Predicting how the college football playoff rankings would look today

Week 2 of the 2025 college football season delivered about as we expected it to, with only one ranked matchup on the slate - Michigan vs Oklahoma - it certainly did not compare to what we witnessed last weekend.

We still had plenty of storylines to follow throughout the day, including four top-25 teams going down. The biggest shock came in Gainesville, where No. 13 Florida fell to South Florida, 18–16, fueling calls for the Gators to move on from head coach Billy Napier. Meanwhile, down in Starkville, the No. 12-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils fell to 1-1 after being upset by Mississippi State, 24-20.

The first edition of the College Football Playoff rankings doesn't come out until Nov. 4, but I did my best to try to rank the top 25 the way I think the committee would if they were to be released after Week 2.

10. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1-1)

Week 2 result: Bye Week

Notre Dame had the day off after a Week 1 27-24 loss to our No. 3-ranked team, Miami.

Next up: vs Texas A&M

9. Illinois Fighting Illini (2-0)

Week 2 result: Beat Duke (45-19)

Bret Bielema and Illinois are the real deal. Quarterback Luke Altmyer led the Illini to a nice win over the Blue Devils with 296 passing yards and 3 touchdowns.

“It was really cool to kind of have some hurdles to climb over in the first half,” Altmyer said. “We know if we do the right things, we're a really good team.”

Next up: vs Western Michigan

8. Florida State Seminoles (2-0)

Week 2 result: Beat East Texas A&M (77-3)

Bret Bielema and Illinois are the real deal. Quarterback Luke Altmyer led the Illini to a nice win over the Blue Devils with 296 passing yards and 3 touchdowns.

After beating Alabama in Week 1, it would have been easy for the Seminoles to take their foot off the gas a little against a cupcake opponent. They didn’t do that at all, and Castellanos only needed 11 passes to get to 237 yards. Florida State scored the most points it has since Mike Norvell took over as head coach.

Next up: Bye Week

7. Texas Longhorns (1-1)

Week 2 result: Beat San Jose State (38-7)

Arch Manning, who looked a whole lot better than he did last week vs. Ohio State, started hot and finished the game with 295 passing yards and 5 total touchdowns. His favorite target was wide receiver Parker Livingstone, who hauled in 4 receptions for 128 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Next up: vs UTEP

6. Georgia Bulldogs (2-0)

Week 2 result: Beat Austin Peay (28-6)

This was a typical early-season game for a Kirby Smart-coached Georgia team against an inferior opponent. What it means, nobody knows. But the Dawgs looked sluggish and struggled to put away the Governors on a rainy day in the Classic City. The schedule starts to heat up for Georgia next week with the start of SEC play.

Next up: at Tennessee

5. Miami Hurricanes (2-0)

Week 2 result: Beat Bethune-Cookman (45-3)

Georgia transfer Carson Beck is the real deal and is proving that maybe it was the UGA wide receivers dropping passes that was the problem last season in Athens. Beck hit on 22-of-24 throws for 267 yards and 2 scores. The U’s got one next week against a South Florida team that just took down in-state rival Florida.

Next up: vs South Florida

4. Penn State Nittany Lions (2-0)

Week 2 result: Beat Florida International (34-0)

Penn State quietly walked away with a shutout Week 2 win over FIU. Quarterback Drew Aller reached exactly 200 yards while the defense forced two takeaways.

“It’s the first two games of the year, I’m not really worried about it yet,” Allar said. “We’ve finished plenty of drives in the first two games. For me, it’s never going to be good enough unless we score on every single drive.”

Next up: vs South Florida

3. Oregon Ducks (2-0)

Week 2 result: Beat Oklahoma State (69-3)

A 69-3 win over Oklahoma State is impressive regardless of how good the Cowboys are. That warrants the No. 3 spot for the Ducks in this week’s projections. 631 total yards of offense for Oregon vs. 211 for the Cowboys.

Next up: Bye Week

2. LSU Tigers (2-0)

Week 2 result: Beat Louisiana Tech (23-7)

LSU cooled off a bit after its Week 1 win over Clemson on the road, allowing the Bulldogs to hang in there during their Week 2 contest. Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier threw the ball 41 times, completing 26 of his passes, for 237 yards and 1 touchdown. Defensively, the Tigers held La. Tech to only 154 yards of total offense.

Next up: vs Florida

1. Ohio State Buckeyes (2-0)

Week 2 result: Beat Grambling State (70-0)

Ohio State followed up on its win over Texas with a dominant 70-0 victory over the Grambling Tigers on Saturday. Quarterback Julian Sayin went 18-for-19 (yes, you read that right) for 306 yards and 4 touchdowns. Wide receiver Jeremiah Smith stepped up after a mediocre Week 1, recording 5 catches for 119 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Buckeyes put up 651 yards of total offense.

Next up: vs Ohio

The rest of the projected CFP rankings

11. Oklahoma (2-0)

Week 2 Result: Beat Michigan (24-13)

Next Up: at Temple

12. South Carolina (2-0)

Week 2 Result: Beat South Carolina State (38-10)

Next Up: vs Vanderbilt

13. Clemson (1-1)

Week 2 Result: Beat Troy (27-16)

Next Up: at Georgia Tech

14. Iowa State (2-0)

Week 2 Result: Beat Iowa (16-13)

Next Up: at Arkansas State

15. Texas A&M (2-0)

Week 2 Result: Beat Utah State (44-22)

Next Up: at No. 9 Notre Dame

16. Ole Miss (2-0)

Week 2 Result: Beat Kentucky (30-23)

Next Up: vs Arkansas

17. Alabama (1-1)

Week 2 Result: Beat UL Monroe (73-0)

Next Up: vs Wisconsin

18. Tennessee (2-0)

Week 2 Result: Beat ETSU (72-17)

Next Up: vs No. 4 Georgia

19. Indiana (2-0)

Week 2 Result: Beat Kennesaw State (56-9)

Next Up: vs Indiana State

20. Michigan (1-1)

Week 2 Result: Lost to Oklahoma (24-13)

Next Up: vs Central Michigan

21. Utah (2-0)

Week 2 Result: Beat Cal Poly (63-9)

Next Up: at Wyoming

22. Texas Tech (2-0)

Week 2 Result: Beat Kent State (62-14)

Next Up: vs Oregon State

23. South Florida (2-0)

Week 2 Result: Beat Florida (18-16)

Next Up: at No. 5 Miami

24. Auburn (2-0)

Week 2 Result: Beat Ball State (42-3)

Next Up: vs South Alabama

25. BYU (2-0)

Week 2 Result: *Currently leads Stanford 24-3 in the fourth quarter*

Next Up: at East Carolina