Projecting the College Football Playoff top 12 after Week 2 - ESPN

Ohio State coach Ryan Day was candid in his postgame assessment of the Buckeyes' 70-0 drubbing of FCS Grambling on Saturday, acknowledging it was «not a matchup game.»

That was the theme of Week 2, which featured multiple contenders playing FCS opponents or other unranked, lower-level teams. That doesn't mean there weren't a few lessons learned.

«Regardless of your opponent, you can see good execution,» Day said. «Whether it's penalties, assignments, spacing, timing — there's a crispness to anybody you play.»

Not everyone demonstrated that crispness on Saturday against weaker competition — and it changed the playoff pecking order. (Here's lookin' at you, Clemson.) This list is fluid — and it should be early in the season. It is a ranking based on what each team has done to date — not last year or what it might do in the coming weeks. Here's the latest prediction of what the selection committee's top 12 would look like if it were released today.

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Ranking | Bracket

Why they could be here: The win against Texas gives the Buckeyes a case for the top spot, as does the eye test, as quarterback Julian Sayin continues to flourish with his accuracy, consistency and minimal mistakes in his first year as a starter. The defense under first-year coordinator Matt Patricia continues to look stifling. Ohio State also benefited this week from Clemson's struggles against Troy, because it takes some of the shine off LSU's season-opening road win against Clemson. While Clemson struggled, Texas reasserted itself. The selection committee members would include those results in their discussions as they determine who had the better Week 1 win. With Clemson dropping out of this week's top 12, that honor now goes to Ohio State.

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