While Week 2 of the College Football season was a step back from the excitement of Week 1, when you least expect it, Top 25 teams start to get picked off in stunning fashion. This weekend only had one big game, and it delivered as Oklahoma beat Michigan in a battle. During the day, we got the shocking upsets as USF knocked off Florida, Mississippi State knocked off Arizona State, and SMU lost a double overtime thriller to Baylor.
This portion of the season makes it hard to rank every team as some teams have played tough games while others have dominated cupcake opponents. After an exciting second weekend of College Football, here is how we rank the Top 25 teams in the Country.
Ranking the Top 25 teams in College Football
On the outside looking in, SMU, Arizona State, USC, Auburn, Louisville, and a few other programs just miss out on the Top 25.
After pulling out a gritty win in Week 1 against Cincinnati, the Cornhuskers got to have some fun in this game as they demolished Akron with a 68-0 win. Dylan Raiola threw the ball all over the field while Emmett Johnson was dominant on the ground as the offense exploded. Matt Rhule has his team off to a great start with one more tune up game, which has this team in a great position to put together an impressive season.
While a close loss to a team as talented as Oklahoma isn't terrible, this game felt like a reset on the expectations for the Wolverines. Bryce Underwood didn't look like a superhero, but rather a true freshman, as Sherrone Moore and his staff are clearly trying to bring him along while protecting him. Underwood needs to develop on the fly if this offense is going to be playoff good, and it'll be interesting to see how he develops with Sherrone Moore now suspended for two weeks.
The Texas Tech Red Raiders went out and loaded up in the transfer portal, and in this game, they clearly looked like a team that's ready to compete in the Big 12. Behren Morton was back after an injury scare, and he was stellar once again as nearly every receiver put together a solid showing. Next weekend against Oregon State will be a step up in competition, and it should be a good first test for this team.
This weekend brought Florida Gators fans right back to where they were last season, as Billy Napier clearly isn't the best coach to lead this team. The Gators once again played a sloppy, undisciplined style of football, which culminated with a Gators defender spitting in the face of a USF offensive lineman, which allowed the Bulls to get their game-winning field goal. This team still has all the talent to go on a run but, the next 4 games are against LSU, Miami, Texas, and Texas A&M, which is an impossible stretch given what we just saw.
Curt Cignetti designed his Non-Conference schedule to ensure the Hoosiers wouldn't take a loss before Big Ten play, and as they demolished Kennesaw State, it was as expected. Fernando Mendoza was stellar, completing 72% of his passes for 245 yards and 4 touchdowns, finding Elijah Sarratt for three scores. The Hoosiers have one more tune-up game before Big Ten play, but this group is starting to round into shape.
Alex Golesh and the USF Bulls have been hands down one of the most impressive teams this season as they've now knocked off Boise State and Florida State. The Bulls' defense held a loaded Florida offense to just one touchdown, constantly making the Gators settle for field goals. When the offense got the ball back needing one drive to win the game, they felt like the team that you'd expect Florida to be, marching down the field. Golesh and his team will look to rip off one more massive win next weekend when they face Miami but, at this point, you can't count them out regardless of who they play.
The Ole Miss Rebels were able to survive a game against the Kentucky Wildcats, who have played them tough every season in the Lane Kiffin era. Austin Simmons remains a massive concern at quarterback as he's now thrown 2 interceptions in each game. Kewan Lacy was the driving force in the rushing attack, while Penn State transfer Harrison Wallace was dominant at receiver. Lane Kiffin's team needs more reps together to start to gel, but beating Arkansas next weekend won't be an easy task.
The Tennessee Volunteers haven't just run up the score on their opponents but, they're running up the score in the Nico Iamaleava break-up. Granted, the game was against ETSU but, the Volunteers were firing on all cylinders on offense, passing for 458 yards and rushing for 259 yards. The lone concern remains the injuries as this team looks like it will be without its two top cornerbacks against Georgia.
The Iowa State Cyclones picked up another impressive win this weekend as they beat the In-State rival Hawkeyes. The lone concern for this team would be that Kansas State is now 1-2, while Iowa's offense has looked subpar in back-to-back weeks. The Cyclones' defense has carried this team to this point,, and if the offense can start to make some big plays in the passing game it'll only make them tougher to beat in the Big 12.
Saturday was an up and down day for Texas A&M as the offense looked great, but Marcel Reed left with an injury, while the defense allowed 22 to Utah State. Marcel Reed said he'll be ready to go next week, which is a massive relief as the Aggies' offense has looked incredible with all the new weapons. The Aggies' defense is going to need to start improving as their next game comes against Notre Dame, who was off this week preparing for them.
As the Big 12 appears to have problems throughout the conference, the Utah Utes have looked dominant with wins over UCLA and Cal Poly. Devon Dampier is a dark horse Heisman candidate as he picked up another 3 touchdowns passing. The defense looks like another one of Kyle Whittingham's groups that is a nightmare to play against and it's hard to envision many of the teams in the Big 12 giving Utah fits.
The Alabama Crimson Tide came out and dominated UL Monroe like a team that's heard everyone declaring them dead for the past week. Ty Simpson went a perfect 17-17 as a passer, while Austin Mack and Keelon Russell, behind him, both look capable of stepping in if needed. The defense dominated with so many different pieces, and this team may have just needed a game to build chemistry.
After demolishing the Alabama Crimson Tide last weekend, the Florida State Seminoles exploded in a 77-3 win over East Texas A&M. Thomas Castellanos was incredible as a passer after beating Alabama with his legs, and each quarterback that followed him showed promise. The rushing attack has so many weapons that can gash you, which makes them tough to slow, and they're even tougher when Duce Robinson has a field day like he did for the Seminoles at receiver. This team has the edge that the 2024 team lacked, and they could be poised for a big season once again.
While Brent Venables wouldn't have been fired with a loss to Michigan, the game truly felt like one he needed to win. The Sooners' defense was incredible, holding Michigan below 300 yards while taking their entire passing attack away. John Mateer proved to be the difference, making play after play with his legs, and it feels like he can still clean up some areas and get better. The Sooners proved they're a playoff contender on Saturday Night, and it should change the morale of the fanbase.
The South Carolina Gamecocks came out slow against South Carolina State but once the team woke up, everything was clicking. The special teams proved key once again as Vicari Swain returned a pair of punts for touchdowns. The biggest concern at this point is that LaNorris Sellers hasn't looked like the Heisman front-runner everyone thinks he can be, but the rest of the team has stepped up.
The Clemson Tigers have all the talent you could ask for, yet two weeks into the season and the Tigers have disappointed twice. The Tigers fell behind 16-0 to Troy and needed the Trojans to make plenty of mistakes to get back into this game. Cade Klubnik has been underwhelming this season but, the Tigers' offense may finally get back into rhythm when star WR Antonio Williams is finally back into the lineup.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish move up in our Top 25 rankings despite spending this weekend on a bye. The Fighting Irish jump Arizona State, who lost to Mississippi State, and Clemson, which wasn't impressive against Troy. Next weekend, the Fighting Irish have a massive test against Texas A&M, as a loss would make their path to the playoff nearly impossible to navigate.
The Illinois Fighting Illini came into the week with an interesting test, as Duke isn't a Top 25 team, but they have all of the ingredients to win any given game. In the first half, Illinois struggled to get going against Manny Diaz's defense, but after halftime, when both coaches were able to adjust, it became clear Illinois was far and away the better team. The defense did a great job putting pressure on Darian Mensah the entire night, while on offense, Luke Altmyer has been stellar to start the season.
The Texas Longhorns needed a week to regroup and start to figure out their offense as they broke in a new quarterback, receivers, and offensive line. Arch Manning showed the promise that made him a Heisman front-runner to start the year, but he still doesn't look as if everything is clicking for him. The reason to remain so high on Texas is the defense as they have the ability to be the best group in the Country on a weekly basis which is going to make up for the growing pains on offense.
After an impressive win over Notre Dame last weekend, the Miami Hurricanes got to face off against Bethune-Cookman, giving them a chance to iron out some wrinkles. Carson Beck was impressive again, going 22-24 for 267 yards and a pair of touchdowns. True Freshman Malachi Toney is truly an emerging star with another 80 yards receiving this weekend. The best thing to happen for Miami this weekend may have been Florida losing to USF, as the Hurricanes won't sleepwalk through next week's game.
In a weird game that was broken up by a lightning delay, the Georgia Bulldogs beat Austin Peay, but it wasn't the greatest showing. While Gunner Stockton had a fine game statistically, he may also be too conservative as a passer, which is keeping this group from reaching its full offensive potential. Next week against Tennessee is going to be a massive test on both sides of the ball as the talent is there for Georgia, but they still haven't unlocked it yet.
The Penn State Nittany Lions beat FIU 34-0, but the final score doesn't show just how much the team struggled at times. Drew Allar has all the wide receivers he could ask for, yet he underwhelmed, going 19-33 for 200 yards and a pair of scores in a game where he should've been able to pad his stats. The good news for James Franklin is that his team has one final dress rehearsal against Villanova before facing Oregon.
The Oregon Ducks were impressive last weekend, but it was hard to put them in the top tier with so many changes, as they only beat Montana State. On Saturday, we all found out how talented this Oregon team is, and Mike Gundy learned not to poke the bear as Oregon demolished Oklahoma State 69-3. Dante Moore looks like the recruit everyone wanted out of High School, and Will Stein has so many weapons to utilize on offense.
The LSU Tigers didn't look too impressive in their 23-7 win over Louisiana Tech, but in many ways, that was the theme of the weekend. Garrett Nussmeier is still trying to get on the same page as his new transfer receivers, as in this game, the passing attack wasn't pretty. The good news is that Blake Baker's defense still looks like a unit capable of winning the National Championship, as they didn't allow any big plays in this game.
The National Champions remain the team to beat until another school can knock them off, and this weekend, Grambling State was never going to push them. The Buckeyes were able to use the matchup to work out some of their issues on offense as Julian Sayin looked like the 5-star recruit he was coming out of High School. The defense shut out Grambling State which is expected, but playing as many players as the Buckeyes did without a letdown is beyond impressive.