The Three Best Two Loss Teams in College Football

So, you’ve gotten through the first four weeks of the college football season and your favorite team has two losses already? Fear not, the season is not over. There are still teams with two losses that are playing competitive football and could make a run at something special. So, I’m going to give you three of the two loss teams you shouldn’t dismiss just yet.


1) Georgia (2-2)

Georgia didn’t have it easy to start the season. They had to face Boise State on a neutral field and got SEC East favorite South Carolina at home. So it was unsurprising that Georgia started out 0-2. It was also unsurprising that they won against Coastal Carolina and Ole Miss in the next two games.

Georgia definitely has some positives going for it. Quarterback Aaron Murray gets better with every game, finally emerging as the leader they need him to be. Also, Isaiah Crowell has burst on the scene as an impact running back for the Bulldogs. With offensive stability, they can finally stop leaning on Brandon Boykin as their playmaker.

Defensively, they are getting better. They gave up way too many points to Boise State and South Carolina to responsibly win those games. The defense recently found their groove against lesser opponents, so it is still questionable if they can keep up the intensity.

For an SEC team, the schedule looks pretty favorable for Georgia. They go on the road to Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and Georgia Tech, get Auburn and Kentucky at home, and face Florida on a neutral field. While they probably won’t be winning the SEC East, they will at least be able to make a nice bounce back from last year, shake things up, and use it as a stepping stone for next year.


2) Missouri (2-2)

Missouri has a rough stretch to start out the season, with road losses to an underrated Arizona State team (in overtime) and the top ranked Oklahoma Sooners. They were able to temper those losses with wins against Miami (OH) and Western Illinois.

While their wins have been against less than stellar opponents, the Missouri losses have been close (17 points total). Added to the fact that they were on the road and it doesn’t seem that bad. The kicking game has failed Missouri this season, as they missed a field goal in OT that would have won it against Arizona State and two field goals against Oklahoma which would have kept the game closer.

The Missouri offense may have lost Blaine Gabbert to the NFL, but they have only been moderately effected. While quarterback James Franklin may not have a great completion percentage, he can make teams pay by running the ball (over 100 yards rushing against Oklahoma). They also have Henry Posey in the backfield, who can easily get 100 yards rushing a game if he gets the touches.

While they aren’t amazing defensively, they are good enough to keep Missouri in most games. They hit a four game stretch starting in late October that is less than desired, where they are at home against Oklahoma State, on the road at Texas A&M and Baylor, and then back home against Texas. If they can win two of the four, that will put them in good position at the end of the season.


3) Notre Dame (2-2)

As much fun as it would be to tweak Notre Dame fans by keeping them off the list, I’d be remiss if I did so. However, I will say that if you told me Notre Dame was 2-2 at this point in the season, I would have predicted the loss to South Florida, but not Michigan.

After the 0-2 start, Notre Dame beat Michigan State (at home) and Pittsburgh (on the road). I was surprised by the victory over Michigan State, seeing as I thought Michigan State was a better team and the fact they were coming off the heart breaking loss to Michigan.

Notre Dame’s big problem is going to be turnovers. Tommy Rees is throwing too many interceptions to make the Fighting Irish a winning team. Rees also uses Michael Floyd as too much of a security blanket, with over a third of his completions going to Floyd. The running game has been important to Notre Dame’s offense, with Cierre Wood able to get important yards on the ground.

Defensively, the Fighting Irish have been better than normal, but not great. There is really no excuse for the defensive lapses that allowed Michigan to win their game. It always seems to be the Achilles Heel of Notre Dame over the past five years or so.

The schedule looks good for the Irish, with only the last game at Stanford looking like a loss. The rest of the schedule is against the dregs of the ACC (at Wake Forest, home against Maryland and Boston College) and the Service Academy’s (Air Force and Navy at home). The USC matchup on October 22 gives you pause, but seeing as it’s at home and USC isn’t really that good, Notre Dame should prevail.

Keep praying to the Touchdown Jesus and Notre Dame could back their way into a BCS Bowl. Or they could continue to turn the ball over, lose winnable games, and make Brian Kelly wonder why he left Cincinnati. Seriously, no one should ever wonder why they left Cincinnati.