Josh’s College Football Rankings 2024–Week 2

Is the MAC the toughest conference? It looked like it during a bunch of games. I mean, Northern Illinois stunned Notre Dame. It was the Huskies first win against a top ten team ever. Penn State was losing to Bowling Green at halftime. Okay, those were the two big ones. St.Francis ended up beating Kent State, so I guess that helps even things out for the MAC. 

The rankings definitely getting a shakeup after week two. At least five of my ranked teams took a loss. Some of those losses were not pretty. Michigan losing to Texas. Iowa losing despite scoring more than nine points. NC State getting destroyed. Oh, and did I mention Notre Dame lost to NIU???

1. Georgia (2-0)–#1–W 48-3 Tennessee Tech
2. Alabama (2-0)–#2–W 42-16 South Florida. Wait, they scored most of the points in the final quarter (21 coming in the final five minutes). Why does Bama struggle with South Florida???
3. Texas (2-0)–#3–W 31-12 #6 Michigan. The Longhorns looked good against the defending champs. I think many rankings might put Texas at #2, but I think this win just shows how overly high I was on Michigan.
4. Ohio State (2-0)–#5–W 56-0 Western Michigan. The Buckeyes had no troubles with their MAC opponent.
5. Missouri (2-0)–#9–W 38-0 Buffalo. I am all over the place with Mizzou. #7, #9, #5…I cannot wait until they play a real game to see if they are as good as I think.
6. Ole Miss (2-0)–#10–W 52-3 Middle Tennessee. Same as above.
7. Penn State (2-0)–#7–W 34-27 Bowling Green. I neither reward or punish the Nittany Lions for this game. I am concerned about the defense, but not ready to panic (maybe BG is just that good, who knows). I try to give every team a pass during the first few weeks. A mulligan so to speak.
8. Oregon (2-0)–#4–W 37-34 Boise State. They used their mulligan last week against Idaho. They beat a decent Boise State team, but it came down to the final seconds. There are definite concerns in Eugene.
9. Tennessee (2-0)–#13–W 51-10 #25 NC State. An absolute beatdown. Vols fans should be excited.
10. USC (2-0)–#15–W 48-0 Utah State. The Trojans playing defense. I know, it is against one of the worst teams in college football, but still..a shutout is good to see.
11. Miami (2-0)–#16–W 56-9 Florida A&M
12. Utah (2-0)–#14–W 23-12 Baylor. The Utes won their first Big XII game. Baylor was on my peripheral this year, like a top forty team that could make some noise. Not a flashy win, but one that Utah must have if they want to win the conference.
13. Washington (2-0)–#11–W 30-9 Eastern Michigan. Still not sure about the Huskies. The AP thinks they are awful, not ranked at all. Most people criticize me for ranking them so high. There was nothing impressive about this win (although Will Rogers played well, 21/26 for 261 yards with 4 TDs).
14. Michigan (1-1)–#6–L 31-12 #3 Texas. The Wolverines lost decisively, but I think there were some positives from this loss. The defense looks to have regrouped in the second half, but the Wolverine offense is just not very good.
15. Oklahoma (2-0)–#12–W 16-12 Houston. The Sooners barely beat a team that lost to UNLV last week.
16. Arizona (2-0)–#17–W 22-10 Northern Arizona
17. Louisville (2-0)–#19–W 49-14 Jacksonville State
18. Clemson (1-1)–#20–W 66-20 Appalachian State. I did not expect this. I guess Cade Klubnik took the criticism to heart and decided to go off on App State (24/26, 378 yards, 5 TDs).
19. Kansas State (2-0)–#21–W 34-27 Tulane. I thought we were going to get another upset, but the Wildcats managed to pull the win on the road.
20. Oklahoma State (2-0)–#24–W 39-31 2OT Arkansas. The Cowboys won a tough one against the Razorbacks, who may or may not be good.
21. LSU (1-1)–#22–W 44-21 Nicholls State
22. Boston College (2-0)–NR–W 56-0 Duquesne
23. Northern Illinois (2-0)–NR–W 16-14 #8 Notre Dame. I remember a few years ago when NIU had a string of really good seasons (2010-2014), I think Jordan Lynch was the QB…he almost made the illustrious 50/50 club. Anyways, the AP had ND ranked #5, I thought that was a little high, but a MAC team beating a top ten team earns a ranking in my book.
24. Illinois (2-0)–NR–W 23-17 #18 Kansas. I swear I have ranked Illinois every year at some point and they always make me look foolish.
25. Syracuse (2-0)–NR–W 31-28 #23 Georgia Tech. Same as above.

Honorable Mention
Notre Dame (1-1)–#8–L 16-14 Northern Illinois. The defense did their job, but the offense struggled. 
Texas A&M (1-1)–HM–W 52-10 McNeese State
UCF (2-0)–NR–W 45-14 Sam Houston
Duke (2-0)–NR–W 26-20 2OT Northwestern
California (2-0)–NR–W 21-14 Auburn. Remember how everyone was soooo high on Auburn? If I recall, I had Cal ranked, or at least HM towards the end of last year.

Watch List
Bowling Green (1-1)–NR–L 34-27 #7 Penn State. The Falcons have a bye week, then they face Texas A&M. Interesting to see how Connor Bazelak plays for the rest of the year.
Tulane (1-1)–NR–L 34-27 #21 Kansas State. The Green Wave face Oklahoma this week, could they ruin the Sooners season before it even begins?
South Carolina (2-0)–NR–W 31-6 Kentucky
UNLV (2-0)–NR–W 72-14 Utah Tech. The Rebels beat Houston last week, and they head to Kansas on Friday…if they win, they will be 2-0 against the Big XII. 
Washington State (2-0)–NR–W 37-16 Texas Tech. The Cougs looked good against a Texas Tech team that had some early season buzz. I guess Washington State wants to show people it was shitty to leave them out of the conference realignment. 

Some very intriguing games next week.

No big ranked on ranked action, but plenty of rivalry games. We have #8 Oregon at Oregon State, and Washington State at #13 Washington. I could see both States wanting these upsets more than anything, just as a big middle finger to the Big Ten. We also have the Backyard Brawl with WVU heading to Pitt. I think the Mountaineers should win, but the Panthers always seem to rise to the challenge of this game. #16 Arizona heads to #19 Kansas State, while UNLV makes the trip to Kansas. Could be a sad day in the Sunflower State…

I have three games that COULD produce at least one upset. First there is #22 Boston College at #5 Mizzou. Bill O’Brien would love to show the world that beating FSU was just the beginning. #21 LSU heads to South Carolina, and the Tigers need this win, but SC is not to be overlooked after that Kentucky game. And finally we have #2 Alabama rolling into Camp Randall Stadium. The Badgers are 2-0, and have not looked very good…BUT, Luke Fickell needs a signature win at Wisconsin, and there would be none bigger than knocking off the Crimson Tide. 

Coaching Hot Seat
Losing to Northern Illinois at home is not good. Marcus Freeman has four losses to lower ranked & unranked teams. In just his third season…for perspective, James Franklin (who fans always say loses to lesser teams) has only 9 losses to those types of teams over ten seasons. Franklin’s winning percentage against lower and unranked teams is very similar to the elite coaches. Freeman? Well his is a bit lower. Notre Dame cannot underperform like they have. Being an independent means they have to win, and they definitely have to win against an opponent like NIU. I doubt Freeman loses his job, but if Notre Dame would move on, this game would be the main reason.

Awful Losses
St. Francis over Kent State 23-17. Will Kent State win a game this year? They face Tennessee then Penn State. Looking at their conference schedule…they could go winless.
Idaho over Wyoming 17-13. Wyoming could be in the same boat…a tough conference, then they finish the year with Boise State and Washington State. 
Southern Utah over UTEP 27-24
NIU over #8 Notre Dame 16-14. Not to harp on it, but that was the only G5 over P4 win this week.