Texas beating Alabama brought about some changes in our projected College Football Playoff field after Week 2 of the 2023 college football season.
It was another exciting week of college football and once again, we learned much more about the 2023 College Football Playoff race.
The first week of the college football season gave us a signature for the Florida State Seminoles, while this past weekend offered up something similar for the Texas Longhorns, who notched a sea-changing 10-point win over Alabama on Saturday night.
That makes Texas a legit College Football Playoff contender, well, for the first time ever. Alabama isn’t out of it yet but has no margin for error. The Tide needs to win the SEC championship. A two-loss SEC champion could make it if there is chaos, but Bama likely has to run the table, just like LSU after it was blown out by Florida State.
There are plenty of undefeated teams and truthfully, many are set to eventually meet. Penn State, Michigan, and Ohio State will play each other. USC, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Oregon State, and yes, Colorado will do the same. The SEC has Georgia and Tennessee going head-to-head.
So these rankings will be determined by what happens on the field. However, we do have a change from our Week 1 College Football Playoff projections.
4. Texas
USC held the fourth spot last week in our College Football Playoff projections and for good reason. The Trojans have been spectacular and dominated Stanford on Saturday night.
Caleb Williams has put himself in a position to repeat as the Heisman winner early. But Quinn Ewers might have a say in that race after his three-touchdown game on Saturday night in Tuscaloosa.
It was a defining win for Ewers. The same can be said for Steve Sarkisian. His career has gotten plenty of hype but as a head coach, he hasn’t won much.
That changed on Saturday night and Texas will have a playoff spot until it loses a game. Winning at Alabama is about as good a win as you can have on your resume and if the Horns just win the Big 12 title with one loss, they will be in the College Football Playoff.
And even though the offense is getting all the credit, the Texas defense had five sacks, forced two turnovers, and held Alabama under 30 points and 400 total yards. Not a bad day at the office. Anthony Hill also looks like a game-changer after a two-sack game.
3. Florida State
In terms of the eye test, Florida State football looks as good as any college football team in the country right now.
The Noles rolled past LSU by 21 points in the first week of the season and made Southern Miss look totally helpless on Saturday in a 66-13 route.
People have said the Noles are looking like the Jimbo Fisher era. I’m thinking more about the Bobby Bowden era. Jordan Travis tossed two touchdowns. FSU also ran for over 300 yards.
The defense was dominant as usual and this team is impressive. A road game at Clemson looms in two weeks and we’ll see how that game goes, as Clemson will be desperate for a win, but FSU looks like the class of the ACC right now.
2. Michigan
The Wolverines haven’t played a challenging schedule yet. Their wins over East Carolina and UNLV were impressive though.
Michigan football has allowed just 10 points total through two games. East Carolina kicked a field goal with time expiring to lose 30-3 in Week 1. UNLV scored on a late possession of a 35-7 loss on Saturday.
What’s even more impressive is the way that quarterback J.J. McCarthy has played. He’s completing 88 percent of his passes and has five touchdowns. The former five-star quarterback looks elite and was pretty darn good a year ago.
It’s clear that he’s taken another step. Blake Corum scored two touchdowns and the defense could be as good as any in college football. U-M still has a lot to prove and challenges lie ahead against Penn State and Ohio State, but this team looks the part of a playoff team so far.
1. Georgia
Bulldog fans weren’t too happy with starting quarterback Carson Beck after Georgia went scoreless during the first quarter of its win over Ball State on Saturday.
To be fair, the Bulldogs have started slow this season. Georgia has just seven first-quarter points in two games. Yet, UGA scored 31 in the second quarter against Ball State and Beck finished the game 21-of-31 for 294 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.
The offense might be working out a few kinks but that’s to be expected with a new quarterback. Beck looks just fine though. Once he gets a little more confidence and feels more comfortable, he should be even better.
South Carolina is a dangerous team. The Gamecocks are talented and when Spencer Rattler is on, they can play with just about anybody. Georgia should roll, but it’s the first real test and it will be interesting to see how the Gamecocks respond.