Few things cause college football coaches more frustration than getting their teams to play consistently well from week to week.
That general lack of reliability makes trap games as much a part of the sport’s fabric as marching bands, tailgate parties and complaining about top 25 rankings — and it's doubly true in one of the most chaotic seasons in recent memory. So as we hit the November stretch run, here are a few teams in the College Football Playoff rankings that ought to be wary this weekend.
No. 8 UCLA at Minnesota
UCLA (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) went from winning three games last year to feeling underappreciated — if not outright disrespected — by the CFP selection committee in its first weekly rankings. At No. 5 in both the Associated Press and coaches polls, the Bruins — the last team unbeaten in Big Ten play — could make a strong case for a top-four seed, only to fall toward the back of the top 10.
But they can’t afford to have that on their minds this weekend, or else coach P.J. Fleck and Minnesota will row their collective boat right over the Bruins. The feisty Golden Gophers (5-3, 3-2) are playing their third consecutive top-15 opponent and are coming off an excruciating overtime loss to reigning national champion Indiana. Nothing would wash the taste of that bitter loss out of their mouths quite like spoiling the Bruins' spotless start.
No. 19 Iowa at Northwestern
Another potential trap in the Big Ten has been set. The Hawkeyes (6-2, 3-2) couldn’t have been much better than they were in demolishing Wisconsin 30-0 last week — which is exactly what makes them ripe for a letdown. Since league play began, Iowa has yet to string two victories together. Northwestern (6-2, 3-2) let a double-figure second-half slip away in a 34-26 loss at Oregon. The Wildcats have one of the league’s most potent offenses, ranking second in scoring (33.6 points per game) and rushing (200.9 yards per game) and could challenge an Iowa defense giving up just 12.5 points per game.
No. 25 Boise State at Colorado State
OK, hear me out. There’s no escaping it: Colorado State (3-5, 1-3 Pac-12) has been awful. The Rams have the worst defense in the FBS, have dropped five of six and are coming off a 31-14 loss to Utah State. After that game, first-year coach Jim Mora Jr. called his team out, promising that "the hammer is coming down.”
Could that hammer ultimately fall on the Broncos? Boise State (7-1, 4-0) is in prime letdown-lookahead territory. This visit to Fort Collins is sandwiched between a tight 46-45 win over Texas State last week and next week’s visit from Oregon State for the likely Pac-12 lead. Even bad teams find ways to put everything together for just one game — and this could be that opportunity for Colorado State, which has the ability to put up points. Add in Boise being without starting quarterback Maddux Madsen, and crazier things have happened.
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