College Football Rankings 2023: Projected AP Top 25 for Week 2

Mack Brown and the Tar Heels just continue to impress me. I always think that they’re going to take a step back, but he’s a legendary head coach for a reason. Plus, he has a legit Heisman contender at quarterback in Drake Maye who out-dueled Spencer Rattler to take down South Carolina convincingly in the opener. I expect a slight jump in the rankings.

Taking a tumble in Week 1, Clemson was unable to overcome the Durham atmosphere, some lackluster offensive play, and big turnovers to beat a rising Duke team on Monday night. Cade Klubnik wasn’t nearly as effective as Clemson fans had hoped heading into the season after moving on from DJ Uiagalelei.

One of the games that I was looking forward to this weekend was Oregon State traveling to San Jose State because I wanted to see what DJ Uiagalelei would look like with his new team. And he did not disappoint. He finished with 239 yards and three touchdowns on 20-of-25 passing as he looked like a quarterback reborn. And the Beavers held the Spartans to under 300 total yards of offense.

Did anyone really expect Duke to beat Clemson in the opener? Riley Leonard and the Blue Devils were definitely an interesting upset pick but no one believed that they were ready to take down Clemson. If you’re not buying stock in Mike Elko and the now-ranked Blue Devils, what’s wrong with you?

The team that everyone is talking about after Week 1 is Colorado. The Buffaloes shocked the nation with a road win over the reigning national runner-up. Shedeur Sanders had a Heisman performance with 510 yards and four touchdowns and Travis Hunter looks like one of the most dynamic players in college football. As Deion Sanders said in his post-game presser, “Do you believe yet?”