Couch CFB Power 10, Week 2
Week 1's Power 10 can be found here.
If Week 1 was the "greatest opening weekend in college football history," Week 2 was its antithesis. This is not uncommon; in general, teams use Week 2 to either a. continue easing their way up for the meat of their conference schedule, or b. recover from their big-time season opener. Still, as a viewer/consumer, it was quite the letdown (but at least Carolina won!!) after such an eventful opening day, and as a result, there was very little movement in this week's rankings. Enjoy them anyway!
1a. Houston
Is it cheap to move a team up to number one in the rankings for beating an FCS team? Probably. But through the first two weeks, nobody has looked as impressive as the Cougars, who followed their massive season-opening win by rolling Lamar University 42-0 without their star quarterback.
1b. Alabama
I couldn't justify dropping them from the top spot enough to send them all the way to number 2, so the Tide check in at 1b. Western Kentucky is certainly no walkover, but Alabama did appear vulnerable, albeit for just the first half. One could cut them a little slack for being sandwiched between last week's opener against USC and this Saturday's matchup at Ole Miss, though.
3. Florida State
In keeping with the theme of Week 2, the Noles followed up their big opening win with a total domination of an overmatched opponent, their victims being Charleston Southern.
4. Wisconsin
In keeping with the theme of Week 2, the Badgers followed up their big opening win with a total domination of an overmatched opponent, their victims being Akron.
5. Texas
In keeping with the theme of Week 2, the Longhorns followed up their big opening win with a total domination of an overmatched opponent, their victims being UTEP.
6. Texas A&M
In keeping with the theme of Week 2, the Aggies followed up their big opening win with a total domination (67-0!) of an overmatched opponent, their victims being Prairie View A&M.
7a. Ohio State
7b. Michigan
The hated rivals maintain the same ranking proximity for doing the same thing they did in Week 1: looking every bit the dominant force they should in a rout of the underdogs. Yet again, the Buckeyes keep the tight edge for the slightly tougher opponent (Tulsa, as opposed to UCF.)
9. Louisville
Welcome to the Power 10, Luhvul! To be fair, neither of the Cardinals' two wins came against particularly tough opponents (Charlotte and Syracuse). But still, the way they've won is turning heads, as they've looked unstoppable on offense and fast and physical on defense. QB Lamar Jackson is starting to generate Heisman hype after earning 610 all-purpose yards last Friday. You read that right...610.
10. Iowa
The Hawkeyes snag the last spot in this week's Power 10 because well, really nobody did anything all that impressive in Week 2, but they did something rare: dominated a rivalry game. Co-contributor Micah Veldkamp promises me that the Iowa-Iowa State rivalry is fierce, and thus, generally closely contested-- even when it shouldn't be. This year, quarterback C.J. Beathard and his team trounced the Cyclones to the tune of a 42-3 victory.
Just missed: Stanford, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Washington, Andre Smith's 20 total tackles