The college football season is underway so the countdown to the college football playoff begins. Each week the TCI staff will give their predictions for which four teams will make the college playoff.
Here are the predictions after week two.
Robert MacRae – My predictions are very similar to week one except I will drop one possible team. Ohio State remains an easy choice for the first team. Alabama is still my second team, but they will get a huge test this week when they host Chad Kelly and Ole Miss. If Bama wins that one I will feel much more comfortable with this pick. The SEC is not what is has been in the past and Bama and Ole Miss may be the two best teams. For my third team I will stick with TCU who gets to battle coach Morris and SMU this week. My final team is Clemson. Last week I said the winner of Clemson/Notre Dame for the final team. With the injury losses for Notre Dame I am more confident the Tigers will take care of the Irish in the Valley.
Hale McGranahan – Ohio State took care of business against Hawaii, so there’s no reason to drop the Buckeyes from the to The two spot goes to Michigan State. Saturday night’s win in East Lansing was strong one for Sparty’s resume, so they’ll jump Alabama and Notre Dame. Even though Alabama didn’t destroy Middle Tennessee
like they probably should have, they’ll drop just one spot to three. We’ll know more about Nick Saban & Co. after Swag Kelly and the boys from Oxford roll into Tuscaloosa on Saturday night. A win there could push the Tide back
to the two-seed. TCU falls to the fourth-seed after hanging 70 on Stephen F. Austin. Curious to see how long Chad Morris hangs around when SMU heads to Fort Worth. Notre Dame would have dropped out my playoff four, even if Malik Zaire didn’t break his ankle. Virginia kept that game too close for me to think of the Irish as playoff team. Plus, I thought Michigan State was just a hair behind them last week. Baylor also jumps Notre Dame as my first team out.
Notre Dame falls all the way to six. Wins over Georgia Tech and Clemson would vault them back into the four.
William Qualkinbush – Last week, there was no change atop my power poll. I kept my four playoff teams intact. That’s not the case this week. Ohio State’s shutout win over Hawaii did nothing to dissuade me from thinking the Buckeyes were destined for the College Football Playoff, and a dominant TCU victory ensured the Horned Frogs a spot on the list. For Auburn and Notre Dame, however, the week’s proceedings weren’t as kind. The Tigers were pushed to the brink by FCS foe Jacksonville State at home and simply don’t look like a playoff team at this juncture. They have been replaced by Alabama, whose 2-0 start looks comparable to those of other elite Crimson Tide teams of the past. The Fighting Irish have simply seen too many players succumb to injury, including quarterback Malik Zaire. This spot was tough to replace, but I settled on a Clemson team that I feel could now see 11 wins given Notre Dame’s struggles and the issues Florida State has had moving the ball through the air. I don’t feel great about a fourth team right now, but that’s where I sit for the moment.
Will Vandervort: Ohio State is still my top choice. The Buckeyes did not look as dominant last week, but they still won 38-0 over Hawaii in a short week after playing on Monday at Virginia Tech. I said last week the second team was going to be the winner of the TCU-Baylor game, but Baylor seems to have no defense whatsoever. The Bears gave up 31 points to Lamar. That’s right, Lamar. I never heard of Lamar until they hung 31 on a top 5 team last week. Yes, Baylor scored 66 points, but they have to start playing better defense. TCU is my solid choice at No. 2. In the first two weeks of the season, Notre Dame has lost its starting running back, tight end and quarterback for the year due to injuries. In all, the Irish have lost five starters for the season – tight end Durham Smythe, quarterback Malik Zaire, running back Tarean Folston, defensive tackle Jarron Jones and defensive back Shaun Crawford. The loss of Zaire might be the biggest blow at this point and to me it takes them off of my list because they play No. 15 Georgia Tech this week, travel to No. 9 Clemson in two weeks and host No. 6 Southern Cal on Oct. 17. Speaking of Southern Cal, the Trojans look like the Trojans of old in the first two games in which the offense and the defense has been impressive as they outscored their first two opponents 114-15. Clemson has won its first two games by a combined score of 86-20. The Tigers hit the road for the first time after playing two cupcakes in Death Valley to open the season when they visit Louisville on Thursday night. This will tell us if this Clemson team, which is full of talent, is ready to take the next step despite having so much youth on both sides of the ball.