College football rankings 2022: Projected Week 3 AP Top 25 after Alabama survives, Notre Dame & Texas A&M fall

Projected AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 2: No. 16-15

16. Florida Gators

Though the AP voters vaulted Florida from unranked to the No. 12 team in the country after their upset victory over Utah to open the season, anyone using logic could’ve surmised that the Anthony Richardson roller coaster was going to have some peaks and valleys for an uber-talented quarterback who is still raw in a number of areas. And in that vein, Florida would be up and down as well.

We saw exactly that in The Swamp in Week 2 as Kentucky, playing without some key starters still due to suspensions, went on the road and knocked off the Gators. Richardson made some key mistakes, including a back-breaking pick-six in the second half, that cost this team. The ceiling still remains extremely high, but the truth of the matter is that this team still has a floor that could trip them up several times in the SEC.

15. Tennessee Volunteers

How can you not give the Vols their flowers? After pouring it on Ball State in the opener last week on Thursday, they took the long week to get ready for a good Pittsburgh team and then went on the road and took care of business with a thrilling overtime victory.

Make no mistake, this wasn’t a perfect game from Tennessee. The offense was a bit hit or miss throughout the game and the defense let their foot off the gas late, even against a backup quarterback. But there’s something to be said about a ranked win on the road and that’s what the Vols were able to pick up, showing a ton of moxie and grit. This was a team that needed to prove it to start moving up the polls and they’ve done as much through two games.