Grading Week 2's cupcakes
— -- Strength of schedule is a major component of the College Football Playoff, but its true value in the entire equation has yet to be determined. Here's what we know: It's become increasingly important, athletic directors have beefed up their future schedules in part because of the new criteria, and FCS opponents are not only scoffed at, they're quickly becoming extinct. Just not fast enough for some. With the exception of Michigan State-Oregon, USC-Stanford, Michigan-Notre Dame and Ohio State-Virginia Tech, the national schedule in Week 2 is filled with cotton balls. Lots of fluff. It's weeks like these that leave attendance struggling and have many clamoring for an all-Power 5 regular season. So how do the big boys stack up this week as far as strength of schedule? It's time to hand out some grades. Remember, this report card is only for Week 2 -- a snapshot of the schedule, not an evaluation of the entire body of work. This is not scientific, it's subjective -- just like the committee's rankings: