What We Have Learned After One-Third of This Season in College Football

It is hard to believe that we are one-third of the way through the 2021 College Football season. There have been the usual pleasant surprises and the not-so pleasant surprises. Let’s sum up what we think we know after 4 games and go through each conference in alphabetical order and hand out some Papa Dude Awards at the one-third mark.

AAC CONFERENCE:

Best Team: Cincinnati The Bearcats are 3-0 on the young season and head to South Bend to play the biggest game in their history. If they win that one and with Clemson out of the playoff picture, they suddenly have a legitimate shot at the playoffs if they win out. PAPA DUDE GRADE: SOLID A

Runner-up: SMU They are 4-0 and are coming off of a huge win over TCU on the road last weekend. They are waiting in the wings for Cincinnati to lose. PAPA DUDE GRADE: SOLID A

Trying to Keep Up: Houston, Memphis, UCF. PAPA DUDE GRADE: SATISFACTORY B

Ho-Hum Teams: East Carolina, Temple, Tulsa, Tulane.

Wishes the Season Was Over: Navy, South Florida

ACC CONFERENCE:

Best Team: Wake Forest The Demon Deacons are 4-0 and have been the most consistent team in the league to date. Are they the best team in the league? Why not? They are as I write this on September, 26th. PAPA DUDE GRADE: SOLID A

Runner Up: Boston College The Eagles are also 4-0 and riding high. Can they keep up the pace? Why Not? PAPA DUDE GRADE: SUPER A-

Trying to Keep Up: NC State, Virginia Tech, Louisville PAPA DUDE GRADE: SATISFACTORY B

Pleasant Surprises: Duke, Georgia Tech PAPA DUDE GRADE: B-

Ho-Hum Teams: Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Virginia. PAPA DUDE GRADE: C-

Biggest Flops: Clemson, Miami, North Carolina. These three teams were all ranked in the Top-25. Only Clemson remains. PAPA DUDE GRADE: F

Just a Disaster: Florida State

BIG 10 CONFERENCE:

Best Team: Penn State The Nittany Lions have wins against Wisconsin on the road and at home against Auburn. They have a chance to win the league. PAPA DUDE GRADE: SOLID A

Runner Ups: Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Maryland. All four are undefeated and all four will lose before long but as of now they are the next best. PAPA DUDE GRADE: SUPER A-

Trying to Keep Up: Ohio State Most of us agree they will be there at the end of all of this. PAPA DUDE GRADE: SATISFACTORY B

Pleasant Surprises: Rutgers and Purdue. I know it’s early and they are likely to fade. PAPA DUDE GRADE: SATISFACTORY B-

Stuck in Neutral: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Nebraska. PAPA DUDE GRADE: D

Biggest Flops: Northwestern, Illinois PAPA DUDE GRADE: F

BIG 12 CONFERENCE:

Best Teams: Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor. All three are undefeated but no one knows how good they really are. We will find out in the next few weeks if any of them are contenders or just pretenders. PAPA DUDE GRADE: SATISFACTORY B+

Runner-Up: Texas The Longhorns have a bad loss but seem to have found a quarterback. They are coming on. PAPA DUDE GRADE: B

Stuck in Neutral: Kansas State, West Virginia PAPA DUDE GRADE: C

Biggest Flop: Iowa State The Cyclones have come out of the gate slow but have time to right the ship. PAPA DUDE GRADE: F

Just a Disaster: Texas Tech, Kansas

MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE:

Best Team: Fresno State They have been very impressive and their only loss was to Oregon. PAPA DUDE GRADE: A

Runner-Ups: Nevada, Boise State Both have struggled in the early going but hope to figure things out. PAPA DUDE GRADE: B

Pleasant Surprises: San Diego State, Wyoming, Utah State, Air Force. All four have been solid. PAPA DUDE GRADE: B+

Ho-Hum Teams: Colorado State, Hawaii, San Jose State PAPA DUDE GRADE: D

Just a Disaster: New Mexico

PAC 12 CONFERENCE:

Best Team: Oregon The Ducks are far and away the best team in the league. PAPA DUDE GRADE: SOLID A

Trying to Keep Up: UCLA The Bruins have played their way into the Top-25. PAPA DUDE GRADE: SATISFACTORY B+

Showing Some Hope: Arizona State, Oregon State. Both still have a shot in this league. PAPA DUDE GRADE: B-

Ho-Hum Teams: Colorado, California, Stanford, Washington PAPA DUDE GRADE: D

Biggest Flops: USC, Utah, Washington PAPA DUDE GRADE: F

Not Worth Mentioning: Arizona, Washington State

SEC CONFERENCE:

Best Teams: Alabama, Georgia With each week Georgia is showing they are as good as the Crimson Tide. Both have major tests at home this week. PAPA DUDE GRADE: SOLID A

Runner-Up and Biggest Surprise: Arkansas. The Razorbacks have been awesome and have a chance to become a Top-5 team if they can beat Georgia this week. PAPA DUDE GRADE: SOLID A

2nd Runner-Up: Ole Miss The Rebels are 3-0 and riding high as they head into Tuscaloosa to play mighty Alabama. PAPA DUDE GRADE: A

Trying to Keep Up: Florida, Kentucky PAPA DUDE GRADE: A-

Still in the Hunt: LSU, Auburn PAPA DUDE GRADE: B-

Biggest Flop: Texas A&M PAPA DUDE GRADE: D

Not Worth Mentioning: Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt

BEST OF THE REST:

Best Team: Notre Dame With a win this week against Cincinnati, the Irish could set themselves up to run the table. PAPA DUDE GRADE: A

Runner-Up: BYU The Cougars have two wins over 2 Pac-12 schools who were ranked when they rolled into Provo. PAPA DUDE GRADE: A

Special Mention: Coastal Carolina, Army, Appalachian State, UTSA

This is where we see it after 4 weeks. The next couple of weeks will begin to separate the haves from the have-nots. It’s going to be fun.