The Couch Power 10, Week 2
- Daniel Woodiwiss
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
With the veritable feast of big-time games, major-program showdowns, ranked heavyweight clashes that we got to enjoy in Week 1, it was almost inevitable we were going to have a big comedown in Week 2. Sure enough, just a few days after many a bold proclamation was made regarding what opening week taught us for this college football season, this past Saturday offered a slate that... well, on the surface at least, would tell us very little. One solitary ranked matchup took place, the primetime "Jordan Brand Classic" between Michigan and Oklahoma, and even that one hardly lived up to the hype, with the Sooners generally cruising to a resounding win over the 2023 champions.
But, as college football wisdom often holds, it's the weeks you least expect that tend to pop up with surprises. This unpredictable old sport showed its tricky ways yet again in Week 2 of the 2025 season, even as the one primetime matchup fizzled out and many a would-be upset didn't come to pass. A trio of Southern rivals (Georgia, South Carolina, Clemson) struggled mightily with their massive underdog opponents before finally pulling away in the 4th quarter. Iowa State remained perfect only with a 50-yard field goal winner over their rivals Iowa, and Ole Miss only with two late touchdowns on the road in Kentucky. And three ranked teams weren't so lucky against their unranked foes: reigning ACC 'regular-season' champs SMU blew a late 2-touchdown lead at home against 0-1 Baylor (thanks in small part to the head official). Reigning Big 12 champs Arizona State dug themselves a huge hole in Starksville, than came all the way back-- amidst the cacophony of cowbells and everything --from three scores down to take a last-minute lead over Mississippi State... only to immediately give up a bedlam-inducing walk-off touchdown bomb. And in the greatest in-state battle you probably didn't even hear about before Saturday, Top 15 Florida-- looking to make good on the perennial preseason hype and build off their season-opening 55-0 win --found themselves in a dogfight with plucky South Florida. The Bulls' last-minute drive was a clinic, setting up a chip-shot winner for the upset by a kicker named Gramatica. It was written.
College football chaos, welcome back, baby. We've missed you.
Just a refresher, in case you forgot: 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. Ohio State
Last week, I introduced you all to a new wrinkle: Daniel's Meritocracy Preseason Rankings. The team that topped The Couch's preseason poll (inasmuch as it existed) is the same one that finished last year as the # 1 team is the same one that topped the first Couch Power 10 of 2025 is the same one that earns the #1 spot in Week 2. The Buckeyes followed up their season-opening win over preseason # 1 Texas with a 70-0 shellacking of Grambling State. That won't drop you from the top spot.
2. Miami
Miami didn't have nearly the national eyes on it this weekend as they did last weekend against defending runners-up Notre Dame. But the Canes followed up their season-opening win over the Fighting Irish with a 45-3 shellacking of Bethune-Cookman. That won't drop you from the top 2 any time soon.
3. Florida State
Florida State didn't have nearly the national eyes on it this weekend as they did after last weekend when they blew out Big Bad Bama. But the Seminoles followed up that big season-opening win over the Fighting Irish with a 77-3 dismantling of East Texas A&M. That won't drop you from the top 3 any time soon! Especially because Alabama bounced back with a 73-0 win of their own.
4. South Florida
It's not a sentence anybody expected to write after Week 2 of the college football season, but I'm delighted to write it: has anyone in America had a more impressive start to the season than South Florida? The Bulls raised eyebrows across the country with their destruction of Boise State (Couch preseason Top 10) in Week 1. But then they only went and outdid themselves in Week 2 with a road win in the Swamp, against a Top 15 Florida team. Somehow, the stakes continue to get even higher this Saturday when USF go to Miami for the ultimate showdown of Florida teams (and, of course, the first Couch Power 10 battle royale of the season).
5. LSU
LSU exploded out of the gates in the Couch Power 10, but takes a minor tumble down 3 spots this week; a sluggish win over Louisiana Tech and Clemson's very narrow brush with death against mighty Troy both served to paint the Tigers' Week 1 win in Death Valley as slightly less impressive. These are very reactive rankings, guys. You know this by now!
6. Tennessee
Tennessee didn't get as much love from mainstream media as they did on The Couch for their dominant Week 1 win over Syracuse. No matter, the Volunteers followed up the win in Atlanta with a 72-17 blitzkrieg of in-state opponents ETSU, setting up an incredible early-season rivalry clash with Georgia next week.
7. Oregon
Depending on how much you value Tennessee's win over Syracuse, they more or less kicked off this tier: 3 teams that I can't wait to see play an actually legit team, because damn, they look good. Oregon sums that up perfectly. Montana State won't move the needle, no matter how good an FCS program they may be, and Oklahoma State could be downright bad once again this year. But the Ducks beating both by a combined 128-16 is outrageous. They are averaging a 64-8 win through two weeks of play.
8. Penn State
Penn State finds themselves within the same tier but just behind 2024 Big Ten Championship foes Oregon: nobody's moved by wins over Nevada and FIU, but a combined 80-11 scoreline is madness. The good news is the Ducks and Nittany Lions meet in just a couple weeks from now to determine superiority on the field.
9. Mississippi State
I'm cheeky about the differences between my ranking system and the mainstream polls, but I genuinely, unironically was shocked to not see Mississippi State not in the AP Top 25 when I checked today. They're 2-0 now with a 17-point road win over an FBS opponent and a thrilling win over a Top 10 opponent, the reigning Big 12 champs! What's gotta give?! Do I think Mississippi State will actually be a force in the SEC this season? No. Do I think they deserve a Power 10 shoutout based on what they've done thus far? Absolutely.
10. Iowa State
It feels incredibly harsh dropping the Cyclones (the only 3-0 team in America) 5 spots AFTER they beat tough rivals Iowa for the third time in four years. The reasons behind this are two-fold: one, it took a long, late field goal to beat the relatively unimpressive Hawkeyes at home. And two, their big Week 0 win over then-ranked Big 12 foes Kansas State has already aged like milk, as the Wildcats have since gone on to need a last-minute touchdown to beat FCS's North Dakota, and then collapse at home against Army (yes, the same Army that lost at home to Tarleton State).
Just missed: Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Illinois, BYU, South Carolina, Gio Lopez on the first drives of football games
The Playoff Picture according to The Couch:
(5) LSU v (12) Ole Miss
(6) Tennessee (11) Oklahoma
(7) Oregon v (10) Iowa State
(8) Penn State v (9) Mississippi State
ROSE BOWL: (1) Ohio State v PSU/MSU winner
ORANGE BOWL: (2) Miami v ORE/ISU winner
SUGAR BOWL: (3) Florida State v TENN/OU winner
COTTON BOWL: (4) South Florida v LSU/MISS winner
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