College Football Rankings: ESPN Reveals a Controversial New Top 25 Poll for Week 3

Do you like college football rankings that make little to no sense? Then look no further, the updated ESPN top 25 was tailor made for you.

While most everyone else who has eyes thinks Texas is the new No. 1 team in the country after taking down top-ranked Ohio State in a thriller, this poll somehow suggests otherwise.

What makes it more confusing? They thought the Longhorns would beat the Buckeyes and prematurely promoted them to No. 1 a week ago. What changed this week? Who knows? Controversy reigns in the latest ESPN poll for Week 3. Let’s look at the wreckage.

College Football Rankings: ESPN Shakes Up the New Top 25 Poll for Week 3

25. Virginia

Rankings change: None

Beau Pribula had three first quarter touchdown passes as the Cavaliers expectedly routed Norfolk State following the early idle week looking ahead to a big matchup against West Virginia next time out.

24. SMU

Rankings change: Down 4

Scoring six first half touchdowns and cruising the rest of the way in a rout against UC Davis, the Mustangs improved to 2-0 and got another efficient showing from quarterback Kevin Jennings looking ahead to a massive date against Louisville up next.

23. Auburn

Rankings change: Up 4

Byrum Brown had more than 300 yards passing with three touchdowns and the Auburn defense put on a clinic to take down Southern Miss and improve to 2-0 heading into the SEC opener against Florida at home next weekend.

22. Michigan

Rankings change: Down 1

Needing to put out a better product after last week’s narrow and controversial win, the Wolverines looked the part against an Oklahoma side many predicted would dominate them in the Big House, but Michigan brought its A-game, pulling out a critical 17-10 upset against Oklahoma in a signature early result for Kyle Whittingham’s tenure.

21. South Carolina

Rankings change: Down 6

Vicari Swain returned two punts for touchdowns to help put away Towson, but the Gamecocks face a more formidable challenge in the SEC opener against a Mississippi State team that has scored 100 combined points in two games.

20. Nebraska

Rankings change: Up 3

Anthony Colandrea had a personal-best four touchdown passes to help the Cornhuskers easily get past Bowling Green in a 56-7 rout to improve to 2-0 going into a home date against North Dakota before opening Big Ten play with some winnable games.

19. Utah

Rankings change: Up 5

A great look for new coach Morgan Scalley as the Utes have scored a combined 109 points and come off a dominant 43-10 showing against SEC visitor Arkansas in which Devon Dampier accounted for four total touchdowns and Wayshawn Parker scored another three times.

18. BYU

Rankings change: Up 1

As expected, Arizona challenged the Cougars at home early on, taking a 17-14 halftime lead in Provo, but Bear Bachmeier finished with 2 short TD passes and a third score on the ground and BYU added some timely defensive pressure as the game wore on, allowing minus-2 second half rushing yards and got after the quarterback.

17. Ole Miss

Rankings change: Down 1

Trinidad Chambliss had over 200 yards and 2 touchdown passes while leading five first half scoring possessions in a big win over Charlotte before welcoming Lane Kiffin back on the other sideline in next weekend’s clash with LSU.

16. Texas Tech

Rankings change: Down 4

Once again the highest placed Big 12 team in these rankings, the Red Raiders avoided an upset at Oregon State, as Will Hammond and Thomas Castellanos both led fourth quarter TD drives after trailing by 3 entering the final frame.

15. Florida

Rankings change: Up 2

Vernell Brown scored three touchdowns in the second quarter, including on two consecutive punt returns, to beat up on Campbell in a 52-3 result and the Gators have scored 118 combined points heading into a matchup at Auburn.

14. Penn State

Rankings change: None

Holding just a 10-3 halftime lead, the Nittany Lions finally pulled away in the second half in a 27-9 result on the road against Temple, with Rocco Becht scoring three times with no turnovers.

13. Oregon

Rankings change: Down 5

Some big questions for the Ducks on both sides of the ball, but especially on defense after allowing 561 total yards to Oklahoma State in a loss that will do considerable damage to what was a preseason national championship contender from the Big Ten.

12. Oklahoma

Rankings change: Down 1

All those questions about the Sooners’ offense are being asked again after a touchdown loss at Michigan despite being favored, with John Mateer being held under 200 yards, throwing a costly pick that became a Wolverines touchdown, and OU’s playoff hopes take an early major hit with several ranked SEC opponents still to come.

11. Tennessee

Rankings change: Up 7

Big Orange had a big advantage on the ground with 300 yards rushing and survived 14 penalties in a 45-24 victory against Georgia Tech on the road, with one more tune-up against Kennesaw State before opening SEC play against Texas in two weeks.

10. USC

Rankings change: Up 3

Jayden Maiava accounted for five touchdowns and the Trojans ran for over 200 yards, but the defense still let a little too much go by against Louisiana, which put up 30 points at the Coliseum.

9. LSU

Rankings change: Down 2

After a slow start that included a Sam Leavitt pick-six to put Louisiana Tech in the end zone, Lane Kiffin’s team recovered to complete a 45-14 victory. Now they go to Ole Miss.

8. Texas A&M

Rankings change: Up 2

Holding just a four point lead in the fourth quarter, the Aggies tacked on 23 points in the final frame to put away Arizona State, adding two touchdowns off pick-sixes, but will have to improve on a ground offense that mustered just 2.6 yards per carry on the day.

7. Alabama

Rankings change: Up 2

Stuck in a fistfight with Kentucky for a half, the Crimson Tide were able to take advantage of two critical UK turnovers – one a strip sack fumble and the other a turnover on downs – to score 2 touchdowns and finally get some breathing room to win its SEC opener and start 2-0.

6. Indiana

Rankings change: None

Josh Hoover completed 6 passes and 4 of them went for touchdowns while the Hoosiers ran for almost 300 yards in a 55-0 rout against Howard and now goes against a WKU team that just allowed Georgia to score 70 points on it this weekend.

5. Miami

Rankings change: Down 1

Florida A&M agreed to play a 10 minute fourth quarter, such was the carnage in what ended up a 77-7 massacre put on by the Hurricanes, who put up 430 rushing yards and scored five times while Darian Mensah had 1 incompletion and 3 TD passes.

4. Georgia

Rankings change: Up 1

Kirby Smart’s program won its 50th straight game against an unranked opponent, laying 70 points on overmatched Western Kentucky, the longest such streak in college football, but still halfway to Alabama’s mark of 100 straight wins.

3. Notre Dame

Rankings change: None

CJ Carr threw four touchdown passes and blanked Rice in a 52-0 rout and the Irish defense was on point, forcing four fumbles. The Golden Domers host Michigan State next week in primetime.

2. Texas

Rankings change: Down 1

Yes, somehow the ESPN algorithm dropped the Texas team it promoted to No. 1 last week after it just beat the top ranked team in the country. Another massively controversial move that everyone will hate, and rightly so, especially since they seemed to anticipate what would happen in Austin a week before it happened. Algorithms, huh?

1. Ohio State

Rankings change: Up 1

Congrats to the Buckeyes, who at least looked like the No. 1 team in the country for the first three quarters in Austin on Saturday night. The other quarter? A defense that lost eight elite tacklers from a year ago looked like it, allowing Arch Manning to engineer three long touchdown drives and score 21 unanswered points in a loss that must be one of the most puzzling in Ohio State history.

More: AP Top 25 College Football Teams Moving Up, Down in Week 3

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