Sunday gets us back into the normal rhythm of the AP Top 25 poll release after the extended Week 1 action over Labor Day. As we put a bow on Week 2 and begin to advance the conversation to Week 3, we are once again seeing how fluid things can be in the college football rankings early in the season.
Teams can look great one week and then fall well short of expectations the following week, but when we’ve only got a couple of games to use for a rankings profile, it can be difficult to identify a proper place in the top 25. For example: Is Notre Dame the team that won at Texas A&M on the road or the team that lost at home to Northern Illinois?
You don’t even need an outright upset to see changes in the rankings, because the same kind of confusion could be applied to Alabama or Penn State, who each received a stiff challenge from Group of Five opponents and will see an impact on their standing come Sunday.
But the most predictable moves in the rankings early in the season are reactions to wildly impressive wins, and few victories will resonate more than Texas’ statement game against Michigan in the Big House. The Longhorns jumped all over Michigan early and controlled the game throughout, guided by Quinn Ewers’ steady hand and a confidence that comes with the recent successes of this Texas program. They looked every bit the part of a national title contender, and that’s going to make AP voters reconsider their previous views on how the top teams in the country stack up against each other.
Here’s how we think the new AP Top 25 will look on Sunday:
1. Georgia (Previous ranking — 1): No change for the top dogs after getting the home schedule started with a 45-point win against FCS Tennessee Tech.
2. Texas (3): Only 60 voting points…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/tomorrows-top-25-today-texas-jumps-ohio-state-as-michigan-notre-dame-tumble-in-college-football-rankings/
Author : Chip Patterson
Publish date : 2024-09-08 03:36:55
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