College football: Predicting the first loss for every remaining undefeated team

Air Force’s first loss: vs. Boise State – Saturday, Oct. 31

Despite the fact that the rest of the Mountain West has yet to play a game, Air Force played a service academy special at the start of October and the Falcons scored a big 40-7 win over Navy, one in which their defense was lights-out and they made some big plays in the running game. But the question now becomes if that will continue once conference play kicks off on Oct. 24.

The Falcons have a legitimate shot to be one of the best teams in the Mountain West, especially if what their defense showed against Navy can be considered the norm. Having said that, Air Force isn’t one of the 25 best teams in the nation. Boise State, on the other hand, is. A Broncos team with a nice bit of experience should be disciplined enough to handle the Falcons and dole out a loss.

Alabama’s first loss: vs. Georgia – Saturday, Oct. 17

Even before the schedule changes hit the SEC, Georgia vs. Alabama was going to be one of the premier games of the 2020 college football season. Now we get it in the middle of October and it figures to live up to the hype. The Crimson Tide’s offense has proven one of the best in the country with Mac Jones while the Bulldogs defense has been suffocating to begin the year as well. It’s a classic rivalry matchup with huge implications.

This was always going to be a neck-and-neck matchup given the quality of both teams involved. With Alabama head coach Nick Saban testing positive for COVID-19 and now having a reduced role in the game, however, that tips the needle just slightly. The Dawgs already had the best chance in the SEC to beat the Tide and that gives them a little more slack in the line to make it happen.

BYU’s first loss: at Houston – Friday, Oct. 16

Led by dynamic quarterback Zach Wilson, aptly nicknamed the “Mormon Manziel”, the BYU Cougars have gotten off to a hot 4-0 start and impressively so. Prior to a 27-20 win over UTSA last week, the Cougars hadn’t won a game by fewer than 31 points to start the year. No matter the level of competition — and they’ve played nothing but FBS teams, it should be said — that’s impressive.

Now going on the road to play Houston, though, Wilson and BYU are going to be tested. Houston’s offense flashed majorly in their one game of the year, a win over Tulane, and could push BYU more than they have been yet this season. Subsequently, we could see a shootout, which could then lead to Wilson’s apparent volatility in that type of game to bite him and his team, dropping them to 4-1 on the year.