College Football Rankings 2017: Projected Top 25 after Week 1

ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 02: Bo Scarbrough #9, head coach Nick Saban, and Jalen Hurts #2 of the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrate with the Chick-fil-A Kick-Off Game trophy after defeating the Florida State Seminoles 24-7 in their game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 2, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /

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LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 02: Sam Darnold #14 of the USC Trojans leaves the field after a 49-31 win over the Western Michigan Broncos at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 2, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

3. USC Trojans

Ranking coming into Week 1: No. 4

Saturday was a weird day for the Trojans of USC in their season opener. The Trojans hung 49 points on a P.J. Fleck-less bunch from Western Michigan, but it can with a few question marks. The score was tied at 21 late in the third quarter and it looked like we may have a massive upset on our hands in the opening weekend of the season.

It took four scores in the final frame to put the game out of reach, but the Trojans won going away late to open their season at 1-0.

The Sam Darnold hype train coming into this season was moving faster than a bullet train from Japan, but despite the victory, Darnold looked less than impressive in the 49-31 victory for SC.

It’s just the first game of the season at home and the Trojans still won the game by 18, but as a Heisman Trophy favorite and arguably the top quarterback in college football this season, Darnold’s performance was less than inspiring.

However, there was still plenty of good to take away from the 18-point victory for the Trojans. Ronald Jones II ran 18 times for 159 yards and three scores, while Darnold completed 23 passes to 10 different receivers on Saturday against the Broncos.

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