Whew.
Take a breath Sooners and Cowboys fans, because as dire as things looked in Norman and Stillwater on Saturday, you woke up Sunday morning 2-0.
It could be worse (see Notre Dame).
Week 2 was all about close calls. Oregon barely survived Boise State. Bowling Green threatened Penn State. Kansas State rallied against Tulane. Arizona struggled to score against the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona.
Oklahoma State was outplayed by Arkansas in every statistic except the one that matters. And as if things weren’t dicey enough in Stillwater, OU said “Hold my Switzer Light Lager.”
OU beat Houston 16-12. A Houston team that was blown out by UNLV the week before. The Sooners managed 252 yards of offense, which is how many Arkansas had against OSU by about 12:15 p.m.
But hey, OU and OSU are 2-0. Where do they rank, based on resume alone, against every other 2-0 Power Four team?
Glad you asked.
More: Oklahoma State football’s Mike Gundy voices frustration with SEC officials vs. Arkansas
38. Rutgers
Wins: 44-7 vs. Howard, 49-17 vs. Akron
The Scarlet Knights are off next weekend. Some would say it’s their third bye in a row.
37. Arizona
Wins: 61-39 vs. New Mexico, 22-10 at Northern Arizona
Northern Arizona might have a more vaunted defense than I thought.
Wins: 57-3 vs. New Hampshire, 45-14 vs. Sam Houston
Running back RJ Harvey already has six rushing touchdowns. That’s second nationally to Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, who has nine(!).
Wins: 31-7 vs. Florida International, 77-3 vs. Western Illinois
2-0 is 2-0, I suppose.
Wins: 51-0 vs. Murray State, 38-0 vs. Buffalo
The schedule gets tougher. Just barely.
Wins: 28-14 vs. Western Michigan, 27-13 vs. South Dakota
Alabama comes to town next weekend.
Wins: 35-3 vs. Weber State, 30-9 vs. Eastern Michigan
Washington hosts Washington State next weekend.
Wins: 76-0 vs. Furman, 52-3 vs. Middle Tennessee State
A solid 128-3 point differential.
Wins: 52-6 vs. Akron, 56-0 vs. Western Michigan
Western Michigan and Akron were picked to finish seventh and 12th in the MAC.
Wins: 62-0 vs. Austin Peay, 49-14 vs. Jacksonville State
Louisville could win the ACC, which might not be saying a lot.
28. Alabama
Wins: 63-0 vs. Western Kentucky, 42-16 vs. South Florida
A soft launch into the Kalen DeBoer era.
Wins: 34-27 at Stanford, 45-0 vs. Long Island
College football, where Horned Frogs are mightier than Sharks.
Wins: 26-3 vs. Elon, 26-20 at Northwestern
Duke should score more than 26 next time out against UConn.
25. Oklahoma
Wins: 51-3 vs. Temple, 16-12 vs. Houston
At least the defense is good.
More: What’s wrong with OU football offense? Seth Littrell takes ownership for woes vs. Houston
Wins: 34-13 vs. Richmond, 31-30 at Wake Forest
Virginia football is about as irrelevant as it gets.
Wins: 55-24 vs. Kent State, 28-27 at Cincinnati
Pitt overcame a 27-6 deficit to beat Cincy.
22. Vanderbilt
Wins: 34-27 vs. Virginia Tech, 55-0 vs. Alcorn State
Vanderbilt is 2-0!
21. Utah
Wins: 49-0 vs. Southern Utah, 23-12 vs. Baylor
Remember, Utah-Baylor was a nonconference game.
20. Arizona State
Wins: 48-7 vs. Wyoming, 30-23 vs. Mississippi State
One of the Big 12’s worst beat one of the SEC’s worst.
Wins: 40-7 vs. UTEP, 28-10 vs. Colorado
The Huskers got their revenge against their old Big 12 North foe.
18. Kansas State
Wins: 41-6 vs. UT-Martin, 34-27 at Tulane
The Wildcats escaped. Now upset-minded Tulane goes to Norman.
17. Michigan State
Wins: 16-10 vs. Florida Atlantic, 27-24 at Maryland
Michigan State is alone atop the Big Ten standings.
16. Oregon
Wins: 24-14 vs. Idaho, 37-34 vs. Boise State
Survive and advance.
15. Syracuse
Wins: 38-22 vs. Ohio, 31-28 vs. Georgia Tech
Fran Brown is off to a good start at Syracuse. As is Ohio State transfer quarterback Kyle McCord.
Wins: 41-13 vs. Southern Illinois, 18-15 at SMU
BYU won the field-goal affair in Dallas.
Wins: 19-17 at Minnesota, 38-20 vs. Charlotte
The Tar Heels will improve to 3-0 with NC Central up next.
12. Oklahoma State
Wins: 44-20 vs. South Dakota State, 39-31 vs. Arkansas
The Cowboys should’ve lost. Instead, they beat Arkansas by eight.
More: How Oklahoma State football, Ollie Gordon II never panicked in 2OT win vs. Arkansas
11. Penn State
Wins: 34-12 at West Virginia, 34-27 vs. Bowling Green
One really good win. One really bad win.
Wins: 23-19 vs. Old Dominion, 31-6 at Kentucky
A dominant win at Kentucky for Shane Beamer’s club. Didn’t see that one coming.
Wins: 45-0 vs. Eastern Illinois, 23-17 vs. Kansas
Nice upset win against Kansas.
Wins: 69-3 vs. Chattanooga, 51-10 vs. NC State
The NC State game was in Charlotte. Tennessee’s offense is scary good.
Wins: 31-13 vs. UC-Davis, 21-14 at Auburn
An SEC road win for the Golden Bears. Those are hard to come by.
Wins: 28-13 at Florida State, 56-0 vs. Duquesne
How should we value the win at Florida State? This feels about right.
5. Miami
Wins: 41-17 at Florida, 56-9 vs. Florida A&M
Florida is a mess, but what Miami did at The Swamp was mighty impressive.
4. Iowa State
Wins: 21-3 vs. North Dakota, 20-19 at Iowa
Before Saturday, Iowa had won seven of the last eight Cy-Hawk battles.
3. Southern Cal
Wins: 27-20 vs. LSU, 48-0 vs. Utah State
The No. 1 Big Ten team by resume.
2. Georgia
Wins: 34-3 vs. Clemson, 48-3 vs. Tennessee Tech
The Clemson win looks even better after the Tigers crushed Appalachian State. The Mountaineers were my pick to represent the Group of Five in the College Football Playoff. Not feeling great about that.
Wins: 52-0 vs. Colorado State, 31-12 at Michigan
Yeah, yeah, this isn’t the Michigan of yesteryear/last year, but Texas went to the Big House and controlled every aspect of the game.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Ranking every 2-0 Power Four team in 2024 college football season
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