The Memphis Tigers had quietly navigated through the first five games of the season undefeated but they were forced into the spotlight in Week 7 and they responded with a statement the entire college football world heard.
After falling behind 14-0 to No. 12 Mississippi, Memphis rallied back to win the game 37-24 and establish themselves as a team that is a legitimate threat to do some serious damage this season. They aren’t the only team with serious CFP potential that has been overlooked this season.
Here is a look at the four best college football teams that have been overlooked so far this season.
Iowa Hawkeyes
Nobody really noticed when Iowa followed up a big win over Iowa State with a close win over Pittsburgh, but after taking down Wisconsin and Illinois, the Hawkeyes delivered their most impressive victory of the season with a 40-10 win over Northwestern on the road.
The Iowa offense exploded for 492 total yards of offense led by sophomore running back Akrum Wadley’s 204 yards and four touchdowns on the ground while their defense managed to force three turnovers. The Hawkeyes improved to 7-0 and while they might have been overlooked earlier in the year, that is certainly not the case anymore after their second win over a ranked opponent.
Memphis Tigers
Memphis could have folded to the pressure after falling behind by two touchdowns against a ranked SEC opponent in Ole Miss but instead they rallied together and found a way to come back for a huge statement win at home. Junior quarterback Paxton Lynch completed 39-of-53 passes for 384 yards and three touchdowns to lead a 31-0 run and the Tigers delivered in a clutch situation with their biggest victory of the season.
Memphis hadn’t gotten much love playing out of the AAC to this point but nobody is overlooking them anymore after that win. They still have the nation’s third-longest winning streak dating back to last season (only behind Ohio State and TCU) and they’re going to continue to climb if they can take care of business. They still have two matchups against ranked teams on the schedule with No. 21 Houston and No. 22 Temple – both on the road – in back-to-back weeks in November.
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Toledo Rockets
Senior quarterback Phillip Ely continued his dominant campaign with 327 passing yards and four touchdowns in a 63-20 win over Eastern Michigan and suddenly the surprising Rockets are undefeated at 6-0.
The schedule hasn’t been nearly as difficult as what Iowa and Memphis have had to deal with but Toledo has dominated with four straight double-digit victories and suddenly they are up to No. 19 in the AP Top 25 rankings.
We know what the story is with MAC teams (and to a lesser extent, teams from mid-major conferences), they are going to need to stay perfect, crush everyone in their path and look very impressive to get the national attention. It’ll be hard for them to get into the CFP conversation even if they stay perfect, though, as their only win against a ranked team was No. 18 Arkansas, who has since fallen completely off the map.
Houston Cougars
Houston hadn’t been ranked since 2011 but after a pair of blowout wins over SMU and Tulane, they have climbed to No. 21 in the AP poll. The Cougars have recorded four wins by 21 points or more with junior quarterback Greg Ward leading the way once again with 299 total yards and four touchdowns. The schedule will get tougher including a showdown with Memphis that will likely determine which team finishes first in the AAC West division.
However, Houston deserves credit for getting to this point in the first place and they can’t be overlooked anymore after climbing to No. 21 in the country with six straight wins to open the season. If they can beat up on Vanderbilt, Cincinnati and Memphis, it’s not out of the question that they get into the CFP conversation.