AP top 25 poll: Seven most underrated college football teams in Week 3

Every college football fan knows that the fun of the polls is picking apart and critiquing the polls.

Now through two full weeks of the season, it's notable to see how the voters in both the AP and Coaches Poll have weighted losses, big wins and simply taking-care-of-business victories.

We have some disagreements ...

Oregon (2-0, No. 4 AP, No. 5 Coaches)

This is the definition of picking nits in poll critiquing, but hey, that's what we're here for, right?

Ultimately, it's too early in the season to be too up in arms about any team's standing within the top 5, but have you noticed what the Ducks have done through two weeks? Ignore the 59-3 win over Montana State all you want (even though the Bobcats did play in the FCS national championship game last year), but winning 69-3 over a fellow Power Four team in Oklahoma State is as dominant as it gets.

The case could be made -- actually, we're making it right here -- that Oregon should be ahead of Penn State in both polls (and also Georgia in the Coaches Poll). The Ducks did beat the Nittany Lions last year. Although they don't return a veteran quarterback like Penn State does, it's possible that former five-star Dante Moore will be as good (if not better) than Dillon Gabriel was last year.

Oregon lost one game last year -- to eventual national champion Ohio State, after beating the Buckeyes in the regular season. How about a little respect here?

TCU (1-0, unranked in both polls)

TCU won nine games last season and boasts one of the most productive returning QBs in the country in Josh Hoover. The Horned Frogs then completely embarrassed North Carolina in Bill Belichick's Tar Heels debut with a 48-14 win that couldn't have felt more lopsided. And yet, not only is TCU out of the rankings, but it's not even particularly close in the voting. The Horned Frogs are sixth on the "others receiving votes" list in the AP poll and eighth on that list for the Coaches Poll -- behind Florida in both. Maybe TCU doesn't need to be in the top 25 just yet, but its vote total on both polls is a bit hard to reconcile.

Oklahoma (2-0, No. 13 AP, No. 16 Coaches)

Oklahoma scored one of the more impressive wins of Week 2 with its 24-13 win over a ranked Michigan team, holding the Wolverines to 288 yards and five-star freshman QB Bryce Underwood to just 9-of-24 passing. The Sooners have everything still to prove this season under embattled fourth-year head coach Brent Venables, but with a 35-3 win over Illinois State and an early statement victory over the Wolverines, one could make the argument that the Sooners have done more than 1-1 Clemson or South Carolina, to name a couple of teams ahead of them on the rankings.

USC (2-0, unranked in both polls)

My, how Lincoln Riley's stock has fallen. A couple years ago if the voters saw Riley's team put up 73 and 59 points in its first two games (even against Missouri State and Georgia Southern) to lead the country in scoring (66 points per game), total offense (676 yards per game) and offensive efficiency (11.27 yards per play -- more than 2 yards better than any other team), the Trojans would be at least somewhere in the national rankings. The USC defense took a big step forward last year in defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn's first season and could well do so again to pair with that impressive offense. There's a better-than-good chance the Trojans are ranked in the coming weeks.

Auburn (2-0, No. 24 AP, not ranked in Coaches)

Auburn opened with a 38-24 win over Baylor and then handled business this past weekend with a 42-3 demolition of Ball State. Despite the results -- and a team that is benefitting from a clear QB upgrade with Oklahoma transfer and former five-star recruit Jackson Arnold -- the Tigers are barely inside the AP poll at No. 24 and are so far out of the Coaches Poll they're sixth in the "others receiving votes" category behind even utterly disappointing Florida.

There was rightfully a lot of skepticism about Auburn entering Hugh Freeze's third season after finishes of 6-7 and 5-7 the last two years, and clearly that skepticism has carried into the season despite the Tigers' very impressive 2-0 start.

Utah (2-0, No. 20 AP, No. 21 Coaches)

Utah had an off year last season, finishing 5-7, but it also played most of the fall without its expected starting quarterback (Cam Rising). I tend to put more stock in coach Kyle Whittingham's sterling two-decade track record over one down season. And if the Utes were getting that kind of historical respect, they'd certainly be higher in the rankings after two thoroughly impressive wins -- 43-10 over UCLA and a 63-9 handling-business win over Cal Poly -- behind dynamic dual-threat QB Devon Dampier, but because they started the season off the radar, it's a different story.

South Florida (2-0, No. 18 AP, No. 23 Coaches)

At least South Florida is getting some respect for opening the season with two wins over ranked -- well, ranked at the time -- opponents. The Bulls opened with a 34-7 win over then-No. 25 Boise State and then stunned No. 13/15 Florida over the weekend with an 18-16 win in The Swamp that may well have signaled the beginning of the end for coach Billy Napier in Gainesville.

Could the Bulls be ranked even higher, though? Forget perception or projection -- how about a straight resume? If voters think South Florida is playing over its head so far, let it shake out in the rankings in due time, but with two upset wins over ranked foes to start the year, the Bulls deserve even more respect in the current rankings.