The rankings have largely outlived their time
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Despite the keeping of scores, the first three weeks of every college football season represent the great unknown.
Without a standardized scheduling model, it is futile to rank teams through the first quarter of the season.
Counted among the 35 undefeated teams in FBS three weeks into this season were six Group of Six conference members. Of the six teams, only Tulsa of the American and UMass of the Mid-American posted wins over power conference opponents--rebuilding programs Oklahoma State and Rutgers, respectively.
The 28 undefeated power conference teams built their standing primarily on the backs of FCS and Group of Six teams. Of 84 games played by the unbeatens, only 30 (36 percent) were against Power 4 peers.
To complicate the national ranking process, five undefeated teams--Kansas State, Indiana, Nebraska, Penn State and Washington--had yet to play a power conference opponent.
Notice that four of those teams compete in the Big Ten.
Independent Notre Dame, 3-0, picked up wins over two Big Ten opponents.
The ranking of college football teams is another tradition that has fallen behind the times.
The expansion of the regular season schedule to 12 games and the formation of super conferences have incentivized the proliferation of paycheck games.
Other than perception and knowledge of past history, what is the appropriate criteria to compare a 3-0 Indiana team that defeated North Texas, Howard and Western Kentucky with 3-0 Ole Miss, which beat then-No. 24 Louisville, Charlotte and then-No. 7 LSU?
If Penn State is riding the CFP bubble in late November, does the program really expect a boost from victories over Marshall, Temple and Buffalo?
Did reputation and expectation factor into the Sept. 20 ranking of the Nittany Lions at No. 13 when 3-0 Mississippi State came in at No. 24, despite consecutive wins over power conference opponents Minnesota and South Carolina?
The rankings in September have been transformed into yet another marketing tool to enhance interest in college football.
Then-No. 12 USC was 4-0, but the jury was still out after wins over unranked San Jose State, Fresno State, Louisiana and Rutgers.
Oregon delivered that verdict last Saturday.
Like a dramatic drop in barometric pressure during a hurricane, an October loss by an undefeated team can trigger a freefall down the slippery slope of the national rankings.
Of course, the landing spot depends to what degree the team deserved its place in the pecking order in the first place.
What day is it?
In Week 4 of the season, Miami finally became the last team in the country to play on a Saturday, cruising by Central Michigan, 52-3.
Much to the chagrin of head coach Mario Cristobal, the Hurricanes opened with two games on a Friday and one on a Thursday.
"As it relates to my own kids at home or our players here, whatever's thrown at you, just roll with it, man," Cristobal said. "The worst thing I can do is publicly go out and just start bashing away. No, whatever comes with it, whatever place, whatever opponent, whatever time. Let's go roll, right? Let's go do it."
Unparalleled universes
When it comes to scheduling, the devil is not so much in the details as it is in the strength of conference membership.
Entering Week 5 of the season, unranked Duke (4-0) has but
one ranked opponent on its
entire schedule -- Miami in mid-November.
Excluding the Hurricanes, the composite record of Dukes' other remaining opponents is currently 16-11.
By comparison, seven of the 12 opponents on No. 1 Texas' schedule are currently ranked.
Home-run hires
Maybe part of the credit for the promising starts at Power 4 Conference schools Oklahoma State, UCLA and Florida should be given to the search committees that picked new head coaches off the Group-of-Six grapevine.
In his first year in Stillwater, Eric Morris has been a winner in three of four games, including an upset of then-No. 6 Oregon and a road victory at West Virginia which snapped the Cowboys' 18-game losing streak in Big 12 play dating to November 2023.
Before Morris was hired away from North Texas, the Cowboys won a total of four games over the last two seasons.
Bob Chesney, who led James Madison to the College Football Playoff last season, is the first UCLA head coach to start his tenure 4-0 since Henry "Red" Sanders in 1949.
Following the same advancement path as Chesney, Jon Sumrall bolted Tulane after a CFP appearance in 2025. His 4-0 Gators rolled over then-No. 4 Ole Miss in the Swamp last Saturday by 24 points.
Utah also deserves a shoutout for selecting a loyal insider as the successor to Kyle Whittingham.
The Utes are 4-0 under Morgan Scalley who was promoted after serving 18 years as an assistant coach, including 10 seasons as defensive coordinator.
Notable
■ Luke Talich is the fifth Notre Dame player to score touchdowns on a reception, interception return and punt return during his collegiate career. The last Irish player to record the trifecta was Nick Rassas (1963-65).
■ The South Florida-Bowling Green matchup featured head coaches who were standouts at Ohio State. Two fourth-quarter touchdowns carried Brian Hartline's 4-0 South Florida squad over Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George and the Falcons (0-4), 14-6.
■ In their first meeting since October 1945, Pitt shut out Bucknell, 59-0, on the strength of Mason Heintschel's six touchdown passes.
■ UMass improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2007 with a 35-6 Mid-American Conference win at Sacramento State.
■ At 3-1, Liberty has outscored opponents 66-14 in the second half, including 42-0 in the fourth quarter.
■ In a 54-3 rout at Maryland, UCLA posted its largest margin of victory in a conference road game since shutting out Washington State 55-0 in 1955.
Quotable
"I was in disbelief that I did it twice in a row. It was crazy."
-- Texas Tech linebacker Austin Romaine who became the first FBS player in 13 years to return two interceptions for touchdowns on consecutive throws in a 49-14 win over Sam Houston
"To be able to silence a stadium like that, there's no greater feeling."
-- Quarterback Hank Brown after throwing a game-ending, 16-yard touchdown pass to Reece Vander Zee, staking Iowa to a 20-19 win in the Big House at Michigan
"Right now, it's bad. We are at rock bottom, but we've got to dig ourselves out of this hole."
-- Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed reflecting on back-to-back SEC losses to Kentucky and LSU
"Up front, we weren't good enough. Quarterback was not good enough. We didn't play smart enough, but I'll take the effort."
-- Tennessee coach Josh Heupel after a 20-17 home loss to No. 1 Texas
"Seeing him like that shook the whole team. But at the same time, we knew we were going to fight for him."
-- Oregon backup quarterback Dylan Raiola on Dante Moore's head injury that required transport by ambulance for treatment at a Los Angeles hospital
Jim Caltagirone, a former member of Penn State's sports information department, comments on the national scene for Gameday. He can be reached at jimclion4ever@gmail.com