Who’s in? Who’s out? CFP After Week 1:

BY: Ryan Scimone, Football Analyst 

After an exciting first week in college football, the CFP picture is anything but clear. However, teams like Auburn, Notre Dame, and others wasted no time in staking their claim as a top-4 team in the country. But was anyone’s performance impressive enough to usurp any of the preseason favorites? Here’s how the playoff picture should look after Week 1:

1. Alabama: Bama undoubtedly deserves the top spot in this week’s ranking after absolutely demolishing a solid Louisville team, 51-14. It is amazing how the Crimson Tide essentially played a decent Power 5 team as their preseason/feel out game. On offense, Tua looked the part of the preseason Heisman Trophy favorite, going 12/16 for 227 yards and 2 TDs, while several different backs carried the ball 32 times for 187 yards. The Tide defense was as good as advertised, routinely pressuring Louisville QB, Jawon Pass, forcing him to make errant throws into tight windows. They finished with 3 sacks and 11 tackles for loss, while also picking off Pass twice. Right now, Alabama is the most complete team in the country.

2. Clemson: Not much of a test here for Clemson in Week 1 as they faced off against Furman. As expected, they were in control for every second of the game. The biggest thing we saw from the Tigers was the play of true freshman QB, Trevor Lawrence. Along with Georgia backup, Justin Fields, these two guys were the most highly touted high school QB prospects in recent memory. Lawrence looked sharp in his debut, going 9/15 for 137 yards and 3 TDs and although Kelly Bryant won the starting job in camp, I think it’s just a matter of time before the freshman is starting under center for the Tigers. It was a routine win over a vastly inferior opponent, but Clemson showed why many picked them as the preseason favorite to win it all.

3. Ohio State: Right now, I have Ohio State over two other SEC teams, Georgia and Auburn, and over the Big 12’s Oklahoma. What they showed in their first game this year is that they are the unquestioned team to beat in the BIG 10 this season. First year starter, Dwayne Haskins, lit up Oregon State’s defense to the tune of 313 yards and 5 TDs, while the two-headed monster backfield of Mike Weber and JK Dobbins combined for 260 rushing yards and 3 TDs. Yes, Oregon State is a horrible team and bad program right now, but easily dropping 77 points on any Division 1 opponent is impressive. With a great group of returning playmakers, this could be the most explosive OSU offense since their 2014 National Championship run.

4. Auburn: The most impressive win of the weekend goes to Auburn, as the Tigers took down the sixth ranked Washington Huskies on a neutral site field, 21-16. Junior QB, Jarrett Stidham, continued his elite play from a season ago and completed 72% of his passes against one of the nation’s toughest defenses. On the other side of the ball, Auburn’s defense solidified itself as a top-5 defense in the country, constantly forcing opposing QB, Jake Browning, into duress. This elite front registered 5 sacks, 9 tackles for loss, and two key turnovers including a forced fumble at their own 3 yard line to protect a 15-13 lead. With Stidham at the helm backed by this ferocious defense, Auburn could soon emerge as the best team in the SEC.

ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN:

5. Georgia
6. Wisconsin
7. Oklahoma
8. Notre Dame
9. Washington
10. Stanford