Week 2: Playoff Rankings

We at Buckeye50 had LSU as the first place team for the playoff polls in Week 1, however it was Ohio State who was named the #1 team in the country. Ohio State did what it needed to do, and cruised to a 73-14 win over Maryland, and will travel to Rutgers in what should be another blowout.

LSU, who was ranked second, went on the road to face Alabama, who was ranked 3rd, and won 46-41. This gave them another big win, and was enough to move them to first place in the College Football Playoff committees poll. Ohio State has a good chance though to play 3 straight top 15 teams after this week to help build their resume. 

Penn State was ranked 4th, and traveled to undefeated Minnesota, and lost 31-26, a game which they never led. Penn State should tumble, but still remain near the top 12. Minnesota might have the biggest jump in the polls after starting at 17. I wouldn’t be surprised competing for one of the top 6 spots. Baylor might also climb after winning in overtime against TCU to remain undefeated.

Clemson was on the outside looking in by starting off in 5th place in the rankings, while we at Buckeye50 had them at 4th. With Alabama and Penn State losing, there is a reason to believe that the top 3 will be LSU, Ohio State, and Clemson in some sort of order. It will be ranking teams 4-10 which will be the toughest part of the committee. 

How We Voted

For the second straight week, the most of us picked LSU as the top team, and a large part of that had to do with resume. The Playoff Committee felt the same as they ended up placing LSU at the top of their ranking.

Ohio State is ranked 2nd, but they still look like one of the most complete teams in the country. This weeks game against Rutgers wont help, but games against Penn State, Michigan, and potential Big Ten Championship game will help boost their resume. 

Clemson, who was 5th in last weeks committee poll, moved to 3rd unanimously, partly because they are the defending champs, but they also have been looking impressive since the close game against North Carolina. 

Oregon moves to the 4th place spot. Their loss is to a top 12 Auburn team on the road, however they do not have any wins against currently ranked teams. Like Utah, they will be rooting for the other to win out for a potential chance to make the playoff with a PAC-12 Championship.

Minnesota moves up to the 5th spot, after a big win against Penn State in which the dominated most of that game. They still have one of the weaker non conference games on their resume, but they have been on an upward trajectory and have a big chance to win against another ranked opponent in Iowa.

Alabama rounds out the top 6. Originally we had Utah in this spot, be we had a few more votes come in. Alabama has been in every single playoff up to this point, and despite the loss, they have a lot of pull with the committee based on brand. The need LSU to lose twice though in hopes of playing in the SEC championship game, but they might be on the outside looking in depending on how the other conferences shake out.

Here is how we voted, lets us know how you predict the rankings will go!  Who is your top 4?