Greg McElroy gives teams that look great, passed at least one test

Every week, ESPN’s Greg McElroy puts college football teams into different groups, being a tier list of sorts. He then breaks them down group by group and in Group No. 3, McElroy has two teams. Penn State and North Carolina have looked great through seven weeks of the regular season but have passed just one test.

Beginning with Penn State, while McElroy never specified which test they passed but there are a couple of options. Putting up 31 points against Iowa‘s defense is impressive. But it’s likely the double-digit win at home against West Virginia, a team that is a Hail Mary away from being 5-1 and at the top of the Big 12 Championship race.

There is a serious opportunity for Penn State to move up a group this weekend. A road game against Ohio State has been a hump James Franklin has not been able to get over in years past. Win at the Shoes and your stock goes up according to McElroy.

“Obviously, a huge opportunity for them this weekend,” McElroy said. “They’ll play against Ohio State on the road. If they get that win, they’ll naturally move up into Group No. 2.”

Greg McElroy still gives North Carolina credit for Miami win

Heading into the North Carolina game, everyone was joking about Miami. Their botched game against Georgia Tech is unforgivable, having a win in the bag before (literally) fumbling it away. Mario Cristobal spent all week discussing the moment and took responsibility multiple times.

North Carolina wound up getting a big win against Miami and McElroy is still going to give them credit. Even with the game happening at home, it was a good test for Mack Brown‘s team.

“I do believe Miami is someone,” McElroy said. “If you want to look at the Georgia Tech game, there were about 1,000 ways it could have gone. Miami probably wins 998 of them. So, I still view Miami as a pretty good team and a pretty good win for North Carolina.”

Unlike Penn State, North Carolina does not have an immediate opportunity to move up in McElroy’s group rankings. Nov. 11 will likely be their next chance, hosting Duke in a rivalry game before traveling to Clemson the following week.

And with how the ACC is playing out at the minute, the Tar Heels likely control their own destiny toward a spot in the College Football Playoff.