Chaos hasn't quite stormed the field this season, but at least we're seeing changes at the top of the sport with some competitive games. Michigan picked up a huge win against playoff contender Oklahoma. It's been overshadowed by Texas' incredible win against Ohio State -- and the shadow of the Wolverines' controversial last-second victory against Western Michigan in Week 1 -- but the Wolverines proved worthy of top-20 consideration and are in position to reach the CFP despite the slow-developing offense.
The defense is elite, and should quarterback Bryce Underwood continue to progress in coordinator Jason Beck's scheme, Michigan could become a Big Ten dark horse. Texas' miraculous, fourth-quarter comeback against Ohio State was memorable and inexplicable, but not shocking. Covering the matchup live in Austin was an unforgettable experience.
Although Ohio State controlled the game for most of the night, Texas displayed its elite talent when it mattered most. Guided by the late-game heroics of Arch Manning, the Longhorns' offense wore down the Buckeyes, while the defense stepped up with key adjustments in the second half. Honestly, I'm not sure Texas' 24-23 win did anything to reshape my opinion.
Both are top-five teams with difficult schedules and landmines awaiting on the horizon. Their performances Saturday night reinforced both as national title contenders. Meanwhile, Oregon is teetering on becoming this season's version of last year's Penn State.
The 39-31 loss at Oklahoma State has sounded alarms in Eugene, but it's clear the Ducks are simply not hitting the right buttons with an incredibly talented roster. There's plenty of time to turn things around. The data model driving our CBS Sports Power Rankings this season reveals an intriguing early pattern: It remains extremely high on Georgia.
The Bulldogs actually surged to No. 1 overall in multiple iterations of the simulation. Given how early we are in the campaign and the limited sample size of game data, those results should be taken with a grain of salt, but it is certainly a trend to track as more data comes in. As a reminder, I will continue to apply subjective adjustments whenever the model appears to severely overvalue or undervalue a team in these opening weeks.
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