Post-Week 2 College Football Playoff Picture
The First Four:
1.) Ohio State — You know you’re a good team when you win a game 38-0 and people say you “struggled.” The Buckeyes started slow, but they easily handled the visiting Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. Both Cardale Jones and JT Barrett saw playing time and it will be interesting to see how Urban Meyer handles the quarterback competition going forward.
2.) TCU — TCU dropped a whopping 70 points against Stephen F Austin, proving that A.) college football should probably have a mercy rule and B.) power five teams probably shouldn’t play against schools with human names.
3.) Michigan State — Mark Dantonio avenged last year’s loss to Oregon with an impressive 31-28 win Saturday night. Not a spectacular night from Connor Cook, but the senior quarterback looked poised and led the Spartans to the most impressive win of any playoff contender so far.
4.) Alabama — Jake Coker has grabbed the Crimson Tide starting quarterback job and apparently has no plans of letting it go. If Coker can continue to play like he did in the Crimson Tide’s 37-10 victory over Middle Tennessee, then the Tide should be the team to beat in the tough SEC West.
The Next Four:
5.) Baylor — Two cupcakes, two blowout wins for the Bears. Wake me when they play some real competition.
6.) Georgia — Georgia kicked off their SEC season with a 31-14 win over Vanderbilt. Nick Chubb notched his 10th consecutive game with at least 100 rushing yards, and will look to make it 11 when the Bulldogs host South Carolina next Saturday.
7.) USC — USC’s offense has been absolutely rolling this season thanks to the play of quarterback Cody Kessler, who might be the best quarterback in the nation. The Trojans have been roasting cupcakes so far, but should face a tougher challenge this week when Stanford comes to town.
8.) UCLA — Speaking of great quarterbacks in Los Angeles! If you don’t know about true-freshman quarterback Josh Rosen yet, then you’re doing something wrong. The Bruins routed UNLV 37-3 Saturday, and will set their sights to Tanner Magnum and BYU this week.
Jeff Capanelli is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism. He can be reached at jeffcapanelli@gmail.com.
Photo Credit: LA Times