All hail the SEC.
The NCAA’s power conference has an unprecedented record of 10 teams in the Associated Press college football poll after one week of intense football action. But as good as the Southeastern Conference was this past weekend, the same could not be said for most of the top schools from the West Coast. Teams from the Pac-12 combined for a 7-5 record to start the season, ultimately bouncing Arizona State and Stanford (both losers in Week 1) out of the list.
Read on as we dig in deeper on some of the movers and shakers of the updated AP Poll below. And we know that everybody loves lists, so check out our very own weekly NCAA Power Rankings right after this.
[sc:NCAAFArticles ]The AP Top 25 Poll: Week 2
1. Ohio State Buckeyes – 1-0 (0-0)
[sc:NCAA240banner ]A slow start to a 42-24 victory over Virginia Tech was not enough to dethrone the Ohio State Buckeyes from the top of the standings, with all 61 voters from the Associated Press still impressed by the nation’s top team.
Well, having four Heisman candidates – QBs Cardale Jones and JT Barrett, RB Ezekiel Elliott, WR-slash-former-QB-slash-part-time-RB Braxton Miller – performing extremely well in the opener should be enough of a case for you.
2. Alabama Crimson Tide – 1-0 (0-0)
3. TCU Horned Frogs – 1-0 (0-0)
4. Baylor Bears – 1-0 (0-0)
Even with new starting quarterback Seth Russell completing just half of his passing attempts in his debut, the Baylor Bears still managed to put up a whopping 56 points and 723 yards of total offense on the road against the SMU Mustangs. Expect Baylor’s offensive barrage to continue in Week 2 when the Bears host the lowly Lamar Cardinals, and quite possibly overtake TCU for the No. 3 spot of the AP Poll.
5. Michigan State Spartans – 1-0 (0-0)
6. Auburn Tigers – 1-0 (0-0)
7. Oregon Ducks – 1-0 (0-0)
8. USC Trojans – 1-0 (0-0)
9. Notre Dame Fighting Irish – 1-0 (0-0)
Breaking into the top 10 of the rankings are the Fighting Irish, who are getting a lot of love from the AP panel and bookmakers alike. Notre Dame is now priced at +1,200 to win the national title after sophomore quarterback Malik Zaire (313 passing yards and three TDs to just three incompletions on Saturday) proved to be every bit of the playmaker the team had envisioned him to be.
10. Georgia Bulldogs – 1-0 (0-0)
11. Florida State Seminoles – 1-0 (0-0)
12. Clemson Tigers – 1-0 (0-0)
13. UCLA Bruins – 1-0 (0-0)
14. LSU Tigers – 0-0 (0-0)
Is staying put at the 14th spot going to be a blessing or a curse for LSU? Well, we literally have no basis yet for how the Tigers’ season is going so far, given that their season opener had to be postponed due to inclement weather conditions. The boys from the Big Easy will have anything but an easy time in their upcoming road game against newly-anointed No. 25 Mississippi State, though, for their “first” game of the season. (More on the Bulldogs later on as well.)
15. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets – 1-0 (0-0)
16. Texas A&M Aggies – 1-0 (0-0)
Goodbye, Arizona State and hello, Texas A&M. The Aggies virtually took over the Sun Devils’ spot in the AP Poll (Arizona State was in 15th place entering Week 1) after a resounding 38-17 win over the boys from the Grand Canyon State this past weekend. Texas A&M has a very winnable game against Ball State coming up, which could push the team to a higher spot in the polls, and – more importantly – more time to sort out their starting QB situation involving Kyle Allen, Christian Kirk and Kyler Murray.
17. Ole Miss Rebels – 1-0 (0-0)
18. Arkansas Razorbacks – 1-0 (0-0)
19. Oklahoma Sooners – 1-0 (0-0)
A new offensive system and unproven quarterback turned out to be Oklahoma’s winning formula in Week 1. Baker Mayfield shone bright with his 338 passing yards and three touchdowns in the team’s 41-3 beatdown of the Akron Zips. A tough road game against No. 23 Tennessee is on tap this weekend, so Mayfield – who is a sudden +3,000 favorite for the Heisman award – better prove that his spectacular debut as the Sooners’ starter was no one-game wonder against relatively inept competition.
20. Boise State Broncos – 1-0 (0-0)
21. Missouri Tigers – 1-0 (0-0)
22. Arizona Wildcats – 1-0 (0-0)
23. Tennessee Volunteers – 1-0 (0-0)
24. Utah Utes – 1-0 (0-0)
25. Mississippi State Bulldogs – 1-0 (0-0)
Here come the Mississippi Bulldogs, who are looking to make another unexpected run to the summit of the AP Poll. Quarterback and +2,500 Heisman Trophy favorite Dak Prescott (309 yards and three touchdowns in the win against Southern Mississippi) will need to put on another stellar performance against idle but hungry LSU for a pivotal matchup that will definitely change the complexion of the AP Poll after two weeks of play.
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