We've made it to the midway point of the college football season. There are still a lot of games left to be played that will shape the College Football Playoff, but we have a good idea of which teams are contenders, and which ones might be.
Before we dive into the second half of the season, we're checking in on both preseason favorites and surprise contenders to see who is still in the playoff race and who has fallen flat. Some have drastically underperformed from their expectations, while others have played as expected through six weeks.
Most of these teams were included in our preseason list of contenders, but there are some new teams. We'll take a look back at what Athlon Sports and College Football News had to say about these teams before the season began, and then see if these teams are still in the playoff hunt heading into Week 7.
Stock Down: Utah Utes
What they said in the preseason
Athlon Sports: "The Utes won their first Pac-12 championship last year by pounding Oregon 38-10 in the conference title game and lost by three to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. A repeat of that success—or perhaps even more—is within reach in ’22 for coach Kyle Whittingham’s team."
B/R's Brad Shepard: "This team has the players in place to win out in the Pac-12, and if the Utes can guard against the early-season slumber they experienced this year, they always seem to get better as the season progresses. This is a CFP sleeper for sure."
What happened?
Utah suffered its first blow to its playoff hopes in the first week of the season against an unranked Florida Gators team. Playing in a hostile environment Week 1 is a tall task, but Utah was still a slight favorite to get a big win on the road.
But the Gators upset Utah 29-26 with help from quarterback Anthony Richardson, who finished with 274 yards of offense and three touchdowns.
Still, the Utes had a Pac-12 title to play for, and one loss isn't enough to keep a team out of the playoff. The Utes rattled off five straight wins following the Florida loss to Southern Utah, San Diego State, Arizona State and Oregon State. They beat those teams pretty handily, too, winning by an average margin of almost 35 points.
But in Week 6, UCLA put Utah's playoff hopes to rest. The game was relatively close, but the Bruins offense scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to put the game away and secure a 42-32 win in Los Angeles.
Utah's defense is giving up 19 points per game, which ranks 30th nationally. Utes quarterback Cameron Rising has been just as productive as he was last season as well, already having thrown for 1,440 yards and 13 touchdowns with three interceptions.
The one piece on offense the Utes seem to be missing is the running game. Starter Tavion Thomas has rushed for just 386 yards and five touchdowns and has just one game eclipsing over 100 yards rushing, against Florida in Week 1.
The Pac-12 title looks like it will come down to USC or UCLA this season. Although Utah had high preseason expectations, head coach Kyle Whittingham might not reach double-digit wins in 2022.
Stock Down: Notre Dame Fighting Irish
What they said in the preseason
Athlon Sports: "The season opener at Ohio State is a huge test right out of the gate for [head coach Marcus] Freeman’s squad, but if the Fighting Irish lose that game and win the next 11 (not a far-fetched scenario), a trip to the playoff is likely in order."
College Football News: "Now it’s up to Freeman to go from being the hot head coaching prospect everyone likes, to the one who can take Notre Dame that one extra step and turn a College Football Playoff-caliber team into a true national title contender."
What happened?
Notre Dame won't be going to the playoff in Marcus Freeman's first season in South Bend. In Week 1, Notre Dame lost 21-10 to No. 2 Ohio State. But the Fighting Irish led 10-7 at halftime, and a road loss to one of the top teams in the country wasn't going to keep the Fighting Irish out of the playoff.
But in Week 2, disaster struck for Notre Dame. In ND's home opener against Marshall, the Thundering Herd upset the Irish 26-21. Heading into the game, Notre Dame had a 42-game win streak vs. unranked opponents as a ranked team. It also marked the firs loss to an unranked, non-Power Five team as a Top 10 team since 1996 (Air Force) for Notre Dame.
If the defeat wasn't bad enough, Notre Dame lost starting quarterback Tyler Buchner to a shoulder injury against Marshall. His backup, sophomore Drew Pyne, will likely be ND's quarterback for the rest of the year.
Notre Dame is out of the playoff with two losses. But a ton of credit has to go to Freeman for how this team shifted gears after starting the year 0-2. In Week 3, Notre Dame beat Cal 24-17 at home, overcoming a three-point in the fourth quarter to do so. In Week 4, the Irish went on the road and beat an undefeated North Carolina team 45-32. After failing to score in the first quarter and trailing 7-0, Notre Dame pulled level and then took control with a 24-point second quarter.
Following a bye, Notre Dame played No. 16 BYU in Las Vegas in Week 6. While BYU's loss to Oregon earlier in the season paired with Notre Dame's two losses put a bit of a damper on this matchup in terms of national implications, Notre Dame pulled off a 28-20 upset.
Down eight with 6:07 left, BYU drove down to ND's 27, but the Irish stuffed running back Lopini Katoa on 4th-and-1.
Coming off the bench, quarterback Drew Pyne has played great for the Irish so far. He's thrown for 721 yards and nine touchdowns with two interceptions. ND has remaining games against Syracuse, Clemson and USC—all three of which are undefeated. Notre Dame won't make the playoff this season, but it could upset one of those teams down the line.