The second weekend of the college football season didn’t disappoint. Georgia and Mississippi State had two of the most impressive road performances, while Clemson and Texas A&M played an instant classic. There are a couple of SEC battles to watch, with Bama going to Ole Miss and Auburn hosting LSU.
1. Alabama – The Crimson Tide beat Arkansas State 57-7 to make it 2-0. Now comes what could be a bit of a test against Ole Miss in Oxford. The Bama roster is just loaded, and this is the most talented the Tide has been at quarterback in a long time.
2. Clemson – What a game with Texas A&M, as the Tigers held on to win 28-26 in College Station. Clemson has that awesome defensive line, but the Aggies moved the ball through the air. Georgia Southern comes to Death Valley Saturday.
3. Georgia – The Bulldogs were dominant in a 41-17 win at South Carolina. Georgia comes home Saturday night to host Middle Tennessee State, and then it’s seven in a row in the league, starting at Mizzou.
4. Auburn – It was easy for Auburn against Alabama State. Things get turned up a notch now, as LSU visits Jordan-Hare. These two have played so many huge showdowns in the 21st century. The winner of this one is a really strong 3-0.
5. LSU – See above for Auburn. The LSU Tigers topped Southeast Louisiana 31-0 and now head to the Plains for the big one with Auburn. The LSU defense is strong, fast and physical. The offensive backfield may be better than anticipated.
6. Ohio State – The Buckeyes throttled Big Ten foe Rutgers, and now head to Arlington to take on TCU. The Ohio State offense looks stellar. No doubt though, the 31 points given up to Oregon State was cause for concern.
7. Oklahoma – Kyler Murray accounted for five TDs in a rout of UCLA with my man T Donnan cheering them on. You know Oklahoma is going to be foaming at the mouth to get a piece of Iowa State in Ames. The Cyclones handed OU its lone regular season loss in 2017.
8. Wisconsin – It was tight for the first half, as New Mexico gave the Badgers a bit of a scare. Then Wiscy pulled away 45-14. Now comes improved Brigham Young before arguably the most important game of the year at Iowa.
9. Virginia Tech – Coming off their dominating 24-3 Monday night win at Florida State, the Hokies jumped on William and Mary early and cruised to a quick turnaround win. Surging East Carolina, fresh off whipping UNC, visits Blacksburg Saturday.
10. Stanford – It was a sweet win for the Cardinal, as they won the private school battle of California 17-3 over USC in Palo Alto. Stanford can enjoy this one and make easy work of UC Davis. Then comes the road trips to Oregon and Notre Dame.
11. Washington – The Huskies, after a slow start, beat North Dakota 45-3. It figures to be tough for Washington Saturday at Utah. The PAC-12 North looks tough with Stanford and Oregon looking like prime challengers to Washington.
12. Mississippi State – The Maroon Bulldogs posted one of the most impressive wins of any team this past weekend, as they dominated Kansas State. MSU hosts Louisiana this week. The defensive line is one of the best in the SEC.
13. Oregon – The Ducks were quacking in a 62-14 rout of in-state foe Portland State. It should be an easy 3-0 with San Jose State heading to Autzen Stadium before the big showdown with Stanford, which is also in Eugene.
14. West Virginia – After beating Tennessee in Charlotte, the Mountaineers followed that up with a win over Youngstown State. Now comes a trip to N.C. State before Big XII play begins. That’s an SEC and ACC foe out of conference.
15. Notre Dame – Things got sticky for the Fighting Irish against Ball State, but Notre Dame was able to hold off the boys from Muncie. Vanderbilt, which has been impressive in its first two games visits South Bend Saturday.
16. Texas A&M – It was a heart-breaker for Jimbo Fisher’s Aggies, as a two-point conversion came up short in a 28-26 loss. Louisiana Monroe comes to town Saturday and then comes a trip to Alabama.
17. TCU – The Horned Frogs started slowly, but came back and cruised past SMU 42-12. Now comes a highly anticipated battle with Ohio State in Arlington. An upset of the Buckeyes would really elevate the Frogs.
18. Boise State – The Broncos smoked UConn and are an impressive 2-0 after a 62-7 romp of the Huskies. The season opened with a eye-catching win at Troy, and now comes a big battle with Oklahoma State in Stillwater. A win there would enhance those New Year’s Six hopes.
19. Central Florida – The Golden Knights, off of last year’s dream season, are off to a good start under the watch of Josh Heupel. Central Florida heads to Chapel Hill to battle the Tar Heels, and would love a big win over a collegiate athletics blue blood.
20. Ole Miss – The Rebels went back and forth, but beat Southern Illinois 76-41 to make it 2-0 in a tuneup for the big one this weekend. Alabama is a three touchdown favorite and smoked the Rebels 66-3 last year. But Ole Miss can throw the football.
21. Michigan – It was a 49-3 bounce back for the Wolverines against Western Michigan. SMU comes to town Saturday and then Big Ten play begins with Nebraska. Michigan’s defense is very good. Their schedule is very tough.
22. Penn State – The Nittany Lions beat old rival Pitt (tough for us old Bulldogs to watch that without hurt) to make it 2-0 on the season. Kent State comes to Happy Valley Saturday before Big Ten play begins at Illinois.
23. Southern Cal – The Trojans offense is a work in progress. The 17-3 loss at Stanford certainly showed some holes in the USC attack. A mighty tough schedule continues this week in a traditional powerhouse showdown with the Longhorns in Austin.
24. Iowa – The Hawkeyes took down in-state rival Iowa State 13-3. That’s always a close game. Next up is Northern Iowa. Certainly don’t sleep on them. Then comes a big showdown in the Big Ten West, as the Badgers head to Iowa City.
25. Boston College – The Eagles are a sneaky good team in the ACC Atlantic Division. The schedule has featured a couple of impressive in-state wins over UMass and Holy Cross. The ACC schedule starts with a Thursday nighters at Wake Forest.