Preston Pack is a University of Tennessee student and college football analyst with a focus on advanced statistics and retroactive team evaluation. They managed to acquire an appreciation for sports despite being raised as a fan of the Tennessee Volunteers and Atlanta pro sports (and, to make matters worse, adding Oklahoma State and the Mariners). Beyond Football Outsiders, they can be found complaining about G5 underappreciation on Twitter and tweaking TERSE, their college football computer designed to rank teams like a human.
As a dramatic season with plenty of surprise victories leads into conference play, underdogs such as Texas Tech, Rutgers, and Stanford are in position to add more stunners to the list.
In the midst of a dramatic start to the college football season, unexpected teams have risen to the fore in a muddled chase for the College Football Playoff. That includes long-shot candidate Cincinnati, which looks to make a case at Indiana this week.
Many teams struggled in Week 1 but standout performances could carry forward for Texas, fresh off a dominant debut by Steve Sarkisian and Hudson Card, and Iowa, looking to impose its imposing defense on rival Iowa State.
As college football kicks into full gear across the nation, key games include Alabama hosting Miami in what could be the toughest game they'll play all year, Kedon Slovis and USC hosting San José State with Clay Helton on the hot seat, and Clemson facing Georgia on neutral ground in Charlotte, North Carolina.
