We break down the six surprise teams from the first month of the college football season. Catch college football on Fubo.
College football turns the calendar to October in Week 6, with Week 5 taking place on the final Saturday of September. If there’s one thing that is true about the first month of the 2023 college football season, it’s that there was no shortage of surprises.
In particular, there are a handful of teams that have come out of the gate incredibly strong in 2023, especially compared to expectations. Many of these teams still have the toughest parts of their schedules ahead of them, but for them to get as far as they have this early is certainly shocking.
Which teams can keep up their strong starts? Which teams will come back down to earth in October? Here are seven teams to watch in that regard.
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Texas State (4-1, 1-0 Sun Belt)
New head coach G.J. Kinne didn’t waste any time getting things going in San Marcos. In his first month, he’s already matched last year’s win total, and with just one more victory the program would have its most wins in a season since 2014.
The Bobcats announced their presence right from the beginning, going into Waco Week 1 and upsetting Baylor 42-31. That game was followed by a 20-13 loss to UTSA but since then the team has been an offensive juggernaut, winning games by scores of 77-34 over Jackson State, 35-24 over Nevada and most recently 50-36 over Southern Miss in the conference opener.
In the Sun Belt preseason poll, the Bobcats were picked to finish fifth in the conference’s West division, and ninth overall. They’re already proving those projections wrong. Their next big test comes at the end of the month when they host Troy, which was projected to finish in first place in the conference.
South Florida (3-2, 2-0 AAC)
Yes, the Bulls are still hovering right around .500. But that’s not an accurate reflection of how good they’ve been this year.
Another team under a first-year head coach in former Tennessee OC Alex Golesh, the Bulls started slow with a blowout loss at the hands of Western Kentucky. Since then though, they’ve won three of four games, scoring 124 total points in those three wins. Their lone loss in that stretch was against then-No. 10 Alabama, but the Bulls kept things close with the Crimson Tide, who never truly pulled away in a 17-3 game that was tied at halftime and a one-score game heading into the fourth quarter.
Back in conference play, USF has continued to roll. Don’t be surprised to see the Bulls end up playing in a Bowl Game this year – something they haven’t done since 2018. Not bad for a team that was picked to finish 13th in the 14-team AAC preseason poll.
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West Virginia (4-1, 2-0 Big 12)
West Virginia’s Week 1 loss to then-No. 7 Penn State in Week 1 was closer than the scoreboard may have indicated, but the eventual 38-15 final and relatively low expectations for the program this year may have led many to look past it. Yet since that game, the team picked to finish dead last in the Big 12 preseason poll has done nothing but win.
These haven’t been small wins either. After blowing out FCS Duquesne in Week 2, the Mountaineers got revenge for last year’s Backyard Brawl with a 17-6 win over Pitt. That was followed by a 20-13 win over a Texas Tech team that was picked fourth in the preseason poll. Then last week, West Virginia went on the road and knocked off a reigning playoff team in TCU, 24-21. Many of these wins have come with starting quarterback Garrett Greene either unavailable or playing limited after he got hurt early in the Pitt game.
Outside of a Nov. 11 matchup with No. 12 Oklahoma, the rest of West Virginia’s schedule doesn’t look too difficult. With a few more wins, the Mountaineers could get back into the AP Top 25 Poll for the first time since 2018.
Louisville (5-0, 3-0 ACC)
This past offseason, the Cardinals replaced both their coach and starting quarterback. Former Cardinals quarterback Jeff Brohm was brought in from Purdue to take over as head coach after Scott Satterfield left for Cincinnati. Under center, the departure of four-year starter Malik Cunningham to the NFL created a rare opening at the position in Louisville, with Lamar Jackson having started the three years prior to Cunningham. Purdue and Cal transfer Jack Plummer ended up taking over in that spot.
Despite that change, the Cardinals haven’t flinched. They’re undefeated and are one win away from matching their conference win total from last year. Last week’s win – a 13-10 road victory over NC State – was their biggest of the year so far and pushed them into the AP Top 25 Poll at No. 25. It’s their first time in the rankings since the 2020 season.
If the Cardinals want to stay in the rankings, they’ll really have to keep improving as the season goes on. This week they host No. 10 Notre Dame, and still have games against No. 19 Duke, No. 17 Miami and No. 20 Kentucky ahead.
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Washington State (4-0, 1-0 Pac-12)
Despite being picked to finish seventh in the Pac-12 in this year’s preseason poll, through one month the 13th-ranked Cougars look like one of the elite teams in what might be the elite conference in college football in 2023. Still undefeated, the Cougars have two ranked wins over No. 19 Wisconsin and No. 14 Oregon State. Their other two games were blowouts, as they beat Colorado State (a team that gave Deion Sanders’ Colorado squad trouble) 50-24, and then knocked off FCS Northern Colorado 64-21.
A big part of Wazzu’s success has been the play of junior quarterback Cameron Ward, who has completed 74.5% of his passes and thrown for 1,389 yards and 13 touchdowns in four games, with no interceptions. Ward has also added another three touchdowns on the ground. With him at the helm, Washington State ranks fifth in the nation averaging 45.8 points per game.
Battle-tested and able to put up points in bunches, the Cougars should be in just about any game they play. Still, they’ve got some very tough competition coming up. They’ll face No. UCLA this week and still have to play No. 8 Oregon and No. 7 Washington – all on the road.
Missouri (5-0, 1-0 SEC)
Whether they’re for real or not, the 21st-ranked Tigers have been a very fun team to watch this year. They’re undefeated, but that 5-0 start hasn’t come easy with one-possession wins over Middle Tennessee State, Kansas State and Memphis.
Senior quarterback Brady Cook has played through injury at times but still has managed to complete 74.5% of his passes for 1,468 yards and 11 touchdowns (plus three more rushing) with no interceptions. It helps he’s throwing to one of the best wide receivers in the nation in true sophomore Luther Burden, who in five games has 43 catches for 644 yards (the most in the nation) and five touchdowns.
Again, Missouri has been a fun story and fun team to watch so far, but we’re about to find out what they’re really made of. Four of their next five games are against ranked opponents, with their upcoming schedule consisting of hosting No. 23 LSU, then traveling to No. 20 Kentucky, back at home against South Carolina, on the road against No. 1 Georgia, and then hosting No. 22 Tennessee.
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