Week three of college football, much like week one, lived up to the hype. Several teams made a serious statement, while others fell flat. The AP top 25 has shown a lot of movement after the weekend of action, but did they get it all right? Here is my top 25 following week three:
- Alabama
- Ohio State
- Louisville
- Michigan
- Clemson
- Houston
- Stanford
- Michigan State
- Washington
- Texas A&M
- Tennessee
- Wisconsin
- Florida State
- Georgia
- LSU
- Texas
- Baylor
- Arkansas
- Miami
- Nebraska
- Florida
- San Diego State
- Utah
- West Virginia
- Iowa
Texas A&M (+10), Louisville (+6), and Miami (+6) jumped up more than any other teams that were already in my rankings last week. Florida State (-11) and Iowa (-11) both plummeted, while Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Ole Miss and Oregon dropped completely out of my top 25. Nebraska, San Diego State, Utah and West Virginia join the party for the first time this season.
I feel like the AP nailed their top 10, as I have the exact same top 10. It was hard for me to put the Aggies at #10, but they played well in a tough road environment, and none of the other teams are really close to deserving a top 10 spot…so there you go, Texas A&M (this week vs Arkansas will tell me more about how legit they really are). Tennessee (#11, #14 AP) didn’t exactly wow anyone vs Ohio, but their win (28-19) was more impressive than Wisconsin’s (#12, #11 AP [23-17 vs Georgia State]), Georgia’s (#14, #12 AP [28-27 vs Missouri]), and LSU’s (#15, #18 AP [23-20 vs Mississippi State]).
I, like the AP, have Florida State at #13 following their annihilation at the hands of Louisville. I took a little more pity on Texas (#16, #21 AP) than the AP, although their defense is a surprising concern after allowing 50 (should have been 57) points vs Cal. Baylor (#17, #16 AP), Arkansas (#18, #17 AP), and Miami (#19, #15 AP) jumped up a few spots due to several teams in last week’s top 25 losing; however, I do not agree with the AP ranking the Hurricanes at #15. Jumping 10 spots for beating Appalachian State? Seems a little egregious.
Nebraska (#20, #20 AP) has done nothing but impress me this season, and a hard-earned win over a then-ranked Oregon squad absolutely warrants a top 20 ranking. Florida (#21, #19 AP) climbed up a few spots after a shutout win. San Diego State (#22, #22 AP), Utah (#23, #24 AP), and West Virginia (#24, NR AP) all grabbed a spot in my top 25. I kept Iowa (#25, NR AP) in my rankings over Ole Miss (#23 AP) and Oklahoma (#25 AP) simply because the latter two have multiple losses, while the Hawkeyes only have one – and while it is vs an FCS team, North Dakota State is a very strong team that could contend in just about any conference.
What do you think of my updated top 25? Did I get it right, or do you prefer the AP Poll? While you are pondering that, here are the games to watch for in week four:
Georgia @ Ole Miss – 11:00 AM on ESPN
Wisconsin @ Michigan State – 11:00 AM on BTN
Florida @ Tennessee – 2:30 PM on CBS
Oklahoma State @ Baylor – 6:30 PM on FOX
Stanford @ UCLA – 7:00 PM on ABC
Arkansas vs Texas A&M – 8:00 PM on ESPN
