Table of Contents
Editor’s Note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams.
It took just two weeks for college football to descend into chaos.
We lost two top 10 teams to unranked opponents. Notre Dame seemed to have a clear path to the College Football Playoff, but then lost to Northern Illinois. Oregon needed a last-second field goal to beat Boise State. Alabama fought USF deep into the fourth quarter for the second year in a row.
But after a week of thrillers, the headliner is Texas, which climbs to No. 2 — and has a case for No. 1 — after a 31-12 win over reigning national champion Michigan. The Longhorns look like a team that can win it all, and they host No. 1 Georgia in a little over a month.
As a reminder: The rankings will be volatile at first. Wins against quality and competent teams are rewarded and distorted. Teams can quickly make big leaps with good wins. Teams that are up against inferior competition will not move much or even “fall”, but that is simply because someone else jumped with a notable win. Several people in last week’s comments did not understand this.
Many teams have “fallen” this week after a win due to surprising results. Don’t worry. Relax. It’s all in a limited context. It will take a few weeks for everything to be resolved once everyone has played at least one notable game. I try to emphasize results, and it takes time for everyone to have one.
Here is the week 3 edition of The Athletics 134.
1-10
Georgia remains #1 and last week’s win over Clemson looks even better a week later. Texas climbs to #2 after dominating Michigan. Ohio State has been a machine for two weeks, but the Buckeyes lack a good win like the other two, and unfortunately they won’t get one for a few weeks. It’ll be okay. This top three feels like it’s ahead of everyone else.
Alabama drops to No. 7 after needing a four-touchdown in the fourth quarter to pull away from USF, and Penn State drops to No. 8 after holding Bowling Green 34-27. Oregon moves up a spot but needed a last-second field goal to beat Boise State, and the Ducks have been showing troubling signs of struggle for two weeks after being my preseason No. 3.
The upsets at Alabama and Penn State, plus losses to Notre Dame and Michigan, drop Miami to No. 5. Tennessee also rises to No. 6 after a 51-10 win over NC State.
11-25
Iowa State moves up to No. 13 after a last-second win over Iowa, and the Hawkeyes drop to No. 24. Oklahoma looked shockingly bad against Houston but remains at No. 14 because of the teams behind it. No. 16 Kansas State escaped Tulane, No. 17 Oklahoma State allowed 648 yards but somehow won a bizarre game against Arkansas, and No. 18 Clemson is coming off a loss.
Welcome to the Top 25, Nebraska, after a 28-10 win over Colorado that was never close. Also welcome, Northern Illinois! The Huskies beat a Notre Dame team that won at Texas A&M to make one of the biggest one-week jumps in the history of these rankings, moving from No. 106 to No. 21. Why shouldn’t NIU be ahead of the Fighting Irish?
Michigan stays in the top 25 at #23 because I think Texas is really good, but the Wolverines are falling. Arizona drops a few spots to #25 after trailing Northern Arizona at halftime.
26-50
There are a lot of new teams at the top of this bracket. Illinois makes a huge jump to No. 27 after beating a ranked Kansas team. No. 28 Syracuse similarly makes a big jump after beating Georgia Tech 31-28. No. 30 Arizona State and No. 31 Cal jump here after wins over the SEC’s Mississippi State and Auburn, respectively.
I know Louisville is in the AP and Coaches Poll. The simple explanation for the Cards being ranked #35 here is that they beat Austin Peay and Jacksonville State, so they haven’t changed much from their preseason #32 ranking. Like Ohio State, they have some notable opponents, starting next week with Georgia Tech. Other teams have won and “fallen” here as well, like #33 Texas A&M and #34 Memphis. That’s because the loss to Notre Dame looks worse for A&M now, and other teams have had better wins to outscore teams that haven’t played a game of note yet.
I have no idea what to make of South Carolina. The Gamecocks narrowly escaped Old Dominion at home in Week 1, then proceeded to blow Kentucky 31-6 to No. 41, right around their original preseason ranking. Tulane drops just one spot to No. 45 after pushing Kansas State to the limit, but the Green Wave seem like a team that should be in contention for the AAC again. Liberty drops to No. 46 after needing a fourth-quarter comeback to beat New Mexico State.
After Wisconsin struggled to beat Western Michigan in Week 1, they followed it up with another troubling performance against South Dakota, dropping them to No. 49. Next up? Alabama.
51-75
In this group there are also several teams that ‘drop’ after a loss, but that too is only due to notable victories by other teams.
Arkansas put up nearly 650 yards of offense on Oklahoma State and still lost, as the Hogs remain at No. 52. Kentucky’s lopsided loss to South Carolina drops the Wildcats to No. 54. Texas State defeated UTSA 49-10 in a statement win to rise to No. 57 as Arizona State comes to town on Thursday.
BYU defeated SMU 18-15 in an ugly game but pulled out a valuable road win to climb to No. 58. Oregon State and Washington State are 2-0 and ranked No. 62 and No. 63 with Civil War and Apple Cup rivalries coming up this weekend. Michigan State’s last-second field goal against Maryland moves the Spartans up to No. 64, and the Terrapins drop 10 spots to No. 66. Texas Tech drops to No. 72 after a 37-16 loss at Washington State, while Pitt moves into the top 75 after a fourth-quarter comeback at Cincinnati.
76-100
The top half of this bracket is made up of several teams that lost and fell out of the top 75. But No. 81 Virginia is 2-0 after a squeaky-clean sweep of Wake Forest. No. 84 Georgia Southern defeated Nevada in a matchup of teams that may be better than we expected.
No. 90 Houston is another team I have no idea where to rank. The Cougars were blown out by UNLV in Week 1 and kept it close this week at Oklahoma, 16-12. Old Dominion followed up a close loss to South Carolina with a 20-14 loss to East Carolina, so the Monarchs drop to No. 97 while ECU rises to No. 95.
Shoutout to ULM. The Warhawks defeated UAB 32-6 to break into the top 100 of these rankings for the first time in a long time.
101-134
Ohio climbs to No. 103 after beating South Alabama, and I wonder if the Bobcats will make much noise in the MAC race. Troy dropped to No. 104 after an 0-2 start following a 38-17 loss to Memphis. Pitbull Stadium shook as FIU defeated Central Michigan 52-16 to rise to No. 106. Wyoming drops all the way to No. 118 after an alarming 0-2 start. The Cowboys are coming off a 48-7 loss to Arizona State and a 17-13 loss to FCS Idaho, even though it’s the same Idaho team that Oregon fought in Week 1. UTEP also lost to Southern Utah for another FBS-FCS loss, as the Miners drop to No. 133.
Finally, we have our third No. 134 of the season. Kent State takes over the bottom spot after losing to FCS St. Francis (Pa.), a sub-.500 team last year. Next up for the Golden Flashes: Tennessee and Penn State.
The Athletic 134 series is part of a partnership with Allstate. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories prior to publication.
(Photo: Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)
