If you're a top-10 team in college football, you need to bring something extra each weekend. The mighty can fall at the drop of a hat.
As we've seen over the last two weeks, no one is invincible. The No. 1 team in the country has fallen to an unranked opponent on consecutive weekends.
Last Saturday, 5 members of the top 10 went down, and a few others were tested.
Who are the most overrated teams following Week 7?
No. 1 Miami Hurricanes
What are we doing here? Yes, a few teams ahead of Miami lost, but the Hurricanes looked suspect in a double-overtime victory against a bad Florida State team. Without referee interference, Mario Cristobal's squad might've suffered their first defeat.
Was it just the high stakes of a rivalry game? A letdown coming off a BYE week? Either way, the Hurricanes now have some questions to answer in the second half of the year.
Miami's first five opponents scored a combined 49 points. Florida State put 35 points on the board on Saturday night, and even led the Hurricanes in the fourth quarter. The Seminoles had dropped 11 straight road contests coming into the game, and lost by double digits at Alabama and at Louisville.
The Hurricanes only face one ranked opponent down the stretch.
No. 9 UCLA Bruins
From unranked to potentially overrated. This isn't really a knock on the Bruins, as much as it's an emphasis on how much the loss of quarterback Nico Iamaleava could affect this team. Iamaleava was still figuring things out in Bob Chesney's offense, his third different system in three years.
In their first full game without the veteran quarterback, Cal Poly transfer Ty Dieffenbach completed 22/33 passes for 264 yards and an interception. The Bruins started out with two long scoring drives, but went through a drought in the middle of the game, tossing two picks, turning the ball over on downs, and going three-and-out.
UCLA's defense is strong enough to lean on right now. The Bruins could luck out, with only two road games remaining and one matchup against a top-25 opponent.
No. 10 Utah Utes
Utah is undefeated and has climbed to No. 10 in the country. If the College Football Playoff began today, the Utes would be in the field. That's wild to say after the dramatic departure of Kyle Whittingham less than a year ago.
At the same time, the program has yet to face an unranked opponent. That will change this weekend, with College GameDay headed to Salt Lake for Utah's matchup against Houston. A victory would go a long way in boosting Utah's resume.
Just a week ago, the Utes trailed a below-average Colorado team entering the fourth quarter. Utah won, but the tests are just beginning. After hosting the Cougars, they'll still have to play BYU and Arizona.
We'll find out soon if Utah is a legit contender, or just a pretender.
No. 13 Alabama Crimson Tide
Alabama has lost two consecutive games, including a decisive defeat to Tennessee, in which the Crimson Tide didn't score in the second half. Despite the growing struggles, Kalen DeBoer's squad still sits in the top 15.
In fact, no other team with two losses is ranked higher than No. 18. At least both of LSU's losses were on the road by a single possession.
The Crimson Tide fizzled out on offense against Georgia and Tennessee. Keelon Russell has only completed 35/59 passes for 332 yards with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions in his last eight quarters. Over that period, he's been sacked eight times.
Alabama does only have one more ranked team on its schedule, so the Crimson Tide might be able to flip things around before the postseason.
No. 16 USC Trojans
USC is coming off a BYE week, and even though the program is out to a 6-1 start, the Trojans have looked pretty shaky. Three of their six wins are by one possession, with USC dropping its only game against a ranked opponent. That was Oregon, which has had plenty of its own issues.
The real schedule begins now. The Trojans still have to face three top-10 teams; Ohio State, Indiana, and UCLA. Wisconsin can be quite pesky as well.
It wouldn't be surprising if struggles begin to pile up for the Trojans during the last month of the season.
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