Both the AP and USA Today’s Coaches’ Top 25 polls are laid out for all to see following a wild ride in college football over Week 1. Let the dust settle a bit more and we may get a more accurate picture of where teams belong in the rankings. But, for now, there’s the usual number of head scratchers based upon some ridiculous reads of the landscape.
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We won’t get into why Texas was ranked No. 1 to begin with but dropping out of the top 5 is justified. LSU rising six and Clemson dropping four spots seems about right. The same can be said for Miami moving up five spots and Notre Dame slipping three. The biggest leap is Florida State after rolling Alabama as the Noles go from the swamp into prime real estate.
Top 25
| AP TOP 25 | TEAM | COACHES’ POLL | TEAM |
| #1 | OHIO STATE | #1 | OHIO STATE |
| #2 | PENN STATE | #2 | PENN STATE |
| #3 | LSU | #3 | GEORGIA |
| #4 | GEORGIA | #4 | LSU |
| #5 | MIAMI | #5 | OREGON |
| #8 | CLEMSON | #8 | CLEMSON |
| #9 | NOTRE DAME | #9 | NOTRE DAME |
| #14 | FLORIDA STATE | #16 | SMU |
| #17 | SMU | #19 | FLORIDA STATE |
| RV | RV | ||
| #28 | GEORGIA TECH | #27 | LOUISVILLE |
| #30 | LOUISVILLE | #36 | GEORGIA TECH |
| #40 | DUKE | #40 | DUKE |
| #42 | PITT | ||
| #44 | VIRGINIA |
Can anyone tell me why SMU continues to slip in the AP? Our best guess is disrespect and using the Mustangs as pawns in the Top 25 rankings chess game. Other teams get the white-gloved backhand as well. Not that there’s any love lost here but Alabama dropping 13 spots is almost equal to the ascension of the Noles and is very telling about how teams are ranked in the pre-season.
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It’s intriguing to see who’s getting some love in the Receiving Votes category of the AP Top 25. Georgia Tech, Louisville, Duke, Pitt and Virginia all get a nod from voters following their performances on the field in Week 1. Piercing the balloon may come this weekend for Duke who goes up against No. 11 Illinois (performance counts) and for Virginia it means delivering a solid win over conference foe NC State. A blowout win for Louisville against James Madison, not a sleeper by any stretch will go a long way toward helping them land in next week’s polls.
Only a huge win against Gardner-Webb can move the needle for Georgia Tech and the same can be said for Pitt who faces off with Central Michigan.
Keep your eye on Cal as they host Texas Southern. Can they deliver another exciting and decisive win? The matchup with Minnesota in Week 3 may be enough to garner consideration for the RV portion of the poll, of course that depends on a win.
Week 3 is important when it comes to getting into the Top 25 for Georgia Tech as they host Clemson, Pitt who travels to West Virginia and Duke heads to The Big Easy to take on Tulane. All three key games in determining their overall seasons as well.
Let’s see how the voters do after another week of play and as we repeatedly say, rankings don’t mean anything until week 3 when you actually know what kind of team(s) you’re dealing with.
