The Couch Power 10, Week 2
I swear, it's as if college football knows we've missed it, and as such is wasting no time helping us fall back in love with it. Week 1 exploded out of the gates with some primetime matchups, so Week 2 was supposed to be a natural dropoff with a more meager slate.
Instead, we unexpectedly got a banger of a college football Saturday. The day kicked off with another megawatt showdown with reigning champions Michigan hosting fellow 2023 semifinalists and 4th-ranked Texas, and even though the Longhorns' domination in Ann Arbor rendered that game less entertaining than expected, the simultaneous upset of Syracuse over #23 Georgia Tech and near-upset by Bowling Green vs. Penn State salvaged the early window. The afternoon window held more in both the upset and 'near-upset' categories: Oklahoma State rallied from a 17-point deficit to win a double OT thriller over underdogs Arkansas. Pitt rallied from 3 touchdowns behind to upset old rivals Cincinnati on the road. Iowa State's kicker hit a 54-yarder as time expired to stun rivals Iowa on the road, for only their 2nd win in the rivalry clash in the last decade. Big 12 favorites Kansas State scored 3 touchdowns in the 4th quarter to pull out a narrow road win at plucky Tulane. And oh yeah, there was the small matter of 28.5 point underdogs Northern Illinois stunning #5 Notre Dame in South Bend.
The chaos certainly peaked with NIU's shocker, but the excitement continued into the night: Alabama needed 3 touchdowns in the last 5 minutes to finally pull away from 34-point underdogs South Florida. Oklahoma needed a last-minute safety to stave off an upset bid from Houston on their home field. Unranked Illinois edged out Big 12 hopefuls Kansas and Heisman hopeful Jalon Daniels. And late into the night, #3 Oregon got their second serious scare on their home field from an unranked team from Idaho in as many weeks, as only a last-second field goal helped them see off Boise State.
Just a refresher, since it's been nary a year since you've heard from this ranking: this is not a definitive ranking on how good the teams are, or on who I think will be/deserves to be in the playoff at the end of the year. Rather, it's more of a "What if preseason rankings and bigwig bias didn't predetermine the top teams" kind of thing, an ideal ranking of the country's teams based on what they've actually proved on the field to date. Don't be mad cuz I'm doin' me better than you doin' you:
1. Texas
I'll start by saying that I wasn't sold on Michigan as a top 10 team; I've thought it very possible the Wolverines take a big step back this season with the departure of coach Jim Harbaugh and numerous big name players. But still, to go into the Big House and absolutely pants the reigning national champions was a serious statement by Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns. To go with last year's dominant win at Alabama, this is now the second year in a row that Texas has laid down an early claim to "most impressive win of the season" in Week 2.
2. Georgia
Georgia running riot over Tennessee Tech isn't exactly a story. But their already-impressive Week 1 blowout of Clemson now looks even better thanks to the Tigers' surprisingly easy handling of constant Goliath-scarers Appalachian State.
3. USC
Much like Georgia, USC followed up their high-stakes, impressive Week 1 win with a cruise against an overmatched opponent. Their victims: Utah State, who the Trojans dispatched 48-0.
4. Northern Illinois
This isn't just an honorary spot given to a massive underdog who gave the college football world the gift of beating Notre Dame. With a 40-point demolition of Western Illinois followed by upsetting the #5 team in America on their home field, the Huskies genuinely have one of the best, if not THE best, resumés of this young season. Long may it continue!
5. Tennessee
Not many turned a head when Tennessee beat in-state foes Chattanooga by 66 points in Week 1, despite the eye-popping scoreline. Safe to say a few more heads turned with their 51-10 destruction of North Carolina State in last weekend's primetime ABC game. I am very skeptical of the Wolfpack's quality, but that doesn't change how impressive the Vols' start to this season has been. Josh Heupel may have another stud quarterback in Nico Iamaleava.
6. Boston College
Who knows how the Florida State win will age over the course of the season. For now, though, Boston College's dominant win in Tallahassee still rings impressive, and last weekend, the Eagles followed it up with a shutout of Duquesne.
7. Miami
Speaking of ACC teams that opened up with an impressive road win over a Florida team and followed it up with a blowout of a regional FCS school: Miami! The Hurricanes took no step back from their big win over Florida in Week 1, cruising to a 47-point win over Florida A&M.
8. Iowa State
As is the case with almost the entirety of this week's Power 10, Iowa State now owns a win over an FCS school and a noteworthy Power 5 opponent. Unlike many in the country, though, Iowa State's noteworthy Power 5 win came against a ranked team and in a rivalry clash. The Cyclones' bragging rights win over Iowa makes them a team to keep an eye on in the Big 12.
9. California
Speaking of ACC teams that now have a win over in-state FCS school and an impressive road win over an SEC school: Cal! That's right, the Atlantic Coast Conference legends Cal-Berkeley have made a name for themselves in their first season in the East Coast-based conference. The Bears' season opener over UC-Davis was nothing to write home about, but the Aggies have recently been one of the better FCS programs, and their road win at Auburn last weekend unsurprisingly earned them the attention of AP voters.
10. Vanderbilt
If you think I'm bumping Vanderbilt from my Power 10 simply because they don't have a ranked win and played an FCS school last week, think again, brother. The Commodores followed up their thrilling Week 1 upset of Virginia Tech with a 55-0 destruction of Alcorn State.
Just missed: Kansas State, Illinois, Penn State, North Carolina, Ole Miss, future Doak Walker Award winner Davion Gause
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