While the second weekend of the College Football season was a step back from the elite matchups but, it featured all of the drama that makes College Football great, shaking up the College Football Playoff race. Florida's loss to USF makes it almost impossible for the Gators to make the Playoff, while the Bulls look to be in a great position. Clemson struggled beating Troy, which has many questioning Dabo Swinney's team.
While we're only 2 weeks into the season, it's easy to start seeing how the race for the College Football Playoff is shaping up. Teams like Clemson and Florida have given everyone a reason to doubt them while Oregon, Utah, and USF are making a charge toward the College Football Playoff.
These 12 programs have the inside track to the College Football Playoff
Falling out of our Top 12 are two programs in the Iowa State Cyclones and the Tulane Green Wave, as they're replaced by USF and Utah. The Cyclones are 3-0, but their offense has left plenty to be desired, while their win against Kansas State is less impressive as they're now 1-2. The Tulane Green Wave slip for no fault of their own, but as USF has an incredible resume right now.
Coming into the season, everyone assumed that the Clemson Tigers would win the ACC with ease after their trip to the College Football Playoff last season. After two weeks, there are more concerns than anyone could've imagined as the Tigers struggled to beat the Troy Trojans this weekend. The passing attack needs to start playing to its potential; otherwise, this team doesn't have the identity to lean on.
Last Week, the Tulane Green Wave looked like the team with the best chance to secure the Group of 5 bid into the College Football Playoff. After USF knocked off Florida in The Swamp, they have two massive wins for their resume and if they win their conference it's going to be impossible to put anyone else into the Playoff. Given how Alex Golesh gets his team up to play each weekend, you can't pencil Miami in for a win over the Bulls this weekend.
This weekend was almost a perfect weekend for the Utah Utes as they won while some of their rivals in the Big 12 showed massive flaws and even took losses. Devon Dampier is going to make this offense almost impossible to slow as he has been so efficient as a passer while making massive plays with his legs. The defense has looked like one of Kyle Whittingham's typical groups as they've got a chance to be a nightmare on a weekly basis in the Big 12.
This weekend, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish spent their time watching everyone else play as they were on an early bye. Now, Notre Dame turns their attention to Texas A&M as this weekend's game against the Aggies is a must win otherwise they won't have a great chance to make the Playoff.
The Fighting Illini brought back such a talented group that was going to put them in the race for the Big Ten Championship and the College Football Playoff, and their experience was on full display on Saturday. Despite playing a close first half against Duke, Illinois broke the Blue Devils in the second half on the way to an impressive win. The Illini only have two ranked matchups this season, and even if they lose both games, they'll have a chance to break through.
Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns desperately needed this weekend's game against San Jose State as a period to reset ahead of SEC play. Manning showed the flashes of being an elite Heisman contender while also showing plenty of areas where he needs to improve. The defense remains the reason to be excited about this team but, there are still two weeks to get this offense clicking before SEC play.
This weekend was a strange game as the LSU Tigers struggled with Louisiana Tech, but it was right after an emotional win, while they probably had their eyes on this week's game against Florida. The game against Louisiana Tech proved costly as both center Braelin Moore and tight end Trey'Dez Green will likely miss the Florida game and time after. Despite having a great chance to make the Playoff, you can't push this team up into the Top 5 until they pick up wins in a few more big games.
The Georgia Bulldogs have played two far inferior opponents to start the season, and it's fair to say they haven't looked quite like Kirby Smart's best teams. The Bulldogs fanbase has questioned whether or not they have the right quarterback, as Gunner Stockton hasn't been as aggressive as he should be. This weekend against Tennessee will prove if this team is a top team in the Country or if they have some serious work to do.
The Penn State Nittany Lions open the season with three straight cupcake opponents, which makes it hard to judge the team. This weekend, Drew Allar didn't look like a potential first-round pick but it's also fair to think that it'll take time for him to get on the same page with an entirely new group of wide receivers. James Franklin's group gets one last dress rehearsal before a massive game against Oregon.
The first weekend of the year was impressive, but we all wanted to see Oregon have the same level of success against a Power 4 opponent. Oklahoma State isn't the greatest team, but the way that Oregon demolished them was beyond encouraging. The Ducks have one of the easiest schedules in the Big Ten, but as this group continues to click, it's hard to see them losing both of their ranked matchups.
After a massive win against Notre Dame, the Miami Hurricanes got to take a step back and work through any kinks they had against Bethune Cookman. This weekend will bring the chance for another key win as the Hurricanes face off against the red-hot USF Bulls, and the upset win may have been the best thing for Miami as they won't sleepwalk into this game.
The Ohio State Buckeyes remain on the inside track to the College Football Playoff, and while their crushing win over Grambling State didn't prove much, it was good to see a few things. The offense started to open up the playbook for Julian Sayin, and he looked the part of the former 5-star recruit. The Buckeyes have three games against ranked opponents but, handling business in the games they should dominate and picking off Penn State, Illinois, or Michigan should push them into the Playoff.
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