Wasserman's College Football Top 10 Ranking: Oklahoma enters the mix

It’s the second year of the 12-team College Football Playoff. When the CFP committee starts releasing rankings later this season, they won’t be the end-all, be-all, given the new seeding rules for the 12-team field. However, the rankings are still enjoyable, and people will continue to argue over them. They still matter. 

So after every weekend, after the dust settles from the games, I’m going to unveil my updated top 10. 

Here’s where things stand through week 2.

1. Ohio State (2-0)

Coming into the week, most sports books didn’t even have a line for Ohio State’s game against Grambling. Before kickoff, I saw a few places that listed it at 55 points. In other words, the Buckeyes didn’t play an opponent that made anything we saw out there worth analyzing. First-year Buckeyes quarterback starter Julian Sayin set an Ohio State record for the most consecutive completions to start the game (16) and finished the first half, completing 18 of 19 passes for 306 yards and 4 touchdowns. Ohio State won, 70-0, and never broke a sweat.

2. LSU (2-0)

After LSU’s Week 1 win on the road at Clemson, a large segment of people felt the Tigers deserved the No. 1 overall ranking. Still, it felt like Ohio State’s win over Texas was more impressive than LSU’s win over Clemson, even if the Buckeyes were at home. This week, Ohio State dropped a 70 burger, and LSU messed around with Louisiana Tech. Obviously, not all opponents are created equally, and we’ll find in time which team is better, but No. 2 seems like a reasonable spot for LSU heading into week 3.

3. Penn State (2-0)

Penn State is a trendy national championship pick, but it’s going to be hard to see just how good the Nittany Lions are until they play a team with a pulse. Even though they fooled around with Florida International for much of the game Saturday, the Nittany Lions found a way to win 34-0. Penn State plays Villanova and has an open week the next two Saturdays, then it’s first big test of the season arrives: a home game against Oregon on Sept. 27. We’ll get our answers about James Franklin and his squad then.

4. Oregon (2-0)

On his radio show early in the week, Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy spoke about the difference between the Cowboys and the Ducks. He said he heard Oregon had spent $40 million on their roster, reinforcing a narrative about how the Ducks outspend everyone. Oregon coach Dan Lanning (rightfully) took exception to that, then the Ducks humiliated Oklahoma State in Autzen Stadium. The final score was 69-3. Oregon has been taken lightly in the national conversation. Dante Moore looks like a star in the making. The Ducks are going to be alive for championships in November.

5. Georgia (2-0)

Georgia’s first two opponents of the season were Marshall and Austin Peay. Saturday’s 28-6 win over Governors is as sleepy as the score. Quarterback Gunner Stockton completed 26-of-34 passes for 227 yards and the Bulldogs scored a single touchdown in each quarter. The weather was bad, there was a delay and it was just one of those Saturday where you get to the stadium, get a win and move on. ESPN’s College GameDay is going to Knoxville next Saturday for Georgia’s game against Tennessee. Georgia is presumably the new favorite to win the SEC, but we’ll get a much better look at what the Bulldogs are capable of next weekend. 

6. Miami (2-0)

Miami had its coming-out party last Sunday night with the entire country watching. The Hurricanes out-toughed Notre Dame on its home field, showing the sport that they are going to be a force in the ACC again this year. Carson Beck played great, the lines controlled the trenches on both sides of the ball, and some freaks are wearing that uniform. Saturday’s 45-3 win over Bethune-Cookman was a snoozefest

7. Illinois (2-0)

Illinois came the season as a potential college football sweetheart. It came into the weekend as a 3-point favorite against Duke, a trend upset pick. The result? Illinois went into Durham and blew Duke’s doors off, 45-19. Illinois didn’t play its best game and certainly took advantage of the Blue Devils’ four turnovers — two of which occurred deep in Fighting Illini territory — but there was no question who the better team was. Illinois will still have a lot of doubters because it isn’t a legacy football brand, but keep winning games like this and people will join the bandwagon.

8. Florida State (2-0)

Nobody knew what Florida State was going to be coming into the season, but the Seminoles shocked the world last weekend in a convincing victory against Alabama. Still, there is some confusion about just how good Florida State is. Is Mike Norvell‘s team, all of a sudden, a legit contender to win the ACC? What we saw out of Florida State on Saturday is exactly what you’d want to see out of a legitimately good team – a 77-3 blowout of East Texas A&M.

9. Texas (1-1)

After Texas’ week 1 loss at Ohio State, the discourse around the Longhorns was all about how Arch Manning is going to be a bust. That’s how national talking points evolve when a player is a lightning rod. But when you zoom out a tad, you’ll realize that loss — while disappointing — isn’t going to define Texas’ season. The Longhorns bounced back against an overmatched San Jose State, winning 38-7. Manning had all four of his touchdown passes in the first half.

10. Oklahoma (2-0)

It’s challenging to contextualize early-season wins because we don’t know how good teams will ultimately turn out to be. It’s possible Michigan winds up being 8-4 and a middle-of-the-road Big Ten team. But Oklahoma out-played the Wolverines on their home field for four quarters, overcoming some self-inflicted wounds to get head coach Brent Venables one of his biggest wins in Norman. There are some questions about whether the Sooners have the depth to compete for an SEC title, but quarterback John Mateer is the real deal and Venables had his defense flying all over the field.