NCAA FBS Top 25 for Week 3:

1. Georgia 2-0 SEC: Georgia did not impress as much against Samford, but relative to other teams at the top, Georgia deserves to be #1 after a 49-3 win over Oregon and a 33-0 win over Samford.
2. Alabama 2-0 SEC: Alabama might have barely beaten Texas, but when the Longhorns are playing well and are at home, it is one of the toughest places to play in the nation. So, the Crimson Tide still did well to win 20-19 on a heavy upset Saturday. But, their 55-0 win over Utah State no longer looks as good following Weber State’s 35-7 win over Utah State this past weekend.
3. USC 2-0 Pac-12: USC dominated Stanford and found themselves up 41-14. Stanford looks improved this season too. So, it was a legit Power 5 matchup. The Trojans took their foot off the gas pedal late which is concerning, but they still won comfortably 41-28. They have the most impressive win from all Top 10 teams last week besides BYU for now.
4. Ohio State 2-0 Big Ten: Ohio State struggled early against Arkansas State to separate, only going up 24-9 deep in the first half. But their second half was much better and saw the Buckeyes close out the win 45-12. Still, their Notre Dame win no longer looks as impressive following Notre Dame’s home loss to Marshall. So, they no longer have the marquee win and that game was quite close.
5. Clemson 2-0 ACC: Clemson struggled to dominate against FCS Furman and only went up 28-9 late in the first half. They would win the game 35-12, but it was far from a good game for the Tigers. They appear to be a team the experts really want to be better than they really are, but they themselves so far have failed to impress.
6. Oklahoma 2-0 Big 12: Oklahoma led Kent State 7-3 at half time, and then put up a big third quarter scoring 24 points to lead 31-3. A fourth quarter safety secured the Sooners win over the Golden Flashes. While Kent State is supposed to be a good MAC team this season, it is tough to rank a team like the Sooners so high when the lower ranked Huskies at Washington did much better in all but the final score against Kent State last week.
7. Michigan 2-0 Big Ten: Michigan dominated Hawaii, but so has everyone else. The Rainbow Warriors look absolutely horrific so far and the Wolverines did exactly what they had to do, winning 56-10 at home. But, despite the win, Michigan is still yet to have a win against a team that puts them over the teams they are behind.
8. Oklahoma State 2-0 Big 12: Oklahoma State struggled to keep a distance from Arizona State until the fourth quarter. After the Sun Devils got the game to 20-17, down by 3, the Cowboys responded with a touchdown the next minute, and then another touchdown six minutes later with 7:41 left. This was a huge win as Arizona State’s potential is very high this year. Oklahoma State proved they can win by scoring a lot two weeks ago, but this past week, proved they can win grinding it out in a slower and more methodical game, with a 34-17 home win.
9. Arkansas 2-0 SEC: The Razorbacks look good to start the season with a 31-24 home win over Cincinnati and a 44-30 home win over South Carolina. Arkansas did a good job after the first quarter to keep the game a two score game, but the Gamecocks did bring it down to 16-21 in the third quarter. The Razorbacks responded by dominating the fourth quarter. These wins are both over good teams.
10. BYU 2-0 Independent: BYU is once again a Top 10 team after defeating Baylor in Overtime, 26-20 at home. The Cougars had the best win of Week 2 out of all Top 25 teams, but their issue is not about starting hot, it is about finishing hot once the Utah weather cools down.
11. Kentucky 2-0 SEC: Kentucky looks like the next man up in the SEC East after a great second half away to the Florida Gators. The Wildcats found themselves down 13-16 in The Swamp at half time, and then decided to score 13 unanswered points in the second half to close out the game and win 26-16. It was good to see Kentucky score so much away against a good defensive Florida team. And their defense also held the Gators to 16 points, something the Utes could not do two weeks ago. Kentucky also dominated the MAC favorites two weeks ago 37-13 when they beat the RedHawks of Miami (Ohio). So, it is a good start for a “basketball school”.
12. Mississippi State 2-0 SEC: I may have been the only person to rank Arizona a Top 25 team after their commanding 38-20 win last week away against San Diego State. And, I might have been the only one to rank Mississippi State so highly after their 49-23 home win over the Memphis Tigers. But, nonetheless, the late game in Tuscon on Saturday proved these rankings to be somewhat accurate, at least so far. The Bulldogs led the whole game after the 5:27 mark in the first quarter. But, the Wildcats hung in and proved that second year Head Coach Jedd Fish is doing a fantastic job at turning around Rob Grownkowski’s U of A. The game went into the fourth quarter with Arizona driving down 17-25 late in the third quarter. And then, Mississippi State got a deflected interception and ran in back deep into Arizona territory. The Bulldogs would convert this turnover into a touch down in the fourth quarter going up 32-17. The Wildcats kept trying to bring the game back into balance, but the Bulldogs kept ahead of the score. Eventually, the Bulldogs scored late with 3:18 left to go up 39-17, and would win the game by this score. It was a very good Power 5 away win for Mississippi State. This was arguably the second most impressive win for a Top 25 team last week, but there is one more that will come later that rivals this one for second best win last week.
13. Michigan State 2-0 Big Ten: The Spartans dominated the Zips 52-0 at home. While Akron may not be the BEST MAC team, a 52-0 is always a good win. So far, the Spartans look solid but we need to see more to see if they can truly contend for a CFP title this season.
14. Oregon State 2-0 Pac-12: The Beavers avoided the trap set by the Bulldogs of Fresno State. Fresno State are the favorites to win the Mountain West and look really good again. Going into Fresno is usually a very difficult game, and it proved to be for Oregon State. Despite this, the Beavers received some late game luck and then scored the game winning touchdown on a 3 yard run as clock struck 0:00. It was one for the record books and one that not only will be relived in Oregon State folklore, but also one that signals a resurgence of the Pac-12 in out of conference play. This is in keeping in mind that Oregon State just beat Boise State at home last week.
15. Miami (Florida) 2-0 ACC: Miami had a convincing 30-7 win over Southern Mississippi and looks to be a solid team this season. This is after the Hurricanes defeated Bethune-Cookman 70-13 at home in Week 1. Things are thus looking good for The U, but still nothing too impressive yet.
16. Baylor 1-1 Big 12: Baylor lost an overtime game away against a legit Top 10 team. The Bears are still within CFP contention despite the loss.
17. UCLA 2-0 Pac-12: UCLA had a resounding 45-7 win over Alabama State. This was UCLA’s first time ever playing an FCS school, breaking a tradition only Notre Dame and USC also follow (for now). So far, UCLA looks really good, but has also had an easier schedule than usual. They beat Bowling Green 45-17 last week. Their next game at home to South Alabama will be the Bruins toughest so far, and the Jaguars from Mobile look good this year too.
18. Florida 1-1 SEC: Florida lost to a very good team last week. Despite this loss, they too are still in CFP contention. They just need to work on their offense.
19. Washington 2-0 Pac-12: The Huskies beat a usually very competitive Portland State, 52-6. This is after a 45-20 win over Kent State last week. These two results place the Huskies into the Top 25.
20. Air Force 2-0 Mountain West: Air Force dominated Colorado with 435 yards rushing and only 8 yards passing. Air Force looks really good right now especially after their 48-17 win over Northern Iowa. The Falcons will need to practice more passing though so that Air Force can win out and contend for a CFP spot.
21. TCU 2-0 Big 12: TCU beat new FCS team, Tarleton State, 59-17. TCU has looked good both games this season.
22. Minnesota 2-0 Big Ten: Minnesota has dominated both games so far. They beat New Mexico State 38-0 last week and this week, Minnesota won 62-10 against Western Illinois. The Golden Gophers however have quite an easy out of conference schedule and their next game is against their best team yet, Colorado. So, Minnesota’s time in the Top 25 may not last for long. But so far, Minnesota deserves it.
23. Kansas State 2-0 Big 12: Kansas State looks amazing so far. They defeated Missouri 40-12 this past week and two weeks ago, they defeated a really good FCS team South Dakota 34-0!   These wins were over quality opposition.
24. Syracuse 2-0 ACC: Syracuse dominated both Louisville 31-7 and UCONN 48-14. The Louisville win was especially impressive after Louisville defeated UCF this week.
25. Tennessee 2-0 SEC: Tennessee had a big win this week 34-27 over a good Pittsburgh team away. The Volunteers beat Ball State the week before 59-10. They look good thus far, but we have seen this Tennessee show before.

• NC State 2-0 ACC: NC State beat East Carolina 21-20 two weeks ago and did not look good, until this past week, when we found out East Carolina is really good again, defeating Old Dominion 39-21, who had just beat Virginia Tech. The Wolfpack beat Charleston Southern 55-3 last week and now look like a Top 25 team again after last week.
• Wake Forest 2-0 ACC: Wake Forest beat Vanderbuilt very handily 45-25, but the score was much more lopsided than that. Similar to USC’s win over Stanford, Wake Forest went up big earlier, 35-10, and then 45-18, but would end up only winning by 20. Their win over VMI 44-10 now looks much more impressive too because Wake Forest looks good again.
• Marshall 2-0 Sun Belt: Marshall will be a Top 25 team soon if they can keep their momentum going. Marshall beat Norfolk State 55-3 two weeks ago and then beat Notre Dame away 26-21 last week. Notre Dame is either really good and so is Marshall and Ohio State, or all three of these teams are not as good as we think.
• Washington State 2-0 Pac-12: Washington State won a huge game away over Wisconsin 17-14 with a big 10-0 third quarter. Washington State struggled two weeks ago in the Battle of the Palouse against Idaho, winning 24-17. At first, it looked like the Cougars were going to be bad, but there was a little leeway thinking the Vandals were just close because it was a rivalry. However, Idaho did very well this week away to Indiana, so FCS Idaho is playing like a bowl eligible FBS Idaho and Washington State has two good wins. It is a shame the Vandals did not stay in FBS to continue this run of play in the top division.
• Ole Miss 2-0 SEC: Ole Miss has a lot of hype, but their schedule has not been tough enough, nor was their Week 1 Troy result impressive enough to warrant a Top 25 spot for these rankings. Ole Miss defeated Troy 28-10 and Central Arkansas 59-3.
• Texas Tech 2-0 Big 12: Texas Tech dominated Murray State two weeks ago 63-10, and this week, won an impressive home win over a previous Top 25 team, Houston, 33-30 in Overtime. The Red Raidors could be really good this year but it will be difficult to play against the top half of the Big 12.
• Texas 1-1 Big 12: Texas played very well against Alabama only losing 19-20. But they still lost and their only win so far is a 52-10 win over Louisiana-Monroe. Texas has the talent to be this good every season and puts up at least one of these games every season. So, they must continue to show this to warrant a Top 25 spot. A win is better than a close loss still.
• Utah 1-1 Pac-12: Utah beat Southern Utah 73-7! This is coming off of a close away loss to Florida. It is a shame FBS does not have automatic qualifiers for each conference champion for a NCAA Tournament/Playoffs, because by the end of the season, the Utes may be a 10-2 team that legit could be the best team in the nation. They just do not have the extra loss to lose now most likely.
• Cincinnati 1-1 AAC: Cincinnati got back on the winning streak winning 63-10 against Kennesaw State. Their close loss to Arkansas 24-31 away may have not been so bad because possibly, the Razorbacks are really good. But they do not look as good as Utah.
• Oregon 1-1 Pac-12: Oregon is capable of being really good, really bad, and mediocre. Against Georgia two weeks ago, the Ducks were really bad losing 3-49. And then, this past week, Oregon beat Eastern Washington 70-14 and looked really good. The Ducks potential is high, but they look like they may lack marquee wins out of conference, thus bringing down their conference and thus their chances of making the CFP are lower even with 1 loss than other teams in the Pac-12.

Conference: Out of Conference Record;

SEC: 22-4; Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Florida, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, South Carolina, Auburn, LSU, Missouri, Vanderbuilt

Big 12: 16-3; Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor, TCU, Kansas State, Texas Tech, Texas, Kansas, Iowa State, West Virginia

Pac-12: 16-6; USC, Oregon State, UCLA, Washington, Washington State, Utah, Oregon, Arizona, ASU, UC Berkeley, Stanford, Colorado

Big Ten: 18-4; Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Penn State, Purdue, Indiana, Illinois, Northwestern, Iowa, Maryland, Nebraska, Rutgers

ACC: 19-4; Clemson, Miami (Florida), Syracuse, NC State, Wake Forest, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Duke, Florida State, Louisville, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Boston College

Sun Belt: 18-10; Marshall, James Madison, Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, South Alabama, Louisiana-Lafayette, Old Dominion, Georgia State, Arkansas State, Troy, Southern Miss, Louisiana Monroe

Mountain West: 12-12; Air Force, Fresno State, San Jose State, San Diego State, UNLV, Wyoming, Boise State, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah State, Colorado State, Hawaii

AAC: 11-9: Cincinnati, SMU, ECU, Houston, UCF, Tulsa, Memphis, Tulane, South Florida, Temple, Navy

C-USA: 13-13; Western Kentucky, UTSA, UAB, Middle Tennessee State, North Texas, FAU, Rice, Louisiana Tech, UTEP, FIU, Charlotte

MAC: 7-15; Toledo, Miami (Ohio), Kent State, Central Michigan, Western Michigan, Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Akron, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Ball State

Independents: 5-11; BYU, Notre Dame, Army, Liberty, UCONN, New Mexico State, UMASS

Photo from Cary Edmundson USA Today Sports

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