Only 18 college football teams remain undefeated after five games but that number will dwindle. When will each of the unbeatens lose their first game?
Five weeks into the 2019 college football season and the chase for perfection has already ended for the majority of teams. In fact, as we enter Week 6 of the campaign, only 18 teams throughout the country remain undefeated, including four who are still being snubbed by AP Poll voters and remain unranked.
Achieving perfection is never easy, even if the Clemson Tigers made it look that way last year on their way to the National Championship. When you consider the fact that the Big Ten and SEC each have five undefeated teams. Of course, not everyone can finish with an unblemished record.
That, of course, begs the question of when the remaining undefeated teams will taste defeat for the first time this season. Let’s answer that for the 18 remaining unbeaten teams, going from the unranked teams to the No. 1 team in the country.
Minnesota Golden Gophers – First Loss: Oct. 12 vs. Nebraska
The Golden Gophers have rowed the boat to begin 2019, speeding off to a 4-0 start. However, this team has yet to beat any Power 5 opponent outside of Purdue, who lost their starting quarterback and All-American receiver, Rondale Moore, in that game. Furthermore, P.J. Fleck’s team has played with fire, winning all four games by seven points or less. Minnesota’s defense has plenty of obvious holes. Thus, when they face Adrian Martinez and Nebraska — even if the Huskers can’t stop anyone either — the Golden Gophers will finally notch a tally in the loss column.
Memphis Tigers – First Loss: Oct. 12 at Temple
Brady White and the Memphis Tigers have stayed true to the brand on their way to an unbeaten start. This team is putting up points in a big way, averaging 36.8 points, the 29th best mark in college football. However, as they go on the road to face Temple in Week 8, things will get dicey. The Owls have proven that their defense can ground a high-powered offense and, with the game in Philadelphia, Temple will be the ones to take down the Tigers first.
Baylor Bears – First Loss: Oct. 19 at Oklahoma State
Matt Rhule has the Baylor Bears playing a new brand of football. They aren’t just getting into a shootout every time out but are instead playing tough football, as shown by their latest win over Iowa State — even if they blew a lead and needed a late field goal to win. However, this team is going to have trouble with that style when they face a team that can almost score at will. So a trip to Stillwater to face Oklahoma State will spell doom for the Bears.
Appalachian State Mountaineers – First Loss: Nov. 9 at South Carolina
Led by quarterback Zac Thomas and an offense that ranks seventh in the country in scoring, Appalachian State is a scary team that seemingly is too talented for any non-Power 5 team to stop when they have the ball (and even for some Power 5 teams too, North Carolina in particular). Having said that, the Mountaineers have an early November trip to Columbia that will not turn out well. The Gamecocks aren’t world-beaters but the SEC defense and speed will be too much for App State.
No. 24 SMU Mustangs – First Loss: Nov. 2 at Memphis
SMU has been perhaps the most quietly impressive team in college football through five weeks. Ranked for the first time since receiving the NCAA’s death penalty in the ’80s, the Mustangs look quite legit with Texas transfer Shane Buechele running the show. This team wins with offense and will do so for most of the year. However, when they have to go on the road to face another team who does just that in Memphis, the Tigers will best SMU to create quite the race in the AAC.
No. 22 Wake Forest Demon Deacons – First Loss: Nov. 16 at Clemson
Between Jamie Newman and Sage Surratt, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons are a team of breakout stars. And while they’ve been played closely by every quality team they’ve faced in Utah State, North Carolina and Boston College, they’ve pulled out victories nonetheless. In a largely questionable ACC, that should continue to be the case until they have to go to Clemson. Though the Tigers haven’t been otherworldly good and are coming off a near-upset of their own, they are just deeper and more gifted than the Demon Deacons, which will earn them the win at home in mid-November.
No. 16 Boise State Broncos – First Loss: Oct. 19 at BYU
Boise State is not a perfect team but they’ve done more than enough to stay perfect to this point and, more importantly, have seen quarterback Hank Bachmeier and the team prove their grit in tough wins. While this might be outlandish, a trip to BYU in a few weeks is going to be their first defeat of the year. The Cougars have been wildly inconsistent amidst a 2-3 start but have also proven that they can compete with the best teams. And with the matchup with the Broncos in Provo, Zach Wilson and BYU will earn another upset victory.
No. 14 Iowa Hawkeyes – First Loss: Oct. 12 vs. Penn State
Many people might look at Iowa’s Week 6 matchup with Michigan in Ann Arbor and peg that as the Hawkeyes’ first loss of 2019. Those are the people who still believe in Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines, a group I am no longer a part of. A group I am a part of, though, is the contingent that thinks Iowa isn’t in the top-tier of Big Ten teams. Penn State, however, may be. Their defense is beastly and Sean Clifford has shown flashes, which should be enough to hand Iowa their first loss of the year.
No. 12 Penn State Nittany Lions – First Loss: Oct. 26 at Michigan State
Speaking of Penn State, they are an incredibly good team that has exceeded my expectations this season. The defense has performed as expected with playmakers like Yetur Gross-Matos leading the way. However, Clifford, K.J. Hammer and the offense have been better than previously thought. Having said that, that offense will have its hiccups against a stout Michigan State defense in East Lansing, which will lead to the Nittany Lions falling on the road.
No. 10 Florida Gators – First Loss: Oct. 12 at LSU
More on this shortly but I have Kyle Trask and Florida’s stout defense surviving against Auburn in Week 6 in Gainesville. However, the story will not be the same the following week as the Gators travel to Baton Rouge to face LSU. The Tigers look fearsome in every regard right now with a defense rife with elite talent and an offense that is simply humming. Florida just won’t be able to keep up on the scoreboard, leading to their first defeat.
No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers – First Loss: Oct. 26 at Ohio State
It appears the Wisconsin hype has died down after the Badgers struggled to totally put away Northwestern in Week 5. Make no mistake, this is a good football team with an established identity: The legs of Jonathan Taylor. Wisconsin should find themselves pretty easily waltzing into the Big Ten Championship but they won’t do so with a perfect record. As good as the Badgers are, they aren’t on the level of Ohio State, who they have to face on the road at the end of October.
No. 7 Auburn Tigers – First Loss: Oct. 5 at Florida
Auburn’s ferocious defense may be up against Florida starting a backup quarterback but Bo Nix is also facing a very dangerous Gators defense. Putting a young and highly inconsistent quarterback in that matchup (in The Swamp, no less) seems like it could be a tough ask. It’ll be ugly but I favor the home team in what should be a grinding, defense-heavy affair in Gainesville for Week 6 as the Tigers will drop their first contest of the year this week.
No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners – First Loss: College Football Playoff
No team in the Big 12 can hang with the Oklahoma — not even Texas. Even if the Sooners’ defense, once again, doesn’t look like an elite group, their offense might be even better than the elite groups of the past few years. And as offense is king in the Big 12, that means the Sooners roll through the conference slate without a blemish. Things will change against elite competition in the College Football Playoff, though, where the OU defense will be exposed.
No. 5 LSU Tigers – First Loss: Oct. 26 vs. Auburn
LSU does not have an easy schedule remaining. Even having already faced and beaten Texas, the Tigers still have matchups with three current top-10 teams: Florida, Auburn and at Alabama. They’re going to lose one of those games but not the one you might be thinking.
I firmly believe that LSU is a bad matchup for Alabama and that the Tigers can go to Tuscaloosa and knock off the Crimson Tide. However, Joe Burrow and co. host Auburn the week before that and, with Auburn’s defensive talent, they’ll ground an LSU team that will get caught looking ahead to the titanic matchup with Bama.
No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes – First Loss: N/A
Even if they are the No. 4 team in the country, no college football team has been as impressive as the Ohio State Buckeyes to start the 2019 season. Between Justin Fields and a high-octane offense and a defense littered with elite talents like Chase Young and Jeff Okudah, the Buckeyes check every box. Put simply, they don’t have a true challenger in the Big Ten, which will result in a perfect regular season. But beyond that, they also don’t have a challenger in the country as Ryan Day’s team is my pick to win the National Championship without suffering a loss.
No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs – First Loss: College Football Playoff
Georgia really only has two games that you would circle as real tests remaining on their schedule: Florida in Jacksonville on Nov. 2 and at Auburn on Nov. 16. But the Bulldogs, at least on paper, are the better team in both of those matchups. Thus, they should be able to go unbeaten in the regular season and go into the SEC Championship. As mentioned when talking about LSU, Georgia has the right matchups to challenge the Tigers and take them down. That will put them back into the College Football Playoff but, at the end of the day, I don’t see them being able to get past Ohio State for a National Championship.
No. 2 Clemson Tigers – First Loss: College Football Playoff
Even before their near loss at North Carolina, Clemson hasn’t been as impressive as expected. Trevor Lawrence has been pedestrian and the defense has been good but not great. The good news for the Tigers, though, is that the ACC offers very few teams that can match their talent — and the Week 5 near-upset should be a wake-up call for Dabo Swinney’s team. Clemson should run the table in the regular season and the ACC Championship. Once in the College Football Playoff, though, they will be outmatched and won’t have the juice to get them back to the National Championship.
No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide – First Loss: Nov. 9 vs. LSU
Yes, Alabama has rolled through their first five games. And they also play LSU in Tuscaloosa. However, the simple fact is their defense has not been as dominant as we’re used to seeing, which is bad news when up against the Tigers’ newfound offensive firepower. On top of that, the top-end talent in LSU’s secondary may be the only matchup in college football that can slow down the Crimson Tide passing attack. Subsequently, the Tigers are going to pull off the massive upset and be the ones who actually want Bama in 2019.
For more NCAA football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages.