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Don’t look now, but there’s a non-zero chance that Washington enters the College Football Playoff fray as a 9-3 Big Ten team.

Don’t believe me? Check out the Huskies’ schedule the rest of the way. Despite losses against Ohio State and Michigan (both respectable, IMO), Washington has a remaining slate that features games against a Wisconsin team that can’t score, a Purdue team that’s not terribly good, a UCLA team that’s shown flashes of brilliance, but that lacks consistency, and a strangely mortal-looking Oregon squad. Things happen in college football, but it wouldn’t shock me to see Washington rack up three wins in three weeks, setting up a big-time clash in Seattle against Oregon.

All offseason, the college football community debated which team might be the surprise CFP candidate from the Big Ten. Early, it looked like it might be Illinois. Then, Nebraska started 5-1 before losses to Minnesota and USC. Michigan and USC are still hanging around, but have tricky slates the rest of the way.

All in all, it might not happen. USC or Michigan might emerge from the fire to be a Big Ten CFP representative. But don’t sleep on this Huskies team.

Demond Williams Jr. is a lethal weapon with both his arm and legs. Running back Jonah Coleman seems to score at least once per game. And the defense has done a nice job of limiting explosive offenses in big spots.

Discount this Washington team at your own risk.

BYU is having a fantastically quiet, undefeated season.

The Cougars are 8-0, sit eighth in the AP Poll, and are alone atop the Big 12 standings. The defense ranks 16th in college football, allowing just 17 points per game. The offense, led by freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier, ranks 19th with 36.2 points per game. This team is getting it done on both ends and remains unscathed as we enter November. So why aren’t more people talking about this team as a legitimate College Football Playoff contender?

For starters, BYU has played a relatively weak schedule to date. Sometimes the Schedule Gods shine a light upon teams in a given year, and that’s been the case with the Cougars. BYU has played exactly one ranked team in Utah, whom they defeated 24-21. Outside of the Holy War, BYU has played Big 12 bottom-feeders like Colorado and West Virginia, lower middle-tier teams like Iowa State and Arizona, as well as a weak non-conference schedule against the likes of Portland State, Stanford, and East Carolina.

OK, so the schedule hasn’t been brutal. Is that the only reason? In short, no. I think the other reason many people are discounting what BYU has done up until this point is that they’ve won an incredible amount of close games, which feels unsustainable. We know winning a bunch of close games year to year is not sustainable. But what about throughout a single season?

BYU is on an incredible heater, but it feels like they’re bound to cool off soon. This team has notched the following close-game wins:

Three close-game wins in a little over a month either means a team is extremely clutch, getting away with it, or somewhere in between. What do I think?

I think BYU is somewhere in between. The Cougars should be commended for finding ways to win close games. But at some point, I’d like to see them put away teams they have a clear talent advantage over.

On Saturday, BYU will face a huge test when it travels to Lubbock to take on Texas Tech. The Red Raiders should challenge BYU in ways we haven’t seen up until this point. It should be a fantastic game that carries real stakes. It’ll arguably be the biggest game of the Big 12 regular season and should do a nice job of informing us as to whether BYU is legit, just good, or extremely fortunate to play a light schedule.

The Iowa Hawkeyes are 5-1 in their last six games, with the lone loss coming by five to juggernaut Indiana.

After a shaky start (especially on offense), the Hawkeyes are leaning on their defense to grind out wins. And even though quarterback Mark Gronowski hasn’t been prolific, he’s played a little bit better. This has all culminated in a nice win streak and a destiny-in-your-own-hands outlook for the Hawkeyes the rest of the way.

Perhaps I’m a bit too glass-half-full on Iowa. The offense is still a struggle. And upcoming games against Oregon on Saturday and USC the week after should be difficult. But if Iowa can split those games, they round out the season against a struggling Michigan State team and Nebraska without Dylan Raiola. The path is there. In traditional Kirk Ferentz fashion, this team is doing it their way and stacking up wins in the process.

Keep an eye on that Oregon-Iowa game on Saturday. I sort of like the Hawkeyes to keep it close and possibly put a scare in the visiting Ducks.

Good luck trying to figure out this Colorado team.

The Buffaloes sit at 3-6 (1-5). Your guess is as good as mine as to what version of this team we get to watch week to week.

After losing the Heisman Trophy winner, Travis Hunter, and the sun, moon, and stars of the offense, Shedeur Sanders, things were bound to be a bit rocky this season. But good grief, it feels like this team has fallen off a cliff in recent weeks.

After knocking off a beat-up Iowa State team on October 11, the Buffaloes have been outscored 105-24 by Utah (with a backup quarterback) and Arizona (at home in Boulder). These weren’t just lopsided losses; they were total butt-kickings. After the humiliating home loss to Arizona this past weekend, Coach Prime blocked player interviews—a move that certainly ruffled some feathers.

What we know:

What we don’t know:

Sanders did some nice things in his first two years in Boulder, chief among them bringing a buzz and injecting life into a program that was previously devoid of both. But things have gotten weird in recent weeks. And if the blowouts keep stacking up down the stretch, questions like this will only get louder and more prominent.

We have reached the point of the college football season where it’s time to embrace debate.

Tuesday night, we saw the first iteration of the 2025 College Football Playoff bracket. The usual subjects sat near the top, with Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M, and Alabama taking the first four spots. Georgia, Ole Miss, an undefeated BYU, Texas Tech, and Oregon soon followed. At the No. 10 spot sat Notre Dame, the highest-ranked two-loss team in the first rankings, slotted ahead of three one-loss teams from Power 4 conferences.

This all begs the question: Is Notre Dame being overvalued by the committee?

Yes and no. It seems somewhat unfair that two-loss Notre Dame is ranked more favorably than one-loss Virginia, Louisville, and Georgia Tech. In an ideal world, perhaps those teams would be slotted in front of Notre Dame, considering they have one loss, whereas Notre Dame has two.

But it’s the committee’s job to get the twelve best teams into the bracket. And if we gave ourselves truth serum, I’m willing to bet we’d almost unanimously agree that Notre Dame, at present, is a better/more formidable option than Virginia or Louisville. Maybe there’s more of a debate with Georgia Tech versus .

If Notre Dame wins out, the Fighting Irish will almost certainly make the College Football Playoff. And if Georgia Tech wins out with a win over Georgia and the ACC title, or Virginia and Louisville win out, I’m betting those teams will find a way in, too.

Remember, the first rankings aren’t supposed to be perfect—they’re just a starting point. And if recent history is any guide, a few of these teams won’t even be around to argue about in three weeks.

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Eat your broccoli and get ready for a loaded Week 11 slate, featuring top five teams on the road, sandwich games, interim coaches and plenty of potential chaos. On today's college football podcast episode, we deep dive the games we didn't discuss on Tuesday and break down a defanged Indiana vs Penn State matchup, a classic letdown-lookahead spot for Georgia, a road test for Texas A&M, and potential for the "After Brian Factor" to have an impact on LSU vs Alabama. Plus, a muted but fascinating Florida State vs Clemson showdown, a monster G6 meet-up between Tulane and Memphis, and a true test of the Ty Jinx in Washington vs Wisconsin.

We also take a look at the first CFP Rankings and the projected playoff bracket, give you a handful of under-the-radar games to be aware of, keep you up to date on the upcoming Patriot League action, and offer some guidance for getting out of the house on a college football Saturday.

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