AP Top 25: Auburn plummets after narrow win over Jacksonville State

The AP Top 25 poll after Week 2 has been released.

Author:
Rohan Nadkarni
Publish date:
Sep 13, 2015

The AP Top 25 Poll has been released following Week 2, a week marked with many near-uspets, a few bad losses and a marquee showdown between Michigan State and Oregon.

Here are three thoughts on the latest poll, which sees Ohio State keep its number one spot and a huge drop from Auburn:

1. Auburn's narrow win spares the Tigers little

The Tigers may have survived with an overtime win over Jacksonville State, but that did little to impress voters. Auburn was No. 6 heading into the game but fell to No. 18 in Sunday's poll. The problems that plagued Auburn against FCS team Jacksonville State carried over from Week 1, especially the struggles of quarterback Jeremy Johnson. Because the Tigers escaped with a win, they can still work their way back up with a strong showing in conference play, but they have not inspired much confidence through two weeks.

2. Michigan State highlights a big week for the Big Ten

The Spartans moved into the top four after a big win over Oregon on Saturday night, which dropped the Ducks back to No. 12. Michigan State's performance capped a strong week for the Big Ten, in which losses from Maryland and Rutgers were offset by wins from every other team. Wisconsin and Northwestern snuck into the poll at No. 24 and No. 23, respectively. The Spartans also received some first-place votes for the first time this season.

Three and Out: Biggest takeaways from Week 2 in college football

3. SEC losses create room for new teams

The SEC's record 10 teams in the poll ended after one week: Three SEC teams, Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi State, fell out of the top 25 after Week 2 losses. The conference's struggles were other teams good fortune. Four new schools entered the top 25: Northwestern, Wisconsin, BYU, and Oklahoma State. The top 10 remains a wide mix of schools—two from the SEC, two from the Big 12, two from the Big Ten, two from the Pac-12, one from the ACC and Notre Dame.

Here is the complete top 25:

1. Ohio State

2. Alabama

3. TCU

4. Michigan State

5. Baylor

6. USC

7. Georgia

8. Notre Dame

9. Florida State

10. UCLA

11. Clemson