Played in/Played out: Arkansas, Florida, Pittsburgh move up, Georgia down
Each weekend during the regular season, Paste BN Sports will highlight the race for the College Football Playoff. Here are three teams moving up and three teams moving down in the sprint for the four-team field after Week 2 of the regular season:
TEAMS THAT PLAYED THEIR WAY IN
Arkansas. It wasn’t always pretty. Arkansas took a 20-7 lead heading into the fourth quarter against No. 12 TCU but allowed 21 consecutive points and needed a late touchdown and two-point conversion to draw even. We’re just getting started: The Razorbacks also needed to block TCU’s potential game-winning field goal with seconds left in regulation and another two overtimes to notch an enormously positive win for the team and the program as a whole. Arkansas is on the Playoff map.
Pittsburgh. The ACC is led by Florida State, Clemson and Louisville. Across the way in the Coastal Division, however, Pittsburgh looks like a team worthy of a top-25 ranking. The Panthers’ win against Penn State revealed some flaws — including an uncharacteristic showing on defense — but also showed a team capable of outscoring the competition. That combination makes the Panthers dangerous.
Florida. Yeah, it was Kentucky — so, in other words, let’s not all leap on the bandwagon at once. Still, Florida has clearly found an answer at quarterback in former Oregon State transfer Luke Del Rio; that alone makes the Gators dangerous. But add improved quarterback play to a defense with the talent to make teams earn every point and you have a team that might just be the leader in the SEC East Division.
TEAMS THAT PLAYED THEIR WAY OUT
Oklahoma State. In the Cowboys’ defense, the loss to Central Michigan comes with an asterisk: Officials made an unbelievable error in allowing CMU one last play in the fourth quarter, one the Chippewas converted into a miracle touchdown as time expired. Well, so much for an undefeated season. The Cowboys can still win the Big 12, but the nature of Saturday’s defeat — which was entirely avoidable — hides the truth: OSU might not be that good.
Clemson. Let’s be honest: Clemson is still very much in the thick of the hunt for another turn in the Playoff, one year after losing to Alabama in the national title game. At the same time, however, the Tigers have looked far from impressive in beating Auburn and Troy, the latter by just four points. What gives? We might be seeing a little bit of last year’s Ohio State, which struggled to match its high-energy run to the title in 2014 but was dynamite when on its game. It’s up to Dabo Swinney and his staff to get the Tigers back into shape.
Georgia. Only name recognition placed Georgia in the Playoff hunt in the first place. After two weeks — both wins, to be fair — it is extremely obvious that the Bulldogs will do no such thing in Kirby Smart’s first season. Saturday’s 26-24 win against lowly Nicholls State highlighted the team’s issues, from inexperienced quarterback play through an overall lack of productivity in all three phases. Is an East Division title a possibility? Maybe, but it’s impossible to imagine Georgia making a Playoff run in 2016.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM WEEK 2