It may be early in the 2017 season, but when you have a short season such as this, things can get away from you in a hurry. These are the FBS and FCS teams that need a win now, or else be exposed for a major unraveling of their season:
FBS
New Mexico and Boise State
I have them both listed together for good reason. Boise State is coming off of a major collapse last week against Washington State, and a loss drops them to 1-2, and increases their chance of getting locked out of the MWC title for a second straight season. For New Mexico, a black cloud exists that Bob Davie is unlikely to find his way out from in the form of a third party investigation into his program. They also are coming off a loss to New Mexico State, which is Davie's second straight loss to the hated Arch Rival Aggies. Both teams are in dire straights with a loss here. They play each other tonight in Boise.
USF and Illinois
Again, I list two teams together that play each other this week in non con play. For USF, they are off to a rather uninspiring 2-0 start that includes sloppy wins over San Jose State and Stony Brook, which is hardly a murderer's row of scheduling. They were the G5 darlings heading into the season, and have fallen well short of living up to those expectations. Illinois is off to another relatively slow start despite beating Western Kentucky last week. A loss here would indicate that Lovie Smith's head just is not into this job, and he may be gone sooner than later.
U Mass
Mark Whipple's team is now 0-3, and there seems to be no end in sight to the pain. They find themselves as a 14 point dog to a rebuilding Temple team this week, and I have no doubt that U Mass should drop to 0-4. With no conference affiliation, and no real interest in the program, it's hard to see long term sustainability here.
Arizona
I have no doubt that the Wildcats should handle UTEP this Friday night. If they don't, or the game is too close late in the game, it will indicate that the Wildcats are as bad as people think, and they will be highly vulnerable moving forward, and Rich Rodriguez could be in line for a firing. Of course, most of us believe that anyway.
Michigan
Certainly, Michigan has been a surprise story early in the season, as they are off to a 2-0 start with wins over Florida and Cincinnati. Despite the record, Michigan has shown serious flaws in their offense. Defense is seemingly carrying the day, but that only lasts so long before the walls cave in. Michigan should beat Air Force, but if they fail to cover a 24 point spread, people will start to worry.
Oklahoma State
Playing at Pitt is a trap game, and the Cowboys can ill afford another Central Michigan debacle. Oklahoma looks primed in the Big 12, and there is better competition coming up on the schedule. A loss to the Panthers on the road could be devastating long term.
UCLA
The Bruins vist Memphis Saturday morning, and more is on the line than you know. The Bruins had to rally against Texas A&M, as we all know, and the second half against Hawaii was less than fluid on defense. If the Bruins collapse in their first road test, and the defense caves in, the chants to fire Jim Mora will be back up in force.
Nebraska and Northern Illinois
The Huskers have been awful so far. They allowed a bunch of yardage and points to Arkansas State in the opener, and then found themselves down 42-14 at the half in a train wreck against Oregon, before they rallied to make it interesting in the second half. Tanner Lee is still a turnover machine at QB, as he was at Tulane, the run game lacks depth, and the defense is a sieve. They have to go out and pound down Northern Illinois this week, or the Big 10 season could get ugly very quickly.
For the Huskies, Rod Carey needs to make this game respectable, as the ranks of folks wanting his head on a platter are growing. NIU is 1-1, and lost a close one at home to open the season against Boston College. If NIU can keep it close and challenge here, he has something to build on heading into MAC play later this month. If they get blown out...
Texas A&M
The Aggies narrowly escaped Nicholls State last week in a 10 point win. Aggie teams of hold would have won that game by 50 or more. After the debacle with UCLA, and the lackluster win last week, could the Aggies be the worst team in the SEC West? They need a big win over UL-Lafayette this week to prove otherwise.
Others: U Conn, Virginia, Syracuse, Boston College, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Texas Tech, Kansas, West Virginia, Baylor, Ohio State, Northwestern, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky, Louisiana Tech, Southern Miss, BYU, Western Michigan, Oregon State, Stanford, Arizona State, Florida, Missouri, South Alabama
FCS
Big Sky
Cal Poly, Eastern Washington
Both teams had some expectations coming in, but neither have won a game in 2017. They are a combined 0-5. Another loss for either team will basically have them frozen out of playoff consideration early.
Big South
Charleston Southern
The Buccaneers opened with a loss against Mississippi State, and are just 0-1, but they need a win in FCS play to prove that although Jamey Chadwell left as head coach, the program has not started to fall apart in his absence.
Colonial
Richmond
The Spiders started out as a top ten team, but are now just 1-1. If they fall in their next game, one starts to wonder whether or not they will be relevant in conference play or not.
MEAC
South Carolina State
The Bulldogs have been a major MEAC player recently, but lost their opener against Southern. It's very early, but if early losses mount, the Bulldogs could fall out of the league race quickly.
Missouri Valley
Northern Iowa, Youngstown State
Northern Iowa and Youngstown State both have losses to FBS opponents, and both played fairly well. Each can maybe afford one more loss, maybe two, but that's it. It would be bad to let those losses mount in September.
Northeast Conference
Duquesne
The Dukes were in line to compete for the NEC title in 2017, but a blowout loss to South Dakota State has me wondering how good or bad this team is. St. Francis and Sacred Heart look ready to pull away with the league title as things stand early in the season, so the Dukes have got to kick it up a gear.
Ohio Valley
Eastern Kentucky
The Colonels want to play FBS football, but how can we take that seriously when they start off the season 0-2? EKU played well against FBS member Kentucky last weekend, but the losses now have to stop at 0-2 against FBS opponents to stay in the conversation.
Patriot League
Fordham
The Rams have been a huge disappointment early on, as they got demolished by Army, but won last week to go 1-1. Fordham is supposed to be a power in this league, but they are currently averaging just 22 points per game.
Pioneer Football
The entire league is a mess, so picking any one team is difficult here. Not one team remains unbeaten in 2017, and traditional leaders like Dayton, San Diego, and Jacksonville all look rather rough right now.
Southern
Chattanooga
The Mocs have been a mess out of the gate, with losses to Jacksonville State and LSU under their belts. This team has a reputation of falling short of expectations, and this team is no different, even though those expectations were muted as they start under new head coach Tom Arth. Still, at 0-2, it may very well be desperation time.
Southland
Only Sam Houston State remains as being undefeated overall at 2-0 this fall. The rest of the league seems in flux, with several teams having lost to FBS members. Still, Central Arkansas and SE Louisiana are potential contenders who need to win now, and McNeese State losing to Nicholls State in league play was a major blow for the Cowboys.
SWAC
Anything can happen on any given day in the wacky SWAC. There remains not one undefeated team in the conference, and Jackson State is 0-2. The Tigers were supposed to compete this fall, but that has been difficult early with a massive loss to FBS member TCU. We should knnow more about all of these teams once we get into league play.
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