Oh, but no! The Blue Devils, Wildcats and Jayhawks are a combined 9–0 in football. Indiana is also 3-0, as is Syracuse, Maryland, Tulane and Rutgers! It’s a bunch of not-so-football schools that are good at football, and it’s a great thing for the sport. In fact, two of those teams meet next week when the Dukies travel to Lawrence, Kansas. Meanwhile, the super conference that is the Big Ten has taken it on the chin in a few non-conference seasons. The Orange beat Purdue, Washington beat Michigan State, Oklahoma hammered Nebraska and FCS Southern Illinois shocked Northwestern, plus the Hoosiers needed overtime to beat Western Kentucky. The Salukis became the first FCS team to win the Power 5 this year and walked away with a $550,000 guarantee check, too. Speaking of underdogs, the Green Wave went 3-0 with a win at Kansas State, and the Pac-12 got two wins over top-25 teams in the same day for the first time since… 2013! That’s a stat to celebrate and admire if you’re out West (speaks to decades of conference disappointments in the sport). The Jayhawks were an early upset of the season at 3–0. Eric Christian Smith/AP Marcus Freeman finally got his first win as Notre Dame coach (in effort No. 4), Hugh Freeze’s two-point conversion drive failed (Liberty dropped its first game) and his tenure Brian Harsin on the Plains took more of a turn for the worse (Penn State rolled the Tigers). But enough, let’s get to our Top 10. Following the lead of colleague Pat Forde, we’re rewarding those teams who over the past three weeks have played the best against the best competition. If your team didn’t “play anyone”, then your team is probably not in our Top 10. Okay, let’s get to the rankings!

1. Georgia (3-0)

Last Game: Beat South Carolina 48–7 Next Game: Kent State (Saturday) Georgia looks to be transforming the Tuscaloosa, Ala.-based program. Not only do the Bulldogs have a juggernaut defense, but they now appear to have an equally effective and explosive offense. In their two Power 5 games this year, the Dawgs scored 49 and 48 points. Against South Carolina, they didn’t have a rusher finish with more than 40 yards, but they did have four rushers finish with at least 32 yards. And Stetson quarterback Bennett missed just seven passes, throwing for two TDs and 284 yards. UGA has outscored its first three opponents 130–10.

2. Ohio State (3–0)

Last Game: Beat Toledo 77–21 Next Game: Wisconsin (Saturday) There are better resumes in college football, yes. But the Buckeyes came off a big win over Notre Dame and have been dominant the past two weeks against Group of 5 opponents. QB CJ Stroud had the same number of incompletions (five) Saturday as touchdown passes. Three Ohio State receivers also eclipsed the 100-yard mark.

3. USC (3-0)

Last game: Beat Fresno State 45–17 Next game: at Oregon State (Saturday) The Transfer Portal Trojans haven’t missed many beats this season. And even though they haven’t played any real quality competition, they’re steamrolling them: Rice, Stanford and Fresno. Behind QB Caleb Williams, the offense is humming. They have scored 66 points, 41 points and 45 points. The new faces in Los Angeles — quarterback, coach, running back, receiver — seem to be a great fit.

4. Penn State (3-0)

Last Game: Beat Auburn 41–12 Next Game: Central Michigan (Saturday) Through three weeks, the Nittany Lions have two Power 5 wins, which is better than most. Penn State won at Purdue to open the season Thursday night, then cruised past Auburn on the Plains. Sean Clifford is solid and coach James Franklin’s defense has been salty. Ten of Auburn’s 12 drives resulted in downs, turnovers or punts. Penn State went on the road and rolled past Auburn. Butch Dill/AP

5. Alabama (3-0)

Last Game: Defeated UL-Monroe 63–7 Next Game: Vanderbilt (Saturday) Nick Saban walked into the locker room after last week’s win over Texas with a message for his team: practice hard and the game is easy. Whether the training was hard or not, the game was definitely easy. The Tide ran the same scheme that beat Saban in his first season in Tuscaloosa in 2007. QB Bryce Young threw two picks but also threw three touchdowns.

6. Arkansas (3-0)

Last Game: Beat Missouri State 38–27 Next Game: Texas A&M at Arlington (Saturday) We know, we know. The Hogs struggled against former coach Bobby Petrino and his Bears. Missouri State opened with a 17–0 lead and then led 27–17 before Arkansas responded with a 21-point fourth quarter. Arkansas remains in our Top 10 mainly because of its solid win over Cincinnati. We’ll know a lot more about Sam Pittman’s team after next weekend’s game against the Aggies.

7. Oklahoma (3-0)

Last Game: Beat Nebraska 49–14 Next Game: Kansas State (Saturday) The Sooners made our rankings after beating the Huskers on the road, their first game against a Power 5 opponent this season. While Nebraska doesn’t qualify as a quality win, Oklahoma’s dominance is enough. QB Dillon Gabriel threw for 230 yards and ran for 55 and Brent Venables’ defense suffocated Nebraska on the first play after Scott Frost’s sack. OU forced a turnover or a punt on 11 Nebraska possessions.

8. Kentucky (3-0)

Last Game: Beat Youngstown State 31–0 Next Game: North Illinois (Saturday) Mark Stoops and his football school swept the FCS Penguins and had a nice day from QB Will Levis (377 yards and two TDs). Youngstown had nine first downs, was 0-for-10 on third downs and didn’t crack the 200-yard mark. Are cats real? We will find out very soon. They travel to Ole Miss on Oct. 1, a game shaping up to be a meeting of undefeated, top-15 teams.

9. Tennessee (3–0)

Last Game: Beat Akron 63–6 Next Game: Florida (Saturday) Are the Vols coming back? It can. They are definitely playing better than they have in recent years. Their road win at Pitt is enough to make our Top 10, but the real tests come in the next three weeks: Florida, LSU and Alabama. Imagine what a Bama-Tennessee matchup will be like in Knoxville if the Vols can beat LSU and the Gators? It’s been a long time since a Vols-Tide game has had any relevance.

10. Kansas (3-0)

Last Game: Beat Houston 48–30 Next Game: Duke (Saturday) Pant! The Jayhawks in the Top 10? Did we have too much to drink? Did we wake up in 2007? Three weeks into the postseason, Kansas won road games over a Power 5 team (West Virginia) and a soon-to-be Power 5 team (Houston). Coach Lance Leipold has now won the same number of road games this season (two) as the last five KU coaches have combined to win in their tenure at the school. More College Football Coverage: • Everything you missed from Week 3 • PSU fans chant ‘SEC’ after Auburn loss • Deion’s fiery halftime speech sparks Jackson status