College football rankings 2024: Projected Top 25 after Week 2
By Sam Fariss
Surprising upsets, nail-biting close calls, and shocking defeats all defined the second week of the 2024 college football season.
The No. 3 Texas Longhorns kicked off Saturday by taking down the No. 10 Michigan Wolverines. Then unranked Northern Illinois toppled the No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Then No. 4 Alabama nearly lost to the unranked South Florida.
And those were just three of the games. The moral of the story is that the weekend made a complete mess of the AP Top 25 and we're still trying to figure it out.
So, with top 10 teams failing to secure a second win, unranked underdogs taking down ranked opponents, and impressive wins by under-the-radar programs, here's what we think the Top 25 will look like after Week 3:
Projected ranking | Team | Record | Previous ranking |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Georgia | 2-0 | 1 |
2 | Texas | 2-0 | 3 |
3 | Ohio State | 2-0 | 2 |
4 | Ole Miss | 2-0 | 6 |
5 | Alabama | 2-0 | 4 |
6 | Missouri | 2-0 | 9 |
7 | Penn State | 2-0 | 8 |
8 | Oregon | 2-0 | 7 |
9 | Miami | 2-0 | 12 |
10 | Utah | 2-0 | 11 |
11 | USC | 2-0 | 13 |
12 | Tennessee | 2-0 | 14 |
13 | Kansas State | 2-0 | 17 |
14 | LSU | 1-1 | 18 |
15 | Michigan | 1-1 | 10 |
16 | Oklahoma | 2-0 | 15 |
17 | Notre Dame | 1-1 | 5 |
18 | Oklahoma State | 2-0 | 16 |
19 | Louisville | 2-0 | 22 |
20 | Arizona | 2-0 | 20 |
21 | Clemson | 1-1 | 25 |
22 | Illinois | 2-0 | N/A |
23 | Nebraska | 2-0 | N/A |
24 | Iowa State | 2-0 | N/A |
25 | Iowa | 1-1 | 21 |
Georgia Tech's fairy tale run to start its 2024 season came to an end when the Syracuse Orange toppled the 2-0 Yellow Jackets, most likely knocking them out of the top 25.
NC State's dismal performance against the Tennessee Volunteers almost certainly knocked the No. 24 beyond a top-25 spot in the country.
While Iowa ended up losing to in-state rival Iowa State, the Hawkeyes are probably going to cling to a top 25 ranking, either at No. 24 or No. 25 in the country.
The Ducks' slow start against Boise State had Oregon fans on edge through most of the fourth quarter but Dan Lanning's squad pulled off the win to move to 2-0 and remain relatively in the same spot.
Fellow former Pac-12 teams USC and Arizona also played in After Dark games. The Trojans blew past the Utah State Aggies but the Wildcats looked sluggish against in-state opponent NAU.
Michigan's loss to Texas doesn't remove them from the playoff conversation or the top 25 but the Wolverines will certainly drop a handful of spots from the No. 10 spot they entered Week 2 with. Meanwhile, the Horns will probably leapfrog over Ohio State for the No. 2 ranking.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers manhandled the unranked Colorado Buffaloes to boost their overall record to 2-0 for the season and most likely give the Big Ten program a place in the top 25.
Kansas' 23-17 loss to unranked Illinois knocks the Jayhawks out of the top 25 but should boost the Fighting Illini toward the back fifth of the rankings, probably around No. 23 to No. 21.
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