Latest / Game Day Collective / Who’s REALLY No. 1? College Football Week 2 Reactions + GDC Top 25

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Who’s REALLY No. 1? College Football Week 2 Reactions + GDC Top 25 · Game Day Collective

• Josh Mahler: Week two of college football gave us just enough chaos to completely change the national picture. Today we're going to answer what do we actually know about college football after week two? Because I'm starting to feel like we really don't know anything. This is the Game Day Collective college football show presented by Outlier, the sports betting research platform that helps you compare odds, analyze trends, and value across markets. go check out the link down in the description below to find out more about Outlier. Alright, today we're gonna be diving into four things that we feel very confident saying now after week two heading into week three, as confident as we can be. we're also going to get into some of the stocks, whose stocks are rising and whose are falling. And a very debatable game day collective top twenty-five that we released earlier today as I'm recording. and then of course getting into some of the big games coming up in week three that we'll get into even more on our Friday show. But let's get dive into it because there is a ton to get to It feels like every week there's more to talk about because especially after week two with all the chaos that was going on with big teams dropping games unexpectedly, you know, with with Oregon and Oklahoma losing and Ohio State losing really shakes up a l a lot of things in in the grand scheme of the national college football landscape. So let's get into some of the things that we do know about college football and starting off with Georgia. I I I think that it's very obvious after week two that Georgia has the highest floor. There's a lot of debate that we'll even talk about here in just a moment. about Georgia, whether they should have actually been number one in the AP poll. you know, a lot of people thinking that maybe Georgia i is the better team when you look at at what we're we're perceiving so far heading into week three. there there I don't think that there is any doubt that the floor i it I I I feel like The floor is the highest with Georgia compared to anyone. I I don't foresee them losing very many games down the stretch. And I think that they just have the overall just well balanced talent. you look at what Georgia has done so far, and and I again I think that Texas should be the number one team. We'll get to that whenever we get to the the game day collective top twenty-five. But Georgia, they just continue to look like the more well rounded and complete team with with zero obvious weaknesses so far. given that they haven't really played too many you know too many tough opponents. They really haven't played any tough opponents at all. Demolished Western Kentucky 70 to 20 after leading 49 to 0 in the half here in week two. And they've outscored their opponents 133 to 23. I mean this is what you're supposed to do in these week matchups. If you're a a a number one contender, that's that's what you're supposed to do. So you know I I think you look at Georgia, yes, they haven't played anyone but they've handled those nobodies the way that they should they should. So through two weeks, there's really nothing that Georgia has shown that is a glaring weakness at all. And and you should feel very confident about them going through week two. So right now I I I think that if I had to take one pick to win the national championship through week two, I feel the most confident picking Georgia. There's others on that list that I could go down with with Texas now, even Ohio State still feeling pretty confident about what I saw from them, even despite the loss. you know, you look at Miami, Texas AM is in the mix, Indiana, y you look at these teams, I th I guess Notre Dame to throw on that list. There's others that I'm sure I'm leaving off. But I I think that you look at all these teams that I just listed and then some, and I feel the most confident about Georgia, regardless of of who they've faced so far. I just think Georgia is the most well rounded team. and so yeah, I I think that right now Georgia has the highest floor. Maybe not the highest ceiling, but they do have the highest floor. It'd be it would take quite a bit for Georgia to drop. All right, going on to number two, I I think that it's that we know for sure that Notre Dame is a pretty well rounded team. They're a pretty complete team. I know that we haven't seen again too much from Notre Dame. They started off strong against Wisconsin turning around here this past weekend and and and Whooping up on Rice, completely dominating him 52 to 0. So the the opponents haven't been elite. Absolutely not. But CJ Carr and this Notre Dame offense seem well oiled. they seem like they've got a lot of weapons over on that side of the ball. And I think that this roster is doing exactly what a championship contender and a championship caliber team is supposed to do through two weeks of football so far. So I really like what I've seen from Notre Dame against the inferior. the competition. I think a lot of people were writing Notre Dame off based off that first half against Wisconsin, not allowing them to like get them their feet wet or get them their feet underneath them at all and just completely wrote them off. Even Notre Dame fans, I was seeing Notre Dame fans across social media just completely writing their team off. but I don't think that's the case. I think we need to pump the brakes and hold on because what I'm seeing from Notre Dame right now is a very complete team, a well-rounded team and I I think we're gonna continue to see much of the same here as we head into week three. y you look at what their total yardage was against Rice, four hundred and seventy-eight yards to 128. it was it was incredible with with four sorry five forced fumbles and four of them that were recovered. So yeah, very much I think that Notre Dame is one of the most trustworthy teams in America right now. I think you you throw them into that mix with the teams that I mentioned a moment ago with Georgia and Texas and Ohio State and Indiana Miami. So you you you look at these teams, I think that Notre Dame very much so deserves to be in the mix. And I think they're a very well rounded team so far. All right, what about Utah? I think that Utah might just be one of the biggest threats in the Big 12 right now. And of course, again, not super impressive opponents, right? But they did just handle Arkansas 43 to 10. And and this was an absolute incredible performance from Utah completely demolished Arkansas and and it was I I think one of the more impressive results that really didn't get nearly enough national attention. I think you look at Utah right now and I think that again when you compare them to the rest of the Big Twelve I feel more confident about Utah than most Big Twelve teams. I think that I was kind of higher on Arizona coming into the into this season They kind of fell off in the second half against BYU. I do feel pretty confident about BYU. Texas Tech has shown me some I don't know, some ups and downs, some things that I'm a little concerned about. Arizona State has shown me some concerns, but I I think right now it's BYU and Utah. It's the two Utah teams, and I believe they're about to face off here this week or very soon, in in here in this in the the season. But more on that whenever we get there. But right now I think that that were overlooking Utah because their head coach and a bunch of guys just transferred out and completely overlooking and and they're out here performing really well. So I like what I see from Utah so far. they they built up a twenty six point lead at at halftime, kept on carrying over and Devin Dampier threw for two hundred and sixty one yards in that game this past weekend against Arkansas. And so I think that a thirty three point victory, i it it it was a a great win over an SEC opponent. And so regardless of who that SEC opponent was, I just think that, you know, being able to come over you come come out on a win against a a a respectable program. I wouldn't say a good program. I don't think Arkansas's any good, but a respectable program and come out with a big win. you know, thirty-three points. That's tough to cover. And Utah was able to do that. All right, going on, talking about the reigning national champs, I think that Indiana is kind of disrespected and I think b some might even be able to say that that on the game day collective polls on the on the rankings that we put out that maybe we're also disrespecting Indiana. I I don't mean to disrespect Indiana at all. It's just that right now at through week two, from what I see on the field, it's just such a tight race. I think you take those top like maybe even top eight teams. the top five to top eight, I I feel like you could really mix them around in just about any order. And we'll talk about that later on in the show whenever we talk about our top twenty five. But yeah, I I think that Indiana I think it's very obvious right now, even though they may not be getting the the respect that maybe they deserve, some I think I I some people I think d th believe that they deserve a lot more respect than they're getting, and rightfully so. I don't I don't disagree. but right now it's just so clustered up at the top. Give it some time. Let some of these bigger programs lose a couple games or start to show some insecurities and and and some negativity about their team, something where maybe a downfall may a weakness. Let them show that and then we'll be higher on Indiana. It it's just that right now it's so deep at the top that I I don't know, you might even be able to go be able to go ten deep and say who like which one of these do you really think would win the national championship? It's only through week two. But I think it is very glaring and very obvious that Indiana's not going anywhere. yes, maybe they're the ranked a little bit lower in some of these polls, even our own, but they're not going anywhere. And one thing that I think is very obvious to me is how efficient Josh Hoover is. He's taking over for Fernando Mendoza, and that offense looks very complete. Again, not the opponents that that you would expect in a top ranked team, a defending national champion. To be going against, I get that, but but put all that aside, they're handling business against these opponents. So you're not gonna tell if a team is going to win a national championship by facing these types of opponents like Howard this past week, or who was it the first week? Was it North Texas for win in week one? But you you're not gonna s tell if a team is going to win a national championship, but you can tell if they're not in the talk. And I'm not seeing anything to say that they're not in a talk. So I do think that from the performances that we've seen, Indiana deserves it. And Josh Hoover, getting back to Josh Hoover for just a moment, went an incredible six for eleven, very efficient, 145 yards, but scored four touchdowns. He scored on sixty-six percent, sixty-seven percent, if you want to round it up, of his completions. Completed four sorry, completed six and scored four touchdowns. He's been extremely efficient. He's not turning the ball over. which was really a c a concern for me going into the season. That's why I kinda held off on Indiana. I I was like, all right, I know everyone else is saying, well, you can't disrespect Indiana. I I get that. But just because you're a reigning national champ doesn't mean that you get to stay at number one. It's what you are this season. And I do think that from what I've seen around, that's why I I'll get to my my defense of why Indiana's not number one coming into the season or even currently. but Regardless, Indiana's not going anywhere. By the way, their total offense against Howard was really impressive. Five hundred and five yards total offense, and their defense held Howard to fifty seven total yards. That's what I mean by you're not gonna tell a whole lot of whether a team is gonna win a national championship or be a contender against these teams against Howard, but you are going to be able to tell if they aren't that team. And so far I'm not seeing any signs that they aren't that team. I think they're sticking around. I think they're they're here to stay for Quite a while, honestly. I'm not sure that they're that they're gonna go away anytime soon. This episode of Game Day Collective is presented by Outlier. If you bet on sports, Outlier gives you the tools and data to do your research faster and make more informed decisions. Compare odds across sportsbooks, research player props, track line movement, and find the best numbers all in one place. And if you want to try it out, we've got an exclusive offer for Game Day Collective viewers. Click the Outlier link in the description below and you'll get a 30 day free trial. Normally signing up only gets you seven days free, so use our link to get yourself an extra three weeks completely free. Try Outlier for thirty days through the link in the description below and see how it can help improve your sports betting research. Outlier, the presenting sponsor for Game Day Collective. Let's get into some of the stocks. Whether stocks are going up or down. We kind of keep track of them here on Game Day Collective. And starting off with a stock that is I think going up, and I I mentioned them a moment ago briefly, and it's BYU. I think currently BYU has to be the favorite in in the power rankings for the Big 12. I think you look at the Big 12 and It it it definitely funnels towards the top, but BYU is one of right up there. I I think the BYU is looking very good so far. they they haven't shown any major weaknesses, and they ended up taking down a Big Twelve foe this weekend in extremely good fashion. seeing how they performed in this game, this was a very tight game in the first half. Arizona actually led seventeen to fourteen at halftime and they ended up coming out And and winning. So I think that BYU showed that they can win a physical and competitive Big 12 game. And that's really important, especially when everything's not going perfectly your way. So able to come out from being behind at halftime, they ended up shutting out the the Wildcats there at halftime. And so you know, Bear Bachmeyer, I think you look at what he was able to do: 217 passing yards, four total touchdowns. No turnovers. It's actually been several games since the the BYU Couers have have even turned over the ball. They haven't turned it over at all this year, which is really good news for them. So right now I think that they should be one of the top teams, if not the top team, to look at in the Big 12. So really liking what I'm seeing from BYU so far. And right now their stock is going up until they prove me other prove otherwise. All right, going on to the next stock, another stock riser. is Mississippi State. a a lot of people thought Mississippi State would come out and and maybe look better this year. I don't know if anyone expected them to look this much better. And I mean you look at what Camario Taylor's doing over there for Mississippi State right now, I think that this is one of my favorite stock risers of the week. And seeing the attention that that Mississippi State is getting so far, y you look at at what they're doing right now, they they're not just two and mean they're they're destroying their opponents. They're doing a really Really incredible job. they put up sixty-two against ULM, turnaround and go on the road to Minnesota and win thirty eight to thirteen this past weekend. they outgained Minnesota four hundred and seventy-nine yards to two hundred and ninety-two. So an incredible stat to have on your side. and and they outrushed the the Golden Gophers by an absurd two hundred and fifty sorry, two hundred and fifty-two yards to thirteen. They held the the Golden Gophers to thirteen rushing yards. I mean, I that's the kind of defense that you need to be able to win games. and especially as they get closer to the SEC play. I should have picked Mississippi State as a breakout team. There's a couple of teams in the SEC that we wouldn't have expected to do anything special this year that are looking really good. I think Florida's another one. Florida could have been a stock riser on this list as well, but Mississippi State definitely deserves it. Camario Taylor he's he's coming out as as a Heisman hopeful right now. just getting a lot of attention that you would not expect out of Mississippi State. So I love to see it. He went sixteen to twenty-two efficient, looking good. Two hundred and twenty-seven or see yeah two hundred and twenty-seven passing yards, three touchdowns, eighty-six rushing gr rushing yards on the ground, and Mississippi's offense averaged seven yards a play. That's a winning recipe. We know that their offense is gonna be good under Jeff Levy, but this defense is really impressing me so far too, and I think that Minnesota is a reasonable you know a r respectable opponent, much like what I was talking about with Arkansas. I think they're respectable opponents, not like one of those opponents that you just expect to roll all over. And Mississippi State was able to do that. So very impressive. I like this win from Mississippi State. I I think that they're becoming one of those sleepers in the SEC. Not that they're going to be in any contention of anything. I don't think they're going to win any SEC championship or anything, but they're one of those sleepers that all of a sudden Maybe we see them upset. I don't know what their schedule looks like, but maybe they upset an Alabama. They upset an I don't think they play Oklahoma. but you know, you know, a Texas, Texas AM, you know, one of these these upper middle upper middle teams, I think they could pull off the upset there. And so, you know, I'm I'm really interested to see what Mississippi does the rest of the way. All right, let's go on to stock number three, that is Duke, the Duke Blue Devils. stock goes up for them for sure. they were five and a half point underdogs going into this matchup against the Fighting Alni. And just to throw receipts out there, this was my upset of the week. It was the upset alert, but I also picked them to win. I liked Duke and huge shout out to our friends over at Outlier. They're actually the ones that kind of tipped me over the edge to believing that they could really pull off this upset. And so I ended up picking Duke to to win over Illinois, and they they did it. Pretty well. overall I felt like they seemed like the better team and and ended up sticking it to to Illinois. it did c it did come by way of you know, them trailing and kind having to come back. I think Duke is one of those sleeper teams that no one's really talking about. Everyone expected them to have a really down year, not win any games. But here you're seeing Duke in you know, a matchup against Illinois, another you know, going up against a Big Ten opponent, I'd say a middle of pack Big Ten opponent. And and handling business on the road. So the Blue Devils ended up winning 31 to 27, improving to 2-0 now. And more importantly, I think they showed a a lot of toughness in this game. Like I said, having to fight back from being down. They trailed 24 to 14 late in the second quarter before completely outscoring Illinois. it was 17 to 3 the rest of the way. Ended up winning that one 31 to 27. Nate Shepherd, man. This guy could be a starter anywhere. watch him play, and he is so Fun to watch and Duke's identity needs to be around him, but make sure that you spread it around so that you you get him as that centerpiece that everyone's focused on and let it open up because he went for twenty four carries, a hundred and forty seven rushing yards, and three total touchdowns. this is his third consecutive hundred plus yard game. Love what I'm seeing from the dude because he is so great. Walk Walt Walker a get also fifteen to twenty one, two hundred and six yards and three touchdowns. So, You know, their their defense was able to do enough to win the game and offense came out ahead. Thirty one twenty seven. Love what I'm seeing from from Duke. And so you know, I I think that this was one of the best upsets of the weekend. And of course, even more so because I picked him to win. So absolutely love it from what I see from Duke. Let's talk about some stocks that are going down and starting off with Washington. I think Washington is one that we've got to mention. They dropped quite a bit in the the game day collector tw a top twenty five, which we'll talk about about in a moment. But I th I believe they dropped out of the t A P top twenty-five altogether after a win over Utah State. So this was kind of an embarrassing win. I know that they're two and but i i it's difficult to feel better about the Huskies after watching how they've performed these last two weeks. Washington State I can write off and and that listen, that's that's a rivalry. There's a lot on the line there it's a rivalry that actually means something as well. but then going on to week two where they barely survive Utah State 16 to 14 at home, you know, I I don't know. It's just I'm not very convinced about Washington the way that I I thought I would be coming into this season. The the defense kind of appears capable of keeping them in games, but the offense really hasn't shown enough to suggest that Washington is any kind of contender in and that that they could beat really any of the teams on their schedule. In the Big Ten. So I think that there's a different difference between winning ugly games and kind of establishing a pattern. And right now I'm seeing a pattern being established with Washington that they're just gonna put themselves in these ugly games. It's not that it's an ugly game because of the opponents that they're going against, it's an ugly game because they're putting themselves in these situations. The offense can't get anything going. you would think that with Damon Williams over there, that they would get something going with him returning. They felt really good about him you know, after all the drama this this early this offseason. they felt good about him coming back. But yeah, I don't know. I'm I'm a little concerned. So, you know, Washington's offense, they're they're they're starting to kind of create this pattern of are you know, w what is their identity? What what are they going to come out and show us? Are they ever going to improve? So yeah, I w we really need to see Washington come up. They we still have number twenty five in the poll, spoiler alert. but it it was very close. I think I actually had them out of the top twenty five being bumped out by some of the teams that ended up making their way in. So yeah, stock down for Washington right now. Another stock down a stock that's that's plummeting. We just talked about the the the other team that beat them, but I I have to bring up Arkansas because Arkansas looking really bad. Not that we had any any ex any stock bought into Arkansas but You know, where it it seemed like with the s with the n you know, new regime, maybe it started to kinda like it bumped up. It was like, All right, you were kinda doing this. All right, we're gonna raise you back up and kind of give you a level playing field. And after week one, it it kinda like did a little dip and it kinda plateaued and after week two it's like, Well, nope. We're out. We're out. if you didn't sell, I'm not really sure why you bought in the first place, but you should have sold a long time ago. So Late notice, you should have sold forever ago. They were seven to seventeen on third down. just really struggled against Utah. So I I I think that if Arkansas gets an opportunity against the ranked opponent, they they ought to be able to perform and and not be completely overwhelmed. That's what I expect from an Arkansas team. And they weren't able to do that against Utah. And so and I again I don't think Utah is a powerhouse program. I do think that they're deserving in the Big 12 after this performance. but before coming into this game, I wasn't thinking that Utah was going to be anything spectacular. So they really need to be able to get past and and be able to kind of close the gap between themselves and and a Utah team. So you know it definitely doesn't get any easier because you got Georgia coming to Fayetteville. So I I just it's not going to get easier for Arkansas. So their stock is plummeting very fast. And if you have if if you bought stock, I'm not sure why you bought it. and if you haven't gotten out yet, you better hurry up and hop on that soon. but let's jump on to our next stock plummeters. and we have the wrong logo on the screen, but it's supposed to be Penn State. so ignore that Duke logo and it's Penn State. Penn State going very much down. There they're Penn State not very much down. It's just a slight decline for them because I felt really good about Penn State and after week one and seeing what they did. And then week two kind of struggling against Temple. they were only up ten to three at halftime, only up by touchdowns. So they ended up winning 27-9. So they came out. And you know the bright spot was that Rocco Beck, he really has been pretty excellent so far for Penn State. And he went 21 to 27, very efficient. 268 yards, three touchdowns. So three two two games, Rocco Beck has thrown about four five hundred and forty yards and so he's had zero seven touchdowns, zero interceptions. So there's been a bright spot over there for Penn State. Just you know what what what are we doing with the rest of it? So yeah, I think with the the rushing attack, it really has to find itself and and get going. You've got to find something here. I'm not really sure what the answer is for Penn State. It's just we're a little concerned after watching kind of a struggle against Temple. You should be able to handle Temple and cover the spread. and they weren't able to do that. So I think if you look at this roster and what they they brought over from Iowa State with with Matt Campbell at the helm, Penn State should be be clicking on all cylinders against a team like Temple. And we didn't see that. So definitely need to see more from Penn State. Alright, let's go to overreactions. And this is kind of an overreaction court. So we pick our verdict, they're either overreaction or not. And first is Texas is clearly number one. I struggled with this one and my verdict is that this is an overreaction. you know, I I think that that you you absolutely can look at at Texas and say that they're they're clearly the number one team. They breathe beat the previous number one, therefore they deserve it. No one else deserves number one. and and you know, I think that think that they're they've got the best resume win. Sure. a lot of you know, arguments for Texas being number one, but I don't think it's clear that they're the number one. I think if you look at teams like like Georgia, I think if you look at teams like Miami, and currently I think that Georgia and Miami are the two kind of tied for that number one spot. And it was really tough for me to pick whenever we were going through our game day collective rankings this week because I thought, you know, I think that Georgia, if you look at what they've done, they've been the most dominant so far. Again, not against any kind of tough opponents or anything like that, but they've been the most dominant, the most complete, the most well-rounded team. And then you look at Miami, I think they've been the most explosive team, but it is hard to not put Texas at number one because they do have the best resume up to this point through week two. And so that's why we'll get to it in a moment, but I think that Texas is number one in the nation. And I think the AP poll got it right, putting them at number one and jumping Georgia and jumping Miami. But it's only because of the resume. They do have one of the top rosters, but is their roster clearly number one over Miami? Is it clearly number one over Georgia? Is it clearly number one over Ohio State or even Notre Dame? I don't think I could make that that statement. So I say it's an overreaction because they are one of the best. I just think that there's also arguments for the other two teams specifically, and maybe even more. I think you could also make an argument for Indiana. Texas AM, Ole Miss. I think there's plenty of teams, LSU, that you could throw in the mix. now I think the top three teams right now, my top three, are kind of tied for number one, and that would be Texas, Georgia, and Miami. So I do think that there's an argument to be made. Therefore, they're not just clearly obviously number one. and I think if if someone were to put someone in another team, like I said a moment a moment ago earlier on in the show, I think you could really run down the top eight, maybe even the top ten teams and pick a number one out of any one of them. I I'd be okay with people saying, I know Ohio State lost, but I still think they they're the number one team of the nation. Because you know what? Before the fourth quarter, they looked like the number one team of the nation. So are you really going to j judge them and take that away from them after one bad quarter? more on Texas here in just a little bit as we get to the top twenty five. But no, I don't think Texas is clearly the number one. They are the number one and I think there's an argument to be made For several other teams entering in there. All right. The next is Oregon's college football playoff hopes and the rest of their season is completely gone. It's out the window. They have no hope. I think this is a complete overreaction. Now, do I have faith in Jor and Oregon after what I just saw this past weekend and and even in week one? No, week one we were writing it off saying, you know, Boise State's a better G6 team than a lot of people are giving them credit for. And I think that statement was true. Week two, we would have expected them to completely blow the doors off of Oklahoma State, who was on a 21 FPS game losing streak, a 12 game losing streak as a whole. I mean, it was a an an atrocious Oklahoma State team who even lost week one to Tulsa. And so e we would have thought that Oregon would have handled business here and and used this Oklahoma State game as a get right game. And instead we saw a team come out there and show no conviction. We saw a defense that was bright in in some moments. And and what but if you look at the stat sheet and see the overall you know what was totally on the box score, I mean this game was very much one-sided. Oklahoma State dominated this game. And so you you you look at Oregon and they absolutely got dominated. They they definitely deserve to drop in the rankings as they did, and they even dropped in our rankings significantly as well. But They're still a top twenty-five team. They they still have all the talent that we've been raving about into the into the offseason. I think you could use Alabama in twenty twenty-five as a a really good example for this. Alabama is one of those teams that lost to Florida State, a bad Florida State team, and still fought their way through, made it to the college football playoffs, and even won a game in the college football playoffs on the road. so i I think that their their season is far from over. You think of the games that they've got left on the schedule with going to a u to USC, on the road to Ohio State, they've got Nebraska, Michigan State, they've got Michigan in there, they've got Washington. So they've got some teams that they could really g really produce a very good resume if they were able to get through it. So if they were able to turn things around and lose one more game max and be able to handle the rest of those teams that I just mentioned. I know a couple of them Nebraska, Michigan State, you might not have Too much respect for those teams, but still nonetheless, I think that's a resume builder to go through that schedule. If you're able to to let's say they lose at Ohio State and that's the last loss of their season, and they're walking away with a ten and two s ten and two record with only one loss in the Big Ten, they might even be in the national in the Big Ten championship game and on their way to the playoffs. So I I think we have to pump the brakes. I think it's an overreaction to say that their season is completely lost, that there is no hope left. for Oregon. So definitely an overreaction for me. although I don't have a lot of faith in Oregon right now. I'm gonna have to see it. I'm gonna have to have them show and prove it to me. And it's not gonna happen against Portland State. You're gonna have to sh prove it to me against a respectable opponent. So that will come soon and hopefully they get right. I don't think they will based on what I saw on Saturday but we'll see. it's it's not completely lost. That's all I'm saying. All right, Michigan's problems. completely fixed. Michigan pr Michigan doesn't have any more issues anymore. They're back to being the the top dog Michigan. I think this is an overreaction too, and it's not just because I'm an Oklahoma guy. I'm just looking at that game and I I said Michigan was the more physical team. Everything that needed to go right for Michigan went right. Their defense, elite. Their defense will win them big games. Their defense will will help them against a team like Iowa. it'll help them later on in the season against Ohio State. I their defense can win them any game. But I need to see something in the run game. You look at what their running backs did. Marshall only had eleven carries for 32 yards that's under three yard average. Savion Hyder, he had eight carries for six yards, less than a yard average. So I need to see something from their run game outside of Bryce Underwood. Bryce Underwood looked better because they game playing around having to use his legs, but he really didn't complete that much. He was just barely over 50%. barely over a hundred yards passing. He didn't really do anything that was like, yeah, Bryce Underwood. a lot of people are overreacting as if like, man, that's the Bryce Underwood that we were expecting the whole time. No, he still just looked average. Now given some r some you know respect to Michigan, this was against an Oklahoma defense that that he performed this way. He was he did keep the ball in their possession. They didn't turn the ball over three or four times. So you know what There were improvements on that offense, but there still wasn't any run game outside of Bryce Underwood and and even that wasn't anything spectacular. so you look at this Michigan team and and they're very one dimensional. They don't really have any extra threats. they're not using JJ McCann in the way that they could. They're not getting you know Savion Hyder and Marshall, th their two running backs should be a a a great backfield right there, but they're not getting them going. And so I need to see more from Michigan to believe that they fixed all their problems because after week one, their problems weren't their it wasn't anything to do with their defense. That was what a lot of us were respecting about Michigan is that yeah, that should have never been that close of a game. But it was because they couldn't score points, not because their defense sucked. Their defense was always going to be good. We always had faith in that defense. What can I get from their offense? And particularly, how are they going to fix the run game and get something going? They they have a chance to do that this week against UTEP. So I'm interested to see that. But so far, right now, I think that's just a bit of an overreaction to believe that Michigan has fixed all of their problems. All right, let's get to the game day collective top twenty-five rankings. this was a lot of fun, and this was the first week that we've actually put it together as a collective. And so we we put a collective number out there, a a point system based on where each one of us ranked teams. And so teams were getting points, whether they were on everyone's polls or no one's pulls. I guess if they were on no one's pulls, they got zero points. But if they were on one person's pulls, they got some points. If they were on no person's pulls, they got some points they they didn't get any points. So if they were on everyone's polls, they got a lot more points. And so it kind of went based off the ranking system. and so we plugged all of them in together, made a collective for the top twenty-five, and this is what we got. There at number one, we agreed with the AP and we went with Texas. I think this was unanimous. We ended up t taking Texas. For me, I wanted to put Georgia there. My gut was telling me put Georgia because I think Georgia has shown more dominance. And my argument for it was in okay, do you really put Texas ranked number one over Georgia, who's been dominant all season? They've they've they've looked completely well rounded. Again, they didn't play anybody, so that's where it was that became hard to defend that point. But do you really reward Texas by moving them all the way up to number one for one quarter of dominant football compared to eight quarters of total dominance by Georgia? And I struggled with it and I said, you know what, Texas just beat the number one team in the nation. You you've got to give them some props for that. And I think that again, like I mentioned earlier, I think those top three spots with Texas, Georgia, and Miami all have their own categories. of why you could rank them number one. I also think you could go down the list. I think Indiana, I think Ohio State, I think Notre Dame. I think there's an argument to be made about LSU, Texas AM, Ole Miss, Alabama. I think so right there in the top ten, I wouldn't have any issue with someone ranking any of those top ten up at that number one spot right now. there's a bigger argument to be made that Texas, Georgia, Miami, Indiana, really those top four spots are the arguments for number for number one. outside of that, you'd have to kind of bend it a little bit more. but yeah I I I we went with Texas. I felt like that was a good choice. AP poll ended up agreeing with us as well. and so we put Texas there at number one. Ohio State did fall to number five. I think I had them ranked just below Notre Dame. I also hated that LSU dropped so much, but it wasn't really that we just were hating on LSU for dropping It's just that it was maybe an overreaction to put them as high as as we did in week one. sorry, I guess after week one. So you know, it was it was more of an adjustment. there was another one in here. You look at num BYU up there at number twelve twelve and then Utah down at number fifteen. I think that those risers there in the in the Big 12 are looking really good. Like what I see from them. of course I think BYU, better team of the two so far, but those two Utah teams are gonna be very very interesting to see there in the Big 12. And so if they played this weekend, I think I would pick BYU to beat Utah. But I mean that's must see PV right there. Oregon still ranked, but they dropped. They were I think the biggest drops. Oklahoma might have been a bigger drop than them in our poll by one. but Oregon dropped all the way down to number 19. I I still think that Oregon they have the elite talent. They have a theoretical high ceiling. Like I mentioned a moment ago, I don't have a whole lot of faith that they'll do anything with that high ceiling. But I do think that they have a high ceiling theoretically with the teams left on their schedule. If they were able to run the tables, we'd be looking back at at that week two upset and being like, all right, we kind of overreacted. They had a very bad first two weeks. They turned things around. They did what they needed to do. they they still have the whole season ahead of them. Again, that's being theoretical. totally putting that out there. but right now we're kind of balancing that that talent versus the resume with Oregon. all right, let's let's go to Oklahoma and Michigan. Michigan climbs back up into the top twenty-five, and I think maybe it was a slight overreaction to completely drop them out of the top twenty-five. But do they deserve to be ranked ahead of Oklahoma? This is kind of where it comes to where I don't think it's always just a head-to-head. Because so and so beat so-and-so, they deserve to be ranked higher. It did feel like Oklahoma just got away from what was working for them in week one. We mentioned that in our Sunday show, so go back and check that out if you want to see more reaction on this game specifically. But I feel like Oklahoma got away from what they were doing so well in week one against UTEP and didn't do any of that. Brent Venables even mentioned in postgame and even talking on the radio show that they they they abandoned the run game completely, which can't happen. And so I think if Oklahoma were to get things right, I I I still think that Oklahoma was the better team on Saturday. It it's just that Michigan was the better team that day. And and so time will tell I think that there was you look at Oklahoma's defense, they were still great and they did what they needed to do to win the game. You can't have an interception to get Michigan all the way down to the s six yard line. That's what gave Michigan That last touchdown. So, you know, since the first touchdown when Bryce Sunderwood had a big run for a touchdown earlier on in the game in the first half, that their de Oklahoma's defense s was was stout. They were nearly perfect. So I still have a lot of faith in Oklahoma. You can argue with them being ranked ahead of Michigan. I believe we all had them ranked just slightly above Michigan. but anyways, that's where that ranking comes into. Virginia was left out of the week two rankings, and that was my fault for just I didn't put them in my rankings in the in week two and so just totally forgot about them because they didn't play in week two. And so yeah, that's my bad. Sorry, they didn't play in week one. They played week zero and I was really high on them after week zero. I was man, we're gonna have to talk about Virginia this week or you know, this this year, because I really like them coming out of the ACC. So they jump back up into the rankings where they belong, and Washington is just out. we do have some teams. You've got Louisville with three points in the voting system. Boise State with two points and Florida with two points. but none of them ended up making in. I think Iowa was kind of the the tiebre they won the tiebreaker because they were ranked higher the week before. I think that was like the only thing that broke the tie there. and then of course Washington, I think got the same treatment where Washington was just ranked higher, therefore they didn't completely drop out of the rankings. So I think I had Washington out on my poll, if I remember correctly. And so just I got overruled and and the the collaborative scheme. So there's our top twenty-five. Drop into the comments where you think we got it totally wrong, where we got it totally right. do you agree, do you disagree? We'd love I don't care. we love to hear either way. But yeah, that's that's our top twenty-five here, Game Day Collective week three, top twenty-five. We're getting into week three of college football already, and it's getting tight. It's getting very tight. Alright, let's close off with some really quick previews, rapid quiv rapid previews, if I can get myself speaking a little bit clearer here towards the end of the episode. Alright, Looking ahead, we've got some really good matchups here. We've got some ranked matchups in week three, which is really fun. It's really exciting to finally see good teams face good teams. Not just seeing everybody play UTEP and North Texas. I mean not to not to disrespect them, but play FCS teams and and see all these, you know, Georgia's blown people out, Indiana playing Howard. I don't want to see any of that anymore. I want to see good games, I want to see close, gritty games. And we saw some of that with the Oklahoma, Michigan, and and Ohio State, Texas. We saw, you know, we're gonna we're gonna see a lot more here in week three. Starting off with LSU at Ole Miss. This is the obvious headliner. I think everyone's gonna be talking about this one. The storyline itself, it it it writes itself. Excuse me. But with Lane Kiffin returning to Oxford. There is so much emotion going into this game. I saw earlier where Lane Kiffin was telling his guys, you don't have any of the expectations. The pressure's not on you. It's on them. They're the ones that went 13 0 last year or whatever. And you know, they're the ones that made it all the way up to up to the semifinals, almost make it to the national championship. The pressure's on them. You don't you don't have anything to prove. Go out there and play some football. And you know what? I think that this is a really fun one. So Early market has LSU around a three point favorite, which means they expect them to win by about a touchdown ultimately because the home team gets three points usually. and I think this is a real significant test for both sides. For old for LSU, they they kind of st s they slowed down against Louisiana Tech. I don't want to say they struggled, but they slowed down. And so you're you're kinda wondering like, all right, was was that just them like letting the foot off the gas, taking it easy because they know they have a tough matchup ahead whenever they travel to to oxford. But I I think the bigger question for this matchup is gonna be can Ole Miss turn all of that emotion towards Lane Kiffin around into an advantage rather than a distraction? Because ultimately I don't really I don't really worry about Lane Kiffin. I mentioned this going into that week one matchup against Clemson. I don't really worry about Lane Kiffin getting his guys' minds right I don't worry about him blocking out the noise and making sure that it's blocked out for his team too, because he did that all off all I guess for the second half of the season last year. Where is Lane Kiffin leaving? Is he gonna go to Florida? Is he gonna go to LSU? He's still the coach at Ole Miss. Why are we talking about this? And it cr caused a lot of chaos, a lot of hype, a lot of drama outside the walls of that locker room, but somehow Lane Kiffin kept it together for his guys. And so I'm very interested. I don't have any problem picking LSU right now because I have a lot of confidence in Lane being able to block out that noise. Now can Pete Golding and Ole Miss block out all the noise? because I mean ultimately it I don't I don't know. I'm looking at this one, I just I think that this is I think the talent is very split. it it's tough to choose. I think it leans LSU when you look at just the talent on paper. But All this emotion, it's it's just building up. It's such a pick'em right now for me, and my mind keeps on spinning. I think right now my confidence level, whether I pick Olmus or LSU for this one, is like a 1.5 out of 10. I just do not have any confidence in this pick. Maybe 2.5 if I pick LSU and 1.5 for Olmus. So I'm leaning LSU, but I I might even change my my d my pick by the time we get to our Friday preview show. Houston at Texas, another ranked matchup that we're gonna get here on week three's slate. I think that this might be quietly one of the weekend's most important games, just because this could really tell us a lot about the Big Twelve. Right now, Texas Tech is the th the quote unquote f favorite in the Big Twelve. But you look at Houston, they finally get us they get a true opponent to kind of tell us more about themselves and tell us whether this start is legitimate for Houston or not. And I mean they've looked very good. They've looked flawless through two weeks, but finally getting a good opponent. And Texas Tech, they get an early opponent to kind of establish themselves near the top of the Big Twelve as well. They can get themselves back in the favorite spot of the Big Twelve because I feel like they're not really there right now. We've seen some some weaknesses for Texas Tech. And so I I think this is really interesting, a really fun matchup to look at. Right now I'm kind of leaning Houston points, but we'll see. We'll see. This is going to be a very fun one there in the Big Twelve. Another ranked matchup, I guess I don't know. I I think Louisville is ranked in the A P poll. They're not ranked in hours. I think they just barely dropped out of that. They were they were the first one out. and only because of technicality. But yes, right now they're they've the A P poll has SMU ranked number sixteen, Louisville number twenty three. So technically a ranked matchup. We'll we'll throw it out there. It's not as good as as the Game Day Collective Top 25, but still, Louisville, I I think they're right now they're they're a slight favorite going in early into some markets. but this is gonna be a very tough one. I think when I was looking at this one earlier, it was like one and a half, so basically you pick swing it either way. I don't know. I think that this is gonna be the winner of this game is going to be the biggest threat. against Miami for really Miami and Virginia. So maybe they're the biggest threat for second place against Virginia. so I think the winner of this game, it could tell us a lot about who's gonna w be a competitor, who's going to compete for that ACC championship. So very interested to see who comes out ahead of SMU at Louisville. Drop your predictions for that one in the in the comments below. All right, what about a revenge game for Alabama from a season ago Alabama dropped on to Florida State last year and like I said turned around to have a a solid season, one to be one that you can hang your hat on. but anyways, right now I think that Alabama's the obvious favorite. Florida State still showing some really quite a few weaknesses. We're not very confident on on Florida State after a couple of a couple of games that we've seen from them. they looked much better against SMU, so we have to give them credit for that one. but really I think that, you know, the biggest storyline for this one is Alabama revenge game against a team that beat them 31 to 17 last season. So, you know, I think that last year's win i you know, I whatever. we we can we can look at that. I I think there's gonna be a lot more built around this game than it should. My early predictions, my early thoughts going into this game is I feel really good about Keelan Russell, the way that he performed in the second half against Kentucky. I feel like he found himself. I feel like Alabama's defense is one of the best in the nation. They they've got one of the best, probably top three secondaries in the nation. I feel pretty good about Alabama's chances heading into this one. And one more game to watch, one that I don't think is gonna get enough love, but one that should get a little bit more attention is Florida at Auburn. this is one that we're definitely gonna talk a little bit more about on our Friday preview show. So Tune in because I think that this is a this is a game that could become more interesting than the rankings and and the hype really l alludes to. It's one of the few games where both these teams will be undefeated. it'll actually be the last week where both these teams will be undefeated. but for the fact that both these teams starting to look like they've got a little bit of life back in the program. Now, not to get too ahead of ourselves, I don't think that either one of them is going to be a contender, but Florida. Getting a lot of attention. They've actually looked very solid heading up to this point. But Auburn handled business in week two. I think I mean they came out with a gritty win in week one against Baylor. So I think this is a a a a matchup that is going to be overlooked, but it's not going to be overlooked here on the Game Day Collective College Football Show. So one that we're very much looking forward to. I mean, this this one I think opened up around a field goal spread. I think in favor of Florida, but I don't remember. what the spreads were showing on this one. So gonna be a very fun one to watch nonetheless. So we're gonna talk more about these games and so much more on the Friday show. So make sure to tune in there. We should ha probably have more content pumped out this week for you guys to tune into. that'll do it for this edition of the Game Day Collective College Football Show. I appreciate everybody so much for tuning in. Subscribe on YouTube, hit that like button, comment down below. Let us know what was the single worst ranking there in our top 25? Where do you have teams that w where did we go right? Where did we go wrong? give us your early predictions, all of that. The more you comment down below and the more you like and subscribe, share the podcast, share it out there with with your friends, with people who you are also college football fans. and college sports fans because we have more shows coming. but get it out there. Let the word be spread because we want to keep on reaching more and be building a community around the Game Day Collective. So again, that'll do it for this edition of Game Day Collective College Football Show. make sure to follow us on social media X, Instagram, Facebook, all that fun stuff, and visit Game Day Collective.media for more coverage throughout the week. I'm Josh Mahler and this is the Game Day Collective College Football Show presented by Outlier. We'll see you next time.