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We are down to three undefeated teams left in major college football.
Miami made quick work of Pitt on Saturday, as did UCLA with Michigan State. While Utah had a bit more trouble with a good Houston team, the Utes are now the final unbeaten in the Big XII after the losses for Texas Tech and BYU.
With three teams left, let’s look at their remaining schedules and see if we can find a loss. Which, as we have seen all year, can really come at any time and to any team.
Remaining Schedule:
Darian Mensa is still one of the best quarterbacks in the country. This, despite now having more incompletions on the season then he does touchdown passes.
A big key to his success is the arrival of Cooper Barkate at wide receiver after transferring with Mensa from Duke. But the biggest reason he has been having a Heisman Trophy caliber of season is the playmaker on the other side of the field.
Malachi Toney, who started the season with 230 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Stanford Cardinal just lit up another ACC opponent on Saturday. Against the Panthers, Toney set the Miami school record with 16 receptions. On those catches, he compiled 194 yards and had 3 touchdowns in the 52-23 rout.
Of all the remaining undefeated teams, Miami has the most challenging game left as they will travel to Notre Dame in two weeks to face the Irish. UNC has been playing better recently, but the Tar Heels are not up to the level of Miami yet. But, if Miami does have another stinker in them, UNC could be the place to find it.
I have been picking Notre Dame all season to give Miami their first loss. I am not going to back off now. With the loss to BYU, the Irish have no room for error. Another loss and Marcus Freeman can be watching the playoffs from home yet again.
If Miami can make it past Notre Dame, I do not think they lose until at least the playoffs, where they would be the No. 1 seed if they enter with zero losses.
Remaining Schedule:
What looked like a challenging finish to the first season in Brentwood for Bob Chesney now looks far more manageable.
UCLA still needs to be content with not having their starting quarterback Niko Iamaleava for the rest of the season. But, with their running game creating so many big plays, there is no team on the schedule which the Bruins can't beat.
Nevada should not be a contender having already lost this season to Montana State and many other teams. But Minnesota, and their good defense can provide a challenge as they have defeated Michigan and Iowa in recent weeks. With that contest being on the road in Minneapolis, and the game against Michigan also being on the road, the weather could be a deciding factor should one of these two teams upset the Bruins.
While Michigan has no offense, no matter the quarterback, they held Indiana to 13 points on Saturday. Their defense is still stout and can control the line of scrimmage.
If UCLA does lose a game during this regular season, expect it to be to either Minnesota or Michigan, before they ever get a chance to play USC to finish the season — another game they can lose.
Relative to their talent, Utah has the most difficult remaining schedule of all the teams on this list.
Cincinnati may not seem like much but, they are coming into this game after defeating Texas Tech, they play Utah next and they still have BYU and Houston remaining. This means the Bearcats will have a major effect on the Big XII race. It starts this week when Utah visits.
After this game, Utah will host The Holy War against BYU — a game with the biggest stakes of any matchup in the conference this season. The winner of this, especially if it is Utah, will be favored to get to the conference title game and to win that game. The loser may miss the game entirely.
Even games against a ranked Arizona team and a West Virginia team who can score with anyone can be tricky for the Utes. Look for BYU to be the best chance for Utah to get their first loss. But if they win at home against the Cougars, at Arizona the following week, in a letdown spot is also feasible.
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