Several college football teams made statements in week two, and the bowl projections had some major changes as a result.
It was a wild weekend of college football, and this week’s bowl projections had some major shifts as a result.
The biggest game of the weekend, LSU’s showdown in Austin against Texas — the first meeting between the two blue bloods on campus since 1954 — did not disappoint. The Tigers pulled off a 45-38 victory in a surprising shootout, proving that the offseason smoke about LSU’s revamped offense had actually produced a fire. But Texas also acquitted itself nicely, and a touchdown defeat to LSU won’t be damaging to their resume if they are able to run the table from here on out.
The other ranked vs. ranked matchup of the weekend was a dud, as most big games featuring Clemson tend to be. Clemson rolled over Texas A&M, with the Aggies scoring a late touchdown to make the 24-10 final margin a bit more respectable than it actually was.
We also saw some surprising results throughout the day. In the early games, Army pushed Michigan to the brink before falling in two overtimes in the Big House. The Black Knights for the second year in a row had a top-10 team on the ropes but couldn’t quite close the door.
The Group of Five race continues to intensify, and UCF leads the pack after a dominating win over Florida Atlantic. But I still have another program from the Group of Five in the New Year’s Six at the moment, even after Cincinnati fell out to ostensibly make room for the Knights after the Bearcats’ 42-0 loss to Ohio State.
In an upset that most people woke up to, California stunned Washington for the second season in a row with a game-winning short field goal to outlast the Huskies after a near three-hour lightning delay in Seattle. It has been a rough start to the season for the Pac-12 contenders, and now the race for the Rose Bowl looks as wide open as it has ever been.
How did this week’s results change the bowl projections? Let’s dive in and find out.