Ranking college football's remaining unbeatens, predicting every team's first loss: Will anyone go unscathed? — SkimNews
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- Nine college football teams enter Week 7 unbeaten after six previously unbeatens (Alabama, Duke, Nebraska, North Dakota State, Pitt, Texas) lost in Week 6, with the article expecting multiple SEC and Big Ten three-loss teams in the final CFP at-large conversation.
- Georgia is picked to fall at Ole Miss on Nov. 7, with QB Trinidad Chambliss and the Rebels cited for beating Georgia 39-34 in last season's CFP and moving the ball on Kirby Smart's defense in three straight meetings.
- Miami is the only unbeaten the writer refuses to pick against, ranking No. 1 nationally in total offense and No. 6 in total defense, with a QB completing 84.2% of passes for 15 touchdowns and no interceptions.
- Indiana faces Ohio State on Oct. 17 after erasing a 17-6 fourth-quarter deficit at Nebraska for its 22nd consecutive win; Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith is named as the explosive-play difference-maker who could end the Hoosiers' run.
- BYU loses leading rusher LJ Martin — the 2025 Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year — for 4-6 weeks with a lower-body injury, just ahead of the Oct. 17 clash with Notre Dame; Martin was averaging 7.8 yards per carry before getting hurt.
- UCLA enters the article's CFP projection for the first time this season; QB Nico Iamaleava left the win at Oregon with a leg injury, putting the Bruins on upset alert against streaking Wisconsin if he can't go.
- James Madison, under first-year coach Billy Napier, is the Sun Belt favorite and Group of Six CFP contender, with Appalachian State on Oct. 22 the first of three consecutive Thursday night games likely to determine the Dukes' placement in the first CFP rankings.
Why it matters: The Nov. 7 Miami-Notre Dame matchup is the writer's flagged single most consequential CFP-positioning game remaining, and the framing — that multiple three-loss SEC and Big Ten teams could still make the playoff — redefines what an unbeaten run is worth in this parity-heavy season. Indiana-Ohio State on Oct. 17 is the first resume-eliminator among the unbeatens.
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