College Football Playoff bracket for Week 2: Projecting top four seeds, first-round matchups, bubble teams

College Football Playoff bracket for Week 2: Projecting top four seeds, first-round matchups, bubble teams originally appeared on The Sporting News

What is the cost of losing the block-buster non-conference game?

We’ll find out as the season progresses. No. 3 Ohio State beat No. 1 Texas 14-7. No. 9 LSU beat No. 4 17-10. No. 10 Miami beat No. 6 Notre Dame 27-24. The Buckeyes, Tigers and Hurricanes will reap the rewards from those games in November.

What about the losers? Finding their placement in the College Football Playoff picture is tough. How many of those teams will survive without three losses? That was the playoff cut-off line for at-large teams last season.

MORE: Week 1 overreactions for Texas, LSU, Alabama, Michigan

Texas won’t get penalized too much for losing at Ohio State, but the Longhorns still play Florida (Oct. 4), Oklahoma (Oct. 11) and Georgia (Nov. 15) and Texas A&M (Nov. 28). Will Arch Manning lead Texas to a 3-1 record in those games?

Clemson made the CFP with three losses last season – but that was as the ACC champion. A home loss to LSU won’t help, and their ACC schedule is tough. Clemson faces an interesting road test at Georgia Tech in two weeks. Florida State’s 31-17 victory against Alabama helped the conference’s perception, but they were 1-3 in head-to-head games against the ACC in Week 1.

Notre Dame, of course, will likely have to win out now after the loss to the Hurricanes. The Irish had an early-season loss to Northern Illinois last season, so that is doable. Yet Marcus Freeman will have work to do after the loss to the Hurricanes on the road.

We kept everybody in the College Football Playoff, at least for now. Alabama, the other top-10 team that lost 31-17 to Florida State, was not as fortunate.

Dropped out: Alabama

Moved in: Florida

Here is a look at the top four teams, the projected first-round matchups and the four teams on the college football playoff bubble heading into Week 2:

Projected College Football Playoff first-round byes

No. 1 Ohio State (1-0, Big Ten champion)

Yeah, the Buckeyes didn’t miss a beat on defense with new coordinator Matt Patricia, and Ryan Day suddenly has won six straight games against top-five opponents. Julian Sayin (13 of 20, 126 yards, TD) did not commit the big mistake against the Longhorns – and Ohio State scored the largest non-conference victory of Week 1. They’ll be ranked No. 1 on Tuesday.

BENDER: Ohio State shows defense still wins championships

No. 2 Georgia (1-0, SEC champion)

The defending SEC champion moves back into their customary spot. The Bulldogs beat Marshall 45-7, and new quarterback Gunner Stockton finished with 190 passing yards, 73 rushing yards and four total TDs. The defense allowed 2.6 yards per carry. Yeah, Kirby Smart has another national title contender. Georgia plays Austin Peay before the SEC race heats up against Tennessee and Alabama to end September.

No. 3 Penn State (1-0, Big Ten at-large)

Drew Allar rarely missed, hitting 22 of 26 passes for 217 yards and a TD in a 46-11 blowout against Nevada. The Nittany Lions will maintain their hold on the No. 2 spot in the AP Poll – and they cannot be upset if the Buckeyes leap-frog them. The Nittany Lions play FIU and Villanova the next two weeks before a bye and that first huge test against Oregon on Sept. 27.

No. 4 LSU (1-0, SEC at-large)

LSU limited Clemson to 3 of 13 on third-down conversions in a 17-10 victory that showed Brian Kelly might have a national championship contender in Baton Rouge. LSU has a revamped defense, and Garrett Nussmeier finished 28 of 38 for 230 yards and a TD against Clemson. They are the surprising second team in the SEC now.

TROCCHI: Brian Kelly gets the big season-opening win he’s been dying for

Projected College Football Playoff first-round matchups

A look at Sporting News projected first-round College Football Playoff matchups heading into Week 2 of the college football season:

No. 12 Tulane (1-0, American champion) at No. 5 Miami (1-0, ACC champion)

This matchup held up for 72 hours, which is nice. The Green Wave will be part of an enthralling American Conference race that includes Navy, Memphis and South Florida. Green Wave quarterback Jake Retzlaff – a BYU transfer – had 152 passing yards, 113 rushing yards and two TDs in a 23-3 victory against Northwestern. Miami takes this spot after Carson Beck went 20 of 30, 205 yards, and 2 TDs and led the Hurricanes to the victory against the Irish. Mario Cristobal scored a huge victory, and that helps unlock two bids for the ACC in our latest bracketology.

MORE: Florida State and Miami may finally be good again at the same time

No. 11 Arizona State (1-0, Big 12 champion) vs. No. 6 Texas (0-1, SEC at-large)

There would be some grumbling from Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark with this seeding, but it might be the cost of parity within the conference. Arizona State beat North Arizona behind Sam Leavitt – who had 257 passing yards, 73 rushing yards and four total TDs. This is a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal. Texas’ Arch Manning had a rough debut in a 14-7 loss at Ohio State, but the Longhorns will bounce back. A soft upcoming schedule against San Jose State, UTEP and Sam Houston.

MORE: Grading Arch Manning’s sluggish start at Ohio State

No. 10 Florida (1-0, SEC at-large) vs. No. 7 Oregon (1-0, Big Ten at-large)

We didn’t learn too much about these teams in Week 1. Dante Moore had 213 yards and three TDs, and the Ducks rolled up 254 rushing yards in a 59-13 victory against Montana State. DJ Lagway passed for 210 yards and three TDs in a 55-0 victory against Long Island. This is the only SEC-Big Ten first-round matchup in our projections, and it’s a good one with those up-and-coming quarterbacks. The Ducks play Oklahoma State in Week 2, and the Gators face South Florida.

No. 9 Notre Dame (0-1, Independent at-large) vs. No. 8 Clemson (0-1, ACC at-large)

Here are two 0-1 teams that will have to claw their way back. Clemson lost to LSU, but the Tigers have enough talent on defense to make their push back in the ACC. Notre Dame will improve around new quarterback CJ Carr, who nearly led a fourth-quarter comeback against the Hurricanes. The margin of error for both teams is considerably less now, however.

MORE: Inside Lee Corso’s College GameDay send-off | How the final headgear pick unfolded

Projected College Football Playoff bubble teams

Illinois (1-0)

The Illini beat Western Illinois 52-3 in Week 1, and Bret Bielema has a chance to push this team into a fourth playoff spot for the Big Ten. We’ll see how realistic that projection is when the Illini travel to Duke in Week 2.

South Carolina (1-0)

LaNorris Sellers (12 of 19, 209 yards, TD) made the necessary plays – including a strong connection with Nyck Harbor (3-99, TD) in a 24-11 victory against Virginia Tech. The Gamecocks are still trying to break through that playoff fringe, but Shane Beaamer does have his most-talented team yet.

Michigan (1-0)

Freshman Bryce Underwood (21 of 31, 251 yards, TD) played well in a 34-17 victory against New Mexico – and he will need that strong run support from Justice Haynes (16-159, 3 TDs) in a telling road game at Oklahoma in Week 2. Michigan will appeal linebacker Jaishwan Barham’s controversial targeting ejection – which is something to watch this week.

Ole Miss (1-0)

The Rebels beat Georgia State 63-7, and Austin Simmons had 341 passing yards, three TDs and two interceptions. The Rebels have a series of don’t-mess-up games coming up, starting with Kentucky in Week 2. The last four games with the Wildcats have been decided by three points or less.

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