Week 2 college football action is in the books, so we decided to fire up the Tuesday Tweetbag to tackle the burning topics on your mind this season about everything from top prospects to the best teams in the sport.
Feel free to submit your questions to @BryanDFischer on Twitter each Monday or early Tuesday morning to get them answered every week. Without further ado, let the smorgasbord of questions commence.
First off, there's a lot of football left to play in the season and that will be a huge part of the playoff race, just as it was with the BCS. If we're looking at it on Sept. 9, though, I'd probably lean toward Clemson if they're able to pull off the massive upset of Florida State next week. Assume they run the table in this scenario, they'd have a win over the defending champs and then-No. 1 team, an ACC title in their pocket, wins over UNC, Louisville and SEC East contender South Carolina plus, likely, Virginia Tech (in the ACC championship game). Plus, if you look at that Georgia game, it was a three-point game going into the fourth quarter before the wheels fell off for the Tigers.
Contrast that with Michigan State, who also had a closer-than-it-looked road loss to a top five team. Yesterday, I wrote that the Spartans are the only Big Ten hope for the playoff, and I believe that. Still, with just Nebraska, Ohio State and maybe Wisconsin as major obstacles, I can't see the committee placing MSU ahead of Clemson based on strength of schedule. The one area where they might have the edge? Well, that would be the eye test -- something the committee will have to sort out. I think Mark Dantonio has the better team now and will at the end of the season, but there's an argument to be made at the end of the year if Clemson runs the table.
The odds do seem good that Pitt can put up a good run, but I'm not sure 9-0 is realistic with Virginia Tech on a Thursday night on the schedule and a few other potential trap games (against Iowa and Duke, to name a couple). Still, it will be interesting to see if Pitt makes a run where they'll wind up in the College Football Playoff selection committee's rankings. Their non-conference slate is fairly weak and they miss both Clemson and Florida State. Still, it's interesting to think where they could wind up in the rankings outside of the top four. Remember, the committee is not just responsible for semifinals, but also the other playoff bowls (and the domino effect from there, too). So in that sense, teams like Pitt will present insight into the committee's thinking regarding strength of schedule this year.
USC's defense deserves credit for that great performance up on the Farm. Even though Leonard Williams didn't look 100 percent, he had a huge impact on the game and the Trojans were without middle linebacker Hayes Pullard -- an All-Pac-12 performer -- for much of the game, too. Still, it's hard not to fault Stanford's offense for failing to come away with points so many times despite every drive getting inside the 35. Yes, the kicking game is to blame, too, but I was just shocked how conservative the offense became at times. David Shaw is strategic with his chances, but it seemed like he never did want to take a shot or draw up something that was more creative than an off-tackle play. The issues for the Cardinal appear fixable, but the offense is on the hook for the loss on Saturday.
It's way too early to tell, but we'll know plenty about Pelini's future in the next four or so weeks. I'm more bullish on him as a coach than others, but it's hard to deny that the Huskers haven't gotten over the hump in recent years. Recruiting hasn't gone as well as it should and injuries have already played a part in our thinking of the team (especially on defense). My question would be: Does Nebraska have a plan if they let him go? Oregon offensive coordinator Scott Frost has been mentioned quite a bit for the job, but he'd be a first-time head coach with only two seasons as an offensive coordinator. I'm not sold on Pelini getting the axe with another eight- or nine-win season, but it's certainly on the table with such a demanding fan base.
They're off to a great start, and that game at Michigan looks much more winnable than it did at the start of the season. If they can beat the Wolverines -- still a bit of an if -- then I think it's almost a sure thing to get six wins. Washington State and Colorado are on the docket (both very winnable) and there's a good chance of winning a game they shouldn't, like last season's Stanford game. The defensive line looks in midseason form and the new up-tempo offense might be more potent than we first thought. I'm not sure they can get to eight or nine wins, but a bowl game seems fairly likely at this point.
You can follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter at @BryanDFischer.
