College Football Playoff snap judgments from Kickoff Week
— -- Don't kick anyone with those Week 1 knee-jerk reactions.
There's no time like the present to jump to conclusions in college football, but some claims have more validity than others. Here's a look at the biggest overreactions from the first games of the season, and whether or not you should buy into them:
ACC
Snap judgment: The ACC has two top-four teams?
FSU and Clemson 2, SEC 0. The ACC's heavyweights survived scares but came out unscathed against what will be some of their toughest competition this year outside of each other. Clemson escaped with a 19-13 win over Auburn, and FSU knocked off Ole Miss, the only team in the SEC that has been able to beat Alabama the past two seasons. If FSU or Clemson can finish the season unbeaten, and the other finishes with just one loss to the ACC champ, it will force the committee to seriously consider both teams. Of course, the league's runner-up must be "unequivocally" one of the four best teams in the country to unseat a Power 5 conference champ, but after just one week, it at least kept that hope alive.
Verdict: Not an overreaction
BIG 12
Snap judgment: Texas is back
Even coach Charlie Strong knows there is still plenty to prove. Asked after the game if he feels any relief, Strong chuckled. "No," he said, "because I've still got a few more to go, so I don't have any relief." It's a long season, and as impressive as the Longhorns' double-overtime win against Notre Dame was, it will be meaningless unless they can parlay that into a Big 12 title. After next week's game against UTEP, Texas' season could be defined by a string of games against Cal, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma. ESPN's Football Power Index favors both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State in those games. Let's see how the Longhorns fare through that stretch before declaring a return to the sport's elite.
Verdict: Overreaction
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