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While Week 2 of the 2025 college football season might not have matched Week 1’s hype in terms of matchups, the slate certainly did not disappoint when it came to results that would impact the College Football Playoff picture. The No. 14 Iowa State Cyclones got an important win in a rivalry game over the Iowa Hawkeyes, while the No. 18 Oklahoma Sooners stamped their name into the playoff picture with a win over No. 15 Michigan behind John Mateer’s three-touchdown showing. However, the biggest result of Week 2 belonged to a Group of Five squad that now has two ranked wins and plenty of positive momentum rolling into Week 3. Here’s a look at the latest College Football Playoff odds after Week 2’s games.
College Football Playoff odds (via FanDuel)Ohio State (-750 to make, +490 to miss)Penn State (-430 to make, +320 to miss)Georgia (-215 to make, +172 to miss)LSU (-200 to make, +160 to miss)Texas (-210 to make, +168 to miss)Clemson (+118 to make, -144 to miss)Notre Dame (-112 to make, -108 to miss)Miami (-122 to make, +100 to miss)Oklahoma (+235 to make, -300 to miss)Florida State (+270 to make, -355 to miss)Iowa State (+470 to make, -700 to miss)South Florida (OTB) (+195 to win AAC)
The South Florida Bulls were seen as fodder at the beginning of the season thanks to a non-conference schedule featuring Boise State, Florida and Miami. Well, you can check off two of those games as wins for USF, which is suddenly looking like a Group of Five contender for the playoff. The Bulls have another opportunity for a signature win when they face the Hurricanes in Week 3, but they can likely afford to drop that game and keep their CFP hopes alive. More importantly, the players now believe in each other and the coaching staff after two massive results to open the season. South Florida can’t afford to look too far ahead, but all of a sudden, that road trip to Memphis in late October could be for a playoff spot.
The Cyclones are also big winners of Week 2, but largely because of what happened around them. Kansas State lost to Army and No. 12 Arizona State gave up a late touchdown to Mississippi State to squander that game, so Iowa State’s biggest threats in the Big 12 now find themselves behind the chains. The Sooners are in the conversation as well with a win over Michigan, and Mateer has put himself in the Heisman running as well with his three-touchdown showing on Saturday.
Most of the top CFP contenders got easy wins or had the week off, but No. 9 Illinois handled Duke well after a tight first half to make its mark on the early portion of this college football season. The Illini should be a factor in the Big Ten thanks to a favorable schedule, and even if they don’t make the conference title game, they’ll be in position for an at-large bid. Clemson got a nice scare from Troy, and Tigers fans have reason to worry. SMU losing means that game is unlikely to give Clemson a signature win, while both Florida State and South Carolina keep rolling. Miami is also going to be a factor in the ACC, which means Clemson has to right the ship fast to get back in the CFP conversation as a serious threat.
Here’s a theoretical College Football Playoff bracket, based on conjecture of where things may stand at the end of the season:
College Football Playoff projected bracketNo. 1 Ohio State (bye)No. 2 Georgia (bye)No. 3 Penn State (bye)No. 4 LSU (bye)No. 5 Florida State vs. No. 12 South CarolinaNo. 6 Iowa State vs. No. 11 IllinoisNo. 7 Miami vs. No. 10 OklahomaNo. 8 Texas vs. No. 9 South Florida