And then there were 2.

That is, 2 Playoff polls to break down. There were plenty of things to dissect the first week. Mainly, how dare they rank Georgia at No. 3.

(That was actually what I predicted. As for my prediction for Tennessee-Georgia … we can talk about that never.)

For the second Playoff poll, what did we learn? We had plenty of questions about Tennessee after the Georgia loss, whether TCU would finally get some love and how high LSU would climb after stunning Alabama in Death Valley.

Here’s the way the top 25 broke down in the latest Playoff rankings:

Here were my takeaways from the second Playoff poll:

1. So TCU gets the No. 4 spot … (that’s OK Tennessee fans)

I said coming in that I expected Tennessee to have the No. 4 spot because of how valued that résumé was in the first ranking, but that I wasn’t gonna be irked if TCU earned the No. 4 spot. That’s what happened.

The unbeaten Horned Frogs weren’t ranked behind a 1-loss team like they were last week when they came in at No. 7. Moving from 7 to 4 based on another late rally to beat a lesser, unranked foe wasn’t necessarily the thing that got the selection committee’s attention. It was that 3 top-6 teams suffered their first loss, including Tennessee.

Speaking of the Vols, think about this. Tennessee is the top-ranked 1-loss team with 3 games left against teams who don’t have winning conference records. There are now only 4 unbeatens left with still 4 weekends worth of games. And what about a team like Oregon, you ask? The Ducks have a backloaded schedule against No. 25 Washington, No. 13 Utah and 6-win Oregon State, with a potential Pac-12 Championship, as well.

Oh, and remember that Michigan and Ohio State will be facing off with the loser’s best win being … Penn State? Yeah, advantage Vols. Don’t forget that Tennessee has 5 wins against Power 5 teams with winning records, which is the most of anybody in contention.

It’s likely that more dominoes are gonna fall around Tennessee. As long as the Vols bounce back and continue to take care of business in these last 3 games, they have about as good of a chance as a likely non-division champ can ask for.

2. LSU at No. 7 is fair (and still wild)

I projected the Tigers to earn the No. 7 spot as easily the top-ranked 2-loss team. The comp I continue to make for LSU’s Playoff chances is 2017 Auburn. Remember, Auburn beat No. 1 Georgia and No. 1 Alabama but fell to the Dawgs in the SEC Championship. LSU has the all-important Alabama win, but it also will get the benefit of the doubt because it stomped No. 11 Ole Miss.

Of course, any LSU Playoff discussion is met with the caveat that it’ll take down Georgia in Atlanta in a few weeks. The Tigers would theoretically have the best win of anybody. Something tells me that would matter a whole lot.

Whether we would see the selection committee debate an 11-2 LSU squad vs. an 11-1 Tennessee squad is too early to tell. But at the very least, LSU is in position to cause some chaos, which nobody could’ve imagined a month ago.

3. The most overrated team in tonight’s ranking was ____________.

Georgia. Just kidding. What if I actually made that case?

The most overrated team was USC. I’d compare the résumé to 1-ply toilet paper. It doesn’t really hold up.

Why? USC has:

  • A) 0 wins vs. CFP Top 25 teams
  • B) 2 wins vs. Power 5 teams with a winning record
  • C) A best win of at 3-loss Oregon State
  • D) An average margin vs. Power 5 teams of +8.9
  • E) All the above

It’s “E.” It’s always “E.”

If you take away the brand and realize that USC lost its only game against quality competition and it doesn’t have a non-conference flex to speak of (the Notre Dame game is the regular-season finale), you’ll see that the Trojans are nowhere near worthy of being ahead of 4 1-loss Power 5 teams.

4. The most underrated team in tonight’s ranking was ____________.

Also Georgia. Just kidding. But if there was a “1-plus,” I’d allow it after that beatdown.

Let’s stay in the Pac-12 and go with UCLA.

I had the Bruins projected to make a significant jump and come in at No. 8. Why? They have 2 wins against the current Playoff Top 25 (No. 25 Washington and No. 13 Utah), which is as much as any contender remaining. Aforementioned USC lost to the same Utah team that UCLA took care of, and they both have the same amount of wins vs. Power 5 teams with winning records (2).

On top of that, UCLA’s average scoring margin against Power 5 competition is +11.7, which only trails TCU, Michigan, Ohio State and Georgia. No, UCLA didn’t face a Power 5 team in nonconference play and the South Alabama nail-biter looked bad at the time, but USA is 7-2 now. Oh, and USC doesn’t have a Power 5 nonconference game to speak of yet.

For whatever reason, though, 1 team in Los Angeles got the love while 1 didn’t.

5. Barring chaos, Clemson is toast

I actually thought Clemson came in slightly ahead of what I expected at No. 10, but as Greg McElroy so accurately put it, it’s fair to wonder if there’s enough meat left on the bones. Like, with the résumé.

A blowout loss like that at Notre Dame will linger, despite the fact that the Irish slipped into the Playoff Top 25 for the first time. This is more about not having the high-quality wins needed. Clemson’s best win was either at home against No. 16 NC State or at No. 23 Florida State. Even in a best-case scenario in which the Wolf Pack or the Seminoles ran the table, it seems pretty unlikely that Clemson will go into Selection Sunday with a win against a top-10 team.

That’s a problem in a year when the SEC and Big Ten are both poised to have 1-loss, non-division winners who’ll have a better case to be made. Well, Tennessee certainly will. I’m not quite there with Michigan, but I can acknowledge that the selection committee values the résumé more than I do.

Clemson’s bounce-back year still might include 12 wins and an ACC Championship, but at this point, I’d be surprised if it included a Playoff invite.