Week 2 didn’t have many intriguing matchups on paper, but there still was plenty of chaos on the field.
As a result, there were a few shakeups in our conference rankings after two weeks, which you can check out below.
1. Big Ten
The Big Ten’s title contenders all took care of business against cupcakes, and the weak Week 2 slate across the country didn’t allow for anyone else to overthrow it at No. 1. However, Northwestern single-handedly is doing all it can to come up with the worst possible ways to lose and bring the rest of the conference down with it. But as long as Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio State continue to play the way they have, the Big Ten should be No. 1.
2. SEC
The usual best conference in the country took a nosedive down the rankings after a miserable Week 1, but the second week was a different story. While we’re aware that most of the SEC’s non-conference games were cupcakes, it won all 10 of those contests, including Arkansas’ incredible overtime victory over No. 15 TCU. Georgia certainly took a step back against Nicholls, but overall it was a much better week for the SEC.
3. Pac-12
Like the SEC, the Pac-12 bounced back Saturday with a much better showing than it had in Week 1. Washington, Oregon, USC, Colorado and UCLA all had blowout wins, while Utah and Arizona State pulled off thrilling victories. Also, the conference’s two losses came against two real threats for the Group of Five berth in San Diego State and Boise State. It also appears the Pac-12 has two legitimate title contenders in Washington and Stanford.
4. ACC
Many people believed Clemson was the best team in the country heading into the 2016 season, but the Tigers have struggled so far and just barely beat Troy in Week 2. The conference might have three title contenders now in Clemson, Louisville and Florida State, but losses by Virginia, Virginia Tech and North Carolina State and the Tigers’ rough showing hurt the ACC this week.
5. Big 12
If the Big 12 isn’t careful, it might fall behind some Group of Five conferences if it continues to play like this. TCU, Texas Tech, Kansas, Iowa State and Oklahoma State all lost in Week 2. That’s bad, and so is the Big 12 so far.
The best of the rest…
6. AAC
The best Group of Five team still is Houston, and East Carolina and Cincinnati both picked up nice wins over power conference teams in Week 2.
7. Mountain West
Boise State and San Diego State both beat Pac-12 teams — Washington State and California, respectively.
8. MAC
Yes, Central Michigan’s win shouldn’t have counted, but the scoreboard says it was a victory. Ohio also beat a Big 12 team in Kansas.
9. Sun Belt, C-USA (tie)
Both of these conferences had pretty bad weeks and no major wins.
Thumbnail photo via Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports Images
