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

Notre Dame’s first loss: at Pittsburgh – Saturday, Oct. 24

Speaking of the Irish, their one season playing as a member of the ACC has gotten off to a relatively quiet start, even if they have gone 3-0 to begin the year. They struggled far more than expected against Duke, blew out South Florida and then let Florida State hang with them much more than most people expected them to in Week 6. So where does that leave the Irish?

The Notre Dame defense is likely better than we thought coming into the year but Ian Book and the offense might also be less consistent and, frankly, worse than we expected. So when they come up against the Pittsburgh Panthers defense in Week 8 — particularly with that game being on the road — Brian Kelly’s team is going to get caught flat-footed and take a loss as they head into the meat of their schedule.

Oklahoma State’s first loss: Big 12 Championship Game

Coming into the 2020 college football season, I picked the Oklahoma State Cowboys as the best team in the Big 12. In the middle of October, that looks very much like it’s actually the case. However, it’s for different reasons than expected. Chuba Hubbard and the offense haven’t been particularly dynamic without Spencer Sanders but the defense has been stifling, especially when compared to their counterparts in the conference.

For that reason and with Sanders set to return soon, I expect Oklahoma State to solidify their place in the Big 12 throughout the regular season. One thing we’ve seen from Mike Gundy over the years, though, is the propensity to either lose in big games or in games he shouldn’t. If the Cowboys can win out to enter the Big 12 Championship Game undefeated, that would certainly apply as they have enough flaws to get knocked off with a potential College Football Playoff berth hanging in the balance.

SMU’s first loss: at Tulsa – Saturday, Nov. 14

All that we’ve seen from the SMU Mustangs this season has been impressive. Despite some obvious rust in their opener, they survived against Texas State. They then trounced North Texas and SFA before knocking off Memphis. Shane Buechele has the offense rolling and, even with some injuries to key weapons, and the defense has enough juice with the pass rush to make some plays.

Cincinnati might cause SMU some problems but I believe the Mustangs have too much offense for the Bearcats to hang with. Tulsa, however, is a team just waiting to knock off AAC heavy-hitters. With a strong defense and capable offense, the Golden Hurricane don’t have the name-brand value of a marquee game circled on the schedule but they can hang with anyone. That will be where SMU slips up.

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