College Football’s Top 25 after 10 weeks

#16 Iowa

The Hawkeyes are basically done in the race for the Big Ten West, because not only do they need to run the table themselves, they also need all three teams ahead of them to lose two out of their last three, because those programs outside of Northwestern, who they will face this weekend, have tie-breakers over them.

However, I think they are a pretty darn good team who ruined their chance of running away with their division by losing one-score games to Penn State and Purdue these last two weeks. With that being said, they have a top ten total defense that holds opposing offenses to 18.6 points per game and they score over 30 points per game, which is highly untypical for a Iowa team.

Nathan Stanley is the best quarterback in college football that nobody is talking about. He might not complete 70 percent of his passes and put up numbers like those spread offense guys, but he can go play-action, turn his back to the defense and throw absolute darts, he can extend plays and keep his eyes downfield and he is not afraid to just let it rip.

That’s why he carved up Ohio State for five touchdowns last year and already has a six-TD performance this season. Noah Fant might be the best tight end prospect in the last decade and he is not even their leading receiver at that position, because T.J. Hockenson is averaging 16.4 yards a catch.

The Hawkeyes rushing offense is not nearly what we’re used to because they don’t have any special back, but they are still seventh in time of possession. Iowa is 13th in FPI and I think they could blow somebody out in their bowl game.

#17 Fresno State

This Fresno State bunch is for real. They had a bad loss by a touchdown at Minnesota early on in the season, but other than that they have absolutely destroyed their competition. The Bulldogs are tied for second in the country with just 12.3 points allowed per game, they are second behind Michigan in passing efficiency defence, allowing just under 30 per cent on third downs and they have forced 21 turnovers while leading the nation with five defensive touchdowns.

They have done all that while putting up more than 40 points per game, giving them the fourth-highest winning margin only behind Alabama, Clemson and Utah State. Marcus Maryion is a name not a lot of people know, but the Bulldog QB is completing more than 70 per cent of his passes for 20 touchdowns compared to just three picks.

With him at the helm, this Fresno State offense is converting basically half of their third-down attempts and they have turned the ball over just five times all year, giving them a +14 overall in that department. Outside of Notre Dame, the FPI usually doesn’t favor teams outside the Power Five conferences, but the Bulldogs are ranked 18th in total.

To put that into perspective – UCF is everybody’s darling and they are outside the top 30. Considering that their two matchups against teams from the major leagues came against Minnesota and UCLA and that they lost one of them, I don’t expect them to get a lot of buzz nationally, but pound for pound they might be the best Non-Power Five team out there.

Their toughest in-conference contest should come this weekend when they travel to Boise to face the Broncos, who will battle Utah State in the season finale to decide which of the two could potentially play the Bulldogs in the Mountain West championship game.