College football rankings 2023: Projected Week 3 AP Top 25 after Texas upsets Alabama, Colorado rolls again

  • Texas is back, and Alabama is probably not
  • UNC, Oregon, Utah and surprisngly Tennessee all held on for dear life
  • Colorado rolled to another big-time win
Sep 9, 2023; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers (3) drops back to
Sep 9, 2023; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers (3) drops back to / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
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Projected AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 2: No. 6-5

6. USC Trojans

One day, we might see Caleb Williams play in a fourth quarter. But after three games for USC, that's yet to happen.

The Trojans will move to 3-0 on the season with a statement victory over Stanford, a team that many thought could test the USC defense. Instead, Alex Grinch's much-maligned unit stepped up to the plate and delivered its best performance of the season. That was only amplified by Williams garnering four touchdowns, Zachariah Branch continue his breakout tour with a 75-yards punt return touhdown, and the USC offense simply operating like the death machine it is.

Williams remains the clear frontrunner for the Heisman at the helm of Lincoln Riley's brainchild unit. And if what Grinch's defense showed on Saturday night is a sign of things to come, the Trojans look like more of a College Football Playoff contender than ever.

5. Ohio State Buckeyes

If you want to look at the bright side for Ohio State, Kyle McCord and the offense showed substantially more in Week 2 than they did in the first game of the season against Indiana. Notably, that included Marvin Harrison Jr. making a massive impact on the day, catching two of McCord’s three touchdown passes on the day while going for seven catches and 160 yards. 

The bad news: It was all against FCS Youngstown State. 

Buckeyes fans were heated early in this one as the Penguins answered a long early touchdown from Ohio State with a scoring drive of their own to make it 7-7 early. That was all they could muster in The Shoe, however, and OSU went on to secure the 35-7 victory.

McCord established that he should be QB1 as Devin Brown was largely unimpressive overall in limited work. Even still, there still seems to be real wrinkles that Ryan Day needs this offense to iron out for the Buckeyes to live up to their preseason expectations.