Be careful touting signature wins too early during college football season.
Paper champions loading up on early victories can easily be extinguished by midseason when inflated schedules come to a grinding halt during conference play. We've seen it happen across the SEC, Big Ten and now Big 12, following the league's wildest weekend yet.
There's the flip side too -- teams can get hot and find their footing after the opening month, strengthening an opponent's resume thanks to a prior result.
The current AP Top 25 rankings give us a snapshot of which wins have aged well and which are depreciating assets ahead of the first College Football Playoff poll on Nov. 3.
Beating a top-10 team in September that later disappears from the rankings doesn't preserve a ranked victory on that résumé. With the postseason picture taking shape, it's time to revisit some of the memorable results from earlier this fall.
These are the squads who banked something meaningful and those in search of more approaching the final month of the campaign.
Wins that aged well
No. 12 Alabama 45, Kentucky 17
When: Sept. 12 (Week 2)
Kentucky's current ranking: No. 9
The Crimson Tide handled the SEC's current leader its only loss this season by four touchdowns and did so despite multiple first-half turnovers and a halftime deficit. Alabama outscored Kentucky 32-0 in the second half, and guess what? The Wildcats haven't lost since. That's one of the most insane rebounds in SEC history for a first-year coaching staff. The victory was Alabama's ninth straight over Kentucky and marks the Crimson Tide's lone win over a team currently ranked in the top 25.
No. 4 Texas 24, No. 1 Ohio State 23
When: Sept. 12 (Week 2)
Ohio State's current ranking: No. 2
If Texas finds itself in the middle of the SEC's nine-win pack a few weeks from now, the Longhorns will have something others do not -- one of the best nonconference victories of the season. Everyone knew that the 20-point comeback win over Ohio State would carry significant weight, and the Buckeyes are one of only two unbeaten teams in Big Ten play.
The Buckeyes' season could torpedo from here without Julian Sayin given what's left on the schedule, but that's not the expectation. Ohio State is confident in its quarterback room behind Sayin and has a Heisman candidate who can bail this offense out of difficult spots when the ball's thrown in his direction.
No. 13 Texas Tech 28, No. 22 Houston 26
When: Sept. 18 (Week 3)
Houston's current ranking: No. 18
Cougars coach Willie Fritz put it succinctly after his team's narrow loss in Lubbock in mid-September, where a failed two-point conversion in the final moments proved the difference.
"There's no moral victories," Fritz said after losing to Texas Tech last month. "We came here to win. And we didn't win."
Houston's 4-1 since that setback after its four-game winning streak was snapped Saturday night at Utah. This remains Texas Tech's only ranked win, with another opportunity coming in Week 9 against Arizona.
No. 5 Miami 33, Wake Forest 20
When: Sept. 19 (Week 3)
Wake Forest's current ranking: No. 14
The Demon Deacons are arguably the ACC's second-best team on the heels of four consecutive wins entering next weekend's home game against Virginia. Their only loss in league play is to the Hurricanes, and they've outscored their last three opponents, 132-24, in the ACC. Jake Dickert is getting the most out of UNC transfer quarterback Gio Lopez (17 touchdowns, one interception) and Wake Forest controls its own destiny in the race for a spot in the ACC Championship Game.
Miami's Darian Mensah completed an ACC-record 24 straight passes in this victory as the Hurricanes jumped out to a 31-7 lead midway through the third quarter behind his brilliance and early success with Malachi Toney. Miami dominated this road matchup for three quarters, but the final score doesn't reflect how one-sided it really was.
No. 4 Notre Dame 41, Wisconsin 13
When: Sept. 6 (Week 1)
Wisconsin's current ranking: No. 25
No one knew if the Badgers would recover after flatlining at Lambeau Field against the Fighting Irish during Labor Day weekend, but Wisconsin did show some unexpected fight in that one for 2.5 quarters to open a pivotal campaign for Luke Fickell. Wisconsin's only loss since was last week's 17-7 setback at UCLA, as Saturday night's win over 16th-ranked USC pushed the Badgers to 5-2 overall.
No. 12 Kentucky 35, No. 18 LSU 34
When: Oct. 10 (Week 6)
LSU's current ranking: No. 15
The second of consecutive overtime wins for Will Stein and the Wildcats this season, Kenny Minchey called his own number on the game-winning quarterback draw, sending Kroger Field into a frenzy. LSU is unbeaten since, with consecutive blowout wins against SEC opponents, to pull back inside the top-15. These are two of four SEC playoff picks in our latest bowl projections, and there's a chance each finishes with 10 wins. Who would've predicted that for the boys in blue three months ago?
No. 15 BYU 28, Arizona 17
When: Sept. 12 (Week 2)
Arizona's current ranking: No. 20
In the Big 12 opener for both teams, the Cougars erased a 17-14 halftime deficit, scoring a pair of touchdowns after intermission to prevail as the only defense to quiet the Wildcats up to this point. Arizona improved to 6-1 overall after Saturday's victory over Iowa State and is now ranked. Quarterback Noah Fifita has given opposing defenses problems the last four seasons and gets a chance to cause chaos with upcoming contests against Texas Tech and Utah down the stretch. BYU would love for Arizona to play spoiler and make its road to the playoff that much clearer.
Wins that aged poorly
Kentucky 31, No. 9 Texas A&M 21
When: Sept. 19 (Week 3)
Texas A&M's current ranking: NR
Dozens of Kentucky fans were in my mentions this week asking why the Wildcats weren't included in our group of five teams with at least two ranked wins this season. That's because their team's demolition of the Aggies at Kyle Field was the beginning of the end for Texas A&M's place in the top 25. The Aggies, now 4-4 overall, were our most overrated team in the preseason top-10 and proved that quickly this fall after replacing several starters in the trenches and having no answer for the loss of KC Concepcion at wideout. Kentucky simply exposed glaring issues before anyone else could.
No. 7 Alabama 56, No. 16 Mississippi State 23
When: Oct. 3 (Week 5)
Mississippi State's current ranking: NR
Handing Kamario Taylor and the Bulldogs their first loss of the season was a memorable road beatdown in Starkville, but Mississippi State hasn't won a game since and has tumbled outside of the national rankings. The Bulldogs were shut out by LSU, struggled at home in Saturday's loss to Oklahoma and now travel to Texas on Halloween. Keelon Russell's four total touchdowns in this game pushed him toward the front of the Heisman race before those hopes evaporated after losses to Georgia and Tennessee.
Michigan 17, No. 11 Oklahoma 10
When: Sept. 12 (Week 2)
Oklahoma's current ranking: NR
So much for the Wolverines using their promising start under Kyle Whittingham. They've moved on from Bryce Underwood as their starting quarterback. Then, Tommy Carr's first career start resulted in a six-point dud during Saturday's overtime loss to Indiana. Michigan's defense remains this team's calling card, but the Wolverines are not scoring enough points to keep pace in the Big Ten or CFP races.
No. 9 Ole Miss 41, No. 24 Louisville 38
When: Sept. 6 (Week 1)
Louisville's current ranking: NR
Louisville was believed to be a title contender this season in the ACC considering Jeff Brohm had registered 29 total wins his first three years with the Cardinals, but a 4-3 start has left much to be desired in the middle of the conference. Consecutive losses to Wake Forest and NC State eliminated Louisville from legitimate league title hopes and exposed the real issue for this team - they can't stop anyone. Ranked in the lower third of the ACC in total, scoring and pass defense, the Cardinals can blame themselves for this rapid deterioration. Heading into Week 8, the only countable ranked wins for Ole Miss were LSU and Missouri.
Northwestern 34, Penn State 13
When: Oct. 2 (Week 5)
Penn State's current ranking: NR
Don't tell any Northwestern folks this win lacked significance. At the time, the first game at the new $875 million Ryan Field was a memorable one after the Wildcats galloped their way to 413 yards rushing, but the Nittany Lions have completely flatlined since. Winless in the Big Ten after four games, this was Matt Campbell's second crack at a conference opponent after losing at home to Wisconsin the previous week. Northwestern's now ranked and 6-1 overall after Saturday's win over Rutgers, but the next three games will ultimately determine this team's value against Oregon, Iowa and Ohio State.
Colorado 14, Georgia Tech 13
When: Sept. 3 (Week 1)
Georgia Tech's current ranking: NR
Does anyone still remember this one? Both of these teams stink and will need strong second halves of the campaign just to get bowl-eligible. Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes have lost five straight following Saturday night's 57-24 beatdown from Oklahoma State, while the Yellow Jackets are 1-5 this season against Power Four competition, the lone victory coming against Duke on Oct. 10.
Virginia 34, NC State 8
When: Aug. 29 (Week 0)
NC State's current ranking: NR
An opening-weekend game many thought would determine part of the top-end ACC standings turned out to be pretty much meaningless. Virginia lost at home to Duke on Friday night, falling to 4-4 on the year, hours before NC State's loss at Stanford marked the end of Dave Doeren's tenure as leader of the program. The second Power Four vacancy this cycle, the Wolfpack will have a search for the first time in 14 years after moving on from the ACC's second longest-tenured coach.
