Every college football season, we like to use this point in the schedule to take stock of the teams that are still undefeated. A 6-0 or 5-0 start is essentially a guarantee that we will be focused on these teams more than others over the second half of the season, as these are the groups that are going to be competing for championships through October and November.
Last year, we had 13 undefeated teams through six weeks of the season. This year we have 15, but that number is guaranteed to drop by the end of the landscape-shifting Saturday that awaits us in Week 7. The slate features three games between undefeated teams on this list, highlighted by the most-anticipated "Third Saturday in October" in years with No. 3 Alabama traveling to face No. 6 Tennessee. But we also will get an undefeated team taking its first loss with No. 10 Penn State at No. 5 Michigan and No. 8 Oklahoma State at No. 13 TCU.
And there are other opportunities to see a first loss outside of those three headliners, with No. 7 USC a betting underdog at No. 20 Utah, No. 4 Clemson a narrow favorite at Florida State and No. 18 Syracuse favored by just over a field goal hosting No. 15 NC State. By next week this list of 15 could be barely at or above double-digits, so while all these undefeated teams still have a zero in the loss column let's stack them up against each other.
Ranking Remaining Unbeatens
| 1 |  |
| The Buckeyes are absolutely bludgeoning opponents right now, riding an overwhelming offense and a much-improved defense to a 6-0 start where there hasn't been too many moments where an Ohio State victory was in doubt. Ever since halftime of the season opener against Notre Dame the defense has been stifling and C.J. Stroud has been operating the offense at an elite level, even as that group has missed key playmakers due to injury. The schedule gets much tougher over the second half of the season, but in this ranking (and the CBS Sports 131) we are rewarding the week-to-week dominance of the Buckeyes. CBS Sports 131: 1 | AP Top 25: 2 | |
| 2 |  |
| It speaks to the consistency of Kirby Smart's recruiting, roster building and defensive culture that the Bulldogs lost a historic NFL Draft haul and are back in 2022 with one of the country's best defenses. Stetson Bennett and the offense got off to a blazing start at the beginning of the season but when things have sputtered — like they did at Missouri in a 26-22 win — it was the defense that saved the day with big stops when the Tigers got into scoring position. If Georgia can get healthy at wide receiver we should see performances closer to those impressive wins against Oregon and South Carolina, but for now the effectiveness on defense and the talent all over the roster is strong enough to maintain this unbeaten status deep into the season. CBS Sports 131: 2 | AP Top 25: 1 | |
| 3 |  |
| On paper, Alabama has statistics that line up closer with Ohio State as one of the most well-rounded teams in the country. The Crimson Tide rank No. 3 in the country in yards per play on offense (7.49) and No. 2 in yards per play allowed (3.77), and they've built out this profile while finding different ways to win. They've torched lesser opponents with three wins by at least 48 points, won a pair of low-scoring grinders against Texas and Texas A&M and even had to flip the offense on the road when Bryce Young suffered his injury in the second quarter of a 49-26 win at Arkansas. On one hand this is the most battle-tested team of the "Big 3" in college football in 2022, but those close calls have the Tide running third. CBS Sports 131: 3 | AP Top 25: 3 | |
| 4 |  |
| Any doubts about DJ Uiagalelei's ability to not only maintain control of the starting job but thrive in that position have been put to rest with a strong start to 2022. Uiagalelei has 14 touchdowns to just two interceptions, and when Clemson's ACC title and College Football Playoff hopes were on the line in a shootout with Wake Forest, the junior had answers at every turn with five touchdowns and no picks in the win. We haven't seen enough consistency to bump the Tigers up into that top tier yet with the Big 3, but with the rest of the top 10 all being somewhat of a work in progress at this point in the season I think Clemson is the best of that bunch. CBS Sports 131: 5 | AP Top 25: 4 | |
| 5 |  |
| Saturday's 40-13 win at LSU felt like the turning point with Tennessee, where we have finally seen enough to stop putting qualifiers on the team's success here in 2022. The Vols are a really good football team; not perfect, but elite offensively and currently carrying enough quality wins to think they are capable of hanging with anyone in the country. Admittedly, the three "ranked" wins on the Vols' profile are against teams that are no longer ranked but all three have a 4-1 record this year against teams not named Tennessee. CBS Sports 131: 6 | AP Top 25: 6 | |
| 6 |  |
| My favorite way to discuss Michigan since the start of 2021 is that it is a team that operates with ruthless efficiency. There might be drives, or moments, where an opponent is able to find success, but the long-term effects of winning at the line of scrimmage allow the Wolverines to force the opposition into submission. Michigan's statistical profile is actually much closer to Ohio State or Alabama's with great balance and down-to-down dominance on both sides of the ball, but the resume is still lacking evidence when it comes to splitting tiebreakers with the best teams in the country. Just one of Michigan's six wins have come against a team with a winning record and the combined record of its three non-conference opponents (Colorado State, Hawaii, UConn) is 5-14. CBS Sports 131: 4 | AP Top 25: 5 | |
| 7 |  |
| While not one of the three battles between undefeated teams highlighting Week 7, USC's trip to Utah is just as deserving of top-shelf treatment for what it means in the Pac-12 title race. The Trojans have not quite been the overwhelming offensive juggernaut some expected when Lincoln Riley, Caleb Williams, Jordan Addison and the rest of the transfer portal all-stars linked up in Los Angeles, but in a way USC has to be encouraged that this is a group capable of winning a rock fight on the road like its 17-14 win at Oregon State. I'm in complete agreement with the AP Poll and my CBS/247Sports colleagues with the positioning of USC among the nation's best, as we all are waiting to see if USC — as a 3.5-point underdog — can win in Salt Lake City before jumping them up into top-five consideration. CBS Sports 131: 7 | AP Top 25: 7 | |
| 8 |  |
| The most explosive offense in the country is rolling, and with the Big 12 wide open there is an opportunity for Sonny Dykes to lead the Horned Frogs back into the conference championship picture for the first time since 2017. I think I'm a little higher on TCU than our CBS rankings and the AP poll because I believe offensive success is sustainable, at least in terms of powering the team to wins. The overall strength of schedule, especially analyzing the defenses TCU has faced, is not great, but with much tougher tests in the coming weeks I think we'll see the value of the Horned Frogs explosiveness in flipping a game. Only Ohio State has more plays of 30+ yards this season, and those splash plays can be just as effective as TCU's FBS-leading 8.08 yards per play average. CBS Sports 131: 11 | AP Top 25: 13 | |
| 9 |  |
| Box score scouting doesn't do justice to Oklahoma State's success, as the Cowboys have been outgained by every FBS opponent it has faced except Arizona State. But while the defense is giving up a lot of yards Derek Mason's group is coming up with enough stops to secure victories, and special teams has come up huge in high-leverage situations in recent weeks. Spencer Sanders is on a roll through five games with 12 touchdowns to just two interceptions and he's playing a key role in the ground game as well with six rushing scores. A road win at TCU, regardless of what the box score says, would place Oklahoma State as the clear-cut favorite to win the Big 12. CBS Sports 131: 8 | AP Top 25: 8 | |
| 10 |  |
| Ever since thumping Auburn on the road in Week 3 by a 41-12 margin Penn State has operated somewhat off the radar. Everyone knows the Nittany Lions are good and deserving of consideration as a threat to both Ohio State and Michigan, but beating Central Michigan and Northwestern isn't going to vault anyone up into that top-five consideration shared by their Big Ten peers. Thankfully that opportunity arrives this weekend in the Big House, where James Franklin and Sean Clifford were able to get a win in 2020 — though that game carried much different stakes. CBS Sports 131: 9 | AP Top 25: 10 | |
| 11 |  |
| While Penn State has been off the radar in recent weeks after a strong start, UCLA is the team surging in the moment and currently shaking up the status quo with their undefeated start to 2022. Fifth-year quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson is in total control of the Chip Kelly offense, guiding the Bruins to the end zone early and often with a group that ranks in the top 10 nationally averaging more than 40 points and 500 yards per game. Strength of schedule was the knock after a 4-0 start, but back-to-back wins against Washington and Utah have changed the narrative and propelled UCLA to the forefront of the Pac-12 title picture. CBS Sports 131: 12 | AP Top 25: 11 | |
| 12 |  |
| Lane Kiffin is still running an offense that puts up tons of yards when it's in rhythm, but the Jaxson Dart era of Ole Miss has been largely defined by a dominance on the ground. Of all the teams in the country averaging at least 6.9 yards per play, only Alabama has more rushing yards on the season as Quinshon Judkins and Zach Evans are leading the attack that is tied for the SEC lead in rushing touchdowns with 21. Maintaining this undefeated status would get particularly tricky in November, but with a solid defense to complement the ground attack the Rebels have a chance to hang with anyone on the schedule. CBS Sports 131: 10 | AP Top 25: 9 | |
| 13 |  |
| This has been the kind of bounce back season that Dino Babers and the Orange needed, as the odds of returning to a bowl game for the first time since 2018 have been all but solidified with a 5-0 start. But things are about to get much tougher for a team that beat Purdue and Virginia at home by a combined five points. A visit from NC State on Saturday is followed by a trip to Clemson, then after a bye week the Orange face a final stretch that includes Notre Dame, Pitt, Florida State and Wake Forest before finishing the season at Boston College. As good as Garrett Shrader and the Orange defense have been, there is almost certainly another win on the schedule, but there's not many easy victories to be found on the slate. CBS Sports 131: 19 | AP Top 25: 18 | |
| 14 |  |
| A historic start to JMU's first-ever season of FBS play has been highlighted by its comeback from a 28-3 deficit to win 32-28 at Appalachian State last month. But underneath the five wins and single-game highlights from beating one of the most memorable teams of September is a down-to-down dominance that is placing the Dukes among some of the best teams in the country in categories that aren't just the loss column. JMU currently boasts a top-five defense and top-30 offense in yards per play, carrying a 2.51 yards per play margin that ranks among the top 10 in the country. For perspective, JMU's yards per play margin is just behind UCLA and slightly ahead of Ole Miss and TCU. Strength of schedule is a legitimate criticism if you're trying to put JMU in the top 10 of any ranking, but so far there are not a lot of teams that are doing a better job of beating their opponent on a down-to-down basis. CBS Sports 131: 23 | AP Top 25: 25 | |
| 15 |  |
| Here we go again with one of the most consistent programs of the last three seasons. Coastal Carolina finished the 2020 regular season 11-0 before taking its first loss of the season in the bowl game. Then the Chanticleers were again featured in this very story last year following a 6-0 start on the way to a final 11-2 record. Now 6-0 again with two Sun Belt East division wins, Coastal is staring down a second-half schedule that includes both Appalachian State and a road trip to JMU in the regular-season finale in pursuit of the Sun Belt Championship. CBS Sports 131: 29 | AP Top 25: NR | |
