See, Tennessee, it is possible to beat teams you’re supposed to handle and not gag epically.
Week 1 of the 2019 college football season featured just one ranked-on-ranked matchup, with No. 16 Auburn scoring 21 straight points in a come-from-behind win over No. 11 Oregon. Aside from that, the other 23 teams that made up the preseason Associated Press Top 25 faced unranked teams -- and every single one of them won.
Yep, 23-0 vs. unranked teams the ranked ones went.
While there were a pair of close games -- No. 8 Florida beat Miami 24-20 in Week 0, while FCS Northern Iowa took No. 21 Iowa State to triple overtime before falling 29-26 -- most were not as just two of the other matchups were decided by two touchdowns or less. For example: No. 15 Penn State woodshedded Idaho 79-7, while two other “contests” were decided by 50-plus points as well -- No. 6 LSU 55, Georgia Southern 3 and No. 17 UCF 62, Florida A&M 0.
All told, ranked teams won in Weeks 0/1 by an average of 29.6 points per game. At this point, it should be noted that 13 of those 23 squared off with Group of Five schools while another four faced teams from the FCS level of the sport.
According to ESPN, the first two weekends of the 2019 college football season were historic ones.
With Notre Dame's 35-17 win over Louisville, AP ranked teams improved to 24-1 this season, the most wins in a week since 1989 when AP Poll expanded to 25 teams (includes Florida win vs Miami last Saturday). pic.twitter.com/oG6czlKIVC
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 3, 2019
The new Associated Press Top 25 will be released later on Tuesday.
1. Clemson — beat Georgia Tech 52-14
2. Alabama — beat Duke 42-3
3. Georgia — beat Vanderbilt 30-6
4. Oklahoma — beat Houston 49-31
5. Ohio State — beat FAU 45-21
6. LSU — beat Georgia Southern 55-3
7. Michigan — beat Middle Tennessee State 40-21
8. Florida — beat Miami 24-20
9. Notre Dame — beat Louisville 35-17
10. Texas — beat Louisiana Tech 45-14
11. Oregon — lost to No. 16 Auburn 27-21
12. Texas A&M — beat Texas State 41-7
13. Washington — beat Eastern Washington 47-14
14. Utah — beat BYU 30-12
15. Penn State — beat Idaho 79-7
16. Auburn — beat No. 11 Oregon 27-21
17. UCF — beat Florida A&M 62-0
18. Michigan State — beat Tulsa 28-7
19. Wisconsin — beat USF 49-0
20. Iowa — beat Miami (OH) 38-14
21. Iowa State — beat Northern Iowa 29-26 (3 OT)
22. Syracuse — beat Liberty 24-0
23. Washington State — beat New Mexico State 58-7
24. Nebraska — beat South Alabama 35-21
25. Stanford — beat Northwestern 17-7