College football’s startling start: Look at Oregon, Auburn, Utah et al.

Toledo earned 68 points in this week’s Associated Press media poll. Oregon got 64.

In the USA Today coaches’ poll, Temple had 18 points. Auburn had eight.

And you wonder why broadcast networks pay billions of dollars to televise sports?

There is no equivalent in packaged programming to live, unadulterated, unscripted and unexpected sports drama.

The anxiety of not knowing how something will turn out hasn’t changed since cavemen wondered, after every sunset, if there would ever be another sunrise.

It’s the reason viewers flipped out in 1968 when NBC preempted the end of Oakland Raiders vs. New York Jets to televise “Heidi.”

The first month of college football has already provided plenty of script flips and belly-flops. Here are a few, in order of biggest splash:

The flops

Auburn

That was then: The Tigers were preseason No. 2 in Sports Illustrated’s preview magazine, No. 6 by the AP and No. 7 by the coaches. SI on Auburn quarterback Jeremy Johnson: “It’s hard to ignore the Cam-like hype around Johnson.”

This is now: Auburn is 2-2 after consecutive losses to Louisiana State and Mississippi State. Those defeats followed an overtime win at home against Jacksonville State.

What happened: Johnson is not Cam Newton, the quarterback who led Auburn to the Bowl Championship Series title in 2010. What Johnson is now: benched.

Odds of making playoff: slim.

Oregon

That was then: The Ducks were preseason No. 7 by the AP, No. 5 in the coaches’ poll and No. 4 by The Times.

This is now: Oregon is 2-2 after losing at home to Utah, 62-20, the Ducks’ worst loss since 2003.

What happened: The master plan went bust when Vernon Adams Jr., the graduate transfer from Eastern Washington, broke the index finger on his throwing hand. He was ineffective against Utah and replaced by Jeff Lockie, who was not ready for the stage. Oregon’s failure to produce points and sustain drives put excessive pressure on a defense that couldn’t handle it.

Odds of making playoff: none.

Arizona State

That was then: The Sun Devils debuted at No. 15 in the AP poll. Coach Todd Graham at Pac-12 Conference media day: “It’s the best football team we’ve had since I’ve been at Arizona State.” ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit picked the Sun Devils to make the College Football Playoff. “It’s just a gut feeling I have,” he told the Sporting News.

This is now: Arizona State (2-2) lost its opener to Texas A&M, then almost lost at home to Cal Poly, then got trounced by USC.

Odds of making playoff: slim.

Arkansas

That was then: The Razorbacks were preseason No. 18 by the AP and considered a dark-horse pick to challenge for the Southeastern Conference West title. Lindy’s magazine: “Bret Bielema is far ahead of schedule in Fayetteville.”

This is now: Arkansas is 1-3 after consecutive losses to Toledo, Texas Tech and Texas A&M.

Odds of making playoff: none.

Georgia Tech

That was then: The Yellow Jackets were preseason No. 16 by the AP and picked to win the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division. Athlon Sports: “There are more positive vibes and higher expectations around the program than any time in recent memory.”

This is now: Georgia Tech is 2-2 after early losses to Notre Dame and Duke.

Odds of making playoff: slim.

The flips

Utah

That was then: The Utes were picked by the media to finish fifth in the Pac-12 South Division.

This is now: Utah is 4-0 and ranked No. 10 by the AP. The Utes defeated Michigan in the opener and, last weekend, crushed Oregon in Eugene in the most impressive road win — with apologies to Mississippi over Alabama — so far this season. Utah is a real threat to win the Pac-12 so long as injury-prone quarterback Travis Wilson stays healthy.

Northwestern

That was then: Lindy’s: “Back-to-back 5-7 seasons have taken nearly all the shine off this formerly overachieving program.”

This is now: A 4-0 start that includes victories against Stanford and Duke has lifted Northwestern to No. 16 in the AP poll.

California

That was then: The Bears’ defense ranked in the bottom 10 nationally last year, giving up an average of 511.8 yards per game.

This is now: Cal is 4-0 and tied for No. 68 in defense, giving up 382.8 yards per game. The Bears created five turnovers last week against Washington.

Toledo/Temple

That was then: Neither program received a single point in the preseason AP poll. Toledo was snubbed despite finishing 9-4 last season with a bowl win. Temple improved from two wins in 2013 to six last season, but historically has been a Division I bottom feeder.

This is now: The programs are a combined 6-0. Toledo has defeated two Power 5 schools — Iowa State and Arkansas — in a season for the first time. Temple boasts the nation’s No. 7 scoring defense and defeated Penn State for the first time in 74 years.

West Virginia

That was then: The Mountaineers received one point in the preseason AP poll.

This is now: West Virginia is 3-0 and, after smoking Maryland last weekend, debuted at No. 23. A win at Oklahoma this week would vault the Mountaineers to the perch of improbable, but real, playoff contender.

Florida

That was then: Athlon’s preseason “Final Analysis” of first-year Coach Jim McElwain: “…will need time to field an SEC East contender at a school where championships were once the standard.”

This is now: Florida is 4-0 and ranked No. 25 by the AP. After last weekend’s home win over Tennessee, the Gators are tied with Georgia for first place in the SEC East.

chris.dufresne@latimes.com