Through four weeks, college football has already delivered its usual dose of chaos, and Greg McElroy says the surprises are piling up fast.
On Wednesday, the ESPN analyst laid out his five most surprising teams so far, and the list leans heavily on programs that have jumped out of nowhere. The Big Ten landed two spots with UCLA and Iowa, while the SEC was represented by Mississippi State and Florida. Oklahoma State rounded out McElroy’s top five.
Mississippi State drew strong praise from McElroy after entering the year unranked and starting 4-0. The Bulldogs are also 2-0 in the SEC, and McElroy pointed to the quality of what they’ve done away from home.
“[Mississippi State was] unranked in the preseason poll. They are now 4-0.
They are 2-0 in the SEC,” McElroy recapped. “[The Bulldogs] currently sit in the top four when it comes to strength of record.
You got road wins at Minnesota and South Carolina… they’ve been a tremendous surprise so far this year.”
Florida came in at No. 2 on McElroy’s list, and the Gators have surged into the top eight after getting only a bit of preseason attention. McElroy said the climb has been especially notable because it marks the program’s highest ranking since 2020.
“At No. 2, it’s the Florida Gators. They got a little bit of love in the preseason poll… now, they’re top eight,” McElroy said. “This is their highest ranking since 2020… head coach Jon Sumrall, in year one at Florida, [has] already beaten a top five team by 24 points… the offense has been outstanding.”
McElroy’s No. 1 pick was the one team on the list that is not unbeaten: Oklahoma State. He tied the Cowboys’ placement to how dramatically they flipped their opening two games, from a loss at Tulsa to a win at home against then-No. 6 Oregon.
All five teams McElroy highlighted were included in the Week 5 AP poll.
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The case for an opening comes from the same place most upset arguments do, which is matchup-specific edges and the possibility that the favorite is more vulnerable than its reputation suggests. Alabama still brings the standard weight that comes with a trip to the field, but Mississippi State is being viewed through a lens that suggests this one is not simply a formality. Whether that opportunity turns into something more is the part everyone will be watching, and it is exactly why this game sits near the top of the Week 5 upset conversation. [Read more 🡒]