College Football: Week 2 Polls and Schedule

Already in Week 2 we can see there’s been some shake-up from last week’s rankings—everywhere except in the number one slot. A few teams have fallen from the list altogether due to being embarrassed by FCS schools on opening weekend.  A few will be idle this week; some will be playing what, on paper, appear to be mismatched foes (see previous sentence); and a few will be playing ranked opponents. Some of the “mismatches” can be explained as intrastate games against FCS opponents. (See Texas A&M vs Sam Houston State and Louisville vs Eastern Kentucky.) Some can only be explained by the desire to 1- fill a slot in the schedule, 2- a willingness to roll the dice for a big upset, and 3- a big paycheck.  (See Wisconsin vs Tennessee Tech.)

All games being played by the Top 25+ are scheduled for Saturday. There are games scheduled for Thursday night and Friday night if you just can’t wait, however.

The numbers on the left are the rankings in the Associated Press Poll and the Coaches’ Poll. (CBSSports does a preseason poll but then waits a few weeks to weigh in on a regular basis—or at least they did last year.) NR means the team is “Not Ranked” in that particular poll. The team’s current record is in parentheses following their name.

1/1 Alabama (1-0) The Crimson Tide has this weekend off.

2/3 Oregon (1-0) The Ducks head east to play at the home of the Virginia Cavaliers (1-0). Long trip for the Ducks but a long day for the Cavaliers.

3/2 Ohio State (1-0) The Buckeyes play host to the San Diego State Aztecs (0-1). Ohio State will romp.

4/5 Clemson (1-0) The Tigers will host an FCS school, the South Carolina State Bulldogs (0-1). This should be a big day for Boyd’s boys as Clemson will be able to do as it pleases.

5/4 Stanford (0-0) The Cardinal start their season hosting the San Jose State Spartans (1-0). Have you seen 300? Yeah, they all died in the end. Cardinal by at least 21.

6/6 South Carolina (1-0) The Gamecocks will play at #11 Georgia Bulldogs (0-1). Doesn’t get easier for Georgia, does it? At least this time they are at home and this one will be a nail biter. Pick the Bulldogs if there’s biting to be done.

7/7 Texas A&M (1-0) The Aggies will host the FCS Sam Houston State Bearkats (1-0). If Manziel can mature a bunch in a short time, the Aggies will win big. Heck, if last week’s first half is any indication, the Aggies should win anyway. BUT Sam Houston did win 74-0 in their opener. Granted it was against Houston Baptist….

8/8 Louisville (1-0) The Cardinals will host the FCS Eastern Kentucky Colonels (1-0). Okay, they are both Kentucky schools and they both won their first game of the season, but that’s where the similarities stop. Bridgewater and crew will win in a rout.

9/11 LSU (1-0) The Tigers will host the UAB Blazers (0-1). The Blazers get snuffed.

10/10 Florida State (1-0) The Seminoles have this weekend off.

11/12 Georgia (0-1) The Bulldogs play on the road against the #6 South Carolina Gamecocks (1-0). Close game but the Bulldogs prevail.

12/9 Florida (1-0) The Gators host the Hurricane of Miami (1-0). I read somewhere that we have yet to have a hurricane this season. Take that as an omen. Gators will rule this game.

13/14 Oklahoma State (1-0) The Cowboys play the Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners (1-0) on the road. Look for the Cowboys to get the kinks out of their game and roll up some numbers in this one.

14/13 Notre Dame (1-0) The Irish play on the road against the #17 Michigan Wolverines (1-0). Tommy Rees looked good on Saturday. He’ll need to play as well or better this weekend. I think he might do just that to lead the Irish to victory in a close, tough game.

15/16 Texas (1-0) The Longhorns head north to play the BYU Cougars (0-1). The Cougars are going to get gored.

16/15 Oklahoma (1-0) The Sooners host the Mountaineers of West Virginia (1-0). Sooners score sooner and oftener than WVA.

17/17 Michigan (1-0) The Wolverines host the #14 Irish of Notre Dame (1-0). Close but no cigar for the Wolverines as the Irish win a close one.

18/18 UCLA (1-0) The Bruins have the weekend off.

19/20 Northwestern (1-0) The Wildcats play host to the Syracuse Orange (0-1). Syracuse has plenty of room for improvement. Unfortunately they won’t get enough this weekend. Wildcats by at least 14.

20/23 Washington (1-0) The Huskies have this weekend off.

21/21 Wisconsin (1-0) The Badgers play host to the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (1-0) of the FCS. The Golden Eagles won 63-7 over Cumberland last week. If they can score 16 this week it will be miracle. Badgers by a great deal.

22/19 Nebraska (1-0) The Cornhuskers host the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles (0-1). The Huskers pluck the Golden Eagles of Southern Miss.

23/NR Baylor (1-0) The Bears host the Buffalo Bulls (0-1). The Bulls played tough last week against Ohio State in the first half. This one looks to be slightly different as Baylor will light up the sky with passes. The Bears.

24/24t TCU (0-1) The Horned Frogs host the FCS Southeastern Louisiana Lions (1-0). Frogs win big as they iron out the kinks that cost them last week’s game.

25/22 Southern California (1-0) The Trojans host the Washington State Cougars (0-1). The Cougars lost on the road to Auburn. The Trojans’ offense struggled against Hawaii. This could be a close one but I’d have to go with the home team. Trojans by a field goal.

NR/24t Miami (Fla.) (1-0) The Hurricanes play up the road against the #12 Florida Gators (1-0). The Canes will fizzle in this one.