Week 3 of the college football rankings have been released so who stands out as the top winners and losers?
Can you believe that the college football season is already heading into week three? This time next week, we will have surpassed the quarter mark of the regular season and the college football rankings, namely the AP Poll, will be getting more serious. Conference playing is getting ready to begin for most teams and this might be the final week of non-conference action.
The Week 3 AP Poll has been released and there were some teams on the move. While a couple of teams in the Top 25 had bye weeks, the ranked programs that did take the field were mostly playing cupcakes.
Clemson had a tough time putting Troy away for good, winning by six, Georgia took Nicholls State down to the wire, winning by two, and it took LSU a couple of quarters to find its rhythm against Jacksonville State, taking a three-touchdown victory.The upset of the week had to go to Central Michigan who downed No. 22 Oklahoma State on the road thanks to a last-second Hail Mary and lateral. That game op
Let’s take a look at who the biggest winners and losers are from the release of the Week 3 AP Poll.
Winner 1: Michigan Wolverines (No. 5 to No. 4)
You can look at Michigan’s 2-0 record to start the year and margins of victory and believe that the Wolverines are one of the best teams in college football, which they are, but they haven’t proven enough to deserve that No. 4 ranking.
For that reason alone, they’re the big winners in the Week 3 AP Poll. Beating down two hapless teams by scores of 63-3 and 51-14 might show some dominance over inferior opponents, but you have to realize that Hawaii and Central Florida had a combined 3-22 record last season.
Michigan doesn’t have a true test for a couple of weeks when Penn State comes to town and then the week after when No. 9 Wisconsin visits, but that doesn’t mean Colorado can’t give the Wolverines a tougher matchup than their first two. Michigan doesn’t have a road game until nearly halfway through the season and by that time, the Wolverines might be ranked in the top two.
Talk about fooling AP voters into buying into the hype. Michigan out-gained Central Florida by just over 100 yards and, for the most part, the Knights dominated the run game.
If Michigan can continue the season unbeaten even after matchups with Penn State, Wisconsin and Michigan State, then they will be deserving of the No. 4 ranking, but for now, it’s the real winner.
Next: Oklahoma State Cowboys