Week 2 AP Top 25 winners and losers: Oklahoma moves up to No. 3

The AP Top 25 looks a lot different from the preseason without the Big Ten and Pac-12 teams, but Clemson remains the constant at No. 1, receiving all but one first-place vote, that went to Alabama.

College football is back in earnest

That might be because it’s the first week that any ranked teams played, or it might be due to the absurdly fun schedule that we saw (outside of the Top 25). Or maybe it’s because it didn’t feel like we would ever get here. In any event, this is the most interesting AP Top 25 we have seen in the recent past and barring a season-saving Big Ten revote, it’s the most interesting we will see all year.

Before we jump into the winners and losers, we have to talk about how lucky the Big 12 is that this is not a conference ranking. The #Funbelt out us all on notice that in a weird season, weird teams will rise. The SunBelt went 3-0 against the Big 12, including 2-0 against the state of  Kansas. Not exactly the state of Texas, but Texas Tech doesn’t have much to be excited about after eking one out against something called a Houston Baptist University.

The preseason AP Top 25 included the Big Ten and Pac-12 teams but are no longer included since those teams are not playing, at least for now, so there are significant changes for the Week 2 Top 25

1. Clemson
2. Alabama
3. Oklahoma
4. Georgia
5. Florida
6. LSU
7. Notre Dame
8. Auburn
9. Texas
10. Texas A&M
11. Oklahoma State
12. North Carolina
13. Cincinnati
14. UCF
15. Tennessee
16. Memphis
17. Miami
18. Louisville
19. Louisiana
20. Virginia Tech
21. BYU
22. Army
23. Kentucky
24. Appalachian State
25. Pittsburgh

Losers: Big Ten and Pac-12

This is a tough one and is much more of a technicality. But rules are rules. Teams in the Big Ten and Pac-12 that once found themselves in the rankings and hoping to compete for a title are gone. That means former Top 10 teams Ohio State (No. 2), Penn State (No. 7) and Oregon (No. 9) all drop from the list of the 25 best teams in the country.

The good news, for the Big Ten at least, is that maybe, just maybe, the Big Ten will change their minds during the revote in the coming days. Then the AP Poll will have to decide exactly how much weight to put on their expectations when comparing to the on-field performance of the teams we have already had a chance to see. Sure that’s an easy question to answer for Ohio State. But what about Penn  State? Oregon? What about teams at the bottom of the preseason AP Poll Top 25?

Interesting times, indeed.

Loser: Iowa State (Previously No. 23)

Here’s a stat that isn’t true but sounds like it is or at least should be. Iowa State is currently winless in its last 20 games after joining the AP Poll Top 25. It’s not true, but it feels true. Every time the Cyclones build up our expectations, either by playing Oklahoma close or upsetting Texas (they’re back!), they drop an inexcusable game for inexplicable reasons.

Look, there’s a lot to be said about Louisiana. They’re from the same state as last year’s national champions. Their head coach was once offensive coordinator under the head coach of the national champion the year before last. Their demeanor is best described as “Ragin'”. But for a team that has an alleged top prospect at quarterback, there’s no excuse for losing this game.

Everyone’s rusty. The season is young. This was a non-conference game against a Funbelt team, so maybe their just playing possum for the Big 12. Maybe they will catch Oklahoma napping, and keep winning so that they have momentum on their side when they face Texas (they’re back!) in November.

Sure let’s go with that. And as it stands, the Cyclones will have more wins than the Hawkeyes. For now, so long Cyclones.

Winner: No. 21 BYU (Previously unranked)

Not enough is being made of how impressive BYU is handling its football season this year. When they left the Mountain West in 2011 to become an independent, it seemed like they were trying to be Notre Dame without the pedigree. And even though they haven’t lit it up under current head coach Kalani Sitake, they’ve managed to be fun and competitive despite no conference affiliation.

On Labor Day, the Cougars thumped an outmatched Navy squad that was getting votes in the preseason AP Poll. They didn’t need to get much done through the air, but Zach Wilson looks like a stud, going 13-18 for 232 yards and two touchdowns. They were profanely efficient on the ground, averaging more than six yards per carry en route to 301 yards.

The only thing standing in their way between a Top 25 finish and nonsensical, weird-season-only national championship hype is their seven-game schedule. Maybe they’ll get Army and Boise State on their schedule eventually, but for now, it looks like their toughest game is Houston. an undefeated season with seven wins sounds straight out of 1947.

Who knows. Maybe we’ll have some kind of controversy when a one-loss team gets into the Playoff when an undefeated BYU is snubbed. That sounds so on-brand for 2020, right?

Winner: No. 19 Louisiana Lafayette (Previously unranked)

The Ragin’ Cajuns upset preseason No. 23 Iowa State to start their season, and given their forthcoming schedule, the sky is the limit for Billy Napier’s crew. They will be tested when they play No. 24 Appalachian State in Boone, North Carolina. Right now, though, the Ragin’ Cajuns are the darlings of the early college football season of weirdness.

They did it all by limiting Brock Purdy to a sub 50 percent completion percentage and the entire Cyclones offense to just over 300 total yards of offense. That, and stellar special teams play, was enough to paper over their own offensive struggles. It was enough this week, and the degree of difficulty gets easier for the next few weeks.

Here’s a fun fact about the football team in Lafayette, Louisiana: The AP doesn’t have a page ready for them, as of this writing. Seriously, click it. This is so unexpected, the Associated Press wasn’t ready. They saw App State coming. But not Louisiana. Nobody expects the Ragin’ Cajuns, one of two (!!!) Sun Belt teams in the AP Poll Top 25 this week.

Winner: No. 3 Oklahoma (Previously No. 5)

You mean, all Oklahoma had to do to go from the first team out to in the top four was play Missouri State? Not too shabby for a team that will, without a doubt, drop lots of points on absolutely every team. Their coach is still Lincoln Riley, so it wasn’t likely that they were going to drop off.

Now, Spencer Rattler appears to be the next great quarterback to come out of Oklahoma. The true freshman (what!?!) threw for 290 yards on 17 pass attempts. That’s against subpar (for the Big 12) competition, but still. He made it look easy. He excelled in a way that one would not expect a first-time starter to excel.

The biggest thing for Oklahoma is that now they have a head start on Ohio State, should the Big Ten decide to restart their season in the coming days. First impressions matter. While Missouri State is the easiest game they’ll have all year, except for Kansas, the Sooners look the part right now. When all they’re being compared to this week is Clemson, that’s great news for Oklahoma fans.

Who knows though. Maybe Texas (they’re back!) has something planned for them.

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