College Football Rankings: Spartan Avenue’s Week 2 Top 25
Sep 7, 2015; Blacksburg, VA, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Braxton Miller (1) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Virginia Tech Hokies in the third quarter at Lane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
No. 5 Michigan State-No. 1 Ohio State
5. Michigan State
The Spartans didn’t budge in this week’s rankings as they struggled defensively in the second half against Western Michigan after dominating for most of the game.
Must Read: MSU vs. Western Michigan: Grading the Spartans’ performance
Connor Cook was extremely inaccurate, but luckily it didn’t come back to bite the Spartans. The Heisman-contending QB was just 15-of-31 for 256 yards and two scores while hitting Aaron Burbridge four times for 117 yards. The young trio of running backs proved to be solid, finishing with 190 yards and three TDs as true freshman L.J. Scott led the way with 77 yards on 13 carries.
4. Baylor
After the first quarter of Saturday’s season opener for the Baylor Bears against SMU, people thought they’d be witnessing the first shootout of the year. It was 28-14 Baylor after one quarter, but the Bears’ defense settled down and only allowed one more touchdown for the rest of the game. Seth Russell passed for 376 yards and five touchdowns — Corey Coleman and KD Cannon combined for 282 of those yards and two scores.
3. TCU
TCU definitely had its hands full against one of the more underrated teams in the Big Ten in a road game to begin the season. The Horned Frogs squeaked out a six-point win at Minnesota and Trevone Boykin got tested by the strong defense of the Golden Gophers. He finished with 246 yards and a touchdown while also leading the team in rushing with 92 yards and a score.
2. Alabama
Alabama partook in one of the biggest games of the week as the Crimson Tide went up against the No. 20 Wisconsin Badgers and put on a show. Derrick Henry might be the next great back to come out of Alabama as he rushed for 147 yards and three touchdowns on just 13 carries. Jake Coker did well in his first start at quarterback as well, passing for 213 yards and a score while the Crimson Tide held the usually-solid Badger run game to just 40 yards.
1. Ohio State
No surprise here. The Buckeyes are the top team in the country [still] after a big-time win on the road against Virginia Tech in which the Hokies gave Ohio State everything they had. After going into halftime down by three points, the Buckeyes surged in half No. 2 with a 28-7 run. Cardale Jones got the nod at quarterback and passed for 186 yards and two TDs while rushing for another 99 yards and a score.
Ezekiel Elliott proved to not be human once again, running the ball 11 times for 122 yards and a score and Braxton Miller became the ultimate weapon, catching two passes for 78 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 62 yards and another score.