College football Coaches Poll prediction: Will Alabama or Georgia hold No. 1 spot?
The biggest debate in this week’s USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll will come at the top.
Alabama’s escape against Texas may be enough to keep the Crimson Tide at No. 1. But there’s no doubt many voters will think about bumping up Georgia, previously No. 2, based on how the Bulldogs have looked through two weeks.
In the end, look for Alabama to stay atop the poll but for Georgia to narrow the gap.
Three teams will drop out of the top 10 after an upset-heavy Saturday. One is Notre Dame, which will go from No. 8 as far as out of the Top 25 entirely after losing 26-21 to Marshall. The pressure is rising for Marcus Freeman, the first coach in program history to lose his first three games.
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2. Georgia (2-0)
The Bulldogs made Samford look like Oregon in a second breezy victory to open the regular season. The 33-0 final featured another great game from quarterback Stetson Bennett, who hit on 24 of 34 attempts for 300 yards and two touchdowns, one coming on the ground. As expected, Georgia held Samford to just three first downs and 128 yards of total offense.
3. Ohio State (2-0)
After a sleepy start in the opener against Notre Dame, the Buckeyes bounced back against Arkansas State with the sort of numbers we’ve come to expect: C.J. Stroud threw for 351 yards with four scores on 14.6 yards per attempt, the running game averaged 6.5 yards per carry and the offense as a whole gained 538 yards on just 54 plays.
said postgame that McCarthy would get the nod for next week’s game against Connecticut.
5. Clemson (2-0)
After struggling in the opener against Georgia Tech, the Tigers’ offense averaged just 6.4 yards per play in a 35-12 against Furman. The questions will continue until Clemson gets into the sort of rhythm that has eluded this offense since the start of last season.
6. Oklahoma (2-0)
Dillon Gabriel went for 296 yards and three touchdowns and the Sooners’ defense bottled up one of the MAC’s top offenses in a 33-3 win against Kent State. The win makes Brent Venables the sixth coach in modern program history to win his first two games, joining Lincoln Riley (2017), Bob Stoops (1999), Howard Schnellenberger (1995), Gary Gibbs (1989), Jim Mackenzie (1966) and Bud Wilkinson (1947). No coach in this span has won more than four in a row to start his tenure.
7. Oklahoma State (2-0)
OSU will climb in the poll after pulling away in the second half of a 34-17 win against Arizona State. After gaining more than 400 yards of total offense against Central Michigan in Week 1, quarterback Spencer Sanders struggled early but finished with 323 yards of offense with three touchdowns.