College Football Playoff 2014: Final Outlook Before Saturday's Week 3 Games
Without question, the most impressive win of Week 2 was the Oregon Ducks' 46-27 victory over the No. 7 Michigan State Spartans. The Ducks were at home and expected to win, but they answered a strong first half from the Spartans by outscoring them 28-3 in the second half to make it look easy.
Heisman Trophy candidate Marcus Mariota did nothing to hurt his chances of winning the award or of remaining the top prospect for the upcoming NFL draft.
Mariota threw for 318 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions against a pretty solid Spartans defense.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
The win impressed voters in the Associated Press poll so much, the Ducks leapfrogged the Alabama Crimson Tide and took over the No. 2 spot in the rankings. Alabama defeated the Florida Atlantic Owls 41-0, but it struggled a bit in Week 1 against the unranked West Virginia Mountaineers.
Apparently, that was enough to make the Tide vulnerable.
Would it be enough to push Bama out of the College Football Playoff if it began today? That's unlikely. Bama would still likely keep its edge over the bevy of other undefeated teams in the country for the third or fourth spot.
Here's the way the top-four teams should look at this point.
1. Florida State
2. Oregon
3. Alabama
4. Oklahoma
The distance between the Tide and teams like the Texas A&M Aggies, who have been downright scary in two games, is not very wide. Because of the parity, Week 4 should be interesting. It will bring about a whole new load of questions and answers as we make our way to the final four teams that will compete for the national championship.
Here's a look at the games from Week 3 that could have the biggest impact in the playoff picture.
No. 9 USC Trojans at Boston College Eagles
As one of those highly regarded undefeated teams, USC can't afford to slip up early if it hopes to make the top four. The Pac-12 is stacked this season with Oregon, UCLA and Stanford. A conference loss down the road is near inevitable.
Losing an unexpected nonconference game could kill the team's chances.
The Trojans came away with a huge road win against the Stanford Cardinal in Week 2, but they must guard against a letdown on the road at Boston College.
The young Trojans defense will be without disgraced defensive back Josh Shaw indefinitely and linebacker Hayes Pullard for the first half. Shaw admitted to lying about trying to save his drowning nephew. Pullard was ejected from the Stanford game for targeting, which carries a subsequent suspension.
The defense must be prepared and ready to step up the way it did against Stanford.
Boston College senior quarterback Tyler Murphy has been quite the dual threat for the Eagles. In two games, he's racked up 210 yards rushing and two scores. If he and the Eagles can find a way to run the ball against USC, it could make for some anxious moments.
No. 6 Georgia Bulldogs at No. 24 South Carolina Gamecocks
The Gamecocks are on their way out of the Top 25. The team hasn't looked good yet this season. That said, they are still ranked and will be when the Bulldogs invade the Palmetto state.
Based on the way Todd Gurley and the Bulldogs ran the ball in Week 1 against Clemson, the team shouldn't have a problem moving the chains on the ground against the Gamecocks.
South Carolina is allowing an average of 150 yards per game on the ground through two contests, and it hasn't faced a rushing attack anywhere near what it'll see with Gurley.
A dominant win from Georgia will put it right on the cusp of breaking into the top four with two wins over ranked opponents. If one of the top teams should fall, Georgia will be a prime candidate to move up.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
