College football rankings 2022: Projected Week 2 AP Top 25 after Ohio State outlasts Notre Dame, Georgia dismantles Oregon

Sep 3, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes running back TreVeyon Henderson (32) carries the ball against Notre Dame Fighting Irish cornerback Clarence Lewis (6) in the second quarter of the NCAA football game between Ohio State Buckeyes and Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Robertson-USA TODAY Sports /

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Sep 3, 2022; Greenville, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack quarterback Devin Leary (13) looks on against the East Carolina Pirates during the first half at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports /

Projected AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 1: No. 14-13

14. Michigan State Spartans

It was always going to be a tough act for Mel Tucker to follow after he and Kenneth Walker III helped lead Michigan State to a Top 10 final ranking in the College Football Playoff rankings, especially with the star running back now on the Seattle Seahawks. But Sparty came out in the opener and got the job done convincingly on Friday night against Western Michigan (a low-key tradition of topping directional Michigan schools to begin the season).

While the Broncos scored 10 unanswered points in the second half to cut the deficit to just eight points, the result never felt too much in doubt. Michigan State had jumped out to a 21-3 lead in the first half and then secured the win with two touchdowns to cap off the fourth quarter.

There’s no reinventing the wheel by saying that the Spartans won’t be the same caliber of team that they were in 2021, but this is still going to be a tough team to beat out of the Big Ten week in and week out.

13. NC State Wolfpack

Considering that many fans are eyeing NC State as a potential dark horse to usurp Clemson and win the ACC this season, this was not the opener that they were looking for.

The 21-20 victory actually looked a lot worse in practice than even on the scoreboard as they needed East Carolina to not only miss an extra point that would’ve tied the game late but then also miss a last-second field goal to miss out on the win as well.

Plain and simple, the Wolfpack offense needs to find its form and quickly if this team wants to live up to its potential in the 2022 season. Devin Leary is at the heart of that as the quarterback was a meager 17-of-33 for only 211 yards with one score and one pick on the day. There’s going to be a lot of soul-searching in Raleigh after this game, even if it was on the road against a raucous in-state opponent.

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