College Football
College football rankings 2018: Who’s entering and leaving the AP Top 25 in Week 2?
By Andrew Olson
Published:
For four straight nights, football fans have been treated to Associated Press Top 25 teams in action. Four teams have already fallen and one more will be added to that list when Nos. 19 and 20 meet Monday night. Here’s a look at the teams that could be entering/leaving the Week 2 poll come Tuesday.
OUT
- Texas – The Longhorns lost to Maryland 29-34 on Saturday. UT is simply ranked too low (No. 23) to stay ranked after a loss to an unranked double-digit underdog. That opens up one spot for next week’s poll.
SAFE
- Washington – The No. 6 Huskies lost by less than a touchdown to No. 9 Auburn on a neutral field (16-21 in Atlanta). Washington will drop, but is safe in terms of remaining ranked.
- Michigan – The No. 14 Wolverines are taking a lot of heat after losing to No. 12 Notre Dame, but a one-score loss (17-24) on the road to the No. 12 team is unlikely to get Jim Harbaugh’s squad bounced from the poll completely. UM will likely plunge, but land somewhere in the 20s.
ON THE BUBBLE
- Miami – In Week 1, there are limited spots to land if a team’s ranking is going to change. UM enter Sunday night ranked No. 8 and got blown out by No. 25 LSU. When it was a 33-3 game in favor of the Tigers, it was fair to speculate voters might just bounce the Hurricanes from the poll. But Mark Richt’s squad rallied in the fourth quarter, cutting it to a more respectable 17-33. It’s still a bad loss, but the Canes might have done enough to stay in toward the bottom of the rankings. We shall see come Tuesday.
- FSU/Virginia Tech – The Week 1 slate wraps up with No. 20 Virginia Tech traveling to No. 19 Florida State Monday night at 8 p.m. The winner likely moves into the top 15. The loser, on the other hand, could fall out of the poll. It will probably depend on how close the final score is whether the loser remains ranked or falls out in favor of a Week 1 taking the spot.
REPLACEMENTS
- Ole Miss – The Rebels delivered one of the most impressive wins of the weekend, thumping Texas Tech 47-27 in the Advocare Texas Kickoff in Houston. Based on the eye test, Ole Miss is one of the 25 best teams in the country, but Matt Luke’s squad wasn’t even on the preseason poll radar. Between the top 25 and the receiving votes list, 44 teams were mentioned in the preseason poll. Ole Miss was not one of them. That should change on Tuesday.
- South Carolina – The Gamecocks were essentially No. 26 in the preseason poll, having the most points (96) in the “others receiving votes” category. South Carolina took care of business Saturday, defeating Coastal Carolina 49-15. If two spots open up, Will Muschamp’s squad should be next in line after Ole Miss.
- Florida – The Gators were right behind South Carolina as a team just outside the Top 25. It’s clear that some voters already consider Florida a top-25 team. Dan Mullen’s squad took care of business against Charleston Southern, winning 53-6. UF’s fate may come down to how many spots open up in the poll.
- Maryland – Like Ole Miss, Maryland was off the preseason poll radar, but beat a Power 5 team in Week 1. Unlike Ole Miss, Maryland’s opponent was ranked. There’s a chance enough voters will deem that worthy of putting the Terrapins in the Top 25.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
