A college football season is a war of attrition. Even the greatest teams will inevitably have to overcome a shaky performance or two during their seasons—fans of the old Big East remember that even 2001 Miami had to survive tough games at Boston College and Virginia Tech.
Survive and advance has long been the mantra in college sports—both in single-elimination events like the NCAA basketball tournaments and, until recently, college football, where a single loss could end a team’s national championship aspirations. The ever-expanding College Football Playoff has largely done away with that reality … except for the Group of 6. Boise State can survive a loss to a fully healthy Oregon, but it doesn’t have much room to negotiate beyond that. Undefeated James Madison, without a single Power 4 opponent on the schedule, probably can’t afford a single loss.
