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Projected college football rankings after Notre Dame upset by N Illinois, Iowa loses Cy-Hawk

The Fighting Irish clearly had a hangover from Texas A&M and now they'll pay for it in the college football rankings.

By Cody Williams

Northern Illinois linebacker Christian Fuhrman (44) intercepts a Notre Dame pass
Northern Illinois linebacker Christian Fuhrman (44) intercepts a Notre Dame pass / Michael Clubb / USA TODAY NETWORK
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You probably wouldn't call it complete chaos that the Texas Longhorns upended the Michigan Wolverines in the Big House, even if the dominant fashion it happened in might've been a bit of a surprise. However, the mid-afternoon window of Week 2 in college football provided all of the shock value that you could've been looking for this early in the season.

One week removed from going to Kyle Field and outlasting Texas A&M in a rock fight, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish did the one thing they absolutely could not afford to do, losing a game against an inferior opponent. Mike Denbrock called a perplexing game for the Irish as Northern Illinois came to South Bend on Saturday, asking Riley Leonard to chuck it around when that clearly wasn't working. Then, when it came to crunch time, even the defense gave up too much, giving the Huskies a game-winning field goal in the final minute and Notre Dame getting upset, 16-14.

But we weren't done there! The Cy-Hawk rivalry game at Kinnick Stadium got a bit wild itself. Iowa dominated the first half against rival Iowa State. Out of the locker room for the final 30 minutes, however, Matt Campbell's Cyclones were firing on all cylinders and stormed back into the game. They kicked a field goal with less than 10 seconds left to pick up the 20-19 win and get past some true horrors they've experienced at Kinnick of late.

Now, the AP Top 25 rankings are all shaken up like a James Bond martini. And here's how our projections say they could shake out after Saturday's results so far.

Projected college football AP Top 25 rankings after Notre Dame upset by Northern Illinois

  1. Georgia Bulldogs
  2. Texas Longhorns
  3. Ohio State Buckeyes
  4. Alabama Crimson Tide
  5. Ole Miss Rebels
  6. Oregon Ducks
  7. Penn State Nittany Lions
  8. Missouri Tigers
  9. Utah Utes
  10. Miami Hurricanes
  11. USC Trojans
  12. Tennessee Volunteers
  13. Oklahoma Sooners
  14. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
  15. LSU Tigers
  16. Oklahoma State Cowboys
  17. Kansas Jayhawks
  18. Kansas State Wildcats
  19. Arizona Wildcats
  20. Michigan Wolverines
  21. Louisville Cardinals
  22. NC State Wolfpack
  23. Clemson Tigers
  24. Boston College Eagles
  25. Iowa State Cyclones

Iowa drops out of the rankings and Iowa State sneaks into the Top 25. Notre Dame, coming into the week at No. 5, only falls to the No. 14 spot in the rankings but that's a pretty precipitous drop, especially as they were eyeing an at-large spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff. Their loss also keeps Texas A&M from jumping back into the rankings.

The Irish will now have a much smaller margin for error in that plight to make the Playoffs. One of the big things in their favor was an advantageous schedule, which many included Northern Illinois as a part of. Even with the A&M win under their belt, this loss could come back to haunt them and it will start in the next set of rankings.

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