The 2021 college football season has been nothing short of entertaining, with each week seemingly brimming with upsets. While some constants remain in place, such as Alabama and Georgia holding down the top of the rankings or Oklahoma pacing the Big 12, there have been a number of surprises this fall.
On one end, you have disappointing starts, like Clemson dropping two early losses or Ohio State’s struggling defense. But what of those teams that have bucked expectations and turned some heads coming out of the gate?
The College Football Live crew — featuring ESPN analysts David Pollack and Joey Galloway — recently tabbed two teams whose success is the biggest surprise of the 2021 season so far.
“I think to me, Arkansas is a team I didn’t expect to beat Texas and Texas A&M and climb up into the top-10 early in the season,” Pollack said. “You know, they’ve done it, obviously, with KJ Jefferson going off, right, a quarterback that we knew nothing about before the season.