This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/lurkerspringa on 2024-09-10 15:21:20+00:00.

Over the past 3 seasons, Week 3 has been brutal for teams ranked #11-15 in the AP Poll. Since the 2021 season, teams ranked #11-15 in Week 3:

- Have a losing record (7-8 over the past 3 seasons)

- Are 2-8 against P5 opponents (the #1 Bama vs. #11 UF game in 2021 was the only instance where the #11-15 team was ranked lower than their opponent)

- Are 2-5 against unranked P5 opponents

I was pretty stunned when I uncovered this. A 2-8 record against Power 5 opponents over three years… for teams ranked just outside the top 10…

Below is the supporting data:

2023

Ranked Team Opponent Final Result
#11 Tennessee Florida (unranked) LOSS UF 29, Tenn 16
#12 Utah Weber State (FCS) WIN Utah 31, Weber St. 7
#13 Oregon Hawaii (unranked) WIN Oregon 55, Hawaii 10
#14 LSU Mississippi St. (unranked) WIN LSU 41, MSU 14
#15 Kansas State Missouri (unranked) LOSS Mizzou 30, K St. 27

2022

Ranked Team Opponent Final Result
#11 Michigan State Washington (unranked) LOSS UW 39, MSU 28
#12 BYU #25 Oregon LOSS Oregon 41, BYU 20
#13 Miami #24 Texas A&M LOSS A&M 17, UM 9
#14 Utah San Diego St. (unranked) WIN Utah 35, SDSU 7
#15 Tennessee Akron (unranked) WIN Tenn 63, Akron 3

2021

Ranked Team Opponent Final Result
#11 Florida #1 Alabama LOSS Bama 31, UF 29
#12 Notre Dame Purdue (unranked) WIN ND 27, Purdue 13
#13 UCLA Fresno State (unranked) LOSS Fresno 40, UCLA 37
#14 Iowa State UNLV (unranked) WIN ISU 48, UNLV 3
#15 Virginia Tech West Virginia (unranked) LOSS WVU 27, VT 21

2024

Any predictions? Does the trend end this year? (P.S. - #11 USC lucked out with the BYE)

Ranked Team Opponent Final Result
#11 Southern Cal BYE -
#12 Utah Utah State (unranked) ?
#13 Oklahoma State Tulsa (unranked) ?
#14 Kansas State #20 Arizona ?
#15 Oklahoma Tulane (unranked) ?