No one wants to leave the party. I get it. Week 6 of the college football season cut the roster of unbeaten teams from 16 ... to 15. TCU beat Kansas in a "someone has to leave the list" game, and that was it. Alabama, Oklahoma State and Coastal Carolina all flirted with doom, and Michigan considered it for a half against Indiana, but they all fended off upset bids. The Stupendous 16 sank only to a Fabulous 15.
Things get a little harsher in what is shaping up to be a spectacular Week 7. In Alabama-Tennessee, Oklahoma State-TCU and Penn State-Michigan, we get three battles of unbeatens. Plus, USC heads to Utah to face a wounded and angry Utes team, and Syracuse is a home underdog against NC State. We're guaranteed to lose at least three members of the Fabulous 15, but can the rest hold steady?
Let's rank college football's unbeatens!
15. Coastal Carolina
SP+ and FPI rankings: 46th and 77th
Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 4.6% (last week: 2.2%)
What they did in Week 6: defeated ULM 28-21. The game started as a track meet (ULM scored TDs on its first two drives, Coastal on its first three) and ended as a defensive slog, but Jamey Chadwell's Chanticleers continued to figure out ways not to lose.
Week 7 opponent: Old Dominion (SP+ win probability: 83%).
Why they aren't ranked higher: ULM is 106th in SP+, and Coastal won by a touchdown. Gardner-Webb was 84th in last week's FCS SP+ rankings, and Coastal won by 4 points. This is a rebuilding year of sorts for the Chants, and it's Chadwell's least dominant team since 2019. The Chants could remain on this list for a while longer, mind you -- they're projected favorites over ODU this week, then they've got a bye before a trip to Marshall -- and their ability to grind out wins certainly says positive things about the program's foundation and culture. But they're easily the least proven team on the list.