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A look at the current overall records of all FBS teams provides a basic understanding of why a growing number of coaches and administrators are publicly advocating for expansion of the College Football Playoff.
Clemson, which was the only three-loss team selected for last year's CFP, already has three losses, with eight regular-season games left to play.
The Tigers aren't the only team with postseason aspirations that will be sweating out the rest of the schedule.
Notre Dame is saddled with a pair of defeats, with always dangerous Boise State and resurgent USC traveling to South Bend during the next four weeks.
There's considerably less optimism on the campuses of Kansas State, UCLA and Florida, where salvage operations are underway to recover the pride of three programs that have the worst overall record in their respective conference.
Doubling the size of the CFP from 12 to 24 would significantly increase the chances that the field will accommodate several three-loss teams and maybe a couple four-loss teams.
Last season in the SEC, 13 of the 16 teams lost three or more conference games. Texas went 7-1 in conference play, but then absorbed a second loss in the conference championship game.
That's why Texas' season opener against Ohio State was fraught with so much risk.
For a team that is forced to run the SEC gauntlet, a non-conference loss, even to a national powerhouse, endangers CFP prospects.
A spot in a prominent bowl game is the incentive for teams with little chance of selection for the CFP.
A .500 record qualifies a team for bowl consideration, but it's not going to secure a spot in one of the feature attractions.
Through Week 4, 19 of 67 (28 percent) of Power 4 teams have at least two losses.
The analogy that is commonly associated with professional baseball, hockey and basketball is that the regular season is a marathon, not a sprint.
That analogy doesn't apply to college football.
LSU head coach Brian Kelly made such a big deal out of the opener at Clemson because he knew that a loss would create a steeper slope for his team to climb to reach the CFP.
A loss by a championship contender to the wrong team at an inopportune time may not represent the end of the world, but it could spell the end of a title run.
Dabbling in controversy
Evidently, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney didn't follow the Michael Parsons drama that unfolded in Dallas.
During protracted contract negotiations, Parsons stated publicly that he wanted to be traded. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones called Parsons' bluff and sent him off to the Frozen Tundra.
With his team at 1-2, Swinney essentially said that if his services were no longer desired or appreciated, he'd be ready to pursue other opportunities.
Now that Clemson sits at 1-3 after a home loss to Syracuse and is off to its worst start in the Swinney era, the pastures around the college football world likely appear even greener to a coach who seemed intent on creating his own crisis.
Another upset loss might force the university to release one of those canned statements of support.
"We are beat up emotionally and physically, but we will rally and get back to work," Swinney said. "There is no quit in me or my team."
Power 4 takedowns
Not all Power 4 Conference teams are built of similar strength, but a loss to a Group of Five opponent smarts equally.
Although expectations are contained at Oklahoma State, Arkansas and Cal, losses to Tulsa, Memphis and San Diego State, respectively, last weekend foreshadow trying times ahead in conference play.
As a member of the SEC, Arkansas will have the worst of it. Of the seven conference games remaining on the Razorbacks' schedule, five are against opponents that are currently ranked.
It doesn't help matters that Notre Dame visits Fayetteville tomorrow.
Not a passing fancy
Like the pro game, college football reflects a reliance on aerial attacks to generate offense.
In 11 games last weekend, the leading rusher totaled 65 or less yards. Three of those games involved teams that were ranked in the top 11 (LSU, Texas and Oklahoma).
By comparison, there were 18 300-yard passers in 62 games (29 percent). In a throwback, USC has maintained a commitment to the running game, averaging 35.0 rushing attempts and 7.2 yards per carry through four games.
When Penn State won the national championship in 1986, the Lions totaled more rushing than passing yards. The last time that Penn State gained more yards rushing than passing in a season was 20 years ago.
Notable
– USC has totaled 460 yards of offense in all four games, after reaching that mark only once in the last nine games of 2024.
Vanderbilt's point total in a 70-21 win over Georgia State was the program's highest since a 76-0 victory over Tennessee in 1918.
– In its 15th attempt, UNLV posted its first-ever victory in the Eastern Time Zone, defeating Miami (OH), 41-38, on a field goal with 15 seconds remaining.
– Last Saturday's SMU-TCU contest was the last game scheduled between the two teams in a rivalry that featured 104 games in 110 years.
– In a win over Arkansas, Memphis extended two streaks that lead the FBS. The Tigers have won eight straight games and scored at least 20 points in 44 consecutive games.
– With the loss to Michigan, Nebraska has now been defeated in 28 consecutive games against Top-25 opponents. Among power conference teams, that streak ranks second to Rutgers' 41 straight losses.
Quotable
"The switch is already flipped."
-- Oregon head coach Dan Lanning on turning his attention to Penn State minutes after a victory over Oregon State
"We just came into this game super confident. We wanted to show everyone this isn't the same old Maryland we've been."
-- DB Jalen Huskey after 4-0 Maryland defeated Wisconsin to match its 2024 win total
"My message to the fans would be we're going to try and get this right. We're going to show up and work."
-- Wisconsin OLB Aaron Witt after a loss to Maryland in which the student section was nearly empty midway through the fourth quarter
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