College football rankings: Winners and losers from AP Top 25, Week 2
By John Buhler
Week 2 of the AP Top 25 has many teams deemed as winners and losers in these latest college football rankings.
As long as there are college football rankings, there will be so many things to debate at the water cooler. The AP Top 25 Poll has given us several interesting talking points heading into Week 2 of the 2022 college football season.
Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan and Clemson are the top five. Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Baylor and USC round out the top 10. No. 11 to No. 15 are Oklahoma State, Florida, Utah, Michigan State and Miami. No. 16 to No. 20 are Arkansas, Pittsburgh, NC State, Wisconsin and Kentucky. BYU, Ole Miss, Wake Forest, Tennessee and Houston round out the AP Top 25 Poll.
Now that we have the official rankings heading into Week 2, here are the biggest winners and losers from the most recent poll assembled by the Associated Press.
College football rankings: Biggest winners from AP Top 25 Poll, Week 2
Scouting Report. 2. player. Pick Analysis. SEC. (1-0). Georgia Bulldogs. 814
Georgia went Duck Hunting, leapfrogging Ohio State just like Darnell Washington
In one of the most thorough beatdowns of the Labor Day Weekend slate, Georgia obliterated Oregon to the tune of 49-3 at The Benz in Atlanta. It was such a dominating performance, that the Dawgs were able to leapfrog the Ohio State Buckeyes to become the No. 2 team in the nation. Darnell Washington jumping over a helpless Oregon defender was such great foreshadowing here.
811. Scouting Report. 4. Big Ten. (1-0). Michigan Wolverines. player. Pick Analysis
Apparently, blowing out Colorado State means Michigan must be top five meow
As expected, Michigan handled Colorado State on its incredibly weak non-conference slate. With teams like Utah and Notre Dame losing, Michigan was able to move up four spots from No. 8 to No. 4 in the latest AP Poll. The Wolverines could be undefeated heading into The Game in The Horseshoe, but they did not go up against the best competition the Mountain West could offer.
Scouting Report. Pac-12. 808. Pick Analysis. (1-0). USC Trojans. 10. player
The USC Trojans were nice, nice, baby in Lincoln Riley’s debut vs. Rice, Rice, baby!
A breath of fresh air! USC looked more than competent in Lincoln Riley’s Trojans coaching debut. Of course, they were only playing Rice, but they cooked those Owls anyway. With Oregon and Utah losing to SEC East teams, the AP clearly wants to keep the Pac-12 in the mix for playoff positioning for as long as possible. USC may be good, but how sure are we they are a top 10 team?
Florida Gators. 12. player. SEC. (1-0). 840. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis
Florida pushes towards top 10 after knocking off a former top-10 team at home
What a fantastic first win at Florida for Billy Napier! The Gators were expected to keep things interesting vs. Utah, but who outside of Gainesville saw them beat the reigning Pac-12 champions in Week 1? It may have been in The Swamp, but still. This win was mighty impressive. Next week’s game vs. No. 20 Kentucky carries massive early-season implications in the SEC East division race.
While Georgia, Michigan, USC and Florida all won in the latest AP Poll, not everybody was so lucky.