Ranking The 39 Unbeaten College Football Teams

[Wagerallsports]

3. Georgia (3-0)​

SP+ and FPI rankings: 2nd and 3rd

SP+ strength of schedule to date: 82nd

Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 19.5%

What they did in Week 3: def. South Carolina 24-14

Why they're ranked here: A responsible writer would keep Georgia No. 1 on this list, but I'm already quite frustrated with the sleepwalking. I wrote a week ago that the Dawgs' propensity for starting games slowly might catch up to them, and it threatened to do just that in Week 3 as they fell behind South Carolina -- a team that got thumped by North Carolina two weeks ago -- 14-3 at halftime. They rallied as always, and they might continue to rally moving forward. But Washington has given us a sustained glimpse of its ceiling over the past three weeks, and Georgia has done the bare minimum.

 

[Wagerallsports]

2. Ohio State (3-0)​

SP+ and FPI rankings: 1st and 1st

SP+ strength of schedule to date: 101st

Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 9.4%

What they did in Week 3: def. Western Kentucky 63-10

Why they're ranked here: After going with my gut, I'll listen to the numbers and go with the team that ranks first in both SP+ and FPI. Ryan Day's Buckeyes finally beat projections (and the spread) Saturday, mostly shutting down a potent WKU attack while the offense looked like Ohio State's offense is always supposed to look. If the Buckeyes survive this Saturday's trip to South Bend, only Week 8's Penn State visit and Week 13's trip to Michigan could challenge them.

 

[Wagerallsports]

1. Washington (3-0)​

SP+ and FPI rankings: 8th and 11th, respectively

SP+ strength of schedule to date: 74th

Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 5.5%

What they did in Week 3: def. Michigan State 41-7

Why they're ranked here: Honestly, I'm going with my gut here, and my gut's wrong quite frequently. But Washington has played two SP+ top-60 teams so far -- not amazing, but more than most at this stage of the season -- and exceeded projections by more than 20 points in both games. Michael Penix Jr. is posting downright disgusting stats (444 passing yards per game, 11.5 yards per dropback), and we're still learning about the team's ceiling, especially on defense. I don't know how long this will last, but the Huskies have been the best team of 2023.