Everyone will have enjoyed their first week of college football being back once the calendar flips to September. However, that doesn’t make the second weekend on the schedule any less impactful on the season.
During ‘Always College Football’ on Wednesday, Greg McElroy circled a pair of games in Week Two that will have an impact on the College Football Playoff. That started with one of the first games on September 7th with Arkansas playing in Stillwater against Oklahoma State.
“Arkansas at Oklahoma State – you’re going to say ‘Arkansas at Oklahoma State? What are you talking about?’. I’m not saying Arkansas is a playoff contender. I’m saying that Oklahoma State is out of the Big 12 with what they bring back,” said McElroy. “If they lose one of their tougher non-conference games to Arkansas, it’s going to be tough for them to get back in the good graces of the committee in the event in which they don’t win the Big 12.”
“Especially as an at-large team, Oklahoma State is probably not going to get in if they lose to Arkansas in the non-conference,” McElroy opined. “That’s a game that they absolutely have to win at home.”
Again, that designation, respectfully, has little to do with the ‘Hogs. They have one of the lowest win-totals in the SEC for 2024 in what could be a make-or-break year in their fifth under Sam Pittman.
If the Razorbacks played spoiler for the ‘Pokes, though, it could quickly derail what should be a good season. The Cowboys are coming off a 10-4 finish and appearance in the Big 12 Championship. They could now contend even more in the league’s new-look landscape, especially with them having some of the best returning production in the nation.
Still, a loss to Arkansas could be a mess for Oklahoma State to be in with 10 games to go.
McElroy also dove into Tennessee vs. NC State in primetime that night. Both teams set up as quality ones from out of their respective conferences. With that, both would like to at least be battling for an at-large berth by the end of the season. Only one of them will still be 2-0 to start with, though, after his matchup.
“How about Tennessee on the road in Charlotte against NC State? I know it’s a neutral site but you would think it’s probably going to be 50-50 if not more Tennessee fans there in Charlotte in Week Two,” said McElroy.
“I think NC State is super dangerous. The ACC, like we talked about? They’re in that contingent of very dangerous teams. Tennessee? This will be their tough test for Nico Iamaleava to go against Tony Gibson and that defense. Really tough defense to prepare for, really tough defense to play against,” said McElroy. “That will be a game that has legit playoff implications.”
Like McElroy said, this game could come down to the Volunteer offense’s matchup with the Wolfpack defense. Each have consistently rated well over the past few seasons but the very-early advantage could be to the in-state squad. That’s because it’ll be the first true regular-season action for Iamaleava, the young new starter on Rocky Top.
Week Two will still count as an appetizer for college football after everyone gets their first taste of the sport again in the week prior. It’ll be just as important too with a handful of games still in the non-conference that could play a major part in some team’s playoff cases.
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