The losses continued to pile up for highly ranked teams this past weekend with Ole Miss, Georgia, Notre Dame and UCLA joining the growing list of top teams that have stumbled early on this season. A number of sleeper teams have opened the season with a perfect record through the first five weeks and the combination of their climb and the others’ descent has opened the door for potential chaos when it comes to the College Football Playoff race.
Here is a look at four teams that have forced their way in to the discussion for the CFP with strong starts to the 2015 season.
Utah Utes
The Utes had the week off and that’s probably a good thing following an emotional win over Oregon that vaulted them up the power rankings across the country. They’re now up to No. 5 in the AP Top 25. Utah wasn’t getting a ton of attention after close wins over Michigan and Utah State, but then they beat up on Fresno State and made an absolute statement with a lopsided 62-20 win over the Ducks.
Quarterback Travis Wilson and running back Devontae Booker have the potential to lead a capable offense while the Utes’ defense and special teams is among the most dominant in the nation. Navigating a tough Pac-12 schedule that includes games against California, USC and UCLA won’t be easy, but Utah has the talent to do something special this season. They’ve suddenly emerged as a sleeper contender for the College Football Playoff.
Clemson Tigers
After a close win at Louisville bumped them to 3-0, there were some that questioned whether Clemson had enough left in the tank to take down Notre Dame. They got the job done at home in a 24-22 win that went down to the wire and now they are up to No. 6 in the AP Top 25. They’re actually the top team from the ACC. Deshaun Watson threw for two touchdowns and ran for another while running back Wayne Gallman had 98 rushing yards. The defense stepped up big time including a stop on a potential game-tying two-point conversion to hold on for the win.
Nobody will crown Clemson as a national title contender just yet but when you consider they are undefeated at 4-0, ranked No. 6 in the country and have a relatively manageable schedule the rest of the way with only one opponent that is currently ranked (No. 12 Florida State), the Tigers are certainly a sleeper pick to contend for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
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LSU Tigers
Sophomore running back Leonard Fournette has established himself as the Heisman trophy frontrunner after stringing together a third-straight 200-yard rushing performance in a 44-22 win over Eastern Michigan. Fournette is up to 864 rushing yards with 11 touchdowns and is a big reason why no team wants to play LSU right now. Another dominant rushing performance has taken some of the attention away from the fact that sophomore quarterback Brandon Harris has been held to 80 passing yards or fewer in three of the Tigers’ first three games but as long as Fournette continues to dominate and the defense holds its own, they have a chance in every game.
The schedule is about to get a lot tougher with games against Florida, Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas A&M but at 4-0 LSU is now on the CFP radar in the SEC.
Florida Gators
Georgia’s loss to Alabama combined with Florida’s lopsided 38-10 win over Ole Miss has the Gators alone atop the SEC West at 5-0 and looking like a legitimate contender. The fact that Florida reportedly had at least 25 players that were battling the flu when they played the Rebels made their big win that much more impressive.
Suddenly this program is (finally) being talked about for all the right reasons. The SEC schedule is about to get tougher with games against LSU and Georgia but if they can find a way to win those two games, they could be on the fast track to shock the world as a dark horse contender to play in this year’s College Football Playoff.
