season where he only played 3 games)
October 30th, 2023 at 9:41 AM ^
I can’t believe I’m typing this, but three “huge” games this weekend are, um…Nebraska at MSU, Iowa at Northwestern, and Illinois at Minnesota
The Big 10 West crown hangs in the balance. The excitement is palpable as they battle for the exclusive privilege of being absolutely pummeled in Indianapolis by the East champ.
October 30th, 2023 at 9:48 AM ^
Iowa at northwestern will be great. Not often you get a macabre match up like that.
October 30th, 2023 at 11:04 AM ^
Iowa-Northwestern has the lowest over/under line since the invention of the forward pass. I've seen it as low as 29.5.
October 30th, 2023 at 11:25 AM ^
I00N just doesn't really roll off the tongue the way M00N does tho.
October 30th, 2023 at 10:42 AM ^
Not just the B1G West, but also tiebreaker relevance as well (I know, I know: just win, etc.). We’re cheering for Indiana over Wisconsin, too!
October 30th, 2023 at 9:45 AM ^
Fence The Garden!!!!
October 30th, 2023 at 9:46 AM ^
OSU clearly has the hardest remaining schedule and it isn't even close.
October 30th, 2023 at 10:09 AM ^
I came here to make this very statement.
October 30th, 2023 at 11:49 AM ^
How is it harder than UM?
October 30th, 2023 at 12:40 PM ^
C'mon... Really?
October 30th, 2023 at 9:47 AM ^
Could be Washington. They were about to get shocked by Stanford last weekend, but the HB pass was flat dropped on 4th and 2 for Stanford. It was 35-33 with a couple minutes left. Ga State is decent too and could take out JMU.
Go Knights!!!
October 30th, 2023 at 9:49 AM ^
I will be at the Rutgers game this weekend. I will do everything I can to help them! (and will keep my iPhone recording the whole game)
October 30th, 2023 at 10:04 AM ^
Get a couple of extra batteries.
October 30th, 2023 at 10:12 AM ^
Remember to bring an extra battery pack so your iPhone won't run out of power.
October 30th, 2023 at 9:53 AM ^
I would have said Georgia this week against Missouri if not for last year's mega-scare.
October 30th, 2023 at 9:53 AM ^
Would love to see Rutgers beating OSU and stealing their "S", making them an Ohio tate Univerity.
October 30th, 2023 at 10:20 AM ^
That matchup pits the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers against the Scarlet & Gray of OSU.
I'll cheer for the Knights...
October 30th, 2023 at 10:31 AM ^
I do declare... I'm hoping Rhettgers wins
October 30th, 2023 at 10:26 AM ^
*Tathan