College Football Rankings: Predicting the top 25 after Week 1
The opening weekend of the 2015 college football season is over so how does the Top 25 project to shake out heading into Week 2?
The defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes trailed at halftime on Monday night before rallying behind Cardale Jones and wide receiver Braxton Miller who had two highlight-reel catches for touchdowns on the night secure a second straight week atop the top 25.
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But there could be some drama at No. 2 where TCU could be in jeopardy of losing some votes after a narrow road win at Minnesota to an Alabama team that dominated No. 20 Wisconsin on a neutral field.
When the poll comes out I predict the Crimson Tide will leap over the Horned Frogs with their win being more impressive with Derrick Henry running wild and the defense dominating. TCU is used to dropping in the polls despite winning, and it happens again after Trevone Boykin didn’t look like a Heisman favorite after he completed 26-of-42 passes for 246 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He did gain 92 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries against a solid defense, but winning 23-17 wasn’t as impressive as Alabama’s 35-17 win.
Risers I predict in this week’s rankings are Notre Dame, UCLA and a previously unranked Texas A&M who beat No. 14 Arizona State 38-17. But the biggest riser is Northwestern who enters the top 25 after beating No. 21 Stanford in their home opener.
Let’s check out I predict the rest of the top 25 will look for Week 2.
1. Ohio State (Last week: 1)
2. Alabama (3)
3. TCU (2)
4. Baylor (4)
5. Michigan State (5)
6. Auburn (6)
7. Oregon (7)
8. USC (8)
9. Notre Dame (11)
10. Georgia (9)
11. UCLA (13)
12. Florida State (10)
13. Clemson (12)
14. LSU (14)
15. Ole Miss (17)
16. Georgia Tech (16)
17. Texas A&M (NR)
18. Arkansas (18)
19. Oklahoma (19)
20. Tennessee (25)
21. Arizona (22)
22. Missouri (24)
23. Boise State (23)
24. Mississippi State (NR)
25. Northwestern (NR)
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