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There is a good reason why SwampSwamiSports.com does not provide its first ranking of college football teams until early October.
Did you know that 35 of the 138 (25.3%) major college (FBS) teams are still undefeated entering into this fourth full weekend of play?
Let’s at least give these teams a little credit. The number of unbeatens will decrease sharply in the weeks to come.
These 35 teams are 3-0 unless otherwise noted:
American (2) – South Florida and Tulsa
ACC (4) – Miami (FL), Duke, Pittsburgh, and Virginia Tech
Big 12 (6) – BYU, Texas Tech, Cincinnati, Kansas State, Utah, and W. Virginia
Big Ten (9) – Southern Cal (4-0) plus UCLA, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, Penn State, Washington and Northwestern (2-0)
Conference USA – none
Independents (1) – Notre Dame
Mid-American (1) – U-Mass
Mountain West (1) – North Dakota State (4-0)
Pac-12 – none
SEC (9) – Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas and Vanderbilt
Sun Belt (2) – Appalachian State and James Madison
Lest we forget, there are also seven FBS teams (5%) which have yet to pick-up their first win in 2026. The following teams are all 0-3 as of this week:
American – Charlotte (Current losing streak – 12 games in a row)
Big Ten – Rutgers (five in a row)
Conference USA – Western Kentucky (three in a row)
Mid-American – Bowling Green (three in a row)
Mountain West – Northern Illinois (five in a row)
Pac12 – Utah State (five in a row)
Sun Belt – UL-Monroe (11 losses in a row)
One year ago, only U-Mass finished the season winless at 0-12. Let’s hope these seven schools find a way to end their current losing streaks soon.
Changing gears, there will be only one guaranteed College Football Playoff spot available for the so-called “Group of 6” mid-major conferences this season. Let’s take a look at several teams which have a good chance to break through this fall.
Remember North Dakota State? They’re now in the FBS and are already making waves
Did you know that FCS football power North Dakota State moved up into the FBS division for football beginning this season?
You may have herd (get it?) that the Bison won ten of the past 15 NCAA Division 1 small college national titles.
North Dakota State is already 4-0 this year as it moves into the “Big Boys” division of major college football. The 2026 Bison have scored 30 or more points in each of their four season-opening victories.
North Dakota State is in its first season competing in the Mountain West Conference. They won their first conference game at Air Force (38-32) a couple of weeks ago.
Let’s face it. The Mountain West Conference is not exactly filled with the strongest football powers.
That provides North Dakota State with an excellent opportunity to run the table and earn a spot in this year’s College Football Playoffs during their first season in the FBS.
NDSU will be favored in every remaining game this fall except at New Mexico on October 24.
The Lobos (2-1) played tough in losing 14-6 at Oklahoma last Saturday. New Mexico is also coming off an impressive 9-4 season in 2025. They tied for first place in the Mountain West Conference and then lost an overtime bowl game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers of the Big Ten.
North Dakota State Bison football fans are known to travel in large numbers to road games with as much enthusiasm as major football powers like Alabama, Georgia, and LSU. NDSU players are accustomed to playing in tension-filled playoff atmospheres, too.
Expect New Mexico’s 40,000 seat football stadium in Albuquerque will be filled to capacity for this late October match-up. A very large and loud contingent of green-colored Bison fans will be in town to support their team.
What about James Madison?
The Dukes earned a trip to last year’s College Football Playoffs after posting a stellar 12-1 regular record. They lost Oregon 51-34 in the first round.
James Madison’s 2026 Sun Belt Conference schedule features a pivotal road game at Appalachian State on October 22. JMU has remaining home games against top Sun Belt competitors such as Marshall, Georgia State, Troy, and long-time foe Coastal Carolina.
The Dukes, like North Dakota State, must win at least 11 regular season games to be in the hunt for a playoff berth in December.
How about another Sun Belt contender – Appalachian State?
The Mountaineers are 3-0 but are traveling this Saturday to Raleigh to play North Carolina State of the ACC.
You might remember that NC State was the team which lost at Vanderbilt last Saturday in rather spectacular fashion on the game’s final play. The Wolfpack quarterback fumbled the football in the end zone which was immediately recovered by Vandy for a game-winning touchdown. He had been instructed to simply run around and then out of the end zone to take a two-point safety as NC State led by three points.
A win by App State over NC State this Saturday will attract “mountains” of national media attention. Their October 22 home game against James Madison and a November 14 road game at Marshall also present difficult obstacles for the Mountaineers to climb.
Could either South Florida or Tulsa of the American Conference claim a playoff spot?
South Florida lost its head coach (Alex Golish) to the Auburn Tigers in the offseason.
The Bulls haven’t lost a step. South Florida has rumbled to a 3-0 start and has a relatively easy schedule ahead of them until the final month of the season. American Conference foes Memphis and Tulane must be defeated during November. South Florida could finish 11-1 this year and wave their hands wanting to be selected for a possible College Football Playoff spot.
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane shocked re-tooling Oklahoma State 24-10 during Week #1.
Tulsa has improved to 3-0 and travels to SEC member Arkansas this Saturday. A win over the 1-2 Hogs would vault Tulsa into the playoff conversation – at least for a while. Difficult road games at Navy and Tulane are still ahead for the Golden Hurricane. Tulsa fans will remain patient as their hometown football team hasn’t posted a winning record in the previous four years.
Did someone actually say, “Watch out for U-Mass?”
The Minutemen haven’t started a football season 3-0 since 2007. They are in just their second year of participating in the Mid-American Conference.
U-Mass had nowhere to go but up after last year’s woeful 0-12 campaign. This is a school whose football program has not posted a winning season since going 6-5 in 2010.
If the Minutemen should somehow finish 11-1 and get into contention for a College Football Playoff spot, their turnaround will be one of the biggest sports stories of the year.
What about the College Football Playoff prospects for teams in the four major conferences?
Their chances are a little bit easier to determine.
Any of the 57 schools from the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, and SEC which should be able to post at least a 10-2 regular season record is likely to receive a place in the 12-team College Football Playoffs.
You may remember that Alabama’s loss during the 2025 SEC Championship game still got the 10-3 Crimson Tide into the playoffs. However, 9-3 Texas was left at home.
Expect that any team which loses three games during this year’s 12-game regular season is also “toast.”
That adds even more pressure to this Saturday night’s encounter between 2-1 Texas A&M at 2-1 LSU (6:30 PM CDT on ABC). The loser will have two defeats and must run the table (8-0) during October and November to have a legitimate playoff chance.
Good luck trying to do that! The SEC is tougher from top to bottom this season. It will be incredibly difficult for any SEC team to go unbeaten during October and November this fall.
When will the first SwampSwamiSports.com College Football rankings begin?
My first College Football Top 25 rankings will be published in two weeks. Most teams should have at least five games of history to review at that point. A higher ranking will be given to unbeaten teams which defeated a quality opponent.
An early season resume filled with cupcakes will not be rewarded in the SwampSwamiSports.com College Football Top 25 rankings.
Yes, I’m talking to you, Indiana!
This marks our second year of providing rankings for the FCS small college group of schools, too. There will be room for at least one new top contender to emerge this fall with perennial favorite North Dakota State now playing in the major college division.
Stay tuned!