Week Two is usually one of the softer slates on the schedule. There are a lot of buffer games between high profile openers and conference play. But teams better be ready every week. Just ask Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish, a four touchdown favorite, fell at home to Northern Illinois. Penn State survived a scare from Bowling Green. Texas was extremely impressive at Michigan. Tennessee was sharp in a blowout of N.C. State.To reiterate the rankings, due to the playoff structure, a team from each of the four major conferences will be in the top four spots.

1. Georgia – The Bulldogs took care of Tennessee Tech, winning for the 48th time in the last 50 games. Georgia’s daunting schedule cranks back up with the SEC opener at Kentucky Saturday night in Lexington. It’s the first of eight straight league games.

2. Ohio State – It was another easy win for the Buckeyes, who have now beaten Akron and Western Michigan. Ohio State takes this week off and then hosts Marshall, with the Big Ten looming next. Expectations are sky high for Ryan Day in Columbus.

3. Miami – The Hurricanes followed up their ultra impressive win at Florida in the season opener by taking care of FAMU. Ball State heads to Miami this week. The Hurricanes are the early front-runner in the ACC. Cam Ward is a top flight quarterback.

4. Utah – The Running Utes took care of Baylor 23-12. They raced to a 23-0 lead, but quarterback Cam Rising was injured. A road trip to Utah State is next, then comes the Big XII opener at Oklahoma State.

5. Texas – No doubt the Longhorns are the team of the week, storming past Michigan 31-12 in Ann Arbor. They dominated the Wolverines. Texas is a bona fide contender to make a deep run. The RoadRunners of UT-San Antonio head to Austin Saturday.

6. Alabama – The Crimson Tide are 2-0, with wins over Western Kentucky and South Florida. Kalen DeBoer inherited a very talented team. Now Alabama gets its first road test, heading up to Camp-Randall Stadium to take on the Wisconsin Badgers.

7. Tennessee – The Volunteers had one of Saturday’s most impressive showings, blowing away N.C. State 51-10 in Charlotte. Kent State heads to Neyland Stadium this week. Tennessee served notice that the Orange and White are playoff contenders in 2024.

8. Missouri – The Tigers beat Buffalo 38-0 and are 2-0 on the year. There are high hopes in Columbia this season, coming off last year’s 11-2, Cotton Bowl title campaign. Mizzou could have its hands full with Boston College in CoMo.

9. Ole Miss – The Rebels are now 2-0 after beating Middle Tennessee Saturday. Ole Miss has beaten Furman and the Blue Raiders, and now take on Wake Forest in Winston Salem. Jaxson Dart is a fine quarterback, leading the Rebels offensive attack.

10. Southern Cal – The Trojans, flying high after the win over LSU in Las Vegas, beat Utah State badly, improving to 2-0. USC is impressive at the skill positions. They’ll take this week off and then head to the Big House for their first ever Big Ten game at Michigan.

11. LSU – The Bayou Bengals were hurting after losing to Southern Cal. They beat Nicholls State to even the record at 1-1. Next up is a trip to South Carolina, which had a great win at Kentucky. The Tigers schedule is one of the SEC’s most manageable.

12. Memphis – The Tigers hosted Troy and had a sharp performance in a 38-10 win to make it 2-0. Now Memphis heads to Florida State for a noon kickoff against the struggling Seminoles. A win over FSU would be huge for their playoff hopes as the “G5 rep.”