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ESPN staff
College football’s Week 2 slate didn’t quite provide the punch of Week 1, but the results had a considerable impact on our writers’ playoff picks.
The day was filled with close calls and unexpected results, beginning with the Oregon Ducks going on the road to the Horseshoe and upsetting Ohio State, 35-28 in the early window of games.
The Ducks bullied the Buckeyes upfront on both sides of the ball and held multiple double-digit leads throughout the second half of the win. CJ Verdell finished the day with 161 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries while quarterback AJ Brown threw for two scores. The victory results in an overhaul on the playoff picks and lands Oregon on 12 of 13 of our writers’ lists while Ohio State drops out of the playoff conversation for now.
The Iowa Hawkeyes enter the fray after a second straight win over a ranked opponent. This time the win came in Ames over rival Iowa State, 27-17, and it put the Hawkeyes in the playoff picture in four of our writers’ picks.
And then there were the teams that habitually land on our lists weekly. The Alabama Crimson Tide handled Mercer, 48-14, a week after routing Miami in the season opener. Nick Saban’s team is No. 1 on everyone’s list yet again. Georgia is an unanimous No. 2 selection after crushing UAB, 56-7, to follow up its Week 1 win over Clemson.
The Oklahoma Sooners took care of business against Western Carolina and continue to fill in a spot in most of the writers’ picks.
With several teams making a statement in Week 2, there aren’t any teams getting one vote here or there like last week — sorry, Cincinnati and UCLA. Also notable, Clemson was only in one projection after being a mainstay for years, and Texas A&M falls out of the mix after a close call against Colorado.
Andrea Adelson: 1. Alabama, 2. Georgia, 3. Oklahoma, 4. Iowa
Kyle Bonagura: 1. Alabama, 2. Georgia, 3. Oklahoma, 4. Oregon
Bill Connelly: 1. Alabama, 2. Georgia, 3. Oregon, 4. Iowa
Heather Dinich: 1. Alabama, 2. Georgia, 3. Oregon, 4. Oklahoma
David M. Hale: 1. Alabama, 2. Georgia, 3. Oregon, 4. Oklahoma
Chris Low: 1. Alabama, 2. Georgia, 3. Iowa, 4. Oregon
Harry Lyles Jr.: 1. Alabama, 2. Georgia, 3. Oregon, 4. Oklahoma
Ryan McGee: 1. Alabama, 2. Georgia, 3. Oregon, 4. Clemson
Adam Rittenberg: 1. Alabama, 2. Georgia, 3. Oregon, 4. Iowa
Alex Scarborough: 1. Alabama, 2. Georgia, 3. Oregon, 4. Oklahoma
Mark Schlabach: 1. Alabama, 2. Georgia, 3. Oklahoma, 4. Oregon
Tom VanHaaren: 1. Alabama, 2. Georgia, 3. Oklahoma, 4. Oregon
Dave Wilson: 1. Alabama, 2. Georgia, 3. Oklahoma, 4. Oregon