College Football Rankings 2017: Reviewing NCAA Week 2 Standings Before Saturday
If you thought Week 1 of the 2017 college football season was one to remember, just wait 'til you see what's on tap for Week 2.
That's not to take anything away from Alabama's beatdown of Florida State in Atlanta or from Tennessee for surviving double overtime against Georgia Tech in the Peach State or even UCLA's stunning 34-point comeback against Texas A&M at the Rose Bowl, for that matter.
When the second Saturday of September is over, though, the Labor Day weekend slate could look like peanuts compared to what the schedule has in store.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Four matchups between Top 25 teams are sure to shake up the rankings. So could road games against unranked opponents for No. 17 Louisville and No. 23 TCU.
At this early stage, it's only fitting that things would be so fluid among the NCAA's best squads. Before the movement gets too unruly, though, let's look back at where the top teams stand heading into the weekend, according to the Associated Press.
AP Top 25 Poll Entering Week 2
- Alabama (60 first-place votes), 1-0, 1,524 points, vs. Fresno State
- Ohio State (1 first-place vote), 1-0, 1,445 points, vs. No. 5 Oklahoma
- Clemson, 1-0, 1,317 points, vs. No. 13 Auburn
- Penn State, 1-0, 1,303 points, vs. Pittsburgh
- Oklahoma, 1-0, 1,253 points, at No. 2 Ohio State
- USC, 1-0, 1,224 points, vs. No. 14 Stanford
- Washington, 1-0, 1,083 points, vs. Montana
- Michigan, 1-0, 1,051 points, vs. Cincinnati
- Wisconsin, 1-0, 979 points, vs. Florida Atlantic
- Florida State, 0-1, 976, vs. Louisiana-Monroe (CANCELED)
- Oklahoma State, 2-0, 950 points, W 44-7 at South Alabama
- LSU, 1-0, 898 points, vs. Chattanooga
- Auburn, 1-0, 873 points, at No. 3 Clemson
- Stanford, 1-0, 772 points, at No. 6 USC
- Georgia, 1-0, 685 points, at No. 24 Notre Dame
- Miami (FL), 1-0, 537 points, at Arkansas State (CANCELED)
- Louisville, 1-0, 529 points, at North Carolina
- Virginia Tech, 1-0, 490 points, vs. Delaware
- Kansas State, 1-0, 398 points, vs. Charlotte
- Washington State, 1-0, 216 points, vs. Boise State
- South Florida, 2-0, 207 points, at Connecticut (CANCELED)
- Florida, 0-1, 164 points, vs. Northern Colorado (CANCELED)
- TCU, 1-0, 154 points, at Arkansas
- Notre Dame, 1-0, 141 points, vs. No. 15 Georgia
- Tennessee, 1-0, 124 points, vs. Indiana State
Extreme Weather Causes Cancellations
Hurricane Irma has wrought devastation throughout the Caribbean Islands and may do the same in Florida once it makes landfall in the United States. Amid preparations for the Category 5 storm, all four Sunshine State schools ranked in this week's Top 25 have canceled their games for Saturday.
No. 10 Florida State won't get to bounce back from its Week 1 loss to No. 1 Alabama against Louisiana-Monroe. FSU president John Thrasher had previously announced an earlier kickoff time to account for the inclement weather, but ultimately opted to call off the game entirely. The two schools are unlikely to make up their meeting later on since the openings in their respective schedules don't align.
FSU, with the NCAA's blessing, will help the families of players who could be victimized by Irma.
“In the interest of safety of individuals throughout the state, and to allow our student-athletes, staff and fans to prepare for a storm of significant magnitude, we have decided to cancel all athletics events including the ULM football game on Saturday,” Thrasher said in a statement, per the Orlando Sentinel's Safid Deen. “The cancellations will help reduce the consumption of fuel and congestion on major travel arteries.”
The Seminoles are slated to open their home schedule against another school affected by the coming torrent of wind and rain: No. 16 Miami (FL). The Hurricanes, who haven't practiced since Tuesday, won't travel to Jonesboro, Arkansas, for their tilt with Arkansas State.
Miami head coach Mark Richt took to Twitter to defend his team against those who questioned the motives behind the Canes' decision:
Like Miami, No. 21 South Florida had an out-of-state date on its schedule—at Connecticut—but has opted not to play.
"Several large areas of the state are under evacuation orders, including portions of the Tampa Bay area," USF athletic director Mark Harlan said in a news release, per the Tampa Bay Times' Joey Knight. "After consultation with university leadership and outside agencies, I believe it is not appropriate for our team to travel at this time."
Though the Bulls and Huskies are American Athletic Conference opponents, it's unlikely they will make up this game.
No. 22 Florida has also canceled its home opener against Northern Colorado, citing concerns about resources and travel accommodations.
"The focus of our state and region needs to be on evacuations and relief efforts," Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said, per ESPN.com. "There is a tremendous amount of stress currently on the roads of this state, and the availability of gas, water and other supplies are at critical levels. Playing a college football game Saturday would only add to that stress."
Among unranked teams from the peninsula, Florida Atlantic will play at No. 9 Wisconsin on Saturday and may stay in Madison longer depending on how the storm affects the Owls' campus in Boca Raton. UCF, meanwhile, has called off its game against Memphis in Orlando.
Revenge Served Early and Often
Week 2 will offer a slew of teams opportunities for payback from last year's early-season matchups.
The doozy of the day belongs to No. 5 Oklahoma and No. 2 Ohio State. The Sooners will stampede into the Horseshoe hoping to leave Columbus, Ohio, with a win over the Buckeyes. Last September, OSU spanked OU 45-24 in Norman, Oklahoma, behind four touchdown passes from quarterback J.T. Barrett and 123 rushing yards by running back Mike Weber.
This year, those two will be joined in the rotation by freshman running back J.K. Dobbins, who racked up 205 yards at Indiana last time out in his collegiate debut.
The Sooners certainly won't be slouches themselves. Quarterback Baker Mayfield, who finished third in last season's Heisman Trophy vote, is coming off a sizzling performance against UTEP, during which he racked up 329 yards and three touchdowns on 19-of-20 passing to give new OU head coach Lincoln Riley his first win on the job.
No. 13 Auburn will also have revenge on its mind when it heads to Death Valley for its own marquee matchup against No. 3 Clemson. The ACC's Tigers started their march to the national title last year with a 19-13 win in the Yellowhammer State.
Clemson, though, won't have its top skill players from last term (quarterback Deshaun Watson, wide receiver Mike Williams and running back Wayne Gallman) on hand to help out. Those three have since moved on to the NFL, leaving junior quarterback Kelly Bryant and a whole host of younger 'backs and receivers to run the offense.
Auburn will welcome running back Kamryn Pettway and wide receiver Kyle Davis back from their suspensions for violating team rules. As for suspended quarterback Sean White, he'll spend another week on the pine while Jarrett Stidham fills in under center. The sophomore threw for 185 yards and two touchdowns in a 41-7 win over Georgia Southern in Week 1.
Down in Happy Valley, No. 4 Penn State has its sights set on righting the sadness suffered at Pitt's hands last season during the Pennsylvania schools' first meeting on the gridiron since 2000. The Panthers fended off a furious rally from the Nittany Lions in Pittsburgh, 42-39, behind three touchdown passes by quarterback Nathan Peterman and 117 rushing yards with one score from running back James Conner.
Pitt's backfield will look totally different this time around. Peterman and Conner are in the NFL, leaving Max Browne, who previously played quarterback at USC, and junior running back Qadree Allison, who injured his ankle against Youngstown State over Labor Day weekend, to hold the fort.
They will have their work cut out for them against PSU's powerful combination of quarterback Trace McSorley and running back Saquon Barkley. Both ran rampant during the Lions' 52-0 annihilation of Akron in Week 1. McSorley piled up 328 total yards and three touchdowns all around, while Barkley went for 226 total yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
The best bit of Saturday's vengeance may well come last, when No. 6 USC hosts No. 14 Stanford. The Cardinal have beaten the Trojans three times in a row and in eight of their last 11 meetings, including September 2016's 27-10 victory.
David Shaw's squad, fresh off a two-week break following its 62-7 smackdown of Rice in Australia, won't have Christian McCaffrey around to run all over Southern Cal's defense. That task, rather, will fall to Bryce Love, who rushed for 180 yards and a touchdown in Sydney.
Sam Darnold, who backed up Browne during the previous showdown at Stanford, has complete control of SC's offense. With junior running back Ronald Jones II behind him, Darnold will have a golden opportunity to announce his entry into the Heisman Trophy race against a Pac-12 foe.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
