Ohio State held its position atop the AP Top 25 poll following a dominant week two performance. The top five teams remained mostly unchanged, with Oregon and Georgia swapping spots at No. 4 and No. 6, respectively. The top five teams won their Week Two matchups by a combined 241-13.
Several notable shifts occurred further down the rankings. Clemson dropped four spots after falling into a 16-0 hole against Troy, though it recovered to win, 27-16. Illinois jumped into the top 10 at No. 9, while Florida State's 77-point scoring outburst over East Texas A&M helped it climb past South Carolina, which dropped one spot to No. 11.
Four teams in last week's top 20 suffered losses on Saturday. On the road, Arizona State fell to Mississippi State, 24-20, in what was the Bulldogs' first non-conference win against a top 15 opponent at home since 1991. South Florida pulled off a major upset, beating Florida, 18-16, with a walk-off field goal. The Bulls beat back-to-back ranked teams for the first time in program history and entered the poll at No. 18, their highest figure since Week 9 of the 2017 season.
In the day's only ranked matchup, Oklahoma defeated Michigan, 24-13. The win sent Oklahoma to No. 13 while Michigan dropped to No. 23. SMU fell out of the Top 25 entirely after a 48-45 double-overtime loss to Baylor.
| RANK | SCHOOL | POINTS | RECORD | PREV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State (57) | 1614 | 2-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Penn State (5) | 1524 | 2-0 | 2 |
| 3 | LSU (2) | 1487 | 2-0 | 3 |
| 4 | Oregon (1) | 1375 | 2-0 | 6 |
| 5 | Miami | 1360 | 2-0 | 5 |
| 6 | Georgia | 1350 | 2-0 | 4 |
| 7 | Texas | 1248 | 1-1 | 7 |
| 8 | Notre Dame | 1086 | 0-1 | 9 |
| 9 | Illinois | 1001 | 2-0 | 11 |
| 10 | Florida State | 954 | 2-0 | 14 |
| 11 | South Carolina | 927 | 2-0 | 10 |
| 12 | Clemson | 894 | 1-1 | 8 |
| 13 | Oklahoma | 893 | 2-0 | 18 |
| 14 | Iowa State | 794 | 3-0 | 16 |
| 15 | Tennessee | 537 | 2-0 | 22 |
| 16 | Texas A&M | 532 | 2-0 | 19 |
| 17 | Ole Miss | 518 | 2-0 | 20 |
| 18 | South Florida | 444 | 2-0 | NR |
| 19 | Alabama | 396 | 1-1 | 21 |
| 20 | Utah | 361 | 2-0 | 25 |
| 21 | Texas Tech | 347 | 2-0 | 24 |
| 22 | Indiana | 331 | 2-0 | 23 |
| 23 | Michigan | 250 | 1-1 | 15 |
| 24 | Auburn | 172 | 2-0 | NR |
| 25 | Missouri | 109 | 2-0 | NR |
Movers
- Biggest jump: Tennessee made the biggest jump inside the Top 25, climbing to No. 15 after a 72-17 victory over ETSU. Oklahoma also moved up five slots, as did Utah, which jumped from No. 25 to No. 20 after scoring 63 points on Cal Poly.
- Biggest drop: Arizona State, Florida and SMU, all slotted in the top 17 a week ago, found themselves on the outside looking in after their Week Two losses. Michigan remained in the Top 25 but fell eight spots following its loss in Norman.
- New entrants: Along with South Florida, two SEC teams, Auburn and Missouri, entered the poll for the first time this season at No. 25 and No. 24.
Teams with first-place votes after Week 2
| Rank | Team | Record | First Place Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State | 2-0 | 57 |
| 2 | Penn State | 2-0 | 5 |
| 3 | LSU | 2-0 | 2 |
Ranked games to watch this week
- No. 16 Texas A&M at No. 8 Notre Dame
- No. 4 Georgia at No. 15 Tennessee
- No. 18 South Florida at No. 5 Miami
