NCAAF · 10 months ago

Ranking College Football’s Top 10 3-Loss Teams | Is South Carolina the Best of the Bunch?

John Canady

Host · Writer

10) Tulane Green Wave (9-3)
Tulane emerged as a real threat to represent the Group of Five in the College Football Playoff down the back half of the regular season before being upset by Memphis in Week 14. Before that, it looked like the Green Wave had a realistic path to the postseason. Now, they'll have the opportunity to compete for the AAC championship against a ranked Army team at the end of their season.

AAC Championship Game: Tulane (-5.5) vs. No. 24 Army

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1) South Carolina Gamecocks (9-3)
The South Carolina Gamecocks finished the season on a six-game winning streak, beating over three ranked teams. Coming fresh off a road win against the Clemson Tigers, who are competing for an ACC Championship, the Gamecocks have proven they've turned a corner since their losses to Ole Miss and Alabama near the middle of the season. And while it's hard to consider South Carolina the better team over two programs that defeated them, the proof is in the pudding.

Shane Beamer's squad finished 9-3 with the second-toughest strength of schedule of all teams in the College Football Playoff rankings. A poor officiating end to the LSU game arguably cost the Gamecocks of a 10-2 season. In addition, South Carolina doesn't have one "bad loss" on their resume this season. It feels safe to say that if USC were to matchup with Ole Miss or Alabama again, there's a solid chance that the outcome of the game would have a different result, especially with how poorly both the Rebels and Crimson Tide have looked to close the season.

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2) Alabama Crimson Tide (9-3)
The Crimson Tide finished the season 9-3, and with a win over their in-state rival Auburn, Kalen DeBoer's squad has seemingly defied the odds of a three-loss season and has his teams in line to compete for a National Championship. The Tide have shown the capability of being a top team in the nation with their win against Georgia to start the season. However, they've also shown they can get in their own way with terrible losses against unranked Vanderbilt and Oklahoma. They're a top team at their best, but the problem is, you never know which Alabama team will show up on game day.
3) Ole Miss Rebels (9-3)
Ole Miss is seemingly in the same boat as Alabama, but they didn't get the nod of approval from the College Football Playoff committee. The Rebels find themselves on the outside looking in as the postseason inches closer, and with the committee announcing that rankings won't be updated for teams with no further games (conference championships), their playoff hopes have been shot down. Ole Miss has shown promise to be a top program in the nation, and after their dominant win over Georgia, they seemed to be poised to prove it. Then, Lane Kiffin's team followed their big win up with an absolute head-scratcher with a loss against an unranked Florida Gators. With a loss earlier in the season to unranked Kentucky, their 9-3 record had no chance of convincing the committee they were worthy, especially after they barely squeaked by Mississippi State in rivalry week.
4) Clemson Tigers (9-3)
The Clemson Tigers are coming fresh off a loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks in their final regular season game at Death Valley for the year. Fortunately for them, an upset loss to Miami gave them a second wind when they were able to clinch a spot in the ACC Championship game against SMU. With a shot to punch their ticket to the College Football Playoff, it's only fair to slot them in the top part of these rankings. The Tigers have shown flashes, but they've struggled to show up for big-time games. They will have a chance to right their wrongs this weekend against the Mustangs with an opportunity to go on a Cinderella run of their own.

ACC Championship Game: No. 18 Clemson vs. No. 8 SMU (-2.5)
5) Missouri Tigers (9-3)
After a strong season last year, the Missouri Tigers entered the season with high expectations. With many returning players for Eli Drinkwitz's squad, Mizzou seemed poised to be in the mix for a postseason spot this year. However, after three losses this season to SEC opponents, their postseason dreams fell short. Nonetheless, the Tigers still managed to stack enough wins to finish with a 9-3 record and a chance to compete in a top bowl game.

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6) Illinois Fighting Illini (9-3)
The Illinois Fighting Illini have continued to stack wins throughout their season, even against one of the more demanding schedules of all Big Ten teams. Illinois knocked off multiple feisty squads, including Kansas, Nebraska, Michigan, and Rutgers. The Fighting Illini have shown the potential to be a balanced team, but their three losses on the season seemingly caught up to them, putting them out of the postseason race. However, that doesn't take away from the fact that Illinois has been one of the top teams in the nation this season, especially a top three-loss team.
7) Syracuse Orange (9-3)
Syracuse is coming off arguably its best win of the season, a shootout victory over a top-ranked Miami team. The Orange not only knocked the Hurricanes out of the ACC Championship game, but they also knocked them out of the postseason picture as a whole ahead of championship weekend. Syracuse's offense looked the part, and their defense did enough to give them the win, just as they've done all season long.
8) Colorado Buffaloes (9-3)
The Colorado Buffaloes got off to an inconsistent start to the season, but at one point, they seemed to turn things around and make a late playoff push. However, their loss to Kansas two weeks ago seemingly put their late run to waste, as their hopes of competing for a Big 12 Championship came to a halt. Nonetheless, finishing a season 9-3 is a win of its own, and the Buffaloes have proved they deserve to be on this list.
9) Duke Blue Devils (9-3)
Not many have paid attention to the Duke Blue Devils this season despite their quiet success. Duke has continued to stay on course this season and has stacked up wins despite flying under the radar. Their offense is underrated, and on defense, they have put together enough solid performances to end the regular season 9-3.
10) Tulane Green Wave (9-3)
Tulane emerged as a real threat to represent the Group of Five in the College Football Playoff down the back half of the regular season before being upset by Memphis in Week 14. Before that, it looked like the Green Wave had a realistic path to the postseason. Now, they'll have the opportunity to compete for the AAC championship against a ranked Army team at the end of their season.

AAC Championship Game: Tulane (-5.5) vs. No. 24 Army

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1) South Carolina Gamecocks (9-3)
The South Carolina Gamecocks finished the season on a six-game winning streak, beating over three ranked teams. Coming fresh off a road win against the Clemson Tigers, who are competing for an ACC Championship, the Gamecocks have proven they've turned a corner since their losses to Ole Miss and Alabama near the middle of the season. And while it's hard to consider South Carolina the better team over two programs that defeated them, the proof is in the pudding.

Shane Beamer's squad finished 9-3 with the second-toughest strength of schedule of all teams in the College Football Playoff rankings. A poor officiating end to the LSU game arguably cost the Gamecocks of a 10-2 season. In addition, South Carolina doesn't have one "bad loss" on their resume this season. It feels safe to say that if USC were to matchup with Ole Miss or Alabama again, there's a solid chance that the outcome of the game would have a different result, especially with how poorly both the Rebels and Crimson Tide have looked to close the season.

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Ranking College Football’s Top 10 3-Loss Teams | Is South Carolina the Best of the Bunch?

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