They say you can't judge college football teams until after Week 3 but, of course, there's already folks overhyping teams that find themselves undefeated after Week 2.
While there are plenty of programs that are deservedly 2-0 and will continue to rattle off wins the rest of the season, sometimes it requires a little tough love to bring those overzealous fan bases back to Earth. Let's examine a few of those here.
Minnesota Golden Gophers
Who doesn't love a hot P.J. Fleck-led football team? The Gophers have scored a grand total of 89 points in just two games but it would serve folks well to look at their opponents before getting on the bandwagon. Minnesota beat up on Buffalo and Northwestern State. Mercy killings to say the least.
The Gophers also play in a stacked Big Ten Conference that will see them play at least two potential College Football Playoff contenders in No. 1 Ohio State and No. 4 Oregon. There shouldn't be any expectations higher than a low bowl game for Fleck's squad. Their Week 3 opponent will be an interesting test of their true potential, however. They face another 2-0 squad that could be exposed as pretenders as soon as they finish playing Minnesota.
California Golden Bears
California sits atop the ACC after Week 2. That's a sentence many never thought would be written seriously. The Golden Bears handled a scrappy Oregon State team in Week 1 and then mauled Texas Southern the following game. But that's probably as far as their dominance will go this year.
Head coach Justin Wilcox knows what he's doing, I'm not denying that. But Cal's remaining schedule is full of toss ups and surefire losses down the stretch. Minnesota will be just their first hurdle with dates against Duke, Louisville and SMU waiting in the wings. The Golden Bears could certainly be headed for the postseason but just not the College Football Playoff.
Mississippi State Bulldogs
The last-minute upset win over Arizona State was hype to watch in Week 2. It could serve as a catalyst for a level of success Mississippi State hasn't seen in quite a long time. Cushy Week 3 and 4 matchups with Alcorn State and Northern Illinois will probably see the Bulldogs double their win total from last season but that likely will all come crashing down once SEC play gets underway.
Six of Mississippi State's eight conference games are currently against ranked opponents. There's little chance they can escape with a victory in any of them so they may have to rely on pulling off an upset or two against the others to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2022.