My Top 25 teams and 5 teams that have been big surprises:
Top 25
- Alabama Crimson Tide 3-0: vs Vanderbilt
- Georgia Bulldogs 3-0: vs Kent State
- Ohio State Buckeyes 3-0: vs Wisconsin
- Clemson Tigers 3-0: at 22 Wake Forest
- Michigan Wolverines 3-0: vs Maryland
- Arkansas Razorbacks 3-0: vs 18 Texas A&M
- Baylor Bears 2-1: at Iowa State
- Utah Utes 2-1: at Arizona State
- Oklahoma State 3-0: BYE –
- Oklahoma Sooners 3-0: vs Kansas State
- Kentucky Wildcats 3-0: vs Northern Illinois
- USC Trojans 3-0: at 24 Oregon State
- Tennessee Volunteers 3-0: vs 15 Florida
- Ole Miss Rebels 3-0: vs Tulsa
- Florida Gators 2-1: at 13 Tennessee
- BYU Cougars 2-1: vs Wyoming
- Texas Longhorns 2-1: at Texas Tech
- Texas A&M Aggies 2-1: vs 6 Arkansas
- Washington Huskies 3-0: vs Stanford
- Oregon Ducks 2-1: at Washington State
- NC State 3-0: vs UConn
- Wake Forest Demon Deacons 3-0: vs 4 Clemson
- Penn State Nittany Lions 3-0: vs Central Michigan
- Oregon State Beavers 3-0: vs 12 USC
- Michigan State Spartans 2-1: vs Minnesota
5 Surprise Teams
There are two teams that I think a lot of people have overlooked because they have been really bad in years past. Those two teams are Kansas and Syracuse. While Kansas has had some flaws through their first three games, especially on defense, they have more than made up for it on offense. They are third in the country in points per game only behind Michigan and James Madison, neither of whom have played near the level of competition that Kansas has. Kansas is now 3-0 for the first time since 2009! I fully expect them to beat Duke this week to improve to 4-0. Then they have two conference opponents in Iowa State and TCU. Both of which are winnable and at home. Syracuse has had a great start to the season. First they beat Louisville by 24 points, and then they beat a pretty good Purdue team. Syracuse should have an easy next two games against a disappointing Virginia team and Wagner. Syracuse could be in for a season like they had in 2018 when they went 10-3 and finished in the AP Top 25.
It’s no secret that Penn State has been pretty static the last few years. Their defense has been pretty good, but their offense has had no explosion. I was expecting the same for this year, but they have proven me wrong. I thought they were going to have a 1-2 start, but they are now 3-0 after man handling Auburn. They should have a pretty easy two game stretch against Central Michigan and Northwestern before getting a huge test against Michigan.
There are two Pac-12 teams that have really surprised me. Washington and Oregon State have looked really good through the first 3 games. The latter has a huge test at home this week against USC. Washington was very impressive in their 39-28 victory against Michigan State last week, and they have a pretty easy stretch coming up until they play Oregon State in November. Washington’s QB Michael Penix Jr. has been amazing so far, but it should be noted that he has had a lot of injury problems in the past. While USC’s offense is objectively better than Oregon State’s, USC’s defense has some holes, and I think they should be put on upset alert.
JacobErwin.com 