Week 3 Top 25

Rank	AP Top 25	Jeremy	Nick
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25	Alabama Oregon Clemson Ohio State Stanford Texas A&M Louisville LSU Georgia Florida State Michigan Oklahoma State South Carolina Oklahoma Miami UCLA Northwestern Florida Washington Wisconsin Notre Dame Baylor Nebraska TCU Ole Miss	Alabama  (1) Stanford  (2) Oregon  (3) Clemson  (5) Texas A&M  (7) LSU  (12) Ohio State  (6) Florida State  (8) Georgia  (9) Michigan  (15) South Carolina  (4) Louisville  (17) Oklahoma State  (13) UCLA  (16) Miami  (22) Oklahoma  (14) Notre Dame  (10) Florida  (11) Baylor  (24) Washington  (20) TCU  (19) Northwestern  (23) Wisconsin (NR) Nebraska  (21) Boise State  (25)	Alabama (1) Stanford (2) Clemson (5) Oregon (7) Ohio State (4) LSU (6) Florida State (10) Georgia (11) South Carolina (3) Michigan (19) Texas A&M (12) Louisville (16) Notre Dame (8) Oklahoma (15) Oklahoma State (16) Wisconsin (21) Nebraska (18) Washington (20) Miami (23) Florida (9) TCU (22) Baylor (NR) Fresno State (24) UCLA (25) Ole Miss (NR)

 

Nick
Top 25 Breakdown

1-5

I had a few changes in my top 5 this week. I moved Oregon up from No. 7 to No. 4. I know the Ducks have played lesser opponents, but their offense doesn’t look like it has missed a beat. I also moved Clemson to No. 3 because to me they have been the most impressive team so far this season. Alabama at No. 1 has a major road trip to College Station coming up this week and we will see if the Tide are truly No. 1 or if they will fall victim to Manziel and co. again. I still like Stanford at No. 2 it does all the right things to win football games. Ohio State drops one place from four to five because I like how Clemson and Oregon are playing more than the Buckeyes.

6-10

Some moves in m 6-10 this week. LSU stays at No. 6, I think this is one of the better teams in the SEC and it has a chance to make some noise the way its offense is playing. I moved Florida State up to No. 7 because if Jamies Winston and the Noles play like they did on Monday night this could be an ultra dangerous team. Georgia reappears in the top 10 after its big win over South Carolina on Saturday. Cocky moves from No. 3 to No. 9 this week after a tough loss at Georgia. The USC defense did not look like the defense that everyone (including me) was raving about at the before the season began. Lastly after a big win under the lights against Notre Dame in the Big House, Michigan makes its first appearance in the top 10 this season. I am starting to buy this Michigan team it looks tough.

11-15

I am still not ready to call Texas A&M or Louisville a top 10 team that is why they come in at 11 and 12. I am curious to see how A&M plays against Alabama this weekend. As for Louisville, Teddy Bridgewater is top 5 quarterback in the nation but the Cardinals don’t play anyone pretty much the rest of the season so we may never know how good this team really is. I did not drop Notre Dame out of the top 15 because I am still high on this teams defense, sometimes you just run into a buzz saw and lets be real it was still in the game against Michigan late in the fourth quarter. Oklahoma and Oklahoma state move into the top 15 this week as they look to be the early leaders of the Big 12.

16-20

I moved Wisconsin to No. 16 this week because I have been impressed with how Gary Anderson has taken the reins of this team and kept the dominant run game. Nebraska moves up one place just for the sake of winning. Washington does the same, but this team looks like it has a chance to make some noise in the Pac 12. Miami moves this week from 23 to 19 because of a big home win against Florida. I wanted to move the ‘Canes up a little further, but if Florida had any offense Miami loses that game. As for the Gators they drop 11 places in my poll this week because of their loss to Miami. After watching that game Saturday I am sure I had Florida way overrated, its offense for lack of a better word is pathetic.

21-25

TCU moves up one place this week from 22 to 21 because it looked a little bit better this week than last. That being said I am starting to second-guess my praise for the Frogs in the preseason. I realized that last week I did not have Baylor ranked and that was a mistake so I put them in this week at No. 22. It has a great offense, but I need to see it play some good teams before I start really buying it. Fresno State moves up just because of a win, but it looks like it could be the Mountain West’s best team this season. UCLA moves one place up at No. 24 and we will really see what this team is made of when it heads to Lincoln to take on Nebraska this week. Ole Miss joins the top 25 this week as the Rebels look like they have the ability to win some games in the SEC.

 

Jeremy

1- Alabama (1)
2- Stanford (2)
3- Oregon (3)
4- Clemson (5)
5- Texas A&M (7)

A couple new players in my top five this week.  I’ve got Clemson up at #4 and Texas A&M up two spots from #7 to #5.  Clemson had a great week 1 win over Georgia and followed that up with a good with over FCS South Carolina State- not a high caliber opponent to be sure but this is a very good football team.  Texas A&M’s rise to the top five could be short lived or the beginning of another epic season with Alabama on the docket for next week.  The Aggies offense has been on fire and will be tough to stop.

6- LSU (12)

7- Ohio State (6) 
8- Florida State (8)
9- Georgia (9)
10- Michigan (15)

LSU is my biggest mover this week.  I know they beat UAB last week but I really like what I see from a young, fast defense and call me crazy but quarterback Zack Mettenberger is actually starting to look like a division 1 quarterback.  Ohio State drops a spot, not because of a loss; I just don’t think they could beat any of the teams ahead of them.  Michigan is another big mover and deserves it after a big win over Notre Dame.

11- South Carolina (4)

12- Louisville (17)
13- Oklahoma State (13)
14- UCLA (16)
15- Miami (22)

South Carolina drops after a tough loss on the road at Georgia.  The Gamecocks will work their way back up this list.  I’ve moved Louisville up more because of uncertainty from the teams behind them and less because I think they’re a great team.  They’ve got some game coming up (Rutgers and UCF) where we might find out a little more about the Cardinals.  Miami moves up after a solid win over Florida.  I think the Hurricanes are improving but I’m not quite sure I’m ready to call them a contender.

16- Oklahoma (14)

17- Notre Dame (10)
18- Florida (11)
19- Baylor (24)
20- Washington (20)

Baylor has been shooting up my list.  Art Briles teams just keep producing but we’ll see what happens when they get into Big 12 play.  Right now they look pretty unstoppable.  Florida drops after a bad loss to Miami and I’m starting to have real concerns about how long this defense can keep them competitive.  Notre Dame drops after their tough road loss at Michigan.  I don’t think you’ve seen the last of the Irish but they’ve got some work to do.

21- TCU (19)

22- Northwestern (23)
23- Wisconsin (NR)
24- Nebraska (21)
25- Boise State (25)

A little shuffling at 21-25 but it’s more a result of shuffling at the spots above them on the list.  TCU dips a little.  Their offense is a concern and now with the loss of Pachall, I’ll be interested to see how they respond.  Wisconsin makes their first appearance in the top 25 after looking very good the first two weeks of the season.

Out: Texas

Bubble teams:

Fresno State, Ole Miss, Arizona State, Bowling Green, NIU

Top 25 Breakdown by Conference

SEC- 6 (Alabama, S. Carolina, Texas A&M, Georgia, Florida, LSU)
B1G- 5 (Ohio State, Michigan, Nebraska, Northwestern, Wisconsin)
Big 12- 4 (Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, TCU, Baylor)
Pac 12- 4 (Stanford, Oregon, UCLA, Washington)
ACC- 3 (Clemson, FSU, Miami)
AAC- 1 (Louisville)
MW- 1 (Boise State)
Ind- 1 (Notre Dame)