We're only two weeks into the season, but it's never too early to start speculating on which teams will earn bids to the 12-team College Football Playoff, is it?

We already know the favorites include the likes of Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Ohio State and Ole Miss. This week, we'll focus on potential playoff crashers for the 2024 season.

What is a playoff crasher, you may ask? It's a team that either hasn't made it in the last two seasons, entered the year with low expectations to do so or had roster and/or coaching turnover that made a CFP berth seem unlikely.

With two weeks and some great games done already, let's take a look at potential playoff crashers for the 2024 season.

USC Trojans

Lincoln Riley was hired in November 2021 to bring championships to Los Angeles, but the USC Trojans haven't even won their own conference over the last two seasons.

Entering 2024, USC hired a new defensive coordinator in D'Anton Lynn to overhaul a defense that finished ranked 119th in total defense last season. It also had to replace 2022 Heisman winner Caleb Williams at quarterback.

As the Trojans moved to the Big Ten, it was unclear if they could compete with heavyweights such as Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State inside the conference.

Through two weeks, though, USC looks poised to have a big season thanks to a massively improved defense and the quarterback play of Miller Moss.

The Trojans' season got off to a great start with an upset win over then-No. 13 LSU in Las Vegas. They allowed the Tigers to go just 5-of-13 on third down and forced them to settle for a field goal late in the game instead of a go-ahead touchdown.

USC scored a touchdown on the next possession and picked off LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier to end the game. Moss finished with a big day, going 27-of-36 for 378 yards and a touchdown.

In Week 2 against Utah State, the USC defense had itself quite the night. It had a shutout for the first time since 2011 and held the Aggies offense to just 190 total yards. Moss had another impressive outing, throwing for 229 yards and a touchdown before exiting the game in the third quarter as USC's rout was on.

The Trojans' schedule looks pretty navigable if they keep playing like this. This week, USC goes on the road to face Michigan. The Wolverines didn't find the end zone against Texas last week until two minutes left, so it could be another long day for their offense.

The other big remaining matchups for USC include No. 8 Penn State at home on Oct. 12, at Washington on Nov. 2, vs. No. 23 Nebraska on Nov. 16 and the season finale against Notre Dame in Los Angeles.

Don't sleep on a playoff bid for USC in 2024.

Northern Illinois

Anytime you upset the No. 5 team in the country, you immediately vault yourself into the CFP conversation.

That's exactly what Northern Illinois did with its 16-14 win over Notre Dame in South Bend on Saturday. The win marked the team's first victory over a non-conference, ranked opponent since upsetting Alabama in 2003.

Thanks to the new, expanded system there's now a guaranteed spot for a Group of Five team. It will go to the highest-ranked G5 conference champion, which could be the Huskies at the end of the season.

Let's take a look at what makes NIU a playoff-crasher candidate and see what it has to do to make it in.

For starters, the Huskies getting a road win over a Top-5 playoff opponent is a signature win for the committee. NIU also will play another power conference team on Sept. 28 at NC State. Another win over a high-profile team would even further make its case for a playoff spot. A loss wouldn't necessarily hurt it much, either, though.

NIU now will try to do something it hasn't done since 2021: win the MAC. Since the conference will no longer have divisions, the two teams with the best records in the MAC will go to the title game.

The Huskies' quest for that starts on Sept. 21, when they play Buffalo at home. The rest of their home conference schedule features UMass, Toledo, Akron and Central Michigan. The road games include Bowling Green, Ball State, Western Michigan and Miami (OH).

The big question now is: Can NIU sustain its early-season momentum throughout the year?

Miami Hurricanes

In Week 1, Miami went into Gainesville and thrashed the Florida Gators 41-17.

New quarterback Cam Ward went 26-for-35 with 385 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. The defense also held the Gators to just 261 total yards of offense, and Florida went 1-for-9 on third down.

The Hurricanes capped off Week 2 with a 56-9 rout of FAMU. Ward had another impressive day, throwing for 304 yards and three touchdowns while completing 77 percent of his passes. The signal-caller also became the third 'Canes quarterback in the last 25 years with over 600 yards passing in his first two games. He joined a group that includes Jacory Harris (2009) and Ken Dorsey (2001).

It's still early, but Miami looks like it's in a good spot within the ACC, too.

Preseason favorite Florida State has imploded early, losing to Georgia Tech in Week Zero and Boston College in Week 1. North Carolina lost starting quarterback Max Johnson to a broken leg in Week 1, and the jury is still out on Clemson and NC State, which are both 1-1 on the season. Georgia Tech also lost 31-28 to Syracuse in Week 2.

As for what Miami has left, the ACC slate includes home games against Virginia Tech, Florida State, Duke and Wake Forest. The road games are Cal, Louisville—which looks like Miami's toughest test all year—Georgia Tech and Syracuse.

The two teams with the best records will play in the ACC title game, so there's a chance we could see a rematch of Louisville-Miami there, depending on how Clemson does this year.

Missouri Tigers

No, Missouri isn't the favorite to win the SEC this year, especially with the likes of Texas, Georgia, Ole Miss and Alabama in the conference.

But the Tigers have what it takes to be a playoff contender, and they have looked great in their first two games, even against lesser opponents in Murray State and Buffalo.

A big question for Mizzou heading into this season was how would it deal with losing defensive coordinator Blake Baker to LSU. A year ago, he helped the Tigers finish with a top-25 scoring defense that was also first in the SEC in average yards per game allowed (127).

Well, new DC Corey Batoon hasn't missed a beat in his first two games leading the unit. The Tigers have had shutouts in each of their first two games. It marks the first time with consecutive shutouts to start a season since 1935 for Missouri and back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 1966.

Senior linebacker Corey Flagg Jr. leads the unit with 11 total tackles in two weeks, including seven solo stops.

But the defense isn't the only thing that makes this team great. The offense is humming, thanks to the play of quarterback Brady Cook. Through two weeks, he's thrown for 456 yards and a touchdown and an interception, and he has rushed for another 84 yards with three scores on the ground.

Although his leading receiver, Luther Burden III, left the Buffalo game early through illness, he has the only receiving touchdown for the Tigers. Theo Wease Jr. leads the team with 16 receptions for 179 yards. Running back Nate Noel has 121 yards with two touchdowns through two weeks.

As for Missouri's schedule, it plays No. 24 Boston College this Saturday at home before starting SEC play. The Tigers' home conference slate includes Vanderbilt, Auburn, Oklahoma and Arkansas.

The big road games that stand out are Texas A&M on Oct. 5 and Alabama on Oct. 26, but Mizzou also gets South Carolina and Mississippi State away.

Big 12 Potential Crashers

The Big 12 looks like one of the more wide-open conferences in the country, with a number of potential contenders. Although Utah is the favorite to win it, there are a number of teams that could be in the mix, too.

A couple that are ranked inside the top 15 are No. 13 Oklahoma State and No. 14 Kansas State. Both had to survive some thrillers from non-conference opponents last week. K-State squeaked past Tulane on the road 34-27, and the Cowboys needed double-overtime to get past Arkansas at home 39-31.

Oklahoma State has one of the most talented offenses in the country, featuring quarterback Alan Bowman, receivers Rashod Owens and Brennan Presley and running back Ollie Gordon II. Although Kansas State lost plenty of offensive talent from last season, the Wildcats are sixth in scoring offense inside the Big 12, averaging 37.5 points per game.

Speaking of close calls, No. 20 Arizona trailed FCS opponent Northern Arizona 10-6 at halftime at the weekend, but the Wildcats' offense came alive in the second half, scoring two touchdowns and a safety to win 22-10.

Future opposing defenses will have their hands full defending quarterback Noah Fifita and wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan all year.

Fifita has thrown for 595 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions, while McMillan set an Arizona record in Week 1 with his 304 receiving yards and four touchdown receptions.

And some credit has to go to Iowa State, which came from behind to upset No. 19 Iowa on the road last weekend. Cyclones kicker Kyle Konrardy was clutch in the fourth quarter, nailing two field goals, including a 54-yarder with six seconds left to seal the upset.