College football rankings: Biggest winners and losers from AP Top 25 Poll for Week 3

College football always delivers. No matter how robust of a slate it provides, the nature of the sport often gives us compelling games where we least expected them to occur.

While Texas wiping the floor with Michigan was on everyone's radar outside of Ann Arbor, nobody in their right mind thought Notre Dame was going to lose its home opener in the final seconds to the Northern Illinois Huskies.

Across the board, the upper crust of the SEC has begun to separate, as Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Missouri and Tennessee all find themselves firmly ranked inside of the top 10. I would not be the least bit shocked if the SEC got the No. 1 seed and the No. 5 seed, in addition to several more when it comes to the first 12-team College Football Playoff. Thankfully, we still have so much left to see.

Here is what the Associated Press came to the conclusion the 25 best teams are entering Week 3.

AP Top 25 for Week 3

1. Georgia Bulldogs: (1,566 points, 54 first-place votes)
2. Texas Longhorns (1,492 points, 4 first-place votes)
3. Ohio State Buckeyes (1,476 points, 5 first-place votes)
4. Alabama Crimson Tide (1,331 points)
5. Ole Miss Rebels (1,323 points)
6. Missouri Tigers (1,125 points)
7. Tennessee Volunteers (1,107 points)
8. Penn State Nittany Lions (1,090 points)
9. Oregon Ducks (1,077 points)
10. Miami Hurricanes (1,073 points)
11. USC Trojans (1,022 points)
12. Utah Utes (1,010 points)
13. Oklahoma State Cowboys (734 points)
14. Kansas State Wildcats (702 points)
15. Oklahoma Sooners (672 points)
16. LSU Tigers (521 points)
17. Michigan Wolverines (503 points)
18. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (427 points)
19. Louisville Cardinals (383 points)
20. Arizona Wildcats (381 points)
21. Iowa State Cyclones (309 points)
22. Clemson Tigers (292 points)
23. Nebraska Cornhuskers (142 points)
24. Boston College Eagles (116 points)
25. Northern Illinois Huskies (114 points)

And here is a list of every team that received at least one vote from the Associated Press this week.

• Illinois Fighting Illini (101 votes)
• Boise State Broncos (77 points)
• Texas A&M Aggies (68 points)
• Syracuse Orange (63 points)
• Memphis Tigers (38 points)
• Washington Huskies (27 points)
• Iowa Hawkeyes (24 points)
• Kansas Jayhawks (22 points)
• Vanderbilt Commodores (18 points)
• South Carolina Gamecocks (10 points)
• Liberty Flames (9 points)
• Wisconsin Badgers (9 points)
• UNLV Rebels (7 points)
• North Carolina Tar Heels (7 points)
• California Golden Bears (3 points)
• BYU Cougars (2 points)
• UCF Knights (1 point)
• TCU Horned Frogs (1 point)

Let's start with a team that has quietly crept its way comfortably inside of the AP Top 25 so far.

Winner: No. 19 Louisville Cardinals

Last year may not have been a fluke after all. That may be a bit unfair to judge what Louisville did, and didn't do, last season. They may have benefited from a soft schedule and low expectations, but I think the Cardinals have the perfect head coach to lead them in one of their own in Jeff Brohm. He has his alma mater at 2-0 and ranked No. 19 entering Week 3. Keep in mind how wide open the ACC is now...

I am not saying that U of L has it in the cards (pun intended) to get back to Charlotte and win its new-ish conference for the first time ever. This is a team that seems to be at its best right now flying under the radar. More importantly, I think the Cardinals have a pretty good understanding of who they are in the early stages of their second season under this coaching staff. It is something worth building on.

I don't know how high Louisville can climb before we pay attention to them, but we might have to now.

Loser: No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes

I don't know if Ohio State is really a huge loser in all of this, but they are the only team ranked inside of the top seven that is not an SEC school. With how badly Michigan looked last week and how much of a challenge Penn State had vs. Bowling Green, are the Buckeyes really ready to carry this revamped conference? They have handled business vs. two MAC teams, but Ohio State is losing some shine.

As my FanSided.com colleague and False Start co-host Cody Williams said after last week's games, I don't think Ohio State needs to show much of anything in all but three of their games this season. Outside of regular-season dates with Michigan, Oregon and Penn State, Ohio State may not need to empty the playbook to get to victory this season. They will amass wins, but how good are they really?

Until Ohio State beats the brakes off a worthy Big Ten opponent, they will look up at two SEC teams.

Winner: No. 6 Missouri Tigers

Look at who is the No. 6 team in the country! The Missouri Tigers seem to have been properly rated entering this season. While they have not played a truly worthy adversary just yet, they have looked dominant in their first two games of the year. Again, we will have a better grip on how this team looks once they play somebody of quality in conference play. In the meantime, they look like a playoff team.

I had Missouri going something like 9-3 at the start of the season. That may be what they end up doing, but I think early-season confidence beating up a bunch of tomato cans in the non-conference could do them some good. Clearly, the Associated Press thinks highly of this team, and so do I. They probably will pull back a bit once they lose, but I don't think anybody wants to play this team this fall.

If Missouri can be one win better than I projected them to be, then I they should be making the playoff.

Loser: No. 12 Utah Utes

The Utah Utes may very well be the best team in the new Big 12, but they have a huge problem. Once Cam Rising is not playing quarterback for them, the offense completely shuts down. The Utes may have a strong defensive identity under head coach Kyle Whittingham, but I wonder if they can hold their own if they were to ever get in a shootout. Rising is not a kid, even though he is still in college...

I think Baylor might be one of the worst teams in the Power Four, yet the Bears were able to claw their way back to make this game look somewhat respectable. They may be conference foes, but this was not even a conference game. What I like about Utah is this looks to be a well-oiled machine that can smush the opposition. The problem is they often break down when their veteran quarterback is out.

Utah may be the cream of the crop of the new Big 12, but I don't think anybody trusts them right now.

Winner: No. 25 Northern Illinois Huskies

When I woke up on Saturday morning, you could have told me anything, and I probably would have believed you. Then again, the Northern Illinois Huskies upsetting the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in South Bend would have sounded too ridiculous to even be fantasy ... but here we are! Not only did the Huskies stun the Irish in front of Touchdown Jesus, but they find themselves ranked No. 25 this week.

At 2-0, they have the early momentum necessary to make some noise in the Group of Five playoff conversation. The MAC may not have the firepower of other Group of Five leagues, but it has certainly held its own in the early part of the season. Not only that, but NIU has the best win of any G5 team by a considerable margin. I don't know where this team is going, but we must enjoy this win while we can.

For now, Northern Illinois is on everyone's radar atop of the college football world entering Week 3.

Loser: No. 9 Oregon Ducks

Are the Oregon Ducks any good? I am not so sure. Of the teams I thought were a playoff lock, I am not so sure Oregon is any more. They have had a ton of trouble in the non-conference up to this point. The Ducks got pushed around by the Idaho Vandals in Week 1 and nearly slipped up vs. the Group of Five contender Boise State Broncos out of the Mountain West. What if the lost to Oregon State?

This team does not feel like a Dan Lanning-coached team. I don't know if Bo Nix was the straw that stirred the drink for the entire operation, but I feel less and less confident about the Ducks' chances to contend for a national title with Dillon Gabriel under center. I mean, he was my pick to win the Heisman Trophy. Now, I feel increasingly confident that he may not even be a finalist this season.

Oregon isn't doing itself any favors with how generally lackluster it has looked in the non-conference.

Winner: No. 7 Tennessee Volunteers

That was a statement victory for the Tennessee Volunteers. While they still have a few huge games left on the slate, it is going to take a near collapse to keep Josh Heupel's team out of the College Football Playoff. While the North Carolina State Wolfpack may not be the least bit good, I can only see Nico Iamaleava getting better at running this offense for the Vols. I mean, they just put up 51 points!

More importantly, the real separating factor for this year's Tennessee as opposed to last is I think they have a really strong defense at all three levels. Again, Grayson McCall may just be a very high-end Group of Five quarterback playing out of his element. To me, Tennessee is in the process of truly re-arriving on a national stage. They may not win it all, but they could have a say in who ultimately does.

For now, I think we can safely say that Tennessee is a serious College Football Playoff contender.

Loser: No. 17 Michigan Wolverines

You used to be good, what happened? Well, coaching attrition, the 2024 NFL Draft and one emerging scandal after another leaves Michigan in a position possibly worse than what Jim Harbaugh found it. Sherrone Moore may be a good head coach one day, but that was a baptism by fire vs. the Texas Longhorns on Saturday afternoon. It was so bad that legions of Michigan fans left the game early.

Out of respect for what they did on the football field the three previous seasons, I had to say Michigan was a borderline College Football Playoff contender. However, I have undergone a change of heart. The Wolverines are a massive quarterbacking disadvantage with Alex Orji backing up Davis Warren for some reason. I had this team going 8-4 at the start of the year. Let's just hope they'll go bowling.

All I know is the Michigan team we saw the three previous seasons is light years away from returning.

Winner: No. 2 Texas Longhorns

Nobody wants to mess with Texas. They are now the No. 2 team in the nation behind only new SEC foe Georgia. There are a ton of takeaways I have from Texas' dominating performance in The Big House. It is abundantly clear that Quinn Ewers will be a top-10 or top-five pick at quarterback next spring. He wasn't perfect, but he did a tremendous job against a very talented Michigan defense.

But perhaps the best thing I saw out of Texas was the Longhorns played consistently competent complementary football. The running back stable is deep and the defense played as seasoned, cohesive unit. Even with a major conference change in going from the Big 12 to the SEC, Texas has the perfect voice to guid them there in one Steve Sarkisian. He is now a superstar in his profession.

Texas may be the best team not named Georgia in the country. Cannot wait until they meet later!

Loser: No. 18 Notre Dame Fighting Irish

What a sad bag of crap the Notre Dame Fighting Irish were on Saturday. Just when you thought they could be a serious national championship contender after seemingly stealing one over Texas A&M in College Station, they took a steamy dump in their bed at home and cried in total embarrassment. How do you lose at home to Northern Illinois in the first game at your place to start the season?

It was a referendum on head coach Marcus Freeman, offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock and transfer quarterback Riley Leonard across the board. This team struggles to put up points and lets the opposition get back in the game. They might be 1-1, but their two games were against teams that were either led by a new head coach or compete at the Group of Five level. It is not going well at all...

Notre Dame went from being a playoff lock to a team that probably won't make it after this bad defeat.