1. Alabama Crimson Tide– Two weeks in and they’re still at the top of course and until further notice, they’ll be claiming the top spot until they are defeated or they put on a truly discouraging performance. The defense continues to be lights out and the offense held their own as much as they could. 192 yards on 27 attempts passing isn’t necessarily anything to brag about, but it shows that Jalen Hurts has more faith in his arm this year than he did in 2016. He accounted for 282 yards and three total touchdowns in their home opener against Fresno State. They’re off to another fast start and I’m not surprised one bit by it.
2. Oklahoma Sooners– They got their revenge and made a big time statement with their win over Ohio State last Saturday. This is the best non-conference win of the season and it’s not even up for a debate. They dominated the second half of that game in Columbus and Baker Mayfield had himself another great game completing 27 of his 35 pass attempts and throwing for three touchdown passes. He ran circles around the Buckeyes defense and extended plays all game long. Although it’s still early, this puts the Sooners in prime position for the playoffs when the first set of rankings are revealed in November.
3. Penn State Nittany Lions– Their rivalry with Pittsburgh is officially back and they were another team who got their revenge on Saturday after falling to them the year before. These Nittany Lions have stacked up all around. Their defense is fast, hard hitting, they get after the quarterback, bring the ballcarrier down and they make you work to get your yards. Their offense has their own “big three”. It’s Trace McSorley, Saquon Barkley and tight end Mike Gesicki. Last year wasn’t a fluke. This team is the real deal and I’m completely sold on them. I’ve bought into what they have done.
4. USC Trojans– The Stanford game was a big one for them especially with how they looked in their opener against Western Michigan. The Sam Darnold that came onto the scene and took the world of college football over showed up and had a huge game against the Cardinal on Saturday. He threw for 316 yards, four touchdowns and helped the Trojans snap a three-game losing streak against Stanford and they have now won 11 games in a row dating back to last season. The running game also held it down rushing for 307 total yards against a team who’s known to stop the run.
5. Clemson Tigers– The next time they allow a touchdown, that will be the first of the season, that’s how dominant their defense has been within the first two games of the year. Their front seven was in the Auburn backfield before they could get out of it. 11 sacks, 14 tackles for loss and they held Auburn to 11 yards rushing. This offense will really need to step it up against Louisville tonight. This will be the best offense the champs have seen all year and they will need to bring it all against Lamar Jackson who’s off to another fast start this year.
