College football rankings: 3 teams ranked too high, 2 way too low in latest AP top 25 poll

The latest college football rankings had a major shake up after several top teams were handed upset losses in Week 2 of the season.
Michigan v Oklahoma
Michigan v Oklahoma | Stacy Revere/GettyImages

It was a wild Week 2 in college football which saw a handful more teams get handed early season losses, meaning the AP top 25 poll will once again get a big shake up. There are some new faces in the poll with South Florida, Auburn and Missouri all landing in the poll. With that, Florida, Arizona State and SMU were all kicked out of the latest poll after each suffered upset losses. 

Oklahoma leapfrogs Michigan after dominating them in Norman in Saturday’s matinee, which shouldn’t be a surprise either. There was a lot of talk about John Mateer possibly struggling in the SEC and he put all that to rest against a good Michigan team. Sure, the SEC slate will be a real test, but Michigan was a good barometer for him. Speaking of Michigan, the Big Ten now has three of the top four spots in the new poll.

Here’s what the new AP poll rankings are after Week 2’s slate shakes up the poll.

  1. Ohio State Buckeyes
  2. Penn State Nittany Lions
  3. LSU Tigers
  4. Oregon Ducks
  5. Miami Hurricanes
  6. Georgia Bulldogs
  7. Texas Longhorns
  8. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
  9. Illinois Fighting Illini
  10. Florida State Seminoles
  11. South Carolina Gamecocks
  12. Clemson Tigers
  13. Oklahoma Sooners
  14. Iowa State Cyclones
  15. Tennessee Volunteers
  16. Texas A&M Aggies
  17. Ole Miss Rebels
  18. South Florida Bulls
  19. Alabama Crimson Tide
  20. Utah Utes
  21. Texas Tech Red Raiders
  22. Indiana Hoosiers
  23. Michigan Wolverines
  24. Auburn Tigers
  25. Missouri Tigers

Teams ranked way too high in Week 3 AP top 25 poll

Florida State landing in the top 10 feels forced rather than earned

Florida State went from a team that was an afterthought after a less than appealing 2-10 season, to ranked in the top 10 after two games. The win over Alabama was good, but it’s not that good. We won’t know how good that win will be until we see how Bama plays in their conference slate. Nonetheless, the Seminoles are back in the top 10 after they were ranked preseason No. 10 in 2024. 

The fate of the conference falls on the shoulders of the two Florida schools (Miami and Florida State) and it could be what gets the conference two College Football Playoff bids again. 

Oregon’s climb into top 5 solidifies Big Ten dominance

Oregon curb-stomped two far more inferior teams and was gifted with a spot inside the top 5. I feel like this is a bit of an overreaction. Yes, they whooped a bad Oklahoma State team, but are we ready to say they’re a top four team in college football yet? I know things will get sorted out with Penn State playing both Ohio State and Oregon this year, but man, this feels like too much of a gift for a team doing what they’re supposed to do.

South Florida gets near Florida State level surge into top 25

I agree with the voters for giving South Florida a boost inside the top 20, but No. 18 feels a bit high for a team that will have a cakewalk in the American this year and a very small margin of error. South Florida is good, I think 20 might have been a better ranking, but we’ll see if they will be the Group of 5’s representative in the CFP.

Teams ranked way too low in Week 3 AP top 25 poll

Michigan dropping to No. 23 after a ranked loss is disrespectful

Michigan didn’t look great against Oklahoma, but dropping them outside the top 20 is wildly disrespectful after they lost to a ranked SEC team. It’s not like they lost to an unranked team or to a far more inferior opponent. Oklahoma was just ranked three spots lower than them before the win. I think at worst, they should have swapped spots. 

Oklahoma proved it’s better than their current ranking after strong win over Michigan

If Michigan got punished for a ranked loss the way it did, Oklahoma should have gotten a much higher ranking than No. 13. At worst, Oklahoma should be ranked No. 11 and certainly ahead of Clemson and South Carolina. Nothing against the Gamecocks, but they have two OK wins. As far as Clemson, well they proved to be fraudulent so ranking the Tigers over Oklahoma, who has a ranked win this year, feels wrong.