College Football Week 3 Top 25

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What do you know, it happened again. Another supposedly “boring” week of college football turned into a week of chaos across the country. This seems to happen every time one of these weeks comes up, and yet people can never see it coming. But with chaos, comes difficulty ranking a top 25. I’m sure none of you will have any disagreements whatsoever on my top 25 because it’s perfect…okay, okay, fine, I guess not, but whose is at this point in the season? Anyways, here’s my Week 3 top 25.

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In Consideration: Louisville, BYU, TCU, Missouri, Michigan, Vanderbilt

25. Auburn Tigers

Last Week: W 42-3 vs Ball State

This Week: vs South Alabama (12:45 ET, SEC Network)

I was very close to putting the Tigers in my top 25 a week ago, but I can’t keep them out anymore after following the great road win against Baylor with a dominating performance against inferior competition. On top of that, Baylor went on the road and beat my No. 25 team from a week ago to help bolster Auburn’s Week 1 victory.

24. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Last Week: W 59-12 vs Gardner-Webb

This Week: vs Clemson (Noon ET, ESPN)

Georgia Tech didn’t miss a beat without QB Haynes King, who was a late scratch before the Yellow Jackets game against Gardner-Webb this weekend. King’s health will be imperative this upcoming Saturday though, when Dabo Swinney and Clemson come to town.

23. Indiana Hoosiers

Last Week: W 56-9 vs Kennesaw State

This Week: vs Indiana State (Fri, 6:30 ET, Big Ten Network)

Indiana played its second of three cupcake non-conference games this past weekend, but looked a lot better than they did game one. The final of the three cupcakes happens this Friday against Indiana State before the Hoosiers dive into conference play.

22. Florida Gators

Last Week: L 16-18 vs USF

This Week: at LSU (7:30 ET, ABC)

Yes Florida did not play well against a Group of Five team in Week 2, but I still believe in the talent enough where I’m keeping them in the top 25 team, and the USF team they lost to is no slouch. Now, something will certainly have to change if the Gators are going to make the playoff like I picked them to do in the preseason, and they’re going to have to find it fast with a road trip to LSU this weekend.

21. Tennessee Volunteers

Last Week: W 72-17 vs ETSU

This Week: vs Georgia (3:30 ET, ABC)

I may have to come to terms that I could be wrong about Tennessee, but I’m not fully sold yet. The Volunteers have certainly looked much better than I expected through two games, but the competition has not been great. Josh Huepel’s team has a chance to vault all the way into an SEC title contender if they can knock off Georgia this Saturday, though.

20. Utah Utes

Last Week: W 63-9 vs Cal Poly

This Week: at Wyoming (8 ET, CBSSN)

Not much to say about Utah between Week 1 and 2, as the Utes did what they were supposed to and dismantled an inferior opponent. Utah should have another easy game this Saturday when they go to Wyoming, but stranger things have happened, especially considering the game’s in Laramie.

19. Clemson Tigers

Last Week: W 27-16 vs Troy

This Week: at Georgia Tech (Noon ET, ESPN)

I dropped Clemson more this week after immensely struggling against Troy than I did for losing to LSU last week. The Tigers found themselves down 16-0 to the Trojans in the second quarter, and it was legitimately looking like they might lose for a while. They might have to put together their best game of the season thus far to beat Georgia Tech.

18. USC Trojans

Last Week: W 59-20 vs Georgia Southern

This Week: at Purdue (3:30 ET, CBS)

More of the same for USC in Week 2 as Week 1, as Lincoln Riley put up an unfair amount of points against a completely overwhelmed program, what a nice guy. On a serious note, we really don’t know how good the Trojans will be for a while. They should at least be tested a little more against Purdue this week, but probably not much.

17. Ole Miss Rebels

Last Week: W 30-23 at Kentucky

This Week: vs Arkansas (7 ET, ESPN)

Not to brag, but I called my shot on how Kentucky would stay within one possession of Ole Miss despite being a double-digit underdog. As the great Mike Breen would put it: “Bang.” Anyways, I knew the Wildcats would probably put up a good fight against Lane Kiffin’s team because of the two play-styles, but the Rebels found a way to win (unlike last year).

16. Alabama Crimson Tide

Last Week: W 73-0 vs UL-Monroe

This Week: vs Wisconsin (Noon ET, ABC)

I was hesitant to even put Alabama in my top 25 last week, but I think this week may have proven that Florida State might just be really good, as both teams from that Week 1 game in Doak Campbell Stadium beat their opponents by a combined 147 points on Saturday.

15. USF Bulls

Last Week: W 18-16 at Florida

This Week: at Miami-FL (4:30 ET, CW Network)

If you just look at blind resume’s through two weeks of the season, USF may have the best in the country. The Bulls followed up their 34-7 domination of Boise State with an 18-16 win over a top-15 Florida team in the Swamp. Maybe the craziest part? The Bulls have a chance to make it even more impressive with a road trip to Miami on deck.

14. Iowa State Cyclones

Last Week: W 16-13 vs Iowa

This Week: at Arkansas State (4 ET, ESPN2)

My hometown team may have made it a little nerve racking for us Iowa State fans (more like a lot), but they beat their in-state rival for the third time in the past four years. The game was closer than maybe it should’ve been, but the Cy-Hawk game is never not close, no matter how good either team is. The Cyclones should be able to improve to 4-0 at Arkansas State this weekend.

13. South Carolina

Last Week: W 38-3 vs SC State

This Week: vs Vanderbilt (7:45 ET, SEC Network)

Around three or four hours after the original kickoff time, South Carolina found themselves down 3-0 to in-state FCS foe South Carolina State in the second quarter. The Gamecocks got things going on offense in the final three quarters, but it was still a little concerning to me, especially after the unit didn’t look great in Week 1 either. I wouldn’t pick it, but there’s a legit chance Shane Beamer’s team could lose to Vanderbilt this Saturday.

12. Texas Tech Red Raiders

Last Week: W 62-14 vs Kent State

This Week: vs Oregon State (3:30 ET, FOX)

Texas Tech is one of the most interesting teams to monitor this season, as they may have the highest variance of how the season could go across the country. While they won’t get tested until conference play, they certainly looked the part in the first two weeks against inferior competition.

11. Illinois Fighting Illini

Last Week: W 45-19 at Duke

This Week: vs Western Michigan (7 ET, FS1)

Illinois has gone up and down my rankings more than any other team since my initial top 25 in June. I started with them at No. 12 because of its record last year and returning production, but then slowly knocked them down because the SNAP Predictive Model was not high on them to end last year. But now after a statement win at a solid Duke team, I can’t help but move the Illini back up to being on the fringe of the top 10.

10. Florida State Seminoles

Last Week: W 77-3 vs East Texas A&M

This Week: Bye Week

Florida State has now gone from being completely off mine and everyone’s radar in the preseason, to a top 10 team after just two weeks of action. The Seminoles picked up a statement win in Week 1 against Alabama, and followed it up with an utter demolition of FCS East Texas A&M. It helps matters that the Crimson Tide destroyed their Week 2 opponent as well.

9. Oklahoma Sooners

Last Week: W 24-13 vs Michigan

This Week: at Temple (Noon ET, ESPN2)

I tried to tell you guys about Oklahoma in the preseason, and the Sooners are backing me up to this point. The Sooners dominated Michigan for the majority of the game, outside of the Justice Haynes 75-yard run to open the second half. I believe OU is good enough to contend for the SEC title and a playoff spot, but they’ve still got a long ways to go, given the tough schedule.

8. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Last Week: Bye Week

This Week: vs Texas A&M (7:30 ET, NBC)

It feels weird to rank a team who hasn’t won a game yet through two weeks this high, but that’s what I’m doing with Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish played a really close game with Miami week one before a bye week this past weekend, so it’s kind of hard to judge them. I think they’ll beat Texas A&M this weekend, but if they don’t, we’ll start having to ask some questions about the team this year.

7. Georgia Bulldogs

Last Week: W 28-6 vs Austin Peay

This Week: at Tennessee (4:30 ET, ABC)

Georgia did not look great at all against FCS Austin Peay on Saturday, but I’ll mostly give them the benefit of the doubt because of the weather delay that may have thrown them off. Kirby Smart’s team will have to play much better this weekend against Tennessee though, and we’ll get our first look at Gunnar Stockton in a true road game.

6. Miami Hurricanes

Last Week: W 45-3 vs Bethune-Cookman

This Week: vs USF (4:30 ET, CW Network)

Not really much to take from Miami’s dominant victory over Bethune-Cookman Saturday, besides that they did their job. The Hurricanes cannot take USF lightly this week though, as the Bulls are coming off two top 25 wins to open the season. This starts a stretch of three-straight games against in-state foes.

5. Texas Longhorns

Last Week: W 38-7 vs San Jose State

This Week: vs UTEP (4:15 ET, SEC Network)

Like a lot of teams on here, not much to take from Texas’ 38-7 win over San Jose State this weekend. Arch Manning certainly played better than Week 1, but the competition took a major step down. We won’t really get much from the Longhorns this week either when they host a bad UTEP team.

4. LSU Tigers

Last Week: W 23-7

This Week: vs Florida (7:30 ET, ABC)

My perspective of LSU took a decent hit on Saturday, as the Tigers struggled with Louisiana Tech, and their signature win in Clemson struggled against Troy. I obviously still think the Tigers are great, but maybe not quite to the caliber I thought after Week 1. They still have plenty of time to prove me right or wrong though, starting with a primetime home matchup with Florida.

3. Penn State Nittany Lions

Last Week: W 34-0 vs FIU

This Week: vs Villanova (3:30 ET, FS1)

Penn State drove the struggle bus a little bit in the first half against FIU, at least offensively, but the Nittany Lions managed to pull away in the second half. They’ll play another cupcake non-conference team this week against Villanova. The Big Ten really needs to make these teams play a Power Four non-con game.

2. Oregon Ducks

Last Week: W 69-3 vs Oklahoma State

This Week: at Northwestern (Noon ET, FOX)

Mike Gundy poked the bear and paid the price for it. Oregon just put an absolute beatdown on the once-proud Oklahoma State football program, and proved they’re at least just as good as last year. OSU might be the worst team in a power conference, but putting that performance up against any power conference team is impressive.

1. Ohio State Buckeyes

Last Week: W 70-0 vs Grambling

This Week: vs Ohio (7 ET, Peacock)

Ohio State remains at No. 1 for me this week from its Week 1 victory against Texas, but also decided to put a 70-0 whooping on poor Grambling while yawning and looking ahead to next week. The Buckeyes face a really good Group of Five team in Ohio this Saturday, but the defending champs shouldn’t have much of a problem winning the game.

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