The Road to Las Vegas: Review-Journal’s Week 2 CFP projections

Editor’s note: Each Sunday the Las Vegas Review-Journal will select the four teams most likely to be in the CFP semifinals ahead of the title game in Las Vegas on Jan. 25.

The spotlight on star quarterback Arch Manning appeared like it was too bright for some of his teammates on Saturday.

Once he finally got some help, Manning and the Longhorns were able to flex their muscle and secure the best win of the young college football season with a dramatic 24-23 late-night victory over Ohio State in Austin.

It marked the first big shakeup in the Review-Journal’s CFP top four projections.

The Buckeyes had been at No. 2, but fall out of the rankings completely with a loss already in hand and difficult games coming up even before a potential Big Ten championship game.

Texas, however, falls just short due to their own brutal upcoming schedule.

But Manning certainly made a statement that the Longhorns are for real. He had a wide-open touchdown throw dropped and had another huge gain downfield bobbled into an interception as they dug a big hole, but weren’t discouraged.

The receivers and running game bounced back in the second half, while the defense completely took over to spur a big rally from down 20 points.

Ohio State was the second top-10 team in the Big Ten to fall on the road Saturday, hours after Oregon may have played their way out of top-four seed consideration with a stunning loss to Oklahoma State.

It was certainly the most eventful day of the season thus far.

Here are this week’s Review-Journal CFP Las Vegas Top Four projections:

1. Notre Dame

The Irish rolled yet again with a 52-0 thumping of Rice. If you’re waiting for the week when they are challenged to find out how legitimate they are, you may want to nap through most Saturdays for awhile. Notre Dame has several major conference teams the next few weeks, but none of them are particularly daunting until perhaps Oct. 17 at BYU. Michigan State is up next.

2. Georgia

The Bulldogs strolled past Western Kentucky in a 70-20 snoozer. The SEC is in a tough situation where several teams could take each other out and leave room for just one team standing in the top four of the CFP seedings. It’s tempting to make LSU that team, but the brutal schedule combined with some concerning Sam Leavitt turnovers on Saturday kept the Bulldogs here alone for now. The Tigers have a chance to make a case next week at Ole Miss, though.

3. Miami

The Hurricanes set a school record with 856 yards of offense in a 77-7 win over Florida A&M. The biggest looming question about Miami is whether its somewhat pedestrian schedule would allow it to overcome a potential loss at Notre Dame and still sneak into the top four.

4. Indiana

Curt Cignetti’s team hasn’t really been tested yet, but it is once again strong defensively and potent on offense even after losing Fernando Mendoza to the Raiders. The Hoosiers get Ohio State and USC at home, and a road game at Washington.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.