Teams play down to their competition. It's human nature. Part of coaching is trying to get the players to buy in and overcome the natural tendency to not take lesser opponents seriously. We have certainly been guilty of this in the past. This is nothing new. Nick Saban is one of the best coaches to get his team motivated to play hard no matter who the opponent is. (Yes, I know he lost to Duck Dynasty in his first year).
I also believe that there are a lot of good players at a lot of these so-called smaller programs. The population of the country has grown. The quality of high school football and coaching has gotten better over the years. If you want to go back several decades, the integration of colleges particularly in the South has made for a more wider distribution of talent to more schools.
What we have to guard against is that if we play an uninspiring game against a weaker opponent it does not mean it is the end of the world. By the same token, if we put a big beat down on a lesser opponent it doesn't mean than we are going to Atlanta. You have to come to play every Saturday or get beat. Georgia will get back on track and I guarantee you when it comes to time to play the Gators they will be ready. Tennessee, who seemed over-rated after their performance against Appalachian State, now looks back on track.
In college football things can change from week to week. That's what makes the season interesting. There will be teams that rise and fall throughout the season. And some will rise and fall and then rise again. That's the kind of team I like to see.