College Football Rankings 2016: Reviewing NCAA Week 2 Standings Before Saturday
The first week of the college football season was one to remember. From Alabama's massacre of Southern California, to the epic back-and-forth battle between Notre Dame and Texas, to Wisconsin taking down LSU, to Appalachian State giving Tennessee a scare, college football's opening salvo had something for everyone and left plenty to think about.
Week 2 is like a big exhale after all the hold-your-breath excitement of Week 1. There aren't any matchups between Associated Press Top 25 teams, and the notable rivalry games are few and far between. All but one of the 23 ranked teams in action in Week 2 are playing at home, as they look to build comfortably on initial successes or work out some of the kinks that manifested themselves in Week 1.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
If there is to be any major reshuffling of this 25-team deck, it will take an insurgency from the unranked squads and cupcakes on the top teams' schedules in Week 2. A few teams in the AP poll are just hanging on to their ranked positions with 0-1 records. For those teams, a victory this weekend is a must.
The rest will of course be expecting to build on their initial success; a loss to vastly inferior competition, even at this early stage, could turn out to be the pin in the grenade that blows up a team's chances at earning a spot in the College Football Playoff.
| 1 | Alabama (54) | 1-0 | 1518 | vs. Western Kentucky |
| 2 | Clemson (2) | 1-0 | 1416 | vs. Troy |
| 3 | Florida State (4) | 1-0 | 1413 | vs. Charleston Southern |
| 4 | Ohio State | 1-0 | 1324 | vs. Tulsa |
| 5 | Michigan (1) | 1-0 | 1261 | vs. Central Florida |
| 6 | Houston | 1-0 | 1243 | vs. Lamar |
| 7 | Stanford | 1-0 | 1140 | N/A |
| 8 | Washington | 1-0 | 884 | vs. Idaho |
| 9 | Georgia | 1-0 | 877 | vs. Nicholls |
| 10 | Wisconsin | 1-0 | 759 | vs. Tulsa |
| 11 | Texas | 1-0 | 743 | vs. UTEP |
| 12 | Michigan State | 1-0 | 722 | N/A |
| 13 | Louisville | 1-0 | 686 | at Syracuse (LOU 62-28 SYR) |
| 14 | Oklahoma | 0-1 | 664 | vs. Louisiana Monroe |
| 15 | TCU | 1-0 | 635 | vs. Arkansas |
| 16 | Iowa | 1-0 | 588 | vs. Iowa State |
| 17 | Tennessee | 1-0 | 573 | vs. Virginia Tech |
| 18 | Notre Dame | 0-1 | 528 | vs. Nevada |
| 19 | Ole Miss | 0-1 | 493 | vs. Wofford |
| 20 | Texas A&M | 1-0 | 477 | vs. Prairie View A&M |
| 21 | LSU | 0-1 | 423 | vs. Jacksonville State |
| 22 | Oklahoma State | 1-0 | 409 | vs. Central Michigan |
| 23 | Baylor | 1-0 | 296 | vs. SMU |
| 24 | Oregon | 1-0 | 242 | vs. Virginia |
| 25 | Miami | 1-0 | 137 | vs. Florida Atlantic |
No. 13 Louisville Looking Good with Lamar Jackson
Could you blame Louisville Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson if he's already looking at plane tickets to New York City?
The sophomore signal-caller has established himself as a front-runner for this year's Heisman Trophy with monster performances in each of the first two games.
After tearing apart Charlotte with six touchdown passes in Week 1, Jackson did most of his scoring work on the ground against Syracuse in Week 2. Jackson rushed for 199 yards and four touchdowns while throwing for 411 yards and adding another score through the air. His first five snaps alone against Syracuse would have made for an impressive box-score line, per NFL Network's Andrew Siciliano:
ESPN College Football noted Louisville took Jackson out of the game with history on the line:
While another yard would've been fun, the numbers so far are still staggering. For those keeping track at home, that's 13 TDs and 1,015 total yards offense for Jackson through two games.
Watching Jackson play was a life-altering experience for The Ringer's Robert Mays:
Jackson's dizzying numbers are going to help Louisville climb the rankings after Week 2, and he can only hope his squad rallies around his brilliant play and keeps the good times rolling.
The Cardinals defense hasn't really been tested yet, playing Conference USA-squad Charlotte and a Syracuse team coming off a 4-8 season in which it averaged 27.3 points per game.
That'll change in Week 3, as Louisville takes on No. 3 Florida State. Running back Dalvin Cook is going to make sure the Seminoles put up some points on the board. Jackson's numbers will probably come back down to earth against Florida State, but he certainly has what it takes to give this team a scare and maybe even pull off an upset.
One-Loss Teams Hoping to Rebound
While fans of the four 0-1 teams in the AP Top 25 are likely anxious about their teams' long-term prospects, some of those worries should be put to rest in Week 2. The winless quartet of Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Ole Miss and LSU all have very winnable games coming Saturday.
Oklahoma lost to an emerging power in Houston 33-23 in Week 1 but now gets Louisiana-Monroe at home. Quarterback Baker Mayfield had a fine performance, throwing for 323 yards and two touchdowns, but neither the defense nor the running game could do its part.
Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine combined for just 71 rushing yards. The Sooners should expect much more out of the duo in the coming weeks.
Louisiana-Monroe defeated Southern 38-21 to start its season but shouldn't be able to keep up with Mayfield and Co.
Notre Dame fell to Texas 50-47 in a fantastic double overtime contest in Week 1. Look for the Fighting Irish to rack up some more points against a Nevada team that only narrowly edged the Cal Poly Mustangs to start its season.
Ole Miss is taking it slow in Week 2, scheduling an FCS opponent in Wofford. Discipline for the Rebels defense will be key in this one as it takes on Wofford's triple-option attack. Head coach Hugh Freeze acknowledged it could be difficult for his side to prepare for the old-school offense, per Scout's Ben Garrett:
"Just correcting mistakes and handling the September schedule — the mental part of it and the physical rest. This is a tough turnaround. We got back at 4 a.m. (Tuesday morning), gotta play the triple-option Saturday, which is totally different. Wasn't real smart on our scheduling. You'd like to have two weeks to get ready for it, and we basically have two days. We just have to correct the mistakes and hopefully stay healthy, for sure.
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Finally, we have LSU playing against Jacksonville State, another FCS squad.
The Tigers lost to Wisconsin 16-14 in Week 1, with the Badgers exposing LSU's weakness at quarterback. Brandon Harris threw for 131 yards, one touchdown and one pick in Week 1, leaving running back Leonard Fournette to shoulder the offensive load as best he could.
LSU fans might be more nervous than those of the other three one-loss teams in the AP Top 25, as there's a chance Fournette could miss the game. Fournette suffered an ankle injury late in the game against Wisconsin and could be a game-day decision.
"I think Leonard Fournette is a go or, if not a go, we won't know until game day," Miles said, per an interview on LSUSports.net, via CBSSports.com's Tom Fornelli.
The Bayou Bengals should still take care of Jacksonville State, but it could turn out to be an uglier game than expected. LSU fans might not know what they have in this team until the Tigers play SEC rivals Mississippi State and Auburn in Weeks 3 and 4.
Alabama's Easy Encore
Please keep the players and coaches of Western Kentucky in your heart Saturday. The Hilltoppers have the unfortunate task of playing near-unanimous No. 1 Alabama in Week 2.
The latest iteration in Nick Saban's insatiable quest to build the perfect football team is fresh off a historic 52-6 stomping of USC and now gets to come home for what is ostensibly a tune-up game, although it's difficult to find fault with the team after that awesome beatdown.
True freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts overcame a shaky start to throw for 118 yards and two touchdowns while adding another two on the ground. Sophomore running back Damien Harris needed all of nine carries to rack up 138 yards rushing. After going down 3-0 early, the Crimson Tide defense forced USC into nine punts and three turnovers, with many of those drives ending in just three or four plays.
Alabama should take this opportunity against the Hilltoppers to work on some of the finer points of its schemes and try to get players like Calvin Ridley (two catches, nine yards against USC) more involved. Backups like quarterback Blake Barnett, who threw for 100 yards and a score in Week 1, could also see extended playing time if all goes well for Alabama.
Western Kentucky isn't a bad team by any means, but what can one expect from it on the road against Alabama?
Really, the only things going for the Hilltoppers are that they looked good in a 46-14 win over Rice in Week 1 and are mercifully playing on nine days' rest after opening the season on Thursday, Sept. 1.
If Alabama plays with the same ruthless efficiency it showed against the Trojans, the players on Western Kentucky will be wishing they never got up from that goofy pileup coming out of the tunnel in Week 1.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
