Week 2 of the college football season certainly had a tall task to live up to. It was mission impossible to follow up last week’s historic opening weekend. And with no Top 25 match ups this past weekend, many didn’t expect too much movement in the polls. But we now have two weeks of film and at least two data points for almost every team. If it weren’t for a horrible blown call in Stillwater and an overtime in Fort Worth, we would not have had a loss in the entire Top 25.
But we did. This weekend’s games and those data points provide voters with some answers and some questions. Our voters have solidified their the top tier of our poll. The middle is very close as several teams are just one or two votes apart from each other. And the bottom part of the Top 25 is coming into focus a little more after this week.
Last Word on College Football Top 25: Week 2
Alabama was again our unanimous selection as the number team after dispatching a potent Western Kentucky team. Following Alabama were Florida State, Ohio State, and Michigan, teams that all dominated over lesser opponents this weekend. Clemson rounds out the Top 5 after dropping three spots. The Tigers struggled mightily against the men of Troy. The rest of the Top 10 includes teams that took care of business on Saturday in Houston, Stanford (bye weekend), Washington, Louisville and Tennessee. Next week’s match-up between Florida State and Louisville will certainly have College Football Playoff implications.
Oklahoma begins the next ten at number 11. After the Sooners, our voters have some teams very close to each other. Texas, Wisconsin, and Iowa occupy spots 12 through 14 and are separated by only eight points. Similarly, Michigan State at 15 and Georgia at 16 are only one vote away from each other. Georgia dropped five spots after barely surviving the “Fighting Ollies” of Nicholls State. Continuing the trend, LSU, Texas A&M, and Notre Dame come in at 17, 18, and 19 respectively and all three teams are separated by only one vote each.
Mississippi begins the last group at number 20. Baylor and Oregon used high powered offenses to lock down the 21st and 22nd spots. Miami (23), Pittsburgh (24), and Boise State (25) all enter the Top 25 for the first time this week after quality wins on Saturday.
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LAST WORD ON COLLEGE FOOTBALL TOP 25: WEEK 2
| Rank
|
Team
|
Points
|
Previous
|
|
1. |
|
400 | 1 | |
| The Tide took care of business against an underappreciated Western Kentucky team. This week they get their chance to end a two year losing streak to Ole Miss. -Mike Loveall
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2. |
|
379 | 3 | |
| The Seminoles cruised to victory against Charleston Southern. They now face their first true road test against Lamar Jackson and the red hot Louisville Tigers. –Jonathan Bailey
|
||||
3. |
|
358 | 4 | |
| The secondary stood up tall against Tulsa with two pick sixes in a 48-3 win. This week, the Buckeyes will travel to Norman to face the Oklahoma Sooners in what should be one best out-of-conferences match-ups of the season. – Rob Gritzer
|
||||
4. |
|
346 | 5 | |
| UM once again dominated winning 51-14 over UCF. Special teams recorded 4 block kicks. QB Wilton Speight looked better throwing the ball, something he will need to continue to improve on before Big Ten play starts. -Scott Brouillard
|
||||
5. |
|
333 | 2 | |
| Troy stuck around a lot longer than Clemson would have liked and unless the Tigers get rolling, their anemic offense WILL catch up with them. Clemson host South Carolina State next Saturday, a final dress rehearsal before beginning conference play. -Justin Gordon
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6. |
|
332 | 6 | |
| Houston played a fine game against an outmatched opponent without star quarterback Greg Ward, Jr. The Cougar defense looks very good. If that continues, a Playoff dream might be in reach. -Yesh Ginsburg
|
||||
7. |
|
305 | 7 | |
| The Cardinal will have spent 15 days under the hood tinkering when USC comes to Stanford Stadium this week. The Trojans got their groove back in Week 2 with a big win. This game will have Pac-12 title ramifications. – Donald King
|
||||
8. |
|
262 | 8 | |
| The Huskies destroyed Idaho in Week 2. They welcome Portland State to Seattle to conclude their ’16 non-conference slate. QB Jake Browning & RB Myles Gaskin look to tune up–and stay healthy–to get ready for Pac-12 play. -Donald King
|
||||
9. |
|
245 | 12 | |
| The Cardinals handled Syracuse with ease. Lamar Jackson continued his electrifying play, racking up over 600 total yards and five total TDs. Louisville’s first test of the year comes against Florida State next week. -Al Preziosi
|
||||
10. |
|
228 | 9 | |
| It was Redemption Saturday for the Vols. Tennessee overcame another slow start, with the help of 5 Virginia Tech turnovers, to win going away in front of the largest crowd to ever watch a college football game. -Mike Loveall
|
||||
11. |
|
207 | 13 | |
| Oklahoma made quick work of Louisiana-Monroe this week, scoring 42 first half points. OU welcome Ohio State into Norman in one of next week’s marquee match-ups. Can the Sooners salvage their season in Week 3? -Mike Loveall
|
||||
12. |
|
186 | 20 | |
| The Longhorns avoided a letdown in week two by blowing out UTEP 41-7 in Austin. Freshman QB Shane Buechele continues to impress early in his career, completing 22/27 passes and throwing for four TDs in the win over the Miners. -Brendan Dzwierzynski
|
||||
13. |
|
181 | 18 | |
| Wisconsin followed up their big win against LSU with a solid defeat of Akron. Bart Houston continues his steady play and the Badgers look every bit as physical team under Paul Chryst as they ever have been. A big game with Michigan State looms in two weeks. -Mike Loveall
|
||||
14. |
|
178 | 15 | |
| Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz was given a contract extension this week and promptly earned another Cy-Hawk Trophy by taking apart in-state rival Iowa State. Iowa’s schedule is “favorable” until an October match-up with Wisconsin. -Mike Loveall
|
||||
15. |
|
170 | 10 | |
| After a bye in week two, the Spartans head to South Bend to take on Notre Dame. MSU will need more out of QB Tyler O’Connor than they got against Furman if they emerge victorious out of this game. -John Bava III
|
||||
16. |
|
169 | 11 | |
| The Bulldogs got a win, but it wasn’t pretty. As conference play gets closer, which Georgia team is the real one? The one that defeated UNC or the one that lucked into a win against Nicholls State? -Tommy Tabler
|
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17. |
|
117 | 14 | |
| The Tigers were stagnant without star RB Leonard Fournette, but picked up some action after switching to Danny Etling at QB. Etling led LSU to 27 points and Tre’Davious White made a 60-yard punt return TD. -Lauren Beasley
|
||||
18. |
|
116 | 23 | |
| Texas A&M took advantage of having one of those “pile up your stats” games in a 67-0 win over Prairie View A&M. Trevor Knight had 344 yards passing to go with three touchdowns and the Aggies piled up 672 yards of total offense. The Aggies open SEC play next weekend on the road at Auburn. -Tony Siracusa
|
||||
19. |
|
115 | 19 | |
| The Irish bounced back with a solid-looking win over Nevada, but no one knows how good the Wolf Pack is this year yet. Michigan State, another talented but unproven team, is up next. -Yesh Ginsburg | ||||
20. |
|
109 | 21 | |
| The Rebels bounced back against Wofford. They now open SEC play with the beast that is Alabama. Can Ole Miss add a blemish once again to Alabama’s record to start the season? -Tommy Tabler
|
||||
21. |
|
95 | 22 | |
| Baylor started slow against SMU, taking a 6-6 tie into the half. But QB Seth Russell’s three overall TDs and three interceptions from the defense are positives signs for the Bears. Baylor travels to Rice this week. –Sean Garmer
|
||||
22. |
|
64 | 24 | |
| Behind three TD passes by Dakota Prukop and over 200 yards rushing by Royce Freeman, Oregon easily defeated Virginia 44-26. This type of production will be needed to compete with Stanford and Washington. -Scott Brouillard
|
||||
23. |
|
48 | NR | |
| Saturday was a knocked back to earth moment for the Hurricanes. Despite the win and Mark Walton’s career performance, Brad Kaaya had arguably the worst game of his career. A trip to Boone is upcoming against a formidable Appalachian State team, giving Miami an opportunity to show if they have truly turned the page. -Justin Gordon
|
||||
24. |
|
45 | NR | |
| Pittsburgh makes its first appearance in the Top 25 after an impressive performance against Penn State. Running back James Conner ran for 117 yards and a score in the Panthers’ victory. -Jonathan Bailey
|
||||
25. |
|
33 | NR | |
| The Broncos held Washington State in relative check, giving up only four touchdowns to the Cougars’ high powered offense. Still, Boise State needed a batted down pass in the end zone at the end of the game to hold on for a 31-28 win at home. The Broncos have a bye week coming up followed by a road game against Oregon State in two weeks. -Tony Siracusa | ||||
OHIO STATE
MICHIGAN
CLEMSON
LOUISVILLE
TENNESSEE
OKLAHOMA
TEXAS
WISCONSIN
IOWA
MICHIGAN STATE
GEORGIA
LSU
TEXAS A&M
NOTRE DAME
MISSISSIPPI
BAYLOR
OREGON
MIAMI
PITTSBURGH
BOISE STATEOthers Receiving Votes: Florida (32), North Carolina (31), TCU (23), Utah (19), Arkansas (16), San Diego State (15), Nebraska (13), UCLA (7), Oklahoma State (4), Appalachian State (1)
Next week promises more movement, as there will be two Top 15 games. Florida State travels to Louisville to take on a red-hot Cardinals offense and Ohio State takes the long trip to Norman to test an Oklahoma team that already has one non-conference loss against Houston. Next week will be the first week that really shapes the CFP picture.
Previous LWOS Polls:
Preseason Top 25
Week 1 Top 25
About the poll: Sixteen Last Word on College Football writers submit ballots and points are awarded on a inverse-scale (a first place vote receives 25 points, a 25th-place vote receives 1 point).
Main Photo:
