2014: 21/23 (3-0)
2009: 19/20 (2-1) (finished 11-2, 12/12)
2008: 14/11 (3-0) (finished 10-3, 25/21)
2001: 24/25 (3-0) (finished 12-2, 25/24)
1996: NR/25 (2-1) (finished 14-1, 5/5)
1993: 21/17 (3-0) (finished 6-6, unranked)
1990: 4/4 (3-0) (finished 10-3, 22/17)
1985: 13/10 (2-1) (finished 11-3, 16/17)
1984: 6/4 (3-0) (finished 13-0, 1/1)
1981: 11/13 (3-0) (finished 11-2, 13/11)
1979: 20/20 (3-0) (finished 12-1, 12/11)
1977: 13/12 (3-0) (finished 9-2, 20/16)

Everytime we've started 3-0 since 1966 we've been ranked (they only had a top 10 back then). We've also been ranked at 2-1 in three other years. Of the eleven previous hot starts, only two (1996 and 2001) were ranked below this year's team after three games -- but both of those would win their next nine games and were ranked in the top ten after twelve games. Of the previous eleven starts, five finished the year ranked lower than they were after three games (1977, 1985, 1990, 1993, 2008), two reversed their AP/coaches poll ranks (1981, 2001), and four finished higher (1979, 1984, 1996, 2009). All teams except 1993 finished ranked.

Too little is known about this year's team or their three opponents to make more substantive comparisons.