One thing that has been notable in college football this year is that there haven't been as many blowouts as usual. We all saw close up that UNT kept SMU close for a half, and the LA Tech game was closer than expected. But there have been a ton of surprises and close games across college football.
Something to keep track of is what the impact of the double senior class is having on balancing the playing field. Great players left for the pros, but most of the seniors from last season stuck around. And it could be that so many teams across the country are loaded with experience that it has really balanced the playing field. At the end of the day, the best team is still going to win. But the increased experience across the board narrows the gap.
It could be that the close games between Cal-TCU and SMU-LaTech are a result of the extreme number of seniors, and thus more balanced competition, rather than TCU or SMU underperforming in those games.
Just something to keep our eye on as the year moves along. And it might be a reason to focus on W-L rather than worrying about how much we beat a "lesser" opponent by.