Jarvis Benjamin Variety Hour

The Actual NCAAF Top 25 Rankings: Week 2

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jarvisbenjamin

Hello friends, and welcome back to another year of The Actual NCAAF Top 25 Rankings. As you know, I am your host, Jarvis Benjamin. Throughout the season you will get to read all of my college football opinions and takes and you lucky Jarv-heads will get to see the college football world from my eyes. 

Via this website and on X (@JBV60SHOW) I will also be delivering my College Football #Winners. As always, this is never gambling advice: just one man’s (~60% lifetime) opinions. Week 0 was an appetizer 1-0 and Week 1 was an ugly 2-4. Your boy was the definition of ‘Humble or About to Be’. I expect to be back in the winner’s circle when my card is posted later in the week. 

Now to what puts asses in the seats:

  1. Georgia Bulldogs (1-0) This Week: Line N/A vs. Tennessee Tech (0-1): The cream of the crop! The ‘Dogs absolutely dismantled Clemson at Mercedes Benz Stadium this past Saturday. Trevor Etienne was not available for this game, and it did not matter in the slightest. Carson Beck picked up right where he left off at the helm on offense; finding Ladd McConkey clone, London Humphreys, for a score; and freshman RB Nate Frazier for another. In typical Georgia fashion, the defense was swarming. They were able to keep Clemson’s run game neutralized all game, forcing Cade Klubnik to air it out. Yeesh. Predictably: that resulted in a sick interception from Malaki Starks to put the nail in the coffin. Georgia @ Alabama 9/28. Mark your calendars. 
  1. Texas Longhorns (1-0) This Week: -7 @ Michigan (1-0): Absolute BEHEMOTH of a matchup in Week 2! Hand up, I’m not entirely sure where I think this game goes. Hand up again, I thought Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi and the CSU Rams may be able to move the ball even a little bit against the Longhorn defense. My first instinct (way back over the summer) was that Michigan was going to welcome SEC blue-blood Texas into the Big House with open arms and just bully the ball down their throat. The more I think about it; the less inclined I am to think that is going to happen. If Texas can hold the QB room of *checks notes* Davis Warren/Alex Oriji/Jack Tuttle in check; they should roll. I think the Longhorns are talented enough to (easily) handle Michigan if they can force them to be one-dimensional. #ThinkAboutIt. First of the year. 
  1. Ohio State Buckeyes (1-0) This Week: -38.5 vs. Western Michigan (0-1): After what was an auspicious start to the game, close personal friend Coach Day and the Buckeyes found the gas pedal on their way to a fifty-burger on Saturday. Jeremiah Smith (after an early penalty and drop) looked like he fit in perfectly as the heir to Lil Marvin that was promised. Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate round out the rest of what could be the best WR room in the country; and give Will Howard the most weapons he’s ever had on one offense. The strength of this year’s Buckeye team however is the defense. In spicy takes: I like the Bucks to hold their opponent under double digit points in every game until they play Oregon (10/12).
  1. Oregon Ducks (1-0) This Week: -18.5 vs. Boise State (1-0): Exhale Ducks fans! That was far closer than it had to be/should have been on Saturday night; but as I like to say: a win is a win is a win. This was a bit of a weird game for the Ducks, as transfer stud QB Dillon Gabriel went 41-49 for 380 yards and they still only mustered up 24 points. You can chalk up the result on a scoreboard to a combination of things; but you’d be crazy to think those are the Ducks we will see all year. Boise State is a much tougher challenge than Idaho, and I think we will see a much better effort from the Ducks to match that. I’d lean that Coach Lanning clears the big number. 
  1. Ole Miss Rebels (1-0) This Week: -41 vs. Middle Tennessee State (1-0): Ole Miss quite literally has a four game preseason built into their schedule. Furman (scored 76 points), MTSU, Wake Forest, ending with the ever so challenging Georgia Southern. If this was a college basketball team I’d have tweeted a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse gif five times by now! The Rebs have assembled somewhat of a college football all-star team, Jaxson Dart, Juice Wells, Tre Harris, and that Preiskorn guy from Tik Tok; the list goes on and on. This is an elite offense led by an elite run the score up guy. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Rebs are looking to top 76 this week. #ScoreInTheSip
  1. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1-0) This Week: -29.5 vs. Northern Illinois (1-0): Promises made, promises delivered. The Jarvis Benjamin Variety Hour’s Fighting Irish correspondent Robert Jeremiyah Beans told us all this would happen, all summer long. What happened at Kyle Field on Saturday night was the start of the Marcus Freeman Era. What happened at Kyle Field on Saturday night was a good old-fashioned Irish beat-down! In real talk: the Notre Dame needs to join a conference crowd was probably silenced for good last night. In my mind, the Irish have an auto-bid into the 12 team playoff for the considerable future. 
  1. Alabama Crimson Tide (1-0) This Week: -31 vs. USF (1-0): The DeBoer Era started the same way that the Saban Era finished: the Tide on top by a lot. I’m not as bullish on Kaelen DeBoer and the partnership he is going to former with Jalen Milroe as some media personalities are; but I do think the Tide will be highly competitive per usual. Looking to this week: the casual fan may not totally recall that USF nearly beat Alabama this year. Lucky for you: Jarv is not a casual fan. If I had to guess: the return date of this home and home series is not going to be nearly as close. #ThinkAboutIt  
  1. Penn State Nittany Lions (1-0) This Week: -35 vs. Bowling Green (1-0): To be totally honest: I’m not sure if what happened throughout the entire day (s/o lightning) in Morgantown says more about the Mountaineers or the Nittany Lions. Regardless, I’ll give credit where credit is due: Drew Allar played possibly the game of his life on Saturday. No, that is not saying that much; but if you are James Franklin, I bet you’re feeling pretty damn good right about now. Penn State should get to 5-0 with relative ease with a stretch of favorable home games upcoming. 
  1. Michigan Wolverines (1-0) This Week: +7 vs. Texas (1-0): As I alluded to above: the blueprint for Sherrone Moore and co. here has to be Donovan Edwards until you can’t Donovan Edwards anymore. As I also alluded to above, I’m not really sure if Michigan has enough in the QB department to be a national contender this year. I’m not sure it matters after reaching the ultimate goal last year. They pretty much stole Fresno State’s will to live last week; in a beatdown where the Bulldogs literally waved the white flag at the end of the game. (Punted on 4th down with ~25 seconds left in the 4th. Do not meet your heroes folks.)
  1. Utah Utes (1-0) This Week: -15 vs. Baylor (1-0): I have said this offline many times, but Cam Rising could have the exact same statistics/team resume as insert Heisman hopeful here and he would not win the award. In the first half last week against (FCS) Southern Utah, Rising found the endzone five times, 3 of which to Kuithe, and Cam looked like he hadn’t missed a beat after his injury-riddled last season. As a guy with many ‘Utah to Make the Playoff’ tickets, this was a great sight to see. Another sight I enjoyed to see? Zach Wilson Jr. (Zach’s younger brother (name is Isaac)) is the Utes backup QB! I truly had no idea until ESPN+ cut to Zach Sr. eating nachos in the stands with Mom and Dad. Somethings > Sports. 
  1. Tennessee Volunteers (1-0) This Week: -7.5 @ North Carolina State (1-0): There are a lot of people who think that Nico is one of the top quarterbacks in the country, if not the best. I’m not sure I’m willing to put him in the top spot quite yet; but the kid can play. The Vols have plenty of weapons with Squirrell White, Bru McCoy, and Dylan Sampson to name a few. Josh Heupel can do scary things when he has a talented quarterback, and very early on this feels like one of those years. Saturday night in Raleigh is a game I am looking forward to very much. 
  1. Miami Hurricanes (1-0) This Week: Line N/A vs. Florida A&M (2-0): It is taking everything in my being to not begin this segment talking about how back the U is. What I will say is this: Danny Boy Cane and his favorite team absolutely took it to Group of 5 Billy and the Gators Saturday afternoon. After one week of play, this is the best team in Florida by a decent amount. Transfer portal acquisitions Cam Ward and Damien Martinez looked like everything they were cracked up to be. Reuben Bain and the other defensive playmakers stood tall to keep *checks notes* Graham Mertz on the mat all afternoon. Fact: Miami teams of years past lose that exact game in Week 1. Maybe the U is really back. 
  1. Missouri Tigers (1-0) This Week: -34 vs. Buffalo (1-0): I can’t lie: Mizzou vs. Murray State didn’t ever come close to crossing one of my three TVs #notpoor this weekend. I am higher than most on Brady Cook, Luther Burden and co. this year though. I expect both of those guys to accumulate stats early, and a lot of them. Missouri doesn’t really face a tough game until they go on the road to play Texas A&M.   
  1. Oklahoma Sooners (1-0) This Week: -29 vs. Houston (0-1): Jalil Farooq, 1 catch for 47 yards, will go down in immortality. Temple may be the worst team in the nation; but the Sooners took care of business Friday night. They have so many studs at all of the skill positions on offense, led by Jackson Arnold at QB. If Arnold doesn’t find himself in the Heisman conversation with the aforementioned Farooq, Deion Burks, and Jovantae Barnes just to name a few; I will be quite surprised. Again, yes, I know it was Temple, but dare I say that the Sooner defense finally resembled a Brett Venables defense? *Eyes Emoji* Houston will be a bit of a tougher test next week, in what should be a semi-fun game. 
  1. Kansas State Wildcats (1-0) This Week: -9.5 @ Tulane (1-0): For my money, this is the team that will challenge Utah the most for the Big 12 title. Avery Johnson is an incredibly highly touted quarterback recruit who (sort of) ran Will Howard out of town. His backfield mates DJ Giddens and Dylan Edwards (yes, transferred out of Colorado Dylan Edwards) are studs. The run game for the ‘Cats should be a very fun watch this year. K-State hosts Arizona in Week 3!  What a game with major implications early. 

*Note* I personally think that the expanded playoff + conference realignment are going to create about a billion (exagerrating) ‘marquee’ games this year. Forgive me if I get excited about quality ball. 

  1. Florida State Seminoles (0-1) This Week: BYE: Full transparency: I am writing this before the FSU/BC game kicks off, and will adjust commentary/rankings if necessary. I think that 17 points is too many to lay with the Seminoles; but I do think they will be looking for revenge here. Plain and simple: they were embarrassed against Georgia Tech on National TV. In the Jarvis school of handicapping, this is a team you almost have to back the following week. I know it doesn’t make THAT much sense. But if you really #ThinkAboutIt it holds up. 
  1. Oklahoma State Cowboys (1-0) This Week: -7.5 vs. Arkansas (1-0): The Pokes are the other main competition for my Utes in the new Big 12. They returned nearly their entire team from last year, including RB Ollie Gordon (dog). Although quarterback Alan Bowman is near the very top of the Get-A-Job List, Oklahoma State is a very complete team. They have a strong defense which will bode well for them in the traditionally offensive Big 12. But most importantly, they still have Ollie Gordon. He is so important I’ll say it twice. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ollie can scamper his way to the Heisman ceremony in NYC. (3 TDs Saturday: two rushing and one receiving) 
  1. North Carolina State Wolfpack (1-0) This Week: +7.5 vs. Tennessee (1-0): Survive and advance, that’s the name of the game! Grayson McCall’s debut was certainly not pretty, but the Pack came away with a win and that is all that matters. Things we knew: Kevin ‘KC’ Concepcion is an absolute dog (3 TDs), NC State defense will miss Payton Wilson (among others) (let Western Carolina score 21), and the Wolfpack would start the season 1-0. 2-0 will be a much different conversation. Coach Doeren and the boys will host the Tennessee Volunteers in a Week 2 HAYMAKER of a matchup. I’m very excited to see what kind of game McCall has now that his feet are wet. Especially against an SEC team coming off a HUGE win. 
  1. USC Trojans (1-0) This Week: -28 vs. Utah State (1-0): If Lincoln Riley has a defense: USC is going to fly up these rankings. Zachariah Branch was incredibly impressive, along with Kyron Hudson, who only wanted to use one hand to make catches all Sunday night. Throwing the balls to those two? Miller Moss; who also picked up right where he left off from his debut in the bowl game. In my mind, you can pretty much set your clock to the Trojans having a good offense and quarterback. The kicker this year is going to be if getting Alex Grinch off payroll is going to be as good of a move on the field as it is on paper. Jarv enjoyed the fact that USC vs. LSU was a battle of the two teams who lost the #1 and #2 overall pick in the previous draft (both QBs!) in their very first game the next year. If anyone can think of another time that happened, I am all ears.  
  1. Arizona Wildcats (1-0) This Week: Line N/A vs. Northern Arizona (1-0): I need to do more research on how on Earth Arizona was able to prevent Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan from transferring; but man were those massive keeps. All McMillan did in Week 1 was put up 304 receiving yards getting into the end zone three times. Those are NCAA25 numbers people. Fifita had four bills of his own with another touchdown too. Yeah, 61-39 over New Mexico is probably not how they imagined that game would go; but a win is a win is a win. ‘Cats get to 2-0 with ease. (McMillan video game stat-line alert!)
  1. Kentucky Wildcats (1-0) This Week: -9.5 vs. South Carolina (1-0): Yes; I understand that the house rules are the house rules (see: Thunder-Out to call the game early), but if the game has been played enough to be ruled final, so should bets. That’s just one guy’s opinion. The ‘Cats kept USM off the scoreboard last week and their defense looked stout during that effort. The FrailBoys (Patent Pending) Barion Brown and Dane Key combined for two TDs and Brock Vandagriff found junior TE Jordan Dingle for a third. I’m intrigued for next week here: ‘Cats vs. ‘Cocks in a matchup that will begin to show where these SEC teams stack up. I lean BBN.
  1. LSU Tigers (0-1) This Week: Line N/A vs. Nicholls (0-1): LSU has not won a Week 1 game in 5 years. I’m not in the locker room; but I’d have to imagine that something like that is an absolute morale killer. LSU looked like they could be an SEC power at times in Las Vegas vs. USC, but at other times throughout the game they looked a bit frantic and chicken-without-a-heady. No, the season is probably not over with one loss in the new College Football Playoff Era; but it would be tough to say there’s not a Brian Kelly shaped black cloud hanging over Baton Rouge. Luckily for the Tigers: Terry Mayrose is not walking in the door to strap up the pads for Nicholls this week. Tigers by (conservatively) 60.     
  1. Kansas Jayhawks (1-0) This Week: -6 @ Illinois (1-0): Incredibly fun game! A T25 team going on the road to play a Power 5 opponent? Sign Jarvis up! For my money: the Jayhawks have one of the highest flying offenses in the country. Jalon Daniels and Devin Neal combine to make one of the most lethal backfields these eyes have ever seen. I would not say it is likely that Kansas will be undefeated when they meet Kansas State in the Little Apple. I would also not say its going to be very difficult. #ThinkAboutIt    
  1. Iowa Hawkeyes (1-0) This Week: -3 vs. Iowa State (1-0): So, Iowa’s offense was better? I think. It is very tough to say as they played the likes of Illinois State, but I digress. If you didn’t know: Iowa was pretty much forced to fire their previous OC (who was also the HC’s son) so the offense should theoretically be lightyears ahead of where it has been. I’m not really a guy who is going to be able to believe that until I see it. This matchup against the Cyclones is going to be a major test and could very well signify the last time I am writing about the Hawkeyes this year.
  1. Wisconsin Badgers (1-0) This Week: Line N/A vs. South Dakota (1-0): It really looked like Luke Fickell and the boys might slip up last week. Ultimately, they did not, and the Badgers season aspirations made it out of the gates. Short and sweet: I was not impressed with Wisconsin on either side of the ball. I am not entirely sure if those are the Badgers we will be seeing all year; but I lean no. Alabama comes to Madison in Week 3. Uh oh. 
  1. Louisville Cardinals (1-0) This Week: -28 vs. Jacksonville State (0-1): Louisville is only ranked/being written about because I am aware of what Louisville could be. No, I don’t think that Tyler Shough is the prince that was promised. What I do think is: Louisville will have another strong defense in an ACC that no one is really quite sure the talent level of. That is about good enough for me to give them the benefit of the doubt for now. The conference schedule does them no favors though: Georgia Tech, SMU, Miami and Notre Dame are all on deck for the Cardinals. 
  1. Maryland Terrapins (1-0) This Week: -9.5 vs. Michigan State (1-0): If you don’t know by now: the back end of these rankings usually just turn into whichever teams I want to talk about/roast. I have done 0 preliminary handicapping into next week but off first-look I am strongly leaning towards the Terps for a second week in a row. Billy the Kid Edwards was slinging the ball around the field on Saturday (yes, UConn (that’s kind of the theme this week)) and had his offense firing. Roman Hemby is another Big 10 running back that is an absolute dog. Michigan State limped their way to 16 points against the *checks notes* daunting FAU Owl defense; I don’t imagine it will get much easier for Aidan ‘Take the Over and Score 16 Points’ Chiles heading to College Park. Terp Up. S/O SVP and Stanford Steve. 
  1. Boise State Broncos (1-0) This Week: +18.5 @ Oregon (1-0): For my money, this is one of the two best teams in the Mountain West. I was not the only one to be surprised when Maddux Madsen won the starting job over five-star freshman Malachi Nelson; but on what figures to be a run-heavy team, I’m not sure the quarterback will make a world of difference. If you aren’t familiar, Ashton Jeanty  is the Broncos running back, and he is probably the best running back in the country. Jarvis, that is a bit of a crazy claim, you may say. I promise you, it is not crazy in the slightest. Jeanty scored SIX touchdowns in Boise State’s Week 1 win over Georgia Southern. Heading to Eugene next week will be a much tougher task for the Broncos; but sneakily this is a very intriguing game out west. 
  1. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (1-0) This Week: -23 vs. Akron (0-1): The Scarlet Knights are a bit of a moral dilemma for Mr. Jarvis. I want nothing more than to rank the pride of New Jersey higher and higher every week. However; there is unfortunately a ceiling for a team who’s quarterback is Athan Kaliakmanis (and its not made of glass). On a positive note: Rutgers will have a very strong defense all year and Kyle Monangai is an absolute dog. Rutgers also does not play a very challenging schedule, as the Big 10 gods were looking out for them this year. The Scarlet Knights will be a bowl team this year, which is another step in the right direction. *Yes, I will be directly comparing Rutgers result against Akron to Ohio State’s result*  
  1. Clemson Tigers (0-1) This Week: -16.5 vs. Appalachian State (1-0): In scorching takes: Clemson was the worst team I watched this weekend. That includes Temple on Friday night. No; they weren’t ever going to beat Georgia. But man, that was a lot uglier than I anticipated. Some media personalities (Brendan Walker) still think the Tigers are headed to the playoff. They may be. However: in the (what figures to be) one-bid ACC, I’m not sure this is even close to the best team. Clemson should win their home-opener, but App State is no slouch.  

Winners+Losers of the Week:

WINNERS: 

-Robert J(ust should have got him while you had the chance) Beans

–Daniel Cane

-Video Game Stat Lines 

-Ollie Gordon/kyle Monangai/Roman Hemby

–Diego Pavia

-Northwestern’s Lakeside Stadium

LOSERS:

-Dabo Swinney

-Country Roads

-Hokie Des 😦 

-The (state schools of the) Dakotas

-Brian Kelly

-Evan Svoboda

I could not be more excited to be back coming to you live from jarvisbenjamin.com folks. We are very quickly approaching the best time of the year. Enjoy football. And as always: thank you for your time. 

Bonus NFL Division Winner Predictions: Dallas, Buffalo, Detroit, Baltimore, Kansas City, San Francisco, Tampa Bay, Indianapolis. 

200 years too late. Be Well.

JB

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