Fansided

College Football Playoff Rankings 2017: Projected top four after Week 2

By Brad Weiss

TUSCALOOSA, AL - SEPTEMBER 09: Jalen Hurts #2 of the Alabama Crimson Tide breaks a tackle by Tobenna Okeke #56 of the Fresno State Bulldogs at Bryant-Denny Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
TUSCALOOSA, AL - SEPTEMBER 09: Jalen Hurts #2 of the Alabama Crimson Tide breaks a tackle by Tobenna Okeke #56 of the Fresno State Bulldogs at Bryant-Denny Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 5
Next
Sam Darnold, QB, USC Trojans
LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 09: Sam Darnold #14 of the USC Trojans scrambles with the football during the first half against the Stanford Cardinal at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 9, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
3

USC Trojans Pac-12

Last week: W 42-24 vs. Stanford
Last rank: 3

Last weekend, the USC Trojans struggled against the run, as Western Michigan was able to get some push up front. Opening up their Pac-12 slate on Saturday, the Trojans were facing one of the top running backs in the conference in Stanford’s Bryce Love. The back was able to make some big plays against the Trojans defense, but in the end, USC proved to have too much talent on both sides of the ball against a much-improved Stanford squad.

While the final score looked close for most of the game, the Trojans were the dominant team in this one. The Cardinal front could not protect Keller Chryst all night, and USC racked up over twice the amount of total yards that Stanford had. A fourth quarter touchdown run by Ronald Jones II really put the game out of reach for good, as the Trojans rolled to a 42-24 victory.

For Darnold, he actually played better against Stanford than he did against Western Michigan. The sophomore, who came into the season as the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy, racked up four touchdown passes, two of which went to star wideout Deontay Burnett. The two have developed a nice rapport over the past two games, and Burnett has really softened the blow caused by the departure of JuJu Smith-Schuster going to the NFL.

The Trojans play host to Texas next week, and then go on the road to play Cal. With the way their schedule is laid out, they could very well be undefeated by the time they play UCLA on November 18 in their season finale. This team looks very good on both sides of the ball, and if they can win the Pac-12, they will most likely be given a ticket to the College Football Playoff.

Home/College Football Playoff