In seven weeks, 122 FBS teams have lost at least one game. Nine are still clinging to that precious zero in the loss column.
But not all undefeated teams are created equal. And this year, the College Football Playoff committee can breathe a little easier knowing no Group of 5 teams remain unblemished after James Madison and Coastal Carolina lost Saturday.
So, who is left? The SEC leads the way with three of its 14 teams on the list. The Big Ten has two, and so does the ACC, but the ACC’s last remaining undefeated teams face each other Saturday.
The Big 12 and Pac-12 each have just one undefeated team remaining. So who is for real and who is biding its time as a remaining elite? Let’s take a closer look.
ACC
Clemson
Why the Tigers are still undefeated: The Tigers’ championship pedigree is still very real, and Clemson ranks fifth in the 247Sports Talent Composite Rating, eight spots higher than any ACC team. But DJ Uiagalelei’s improvement has been the chief fuel for the Tigers’ offensive bounce-back year.
Last season, 17.1 percent of his passes were off target, according to Pro Football Focus. That ranked 95th nationally. This year, that number is down to 12.6 percent, 49th nationally. He’s completing 64 percent of his passes at 7.8 yards per attempt and has 17 touchdown throws to just two interceptions. Last year, he completed 55 percent of his passes for nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions and just 6 yards an attempt, the lowest number among all ACC starters.
The Clemson defense isn’t quite the behemoth it was a year ago, down to No. 22 from No. 3 in defensive yards per play, but Uiagalelei’s resurgence has injected life into an offense that ranked 103rd in yards per play last season. Clemson looks like the ACC’s best team and appears ready to go toe to toe with anyone.
Any close calls?: The Tigers trailed in the fourth quarter at Wake Forest and needed double-overtime to survive their trip to Winston-Salem, but that’s the only truly dramatic win on Clemson’s schedule. The Tigers broke open a semi-tight game against NC State in the third quarter and controlled Saturday’s win at Florida State, scoring 27 consecutive points to turn a 14-7 deficit midway through the second quarter into a 34-14 lead entering the fourth.
Where they might trip up: Clemson has one more ranked team to knock out before it all but secures the deeper-than-expected Atlantic Division. Syracuse heads to Clemson this weekend, but Notre Dame is the only road trip left on Clemson’s schedule. Miami and Louisville go to Clemson, and both have been inconsistent, and then South Carolina wraps up the season.
A possible faceoff with North Carolina in the ACC Championship Game is the most likely loss if the Tigers get past Syracuse on Saturday.
How seriously should we take their Playoff outlook?: Very. Uiagalelei looks the part of the five-star quarterback after struggling a year ago, and the defense is still very strong. Clemson looks like one of the nation’s best teams, proving last year was more of a speed bump than the first step toward irrelevance and a fall to earth after living in rarified air for most of the past decade. It remains to be seen how Clemson would stack up against truly elite competition, but there isn’t any in the ACC, and the Tigers are the class of that league.
Pretender/contender rating: 8.4/10.