College Football Playoff picks after Week 2

College football hears your “no games with playoff implications in Week 2” proclamation and laughs.

Top-ranked Alabama closed as a 21.5-point favorite at Texas but only managed 20 total points — the last three in the final 10 seconds — for a one-point victory over the Longhorns. It was only the second time Alabama won a game by a single point under coach Nick Saban. The other instance was in 2014 against Arkansas.

Eighth-ranked Notre Dame, still considered a contender after last week’s close loss at Ohio State, fell 26-21 at home to a Marshall team that was a 20.5-point underdog. It was the third-largest upset loss over the past 45 seasons for the Fighting Irish.

Appalachian State, an 18-point underdog, toppled No. 6 Texas A&M, giving the Sun Belt — see Marshall at Notre Dame — two wins against top-10 teams. The Aggies must likely run the table to have a chance at the playoff now.

Meanwhile Georgia, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Southern California cruised to easy victories, and they remain near the top of the playoff chase.

With that in mind, here’s how ESPN’s college football reporters see the playoff picture.

Andrea Adelson: 1. Georgia, 2. Ohio State, 3. Alabama, 4. USC
Blake Baumgartner: 1. Georgia, 2. Alabama, 3. Ohio State, 4. USC
Kyle Bonagura: 1. Georgia, 2. Alabama, 3. Ohio State, 4. USC
Bill Connelly: 1. Georgia, 2. Alabama, 3. Ohio State, 4. Arkansas
Heather Dinich: 1. Georgia, 2. Ohio State, 3. Alabama, 4. USC
David Hale: 1. Georgia, 2. Ohio State, 3. Alabama, 4. Oklahoma
Chris Low: 1. Georgia, 2. Alabama, 3. Ohio State, 4. Arkansas
Harry Lyles: 1. Georgia, 2. Alabama, 3. Ohio State, 4. USC
Ryan McGee: 1. Georgia, 2. Ohio State, 3. Alabama, 4. Clemson
Adam Rittenberg: 1. Georgia, 2. Alabama, 3. Ohio State, 4. Arkansas
Alex Scarborough: 1. Georgia, 2. Ohio State, 3. Alabama, 4. USC
Mark Schlabach: 1. Georgia, 2. Alabama, 3. Ohio State, 4.USC
Paolo Uggetti: 1. Georgia, 2. Alabama, 3. Ohio State, 4. USC
Tom VanHaaren: 1. Georgia, 2. Alabama, 3. Ohio State, 4. USC