For brokenhearted fans, you can’t spell Oakland without the A’s
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Tim Keown, ESPN Senior Writer
Even more than the sadness, even more than the anger and the despair and the disgust, there is loneliness. As the A’s final season in Oakland winds down, the Coliseum’s endless concrete seems to contract, the life of the place leaving like a long sigh. Game after game, the collection of fans, tiny dots on a huge map, sit in near-penitential quiet. The random “Sell the team” chants, once hearty and frequent, have taken on the tone of plaintive wails, like desperate pleas from the bottom of a well.
The concession stands are mostly shuttered, collateral damage from the team’s decision to announce an eventual move to Las Vegas — first stop: Sacramento — and leave Oakland without a major professional sports franchise for the first time since 1960. The A’s will play their final game in the Coliseum on Sept. 26, the conclusion to 57 seasons in a building that has been nearly abandoned and ignored by fans and team ownership since John Fisher announced a deal to move to Las Vegas nearly 18 months ago. The place feels hollowed out, its soul cast aside.
The departure of a major sports franchise, let alone three, is a story most often told through negotiations and recriminations, proposals and counterproposals, public subsidies and private financing. It’s the unending story of owners and commissioners and politicians, all positioning and posturing. But what bobs in the wake when teams leave, whether it’s the Warriors and Raiders in 2019, or the A’s this month, are those left untethered, people who lose jobs, friendships and a vital connection to their community.
On the first Monday in August, the opener of a series against the bad-beyond-adjective White Sox, Kendrick Thompson — known as Ice Cold Kenny Bo — shows up to one of the cave-like employee rooms in the Coliseum’s beehive interior. As he has before every game for the past 13 years, he puts on his headphones to begin his prep for another shift as the building’s most celebrated beer vendor. He begins his stretching routine and cinches up his back brace; carrying a metal tub of ice filled with 16-ounce beers for more than two hours a night is an athletic feat in itself. He reminds himself to keep smiling no matter how rude a customer might be. As game time nears, he puts on an A’s elephant beanie and he talks his usual smack to his coworkers, telling them he’s going to outsell them today, just like every other day. There’s a bit of gallows humor at work here, since he’s bragging about outselling seven other vendors in a crowd that averages about 10,000 fans per game and routinely draws fewer than 5,000 on weeknights.
Thompson grew up in Oakland, his stepfather a vendor before him. He attended games as a fan until one day his stepfather asked him if he’d like to come to work with him. He taught Kenny Bo how to hold his money, how to deal with drunken fans, how to keep that smile on his face. “This job saved my life,” Thompson says. “It gave me a purpose, a place to be, and it taught me how to deal with every kind of person.” He worked the final Raiders game in the Coliseum, too, and he’ll be there on September 26, hoping for a peaceful end. “Lot of tears,” he predicts. “Lot of fans who don’t want to leave.”
On this night, there are a few fans in White Sox caps and shirts, sheepish in their fandom, many of them trying to strike the Coliseum from their ballpark bucket list before it’s too late. (They also allow A’s fans, in a black-swan-level event, to feel superior.) Twenty-five minutes before first pitch, a lady and her young son ceremoniously tape two “Sell” flags to the railings in the right-field bleachers, while a guy sitting a few rows away proclaims to all who will listen that he will, indeed, “act a fool” on September 26.
Once the game starts, Thompson weaves his way through empty rows and empty sections along the Coliseum’s lower deck, barking out his call and searching for an upraised hand. He has his own koozies with his slogan — “If it Ain’t Ice Cold, it Ain’t from Kenny Bo” — but not even that can contend with the simple realities of supply and demand.
Will MacNeil, known as Right Field Will, sits in the first row of the right-field bleachers every single home game. His sensibilities portray the dichotomy of the present-day Oakland A’s fan: he waves an A’s flag while using his booming voice — he’s a part-time public address announcer for the Class A Stockton Ports, an independently owned A’s affiliate — to denounce team ownership. He’s wearing an A’s cap, A’s jersey and his ever-present Oakleys –the setting sun like fireworks in the eyes of everyone sitting in right field. He abides by the many and baroque rules of the bleacher crew: always salute the right fielder; only yell “Let’s go Oakland” when the A’s have a runner in scoring position; employ a slow clap that begins at the belt and climbs and quickens whenever an A’s pitcher has two strikes on a hitter.
White Sox starter Ky Bush makes his first big league start in front of an announced crowd of 4,971, with, charitably, a third of that number occupying seats. (“The fans who do show up show up every single day,” A’s All-Star Brent Rooker says. “You’re seeing the same people over and over. You build relationships with the people in right field, the people who sit along the dugout. That’s the special part of this place and what I’ll remember.”) Right Field Will and a few of his friends are doing their best to make the game feel important, but there is a near-complete lack of tension in the air. A’s fans have processed the past 18 months the way ancient villagers reacted in the face of a marauding force: shock, anger, helplessness, surrender. Their idea of justice left a long time ago.
Will waves his A’s flag from the first row in right, three times for every A’s batter and yells, “Let’s go Oakland!” only when there’s a runner in scoring position. It is a game between teams a combined 81 games under .500, but it still means something out here, where the realities of time weigh heavy. When the A’s win, pushing Chicago’s losing streak to 21, MacNeil stays in his seat, leaning forward with his hands on his chin, occasionally wiping tears from his eyes, watching the end edge ever closer.
I was there as a kid for three World Series games, one each in 1972 against the Reds, 1973 against the Mets and 1974 against the Dodgers, the green grass such a contrast to the gray concrete, the ice plant running from right-center to left-center, the Oakland hills resplendent in the background, Reggie Jackson’s corkscrew swing, booing Pete Rose for all his sins, both known and unknown.
On April 4, the A’s announced their intention to play the next three or four seasons in a minor league ballpark in West Sacramento. On that day and in that ballpark, during a news conference called barely two hours before it began, team president Dave Kaval made a declaration: the 2024 season, the team’s last in Oakland, would be a celebration of the 56 years and 57 seasons the team played in the Coliseum. They’d send the sturdy old building out with a bang, Kaval said with his usual wide-eyed exuberance and fridge-magnet poetry. And in that moment, with the team’s near- and long-term futures announced, it seemed possible to believe the team might finally turn its attention to reflecting on, and appreciating, what it’s leaving behind.
But inside the Coliseum, maybe the only overt gesture toward the team’s history is a video montage played before every game that ends with Dennis Eckersley racing across first base and throwing his arms in the air as he records the final out of the 1989 World Series. There is no suggestion that anything is ending, or that the moments depicted relate to anything beyond the context in which they occurred. History must be inferred.
“There’s been absolutely zero celebration,” says Bryan Johansen, co-owner of Last Dive Bar, an A’s fan group and merchandise site. “They haven’t touched it with a 10-foot pole. … I mean, how many times can we get slapped in the face? We all look like Santa Claus. We’ve all got red faces from how much we’ve just been slapped around by these guys — to the point where it seems like they’re doing it on purpose.”
The A’s acknowledge the impossibility of their situation; maybe there is no elegant way to move a professional sports franchise after 56 years, especially after decades of acrimony between the city and the team. They emphasize their efforts to remain in Oakland; they invested $100 million in the failed project to bring a roughly $12 billion waterfront ballpark village at Howard Terminal. The decision to move to Las Vegas, announced in April 2023, sparked a series of fan protests filled with angry and vulgar anti-Fisher chants; the decision to move to Sacramento, announced a year later, sparked fresh anger and harsh words but mostly resignation, seen most clearly by attendance numbers. Given that, how do you celebrate your way out of town?
“Have we done enough?” asks A’s board member Sandy Dean, a longtime advisor for the Fisher family and a partner in numerous Fisher investments. “It’s a good question, and in some ways it’s hard to know what could be enough to capture the significance of almost 60 years in Oakland with a diverse and passionate fan base.”
The team ticks off its efforts. It began “Alumni Sundays” in early June, with former players signing autographs for an hour before the game and throwing out the first pitch. There have been three “Double Play Wednesdays” — $2 tickets in some sections and $1 hot dogs. The A’s Community Ticket Program has given away two complimentary tickets — nearly 80,000 total — on weekday summer games to nonprofit and community organizations, as well as educators, healthcare workers, first responders, military personnel and youth softball and baseball coaches and players. There were four fireworks shows, three drone shows and five bobblehead giveaways.
“Whatever they say, I do not feel part of anything being celebrated,” says Robb Roberts, whose museum-level collection of A’s memorabilia makes him a sort of de facto team historian. “I have never seen anyone ‘celebrated’ in this fashion. I don’t understand it … I don’t feel like they want us there.”
Jennifer LaMarche, known as Left Field Jenny, is a 24-year season-ticket holder in the left-field bleachers who vowed to attend all 81 home games this season. The question of whether to support the team financially has been a point of contention among A’s fans; unlike LaMarche, many see putting money in Fisher’s pockets as a betrayal of the cause. “I decided this was something I needed to do for myself,” LaMarche says. “I earned my money; I’ll spend it the way I want.” She worked it out with her boss; she would check her emails before first pitch on day games and after the last out. She would work into the night if necessary.
“I appreciate the Alumni Sundays,” LaMarche says. “I think that’s a nice touch, but I don’t see how that’s celebrating the whole history of the A’s in Oakland. They brought giveaways back because they’d taken those away from us for a short time. Great — people like bobbleheads, but I don’t see how that’s celebrating. Celebrating Oakland? Like, Oakland itself, and the time here? They’re not living up to that end of the deal at all.”
In response to a question I posed to a team executive — what does the team feel it owes the city and A’s fans as September 26 approaches? — the A’s issued the following statement:
We are deeply grateful to Oakland for being home to the A’s for nearly 60 years. In that span, the team and its fans celebrated four World Series championships, served as home to seven American League MVPs, made countless lasting memories, and achieved a storied place in baseball history. After an earnest and unprecedented effort to bring a visionary ballpark to downtown Oakland, we were unable to reach a deal, and more importantly, secure a reliable path to a fully approved project. We appreciate the community members, local leaders and staff who worked diligently to build a new home in Oakland and applaud the fans who passionately advocated for the team to stay. The A’s time in Oakland will always be a cherished part of this franchise’s history, and we carry that spirit forward on this journey to Sacramento and eventually to our new home in Las Vegas. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the loyal fans for their unwavering support throughout the years.
“The team’s messaging has consistently sought to be up-front, honest and straightforward,” Dean says. “And even with that, in the end, the team is moving. We know that is a hard outcome.”
I was there in high school, too many times to count, thanks to a classic early ’80s promotion that allowed fans to get free tickets by answering trivia questions through a touchtone phone, which meant, in my case, the nearest available pay phone. I amassed so many tickets my friends and I couldn’t use them all, but we tried. One Saturday afternoon, one of my buddies brought his portable grill and we tailgated in the north lot, cooking something unhealthy and playing catch around cars. When it was time to enter the stadium, we faced a dilemma: what to do with the grill and its white-hot coals. We were smart enough to know we couldn’t put it in the car or the trunk, so we had the brilliant idea to shove it under the back of the car. When we returned after the game, the grill had been pulled out into the open, a note attached to the bumper: “Next time, pour water on the coals before you put it under the car.”
Around midseason, the rumors started proliferating. Some were wild, for sure, but none of them seemed to strain the bounds of plausibility. In one, rats were running wild under the tarps in Mount Davis, the unused deck far above center field, and those rats managed to shred an entire pallet of bobbleheads commemorating Mike Fiers‘ no-hitter in 2019. And sometime in early August, word began circulating among some well-connected fans that the team was planning to bring in dump trucks to clean out the rooms in the Coliseum’s catacombs, known as “Minus-22” for being 22 feet below sea level.
The “Minus-22 Caper” became the target of much speculation. What could be down there? Why wouldn’t the team just take the old giveaways and pass them out? It became the Al Capone Vault of Coliseum lore; Roberts, the collector, wondered if his grail — the infamous Harvey the Rabbit pop-up ball dispenser owner Charlie Finley installed and used for just the 1968 season — was down there somewhere. There was talk of organizing fans to spy on the operation.
And then it happened. In early August, while the team was on the road, the dump trucks arrived and the forklifts went to work, completing the Minus-22 Mission without incident. Afterward, I asked a Coliseum employee who requested anonymity whether they cleared out anything fans might have wanted. “If people want old giveaways from 2018-19 that have rat feces and dust on them, then probably,” he told me. “The dust cloud from taking stuff out stayed for a full 24 hours.”
Through it all, A’s fans hold out hope. Every report that casts even the slightest bit of doubt on the team’s move, either to Sacramento or Las Vegas, is treated as a sign from the heavens. The Sacramento decision felt rash, and Rob Manfred’s decision to approve a move to a minor league park felt like one more concession to Fisher. To make it work, they will rip up the grass at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento and replace it with artificial turf. Between the A’s and the Sacramento River Cats, they’ll play 156 games over the year’s hottest six months on that plastic, for a minimum of three years, in temperatures routinely exceeding 100 degrees. Three or four years is billed by the team as a temporary stay, sort of a Vegas-style residency, but the average big league career hovers somewhere around five years.
Over the past month, numerous agents, most vocally Sacramento-area native Scott Boras, have predicted the A’s will have trouble recruiting players to join them while they’re in Sacramento. The A’s believe they have assembled the type of young, vibrant roster — Lawrence Butler, Shea Langeliers, Mason Miller, all under the steady guidance of manager Mark Kotsay — that will override concerns about the ballpark or the team’s immediate future.
The Major League Baseball Players Association has yet to approve the changes to Sutter Health Park. There are no final renderings of the Las Vegas ballpark. The list goes on. The A’s, in a characterization the team believes is unwarranted, are viewed as the mythical snake eternally eating its own tail. It was a sign when the A’s abandoned the first site they planned in Vegas, and a sign when it was revealed that the current location, on the site of the soon-to-be demolished Tropicana Casino and Resort, consists of just 9 acres to build a domed or retractable-roof ballpark. (The A’s say the space is not an issue, but the smallest park in the big leagues, Target Field in Minneapolis, sits on 8 acres.) And it is considered an ongoing sign that Fisher has not presented a financing plan to fund the ballpark costs beyond the $380 million in public funding provided by the state of Nevada.
“It’s interesting that the financing question has continued to persist,” Dean says. “John Fisher has said on several occasions that his family will invest the capital that is needed to build the project. The A’s relocation was approved after a three-month review by a relocation committee at MLB that was made up of financially sophisticated owners. As I talked about at the [Las Vegas] Stadium Authority meeting in July, we are in good shape for financing and have been planning for this for some time.”
I was there as a college student from 1982 to ’84, a quick BART ride from Berkeley, watching bad teams that featured the overflowing effervescence of a young Rickey Henderson under the semi-watchful eye of manager Billy Martin, and later the dour stylings of an aging Dave Kingman. I was in the left-field bleachers one night when Jim Rice hit a ball off Dave Beard that is either: (a) still orbiting the Earth, or; (b) embedded in a column of concrete somewhere above and beyond where I was sitting. The sound of Rice’s bat connecting with Beard’s pitch was, I’m ashamed to admit, one of the seminal moments of my college years. Out there in the left-field bleachers there was a security guard everyone called “Guns” because of his hypertrophic biceps. He’d stand behind the last row of the bleachers, arms crossed, wearing a short-sleeve shirt four or five sizes too small, seams everywhere cowering at the mere thought of him. He looked foreboding but was friendly as hell, just like the place itself.
It’s the last of the multipurpose ballparks, a relic of the ’60s and ’70s, back before a certain segment of the population decided it needed craft cocktails and leather couches and walled-off suites to enjoy — and, often, ignore — the games. Somehow, there was a time when it was enough to mold a mountain’s worth of concrete into a circle and fill it with plastic seats surrounding grass, back before fans became walking bar codes. The Coliseum is the last building standing that can say it hosted Johnny Unitas and Carl Yastrzemski, Franco Harris and Nolan Ryan, Tom Brady and Ken Griffey Jr.
Kirk Morrison was born in Oakland, grew up in Oakland, became a star athlete at Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland and eventually played the first five seasons of his NFL career with the Oakland Raiders. He calls the death of Oakland sports “a bit of my youth, my childhood being ripped away. Going to games, it wasn’t corporate. It was genuine, genuine love for the sport, for the players, and an appreciation of their talents.”
His father had Raiders season tickets when the team returned from Los Angeles in 1995, so he saw it from all angles, and when he played for the Raiders, he’d sit in the locker room before games and after warmups and hear the stadium awaken above him, like the first stirrings of a volcano. He’d head out to the field for introductions and wait at the tunnel, as beer and whatever else waterfalled over the edge. He’d stop and listen to the primordial roar and take a deep inhale of whatever drifted his way.
“Just an Oakland smell,” Morrison says. “It smells like an underdog. Smells like someone who’s hardworking, who’s not afraid to get their hands dirty, who’s not afraid to sweat, who’s going to give you everything they got.”
I was there as a young reporter for the Sacramento Bee for the 1990 World Series, and after Game 4 I went from home clubhouse to visiting clubhouse relaying a proxy war of words between Reds reliever Rob Dibble and A’s ace Dave Stewart. Like a human telegram, I told Stewart that Dibble contended he intentionally hit Reds outfielder Billy Hatcher in the first inning, and then returned to the Reds’ clubhouse to tell Dibble that Stewart called him a punk, unworthy of his attention. This went on for four rounds — Dibble can’t talk ’til he wins 20 or saves 40; Stewart is lucky he’s in the American League and doesn’t have to hit — with Dibble sitting at his locker soaked in beer and champagne, Stewart standing at his, still in full uniform, his fury at losing the series lessened somewhat by his fury at Dibble.
Robb Roberts calls himself a “collector of opportunity,” which is his way of saying he doesn’t have unlimited funds to satisfy his passion. He’s created a museum’s worth of memorabilia through connections and hustle and the sheer force of his enthusiasm.
Roberts has 306 game-used bats, including the one Matt Stairs used to drive in six runs in an inning. He has game-used white cleats from Mark McGwire to Shea Langeliers. He has the jersey vest Lew Krausse wore when he threw the first pitch in a big league game at the Coliseum. He has catcher’s gear — lots of catcher’s gear. He acquired a player’s traveling suitcase from the 1970s, and inside he found a zipper pouch containing a razor blade and a mirror smudged with a white powder. (He met the player, who denied knowledge of the gear with a wink and signed it.) He has two pairs of game-used pants Rollie Fingers wore in the 1972 and 1973 World Series. He has the bat Mike Gallego used throughout the four games of the 1990 World Series, and he and Gallego have since become friends.
“How’d you get that bat?” Gallego asked him. “I gave it to the bat boy.”
“Yeah, you did,” Roberts replied. “And I got it from him.”
Every baseball, every bat, every shin guard takes him back to a moment he spent in this big ugly place with his father or his kids or his friends. He once stood stock-still in the right-field bleachers for the longest time — the TV cameras kept returning to him, over and over — to pay homage to the retiring Stephen Vogt. He was dressed in a full A’s uniform covered by a set of Vogt’s game-used catcher’s gear.
“Collecting overall is selfish,” he says, “but everything I have takes me back to those moments in my life.”
His team will be gone, and he’ll look at his collection and see dots on a timeline, an incomplete but important reel of his life. He’ll be there for the last game Thursday, by himself to protect his two children from what might happen if things get ugly. He’s mused over some of the things he’d love to add to his collection: his bleacher seat, the pitcher’s mound, home plate, the elusive Harvey, one of the Coliseum’s famed urinal troughs. (He’s remodeling his home and has a perfect spot for it.) But in the end, he knows he’s not going to get any of those things; he’s going to sit in the bleachers, stare at the perfect grass and the crisp white lines one last time, and watch another chunk of his life drift into the past.
“I don’t know what you want to call it?” he says. “A funeral? My wake?”
I was there this summer, and last summer, seeing everything in a different light. In an early-September game against the Mariners — announced attendance: 4,390 — my wife and I sat near the top of the second deck, down the right-field line. We were the only people in the entire section, a great spot to watch the sky over the Oakland hills turn orange then pink then purple. Late in the game, we moved down to the lower level, where the television closest to us in Section 115 was tuned to the Golf Channel; on the field, the Mariners were beating the A’s by 13 runs, on the screen, past highlights of the Solheim Cup played endlessly, and no one seemed to notice.
Over the past four seasons, A’s fans have seen their team gutted, their ballpark forsaken and ticket prices increased. They’ve heard Dave Stewart, Oakland’s own, answering, “In a heartbeat” on the team’s postgame show when asked if he would relinquish his 1989 World Series win if it meant the team stayed in Oakland. They read the words of beloved former owner Wally Haas, speaking to the San Francisco Chronicle, castigating Fisher for ruining the relationship with fans and the community by tearing the team down and neglecting the ballpark. “You’re giving up on a community where fans, for valid reasons, have stayed away,” Haas said. “I wish baseball could have done more.” They watched Giants manager Bob Melvin, who spent 11 years as manager of the A’s, wear white shoes in homage to the A’s when he took the lineup card to home plate before the final game of the final Bay Bridge Series.
In mid-August, Right Field Will stood in the concourse outside the right-field bleachers and told me, “It’s starting to get real. I hate this. September is going to be brutal.” Through to the end, he’ll salute Butler in right field and start his clapping at the waist and yell “Let’s Go Oakland” only with a runner in scoring position. He and Left Field Jenny and Kenny Bo and Robb the collector try not to think about the rhythm of the season, and how it works as a sturdy foundation for the structure of their lives. They have no plans to follow the team to Sacramento, so they’ll hope against hope, searching for signs, continuing to believe nothing under Fisher’s stewardship is final until it is.
As Thursday approaches, they’ll gear up to contend with the emotions. All those quiet nights, all those cathartic chants into the ether, figure to be a prelude to one last blowout. The die-hards swear it’ll be peaceful; they’ll be content to stare out at the field for as long as it takes to make sure they remember. They’ve learned through experience: If nobody wants to throw them a party, they’ll throw it themselves.
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David Hale
If you come at the king, as they say, you best not miss.
On a Saturday that threatened to completely upend college football’s power dynamics, Tennessee took its shot at defending SEC champion Georgia, but its kick sailed wide right as time expired. In Atlanta, Georgia Tech‘s field goal team sprinted onto the field as the final seconds ticked off the clock and used a 55-yard kick to send Clemson tumbling from the ACC’s throne.
It was proof that the SEC still runs through Georgia. It was a revelation that the ACC might, too.
In Knoxville, Tennessee led by 14 early but could never quite put Georgia away. Joey Aguilar threw for 371 yards and four touchdowns, and he chewed up just enough yardage on a final drive to give Max Gilbert a shot at the game winner. Instead, a false start flag pushed the kick back 5 yards, and Gilbert’s boot never came close to the uprights. Georgia’s unrelenting attack proved too much in overtime, and Josh McCray rumbled into the end zone for a 44-41 win that offered a reminder that these Bulldogs still bite.
Georgia ran for 198 yards and three touchdowns, punishing Tennessee’s defensive front throughout. Gunner Stockton threw for 304 yards and two touchdowns, including a score-tying dagger with 2:32 remaining to London Humphreys, the latest UGA player to be named after a member of an uppity fraternity hell-bent on getting the guys from Kegger House kicked off campus in an ’80s comedy. The performance had the feel of a coming-of-age moment for Stockton. After waiting his turn behind Carson Beck, Stockton was given the reins of the offense in last year’s playoff loss to Notre Dame, and he had done little to convince fans he was the right man for the job in Georgia’s first two games of 2025. Saturday was different. Following a sluggish first quarter, Stockton made one big throw after another with a nearly flawless second half before celebrating the win by, we assume, driving his F-150 out to his high school sweetheart’s house, holding a stereo over his head, and blaring Bon Jovi’s “Slippery When Wet” album.
If Stockton proved his toughness against Tennessee, Haynes King only added to his legend against Clemson.
1:13
Georgia Tech kicks game-winning FG to spark wild celebrations
Georgia Tech races its kicker onto the field, and Aidan Birr nails a 55-yard field goal to take down Clemson.
Georgia Tech opened with a 13-0 lead in the first half in Atlanta, but just as Georgia had done against the Vols, Clemson refused to go down without a fight. The Tigers roared back, took a 14-13 lead in the third quarter, coughed it up, then tied the score at 21 with 3:26 to play in the fourth. That’s when King took over.
On the final game-winning drive, King converted a pair of third downs with his legs, ping-ponging off defenders and taking on tacklers repeatedly, enduring the type of physical punishment typically reserved for a “Saw” movie. The effort set up a fire drill for the kicking team in the final seconds, as Georgia Tech was without a timeout. Aidan Birr sprinted onto the field and delivered the most significant shot by a man named Birr yet to have a musical written about it by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
King finished with 211 passing yards, 104 rushing yards and a touchdown, and he was beaten up enough that he has already met the deductible on his health insurance by Week 3.
The 24-21 win was Georgia Tech’s seventh against a ranked ACC foe under coach Brent Key, and it established the Yellow Jackets as a contender in the ACC, alongside the league’s other powers: Miami, which knocked off No. 18 USF with ease 49-12 on Saturday, and Florida State, which was off this week.
The bigger question is what the loss means for Clemson. Dabo Swinney’s crew is now a 50-yard touchdown run in the final 90 seconds against Pitt and a walk-off 57-yard field goal against SMU away from having lost seven of its past eight games against Power 4 foes — though if that field goal were missed it would have just pushed that game to overtime. Suddenly, the idea that Clemson’s decade-long run as the class of the ACC might be over isn’t simply the ramblings of Tyler from Spartanburg. Had Georgia lost Saturday, it would’ve been less a king dethroned than Napoleon regathering his forces while serving out an exile on Elba.
Clemson’s fall from the throne, however, has an air of finality to it, as if Swinney hadn’t simply been exiled from atop the ACC, but had packed up his bags and moved to Boca Raton, where he’ll wear his socks too high, play a lot of pickleball and complain about early-bird special portion sizes at Denny’s. Clemson is a team without an offensive identity, with a QB who often looks flustered in critical situations, and faces, for the fifth year in a row, an uphill battle against a narrative that Swinney’s magic has worn off.
If Tennessee’s fate doesn’t seem so bleak, the outcome Saturday had to feel every bit as existentially fraught. The Vols had every opportunity to alter their fate, and instead, the losing streak to Georgia reached a decade. Even seeing Nico Iamaleava‘s UCLA team fall to 0-3 with a loss to New Mexico isn’t enough to ease that pain. That it didn’t have to be this way is a practical truth, but for everyone in the stands at Neyland Stadium, it might as well have been a blowout. It all was a reminder that a little hope is as dangerous as a second round of Fireball at The Hill.
If Saturday wasn’t a complete reshuffling of the deck in the SEC and ACC, though, it was a reminder that all power is fleeting, that every team’s grasp of the ring loosens, and that eventually, the next big thing simply becomes “the thing.”
Georgia Tech stormed the castle.
Georgia held the line for another week.
There will be more battles ahead, and we’ll be lucky if they’re half as good as what we saw Saturday.
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Coach Marcus Freeman had a clear message to his defense after Saturday’s rollicking, frenetic and ultimately debilitating 41-40 loss to Texas A&M: “Not good enough.”
Notre Dame surrendered 488 yards of offense to the Aggies, including a 13-play, 74-yard touchdown drive in the final 2:53 that won the game for A&M and sent the Irish to 0-2 on the season.
It was a wild, back-and-forth game that had four lead changes and two ties in the second half alone, and the game ultimately turned on a botched PAT try that was mishandled by holder Tyler Buchner, who, ironically, was Notre Dame’s starting QB the last time it started 0-2 in 2022.
Marcel Reed, meanwhile, led Texas A&M to its biggest road win in more than a decade by throwing for 360 yards, including the game winner to Nate Boerkircher with 13 seconds to play.
Reed, alongside Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson, TCU’s Josh Hoover and Texas Tech’s Behren Morton, are all off to exceptional starts, and there’s not a single other QB in the state of Texas whose early production is also worth mentioning here. Nope. Can’t think of anyone.
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Each week, big plays, big upsets and big wins shape the narrative in college football, but dozens of smaller stories can have just as significant an impact in the long run. We try to keep tabs on the more subtle shifts in the sport here.
Trending down: Losing interestingly
Florida losing football games is hardly news anymore, but Saturday’s 20-10 defeat at the hands of LSU was more disappointing because no one did anything particularly stupid in the process of losing. Of course, Florida’s downward spiral began five years ago against LSU when Marco Wilson threw a shoe, and it reached a new depth last week against USF when Brendan Bett spit on a Bulls O-lineman. Saturday’s defeat offered none of that — no DJ Lagway giving Brian Kelly a wedgie, no Billy Napier forgetting to call a late timeout, because he was eating a bowl of spaghetti on the sideline, not even a missed field goal because the kicker tried using a 9-iron instead of his foot. Frankly, it’s like Florida’s not even trying to be bad anymore.
Trending up: Spite songs
Oklahoma couldn’t bring its band to Philadelphia for its game against Temple, ostensibly because that many oboes couldn’t fit into the Sooner Schooner without risking the whole thing sinking while attempting to ford the Schuylkill River, so the fine folks at St. Joseph’s University stepped up to help out.
The St. Joe’s band playing “Boomer Sooner” at a Temple game.
What a world. pic.twitter.com/lDlmmIkxhC
— Joe Mussatto (@joe_mussatto) September 13, 2025
It wasn’t an entirely benevolent gesture, however. The St. Joe’s band just wanted to troll its Big Five rival, Temple.
It wasn’t the only school to throw a little salt in the wound by employing an “enemy of my enemy is my friend” philosophy on Saturday either. After Georgia Tech knocked off Clemson, the stadium blared “Sandstorm,” the song famously employed by Tigers rival South Carolina. Not to be outdone, UMass blasted the entirety of Creed’s “Human Clay” in the locker room before the game in hopes the players would just quit and go home before having to play Iowa.
Trending down: Scheduling up
Indiana closed out another gauntlet of a nonconference schedule on Friday, narrowly escaping Indiana State 73-0. The Hoosiers are now 6-0 in nonconference regular-season games under Curt Cignetti, who urges you not to Google any of those opponents. Just be sure they’re all really good.
Trending up: Burnt ends
A sizable portion of the field at Wake Forest was covered in smoke during the first half Thursday night after a BBQ food truck caught fire just outside the stadium because, we assume, someone finally realized vinegar-based sauce is trash, and it all needed to go.
A food truck has caught fire at the NC State-Wake Forest game pic.twitter.com/KqdFMhSiYc
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) September 12, 2025
In the second half, it was NC State on fire, as the Wolfpack erased a seven-point halftime deficit for a 34-24 win. NC State is now 3-0 and perfectly poised for another of its patented 9-4 and fourth in “others receiving votes” seasons in 2025.
Trending down: Sleeves
Biff Poggi, the former Charlotte coach and what happens when you let your grandfather shop at Hot Topic, was patrolling a sideline as an FBS head coach again Saturday, filling in at Michigan for the suspended Sherrone Moore (though we can’t rule out that he was on Central Michigan‘s sideline in a CMU hat, glasses and a fake mustache). Turned out, the Wolverines didn’t miss a beat, dismissing Central Michigan 63-3 behind three touchdowns from QB Bryce Underwood. Poggi’s role, however, may have been minimal.
Biff Poggi isn’t taking credit for Bryce Underwood’s big game.
“I have a Labrador retriever who could coach that guy,” Poggi said. “He’s unbelievable.” pic.twitter.com/xdTdwBTwQu
— Austin Meek (@byAustinMeek) September 13, 2025
Frankly, if Michigan doesn’t have Poggi’s Labrador coach the team against Nebraska next week, Moore should be suspended another three games.
Trending up: Renewing rivalries
Delaware and UConn renewed a rivalry Saturday that had been dormant since the last time people unironically listened to Limp Bizkit, and the Blue Hens made up for lost time, knocking off the Huskies 44-41 in overtime behind Nick Minicucci‘s 13-yard walk-off touchdown run. The game marked the first time Delaware, a first-year member of Conference USA, hosted an FBS team since 1989, and it was the first meeting between the two former Atlantic 10 members since 1998. The win will surely be remembered as one of the watershed sporting events in the state’s history right alongside the 2003 FCS national championship and the time Mike Brey won six straight games of beer pong in a random Dewey Beach backyard while on his way to The Starboard.
Trending up: Ball confusion
Of all the things that have been thrown around Lane Kiffin over the years — clipboards, golf balls, insults — Saturday’s game against Arkansas offered a new one.
— Mr. Salmons (@MrSalmons) September 14, 2025
We assume this was John Calipari’s fault, but it had little impact on the outcome, as Ole Miss survived a tight game (41-35) without starting QB Austin Simmons. Afterward, Kiffin also used the basketball to beat Bobby Petrino in a rousing game of S-A-B-A-N.
Trending up: A Beamer in Blacksburg
Virginia Tech was demolished at home by Old Dominion 45-26 on Saturday in what feels like the last straw for Brent Pry as coach with the Hokies falling to 0-3.
Meanwhile, with LaNorris Sellers injured midway through Saturday’s game, South Carolina was beat by Vanderbilt at home 31-7.
Could that combo be the first steps to Virginia Tech bringing Shane Beamer home?
Beamer was interested in the job when his father, Frank, retired after the 2015 season, but the Hokies never seriously considered him. Then Virginia Tech tried to lure him before hiring Pry in 2022, but he wasn’t interested. Now, perhaps the timing is right if Beamer sees an easier path to the playoff in the ACC and the Hokies are willing to shell out any amount of cash for a little goodwill from a frustrated fan base.
On the other hand, Beamer is in a good place at South Carolina for the near term, and Virginia Tech may actually be converting Lane Stadium into a Spirit Halloween Store by the end of the week, too.
Under-the-radar game of the week
Two FCS powers collided Saturday, with Montana erasing a nine-point deficit in the final five minutes to beat North Dakota 24-23.
Montana QB Keali’i’ Ah Yat delivered a 28-yard touchdown pass with 1:35 to play that proved the difference in the game.
0:27
Keali’i Ah Yat airs it out for a 28-yard touchdown pass
Keali’i Ah Yat airs it out for 28-yard touchdown pass
The win establishes the Grizzlies as an FCS championship contender, and it also settles a longtime debate between Montana and North Dakota about who has to house-sit for Canada during hockey season.
Under-the-radar play of the week
Samford knew it faced an uphill battle in a game against Baylor, so the Bulldogs emptied the vault and went to the one play no one could stop late in the first quarter Saturday.
“LOLLIPOP BALL! That ball was in the air forever.”
Breaking out the trick plays 👏 pic.twitter.com/8vKFYfwSA2
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) September 13, 2025
The touchdown — um, pass? — from C.J. Evans to Torrey Ward pulled Samford to within seven at the time, and earned plaudits from Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, who called it “the finest bit of passing offense I’ve seen in all my years.”
Sadly, the throw didn’t inspire Samford to more offensive fireworks, as Baylor rolled to a 42-7 lead.
Heisman five
0:34
John Mateer takes it 51 yards to the house for OU
John Mateer takes it 51-yards to the end zone for the Sooners vs. the Owls.
You have to hand it to Arch Manning. Even amid all the hype and publicity he has already gotten, he wants to ratchet things up even further by attempting to become the first Heisman winner who once completed 5-of-16 throws for 69 yards and a pick in the first half against UTEP. Don’t worry, those Texas fans weren’t saying “boo.” They were saying “Booooo-k your ticket to New York for the Heisman.”
1. Oklahoma QB John Mateer
Mateer had 325 total yards and a pair of touchdowns in Oklahoma’s 42-3 win over Temple, and afterward housed three Jim’s cheesesteaks, repaired the Liberty Bell and added the words “Texas sucks” to the Declaration of Independence before skipping town.
2. Utah QB Devon Dampier
Dampier racked up 316 total yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 31-6 win over Wyoming. The Utes were 9-of-15 on third down in the game and 1-of-1 on fourth. For the season now, Utah is 32-of-46 on third, 3-of-3 on fourth and has kicked two field goals. Add it all up, and with Dampier leading the offense so far, the Utes have gotten a first down or points on 80% on down sets that reach third down.
3. Miami QB Carson Beck
In two games vs. ranked opponents this year (Notre Dame, USF), Beck has racked up 545 passing yards and six total touchdowns, enough success that police say they’re going to finally follow up on some leads about his missing Lamborghini.
4. Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed
The Aggies are 3-0 thanks to Reed’s heroics against Notre Dame. Reed threw for 360 yards and two touchdowns — the latter coming on fourth-and-goal with 13 seconds to play — to beat the Irish. After the game, Jimbo Fisher noted that if he had a QB who could do that, he would be $75 million poorer right now.
5. Missouri RB Ahmad Hardy
Missouri is 3-0 after a dominant 52-10 win over Louisiana, and the Tigers probably deserve a good bit more hype as a potential playoff contender. But if Missouri is flying under the radar, its running back shouldn’t be. Hardy carried 22 times for 250 yards and three scores Saturday, his third straight game to start the season with over 100 yards on the ground. A year ago, while at Louisiana-Monroe, Hardy ran for 172 yards and a score against the Cajuns, bringing his career total vs. Louisiana to 422 yards rushing. Rarely is that much damage done to Louisiana by one person who isn’t on spring break.
Game-day notes
Sandwiched between scoring drives of 76 and 75 yards, Clemson’s offense totaled negative-7 yards on back-to-back three-and-outs after halftime Saturday. Those four series tell the story of the 12th-ranked Tigers’ stale, trick-or-treat offensive showing in a 24-21 loss to Georgia Tech, one that could tank Clemson’s College Football Playoff hopes. Concerns around the Cade Klubnik/Garrett Riley-led offense were already there headed into Week 3 with the Tigers entering Saturday ranked 120th in total offense and 129th in rushing yards nationally, while Klubnik sat 60th in yards per play among Power 4 quarterbacks through two games. Veteran running back Adam Randall (16 carries, 86 yards) injected some energy into the Tigers’ rushing attack, but Klubnik’s turnovers on Clemson’s opening series of each half — including a red zone interception after halftime — were costly, and Riley’s offense ultimately pieced together only three drives of five or more plays across nine total offensive series. The loss, which dropped the Tigers’ playoff odds to 5%, per ESPN Research, is a potential backbreaker for a once-promising season. Klubnik, Riley and Clemson coach Dabo Swinney will have questions to answer about the offense that has now scored the program’s fewest points through three games since 1999.
Georgia Tech, meanwhile, has announced itself as a legitimate playoff contender, helped in part by a favorable schedule the rest of the way. Haynes King‘s barreling, third-quarter touchdown run at the end of a 13-play, 90-yard scoring, followed by a bold “Philly Special” playcall on the subsequent 2-point conversion from offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, flashed the blend of toughness and creativity that can make the Yellow Jackets so dangerous (and so fun). Coach Brent Key is now 12-6 in one-score games at Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets were far from perfect Saturday, but they project as favorites in the majority of their games before a Nov. 28 meeting with Georgia. The question has to be asked: Could King, Key and Georgia Tech make a run at a spot in the 12-team playoff field this fall? — Eli Lederman
For the past two weeks, Georgia’s defense heard about how well it was playing, especially after carrying the offense in last week’s closer-than-expected victory over FCS program Austin Peay.
But in Saturday’s 44-41 victory in overtime at No. 15 Tennessee, the No. 6 Bulldogs looked lost at times on defense.
The high-flying Volunteers scored touchdowns on their first three possessions. Quarterback Joey Aguilar connected on his first 14 pass attempts for 213 yards and two scores.
“They grew up,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “I mean, look, defense, for two weeks has heard about how good they are. They got punched in the face.”
On Aguilar’s 72-yard touchdown to Chris Brazzell II in the first quarter, cornerback Ellis Robinson IV was beaten on a 50-50 ball when he mistimed his jump. Brazzell was wide open on a 14-yard touchdown that gave the Volunteers a 21-7 lead.
Late in the third quarter, cornerback Daniel Harris was in position to make a play on a deep pass, but he was beaten on Brazzell’s 56-yard touchdown catch.
“In the past, we’ve played them well, we didn’t give up big plays,” Smart said. “Today, we didn’t do that, and it’s not all on the corners. We didn’t have a guy in the middle of the field. We misjudged the ball. I mean, they’re correctable things, which is a good thing, and we really weren’t beat. We just misplayed it.”
Georgia’s defense made some adjustments, and the Volunteers didn’t score on five straight possessions, which allowed the Bulldogs to erase the two-touchdown deficit and take the lead.
Georgia will get a week off to make corrections before hosting No. 19 Alabama on Sept. 27. The Bulldogs have to generate more pressure on the quarterback, and inexperienced defensive backs like Robinson and Kyron Jones are going to have to continue to grow.
“We have to improve, and that’s the goal,” Smart said. “We want to be on an elevating trajectory, not flat.” — Mark Schlabach
While other high-profile action played out elsewhere, Ole Miss and Arkansas treated the country to eight combined first-half touchdowns in the Rebels’ 41-35 win Saturday night. Per ESPN Research, the game marked only the fourth SEC contest in the past 20 years in which both teams scored at least four touchdowns before halftime.
Ferris State transfer quarterback Trinidad Chambliss powered Ole Miss’ offensive outpouring. Starting in place of the injured Austin Simmons, Chambliss went 21-for-29 with 353 passing yards and joined Archie Manning, Chad Kelly and Jordan Ta’amu as the fourth passer in program history to record 350 passing yards and two rushing touchdowns in a game. Simmons doesn’t look like he’ll be out much longer, and even entered to throw a touchdown before halftime. But Chambliss’ dominant debut is evidence that the Rebels have a genuine insurance policy behind Simmons in the near and/or long term in 2025.
The good news for Arkansas: The Razorbacks have eclipsed 500 yards of offense in each of their three games and will have a chance to impact the 12-team playoff field this fall. The bad news: That’s primarily because seven of their final nine games are against teams currently ranked inside the AP Top 25, starting with Notre Dame on Sept. 27. That slate might not bode especially well for the Hogs’ own postseason aspirations, but Arkansas has a playmaking quarterback in Taylen Green and an offense capable of putting a dent in the hopes of a playoff contender sometime between now and late November, just as the team showed in an impressive performance on the road at Ole Miss in Week 3. — Lederman
It’s three weeks into the season and Notre Dame has dropped out of the playoff conversation with an 0-2 start following its home loss to Texas A&M on Saturday.
In what was a wild, entertaining evening of college football, Georgia’s overtime win at Tennessee was overshadowed by what unfolded later in South Bend because the Aggies’ win had the bigger, more immediate impact on the playoff race.
And it’s going to last all season for the Irish, who no longer have any margin for error and have lost all control of their path to the playoff.
“The future’s uncertain,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. “I don’t know what’s the playoff number, and it doesn’t matter. We need to focus on getting better.”
So what does it mean for Texas A&M?
This list is fluid — and will continue to be early in the season. It is a ranking based on what each team has done to date — not last year or what it might do in the coming weeks. Here’s the latest prediction of what the selection committee’s top 12 would look like if it were released today.
Projecting the top 12
Why they could be here: The season-opening win against Texas remains one of the best nonconference wins in the country, but the Longhorns continue to have questions on offense against far less elite defenses. The Buckeyes entered this week No. 1 in ESPN’s strength of record metric and are ranked in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency — traits of past top-four playoff teams.
Why they could be lower: The committee does track when teams play FCS teams, and the 70-0 drubbing of Grambling doesn’t help Ohio State’s résumé. Saturday’s win against Ohio also doesn’t do much for the Buckeyes during a week in which Miami, Georgia and LSU all played tougher teams.
Need to know: Even if Texas doesn’t live up to the preseason hype and ranking, the selection committee will continue to respect Ohio State’s win against the Longhorns all season — as long as Texas doesn’t come unraveled. It will be a moot point if Ohio State locks up a CFP spot by winning the Big Ten, but it would enter the conversation and help the Buckeyes when it comes to how high they can be seeded for an at-large bid. The top four teams now get the top four seeds — regardless of whether they are a conference champion.
Toughest remaining game: Nov. 1 vs. Penn State. ESPN’s FPI gives the Buckeyes a 64.8% chance to win.
Why they could be here: The Canes added to their résumé with a win against South Florida, which should still be the Group of 5’s top contender for a playoff spot. Coupled with the season-opening win against Notre Dame, Miami has one of the best combinations of eye test and résumé in the country.
Why they could be lower: The committee could be more impressed with the SEC wins, period. Georgia’s overtime road win against Tennessee could trump Miami’s home win against the Irish, and LSU’s two Power 4 wins against Clemson and now Florida could also usurp the Canes in a debate.
Need to know: Saturday’s win against the Bulls was a critical head-to-head tiebreaker that would be used in the committee meeting room if the teams finish with similar records. Even if they lock up spots as their respective conference champions, Miami would keep the edge — and the higher seed — on Selection Day, which could mean the difference in hosting a first-round home game.
Toughest remaining game: Oct. 4 at Florida State. ESPN’s FPI gives the Canes a 54.3% chance to beat their rival.
Why they could be here: The win against Tennessee in the SEC opener was the Bulldogs’ first statement victory, and it now lifts them above other contenders that have played well but against weaker teams. Ohio State’s defense, though, continues to keep the Buckeyes at the top, and Miami’s two wins against ranked teams — Notre Dame and South Florida — give it an edge in ESPN’s strength of record metric, which is similar to what the committee uses.
Why they could be higher: The committee considers the difficulty of playing overtime games on the road, and the former coaches and players in the room would also recognize the growth of quarterback Gunner Stockton in that unforgiving environment. Stockton completed 23 of 31 attempts for 304 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran for a score.
Need to know: It’s possible this instant classic could get a replay in either the SEC championship game or the playoff — or both. The selection committee doesn’t try to avoid rematches when it’s ranking the teams, so it’s possible for Georgia and Tennessee to play as many as three times.
Toughest remaining game: Sept. 27 vs. Alabama. This game is at home, and the Bulldogs have an off week to prepare for it, but the Tide have shown continuous improvement since their season-opening loss to Florida State.
Why they could be here: The Tigers’ season-opening win at Clemson took another hit after the Tigers lost to Georgia Tech on Saturday, and the true value of beating a beleaguered Florida team at home is yet to be determined. Still, those combined wins outweigh what most of the contenders below them have accomplished. LSU’s defense has been a highlight, as the Tigers were No. 11 in the country in defensive efficiency heading into Week 3. They shut out the Gators in the second half, and quarterback DJ Lagway threw five interceptions.
Why they could be lower: The Tigers still haven’t flashed that wow factor, continuing to do just enough to win while overcoming mistakes. LSU had only 10 first downs (compared with 22 by Florida), was held under 100 yards rushing, and was 4-of-14 on third downs. LSU ranks behind several other contenders listed below in ESPN’s game control metric.
Need to know: LSU should be undefeated heading into its Sept. 27 game at Ole Miss, which will be one of three critical road trips that will define the Tigers’ season. LSU also travels to Alabama and Oklahoma. The win against the Gators gives them a much-needed cushion, but they can’t go 0-3 on the road against those teams — and that doesn’t count the Oct. 18 trip to Vandy, which just beat South Carolina.
Toughest remaining game: Nov. 8 at Alabama. ESPN’s FPI gives the Tide a 77.6% chance to win.
Why they could be here: The road win at Notre Dame was the first statement playoff victory under coach Mike Elko, and it gives the Aggies one of the best nonconference wins of the season. It’s arguably better than the Canes’ victory against the Irish because Texas A&M did it on the road. It wasn’t a flawless performance, but it was enough to boost the Aggies into the conversation.
Why they could be lower: It’s hard to tell how good a win is against Notre Dame this year, considering they’re 0-2. Texas A&M’s other two wins were against UTSA and Utah State, which won’t help their résumé.
Need to know: The selection committee compares results against common opponents. Though it’s not an overriding factor, the group would at least consider how Miami and Texas A&M looked in their wins against the Irish if the members were comparing the Aggies and Canes side-by-side during the ranking process.
Toughest remaining game: Oct. 25 at LSU. The Aggies also have a very difficult trip to rival Texas in the regular-season finale, but right now, the Tigers look like a tougher matchup on the road.
Why they could be here: With wins against Montana State, Oklahoma State and Northwestern, the Ducks have yet to be tested against ranked competition, but they haven’t had any scares. They shut out Northwestern for the first three quarters of their Big Ten opener and continued to look dominant even when scoring fewer than 60 points. Most of the teams ranked above them, though, have a more impressive win.
Why they could be higher: The Ducks are passing the eye test, albeit against weaker competition. They didn’t have any penalties in the win against Northwestern, and quarterback Dante Moore has thrown only one interception this season.
Need to know: Oregon doesn’t play Ohio State or Michigan during the regular season, so Penn State and Indiana (maybe USC?) will be the Ducks’ biggest obstacles to returning to the Big Ten title game. Even if the Ducks lose at Penn State, though, they could face the Nittany Lions again in the Big Ten championship (if Penn State can knock Ohio State out of it).
Toughest remaining game: Sept. 27 at Penn State. ESPN’s FPI gives the Nittany Lions a 50.8% chance to win — and it’s the only game on the Ducks’ schedule they’re not favored to win.
Why they could be here: The Noles had a bye, and the committee typically doesn’t shift teams that don’t play — unless it results from movement around them. The season-opening win against Alabama continues to shine, as the Tide has rebounded with back-to-back convincing wins. It also helps separate FSU from other contenders who didn’t earn a nonconference win against a top-25 opponent.
Why they could be lower: The win against Bama is all they’ve got now. The 77-3 blowout of FCS East Texas A&M won’t help them, and while the bye week isn’t a penalty, other teams had an opportunity to enhance their strength of record.
Need to know: Florida State doesn’t play Georgia Tech during the regular season, but it has a tricky trio against Miami, Clemson and at rival Florida. If the Noles can go 2-0 against the SEC, it would be a significant boost to their at-large hopes if they don’t win the ACC — assuming the Gators and Tide finish above .500 and have respectable seasons.
Toughest remaining game: Oct. 4 vs. Miami. The Nov. 8 trip to Clemson looks less daunting after the Tigers lost a second game.
Why they could be here: The preseason rankings and hype are irrelevant in the committee meeting room but the weak nonconference schedule is not. Wins against Nevada, Florida International and Villanova are keeping the Nittany Lions behind teams that have played against better opponents. The offense found a groove during a dominant second half against the Wildcats, and the defense did not allow a touchdown until the final play of the game.
Why they could be lower: Penn State’s nonconference win doesn’t include a Power 4 opponent, and questions linger about whether the offense is productive enough to beat Oregon. Expectations for quarterback Drew Allar were high entering this season, but he has only four passing touchdowns in three games against weaker opponents. He has completed less than 60% of his passes in each of the past two games. The Nittany Lions rank No. 65 in offensive efficiency — and the selection committee will expect more.
Need to know: The Nittany Lions have a bye week before hosting Oregon on Sept. 27.
Toughest remaining game: Nov. 1 at Ohio State. It’s the only game on the schedule that ESPN’s FPI doesn’t favor the Nittany Lions, as Ohio State has a 64.8% chance to win.
Why they could be here: There was no hint of a letdown at Temple a week after beating Michigan. The committee has always shown an appreciation for star power, and OU has it in quarterback John Mateer, who has resurrected the Sooners’ offense. Oklahoma’s lopsided win against an overmatched Temple team won’t do anything to boost the Sooners’ résumé, but it assured Oklahoma of a 3-0 start heading into Saturday’s SEC opener against Auburn.
Why they could be higher: Mateer has changed the outlook of this team, and the win against Michigan is one of the better nonconference victories in the country. The Wolverines rebounded and whalloped Central Michigan 63-3, reiterating the potential of freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood, who was smothered by OU’s defense.
Need to know: Oklahoma started 3-0 last year with a win against Temple, too, but then lost four of its next five games. The win against Michigan and play of Mateer indicate this season could be different, but the season-defining stretch begins against rival Texas on Oct. 11. The back half of the Sooners’ schedule is loaded with seven straight games against opponents that entered Week 3 ranked.
Toughest remaining game: Nov. 1 at Tennessee. Given how tough the Vols played in their overtime loss to Georgia, this should be another slugfest between two talented teams. ESPN’s FPI gives the Vols a 74.6% chance to win.
Why they could be here: The Vols’ game was so close that Georgia coach Kirby Smart said afterward he almost felt like he should apologize: “I don’t think we should have won that game. I thought they outplayed us in a lot of ways.” The committee will not penalize the Vols for losing an overtime game at home to one of the SEC’s best teams, but it will wonder about allowing 44 points, 502 yards, and having 10 penalties and two turnovers. The committee will still respect the season-opening win against Syracuse, which has won each of its past two games against weaker opponents.
Why they could be lower: The lack of a true statement win, plus the loss, could drop them behind the Illini. Considering the offensive showing, though, it’s hard to make a case for Texas ahead of Tennessee. The committee would consider that the Vols lost at home, while Texas lost at Ohio State. Tennessee’s win against Syracuse, though, is better than anything on the Longhorns’ résumé so far.
Need to know: The Vols have a realistic path to the SEC championship, where they could meet Georgia again. Tennessee doesn’t play LSU or Texas. It can’t go 0-2 against Alabama and Oklahoma, but the Vols get the Sooners at home.
Toughest remaining game: Oct. 18 at Alabama. ESPN’s FPI gives the Tide a 63.6% chance to win, but it’s the only other game on the schedule that the Vols aren’t projected to win.
Why they could be here: The Illini are 3-0 heading into their Big Ten opener at Indiana, including a road win at Duke. Illinois had no trouble against winless Western Michigan, but that won’t change its status in the committee meeting room this week. It didn’t help Illinois that Duke lost to Tulane, an outcome that somewhat devalues that win — at least for now.
Why they could be higher: Illinois is a legitimately talented, veteran team that continues to take care of business with veteran quarterback Luke Altmyer. The Illini entered the week ranked No. 12 in offensive efficiency, another stat that would jump out at the committee.
Need to know: Saturday’s game at Indiana will be an under-the-radar matchup that might impact the CFP because both teams could be competing with each other for an at-large bid. The winner could knock out the loser with the head-to-head tiebreaker. It’s possible for both to get in, but it’s hard to imagine the Big Ten getting five teams in the 12-team field (Ohio State, Penn State, Oregon, Indiana and Illinois).
Toughest remaining game: Oct. 11 vs. Ohio State. Illinois gets the Buckeyes at home, but ESPN’s FPI gives Ohio State a 74.5% chance to win.
Why they could be here: The Longhorns have won back-to-back games since their season-opening loss at Ohio State, but questions about the offense remain. Running backs CJ Baxter and Quintrevion Wisner missed all or parts of the game because of injuries, and quarterback Arch Manning had another underwhelming passing performance with one touchdown and an interception. He accounted for two rushing touchdowns, but this was hardly a smooth performance. Texas was just 5-of-16 on third downs and 2-of-5 on fourth downs. Meanwhile, rival Oklahoma is soaring offensively with quarterback John Mateer, and the Sooners’ win against Michigan is better than anything Texas has earned.
Why they could be lower: It has been Arch Maddening for Texas fans, who booed their quarterback after an interception in the red zone. That throw was part of 10 straight incompletions at one point. Manning completed just 5 of 16 passes (31%) in the first half for 69 yards.
Need to know: The Longhorns have one more tuneup game, on Saturday against Sam Houston, before opening SEC play on Oct. 4 at Florida.
Toughest remaining game: Nov. 15 at Georgia.
Bracket
Based on the rankings above, the seeding would be:
First-round byes
No. 1 Ohio State (Big Ten champ)
No. 2 Miami (ACC champ)
No. 3 Georgia (SEC champ)
No. 4 LSU
First-round games
On campus, Dec. 19 and 20
No. 12 South Florida (American champ) at No. 5 Texas A&M
No. 11 Iowa State (Big 12 champ) at No. 6 Oregon
No. 10 Tennessee at No. 7 Florida State
No. 9 Oklahoma at No. 8 Penn State
Quarterfinal games
At the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl Presented by Prudential and Allstate Sugar Bowl on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.
No. 12 South Florida/No. 5 Texas A&M winner vs. No. 4 LSU
No. 11 Iowa State/No. 6 Oregon winner vs. No. 3 Georgia
No. 10 Tennessee/No. 7 Florida State winner vs. No. 2 Miami
No. 9 Oklahoma/No. 8 Penn State winner vs. No. 1 Ohio State
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