2025 Week 2 CFP Resume Rankings!

Welcome back to the 2025 College Football Playoff Resume Rankings!

Week 2 of the college football season brought the chaos we all crave, with upsets, nail-biters, and performances that sent our 80+ normalized team strength rating systems—like SP+, FEI, FPI, Sagarin, and our proprietary composite metrics—into overdrive. As always, we wipe the slate clean each week, evaluating every team’s resume from scratch for a fair, data-driven take on the expanded 12-team playoff race. With surprises aplenty, we’re tracking the full at-large pool like a college football “Bubble Watch.” Let’s dive into the madness of Week 2 and see how the rankings shook out!

Quick Hitters: Week 2’s Biggest Moments

• Oklahoma Outlasts Michigan in a Thriller

  The marquee matchup of the week saw No. 18 Oklahoma top No. 15 Michigan 24-13 in Norman. Sooners QB John Mateer stole the show with 344 total yards and three touchdowns, torching Michigan’s vaunted defense. This win catapults Oklahoma into the top 10 of our resume rankings, while Michigan slides well outside of the Top 25. Oklahoma will need more standout performances from Mateer given a brutal conference schedule this season, but the non-conference win will provide a nice resume cushion in the event that Oklahoma takes a few losses in conference play.

• South Florida Stuns Florida

  South Florida pulled off the upset of the weekend, edging No. 13 Florida 18-15 in a shocker. The Bulls, already riding high after crushing Boise State in Week 1, solidified their case as the early Group of Five frontrunner for the playoff bid. USF’s defense held Florida to just 16 points, and their resume now boasts one of the strongest wins in the nation. Is South Florida the real deal? Week 2 says yes.  Week 3 against Miami may tell a different story.

• Illinois Demolishes Duke

  No. 11 Illinois turned heads with a 45-19 rout of Duke on the road. The Illini’s defense forced five turnovers, including a fumble and interception, converting those into 28 points. QB Luke Altmyer added 296 passing yards and three touchdowns, boosting Illinois in our rankings. While the resume is still lagging behind the AP ranking, this performance signals the Illini as a serious Big Ten contender.

Other Standouts

• Baylor’s Dramatic Upset Over SMU

  Unranked Baylor stunned No. 17 SMU 48-45 in double overtime, erasing a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit. The Bears capitalized on a missed SMU field goal in OT to secure the win, extending a 14-game winning streak in the rivalry. This result is surprising not only for the on-field result, but for the resume ramifications where we see Baylor surging into the Week 2 CFP.  Only 1 other Top 25 resume features a 1-loss team, and that’s the Texas Longhorns largely boosted by team strength rating barely cracking our rankings at #25.  Why is the loss to Auburn forgiven?  Look at how high Auburn sits to find out.

• Mississippi State Topples Arizona State

  Mississippi State delivered a 24-20 upset over No. 12 Arizona State, sealed by a 58-yard touchdown pass from QB Blake Shapen to Brenen Thompson. This marks the Bulldogs’ first home non-conference win against a ranked opponent since 1991, boosting their resume significantly.  This was a game where Arizona State may prove to have been the better team, but the hole they dug early was too much to overcome, and it may prove costly in the CFP race deep into the season.

Week 2 CFP Resume Rankings

Notes on the CFP Resume Rankings

• Duality in Evaluation: A lot will be said of the lackluster performance for the Clemson Tigers against Troy this past weekend, including accusations that the Tigers now sit well above their true strength in the AP Poll at #12.  The performance does raise a lot of questions, but it also puts new perspective on the week 1 road win from LSU, who barely overcame a Clemson team now looking suspect.  LSU didn’t exactly look awesome against Louisiana Tech in week 2 either.  Is LSU overrated in the AP Poll as a result?  While we have Clemson substantially lower than the voters, LSU sits at #2 in the land at the moment.  It’s a tricky evaluation, but it is supported by the small sample size we are working with this season.  Neither team is trending well on team strength, but the raw resume is undeniable this early into the season.  If LSU can dispose Florida this week it will only strengthen their position in our rankings.

• Conference Breakdown: If the playoff field were set today, our rankings suggest five SEC teams, two Big 12 teams, two ACC teams, two Big Ten teams, and one Group of Five representative. Interestingly, even though the CFP has restructured to seed teams according to committee ranking with no preference for conference champions, the top 4 currently represent each of the power 4 conferences.  Sometimes the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Top 10 Unexpected Results of the Season

Week 3 Game of the Week

• No. 6 Georgia at No. 15 Tennessee: This SEC clash is a must-watch with major playoff implications.  Our composite strength ratings tell us this is a matchup between the 5^th and 9^th strongest teams in the country despite the AP rankings.  It is a clear game of the week and will likely vault the winner firmly into our Top 5 next week.  We have Georgia (-1) in this one which could easily go either way.

That’s a wrap for Week 2! If you have questions about the CFP Resume Rankings or want to follow along, find us @CFPResumeRanks on X. Our DMs are open for inquiries or partnership opportunities. Have a great week, and let’s see what Week 3 brings!

[Note: For tables instead of graphics, visit our resume rankings page at https://cfpresumerankings.wixsite.com/cfpresumerankings]