Lousiana-Monroe ran past Arkansas in OT, posting one of the biggest upsets of the past few years (AP)
Tailgater Top 25 Rankings, Week 2
It’s only the second week of the season and already we have chaos in the polls. This Saturday was full of upsets and near-upsets as power programs tumbled. Arkansas suffered one of the most unlikely defeats in recent memory, falling to Louisiana-Monroe. Wisconsin followed up its week 1 stinker with a loss in Corvallis. Colorado was defeated by FCS foe Sacramento State. UCLA bested Nebraska in the Rose Bowl and Arizona rolled Oklahoma State just days after the Cowboys posted an 84-0 win. Other favorites, like Michigan and Notre Dame, survived but made things too close for comfort.
With the first crazy week of the year in the books, here are our updated rankings.
| Zach Bigalke | John Mitchell | Matt Strobl |
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1. Alabama
2. Oregon
3. LSU
4. USC
5. Clemson
6. Virginia Tech
7. Michigan State
8. BYU
9. West Virginia
10. Louisville
11. Baylor
12. Ohio
13. Georgia
14. Ohio State
15. Florida State
16. Oklahoma
17. South Carolina
18. Kansas State
19. USF
20. Stanford
21. Notre Dame
22. UCLA
23. TCU
24. Louisiana-Monroe
25. Utah State
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1. Alabama 2. LSU 3. Oregon 4. USC 5. West Virginia 6. Florida State 7. Georgia 8. Oklahoma 9. Clemson 10. Michigan State 11. Ohio State 12. South Carolina 13. Kansas State 14. Texas 15. Virginia Tech 16. UCLA 17. TCU 18. Louisville 19. Notre Dame 20. Tennessee 21. Michigan 22. Arizona 23. Nebraska 24. Florida 25. Ohio |
1. Alabama 2. USC 3. LSU 4. Florida State 5. Michigan State 6. Oregon 7. West Virginia 8. South Carolina 9. Clemson 10. Georgia 11. Ohio State 12. Texas 13. Oklahoma 14. Louisville 15. Kansas State 16. UCLA 17. Ohio 18. Notre Dame 19. Virginia Tech 20. Tennessee 21. Florida 22. BYU 23. Oregon State 24. Baylor 25. TCU |
Bigalke:
1-10: Not much changes here. Nebraska wiped out of the rankings with a loss in Pasadena to UCLA. Otherwise, Alabama remains on top and the Ducks stay in second. I’ve swapped LSU and USC between 3 and 4, mainly because the Tigers’ win over Washington was more impressive than the Trojans’ win at Syracuse. Everything else remains the same except BYU’s leapfrog of idle West Virginia and the addition of a Big East team for a change as Louisville has impressed through the opening fortnight.
11-20: Three teams that were in this mid-tier of the rankings bombed out this week. Oklahoma State and Wisconsin took losses on the road against Pac-12 schools. Arkansas, on the other hand, gave 30 points at home and still lost to the Warhawks of Louisiana-Monroe. We nearly had two others drop away, as USF kept pace with Louisville thanks to a last-gasp 32-31 win at Nevada and Georgia needed some late luck to fend off new SEC rival Missouri.
21-25: Call me Ray Ratto, because I’m going to use this space this week to reward a couple of teams that pulled off big upsets to remain in the BCS Buster hunt. UL-Monroe upset the Razorbacks in Fayetteville, taking Arkansas to overtime before turning the result in their favor. Utah State hosted big-brother Utah in a and pulled off the first Friday night mayhem of the season. Both occupy the final spots, testament that any team can win on any given day in college football.
Mitchell:
1-10: I have a little shakeup in the Top 5. Same teams, just different order. Alabama remains #1 after a 35-0 win over Western Kentucky, but LSU jumps to #2 after an impressive win over Washington. Oregon remains slightly ahead of USC right now. I still think those four teams are head and shoulders above the rest of the nation. Michigan State jumps into the Top-10 this week at the expense of Arkansas after the Hogs were upset by Louisiana Monroe at home. That loss dropped Arkansas out of my poll completely.11-20: Ohio State and South Carolina both had good wins this week with the Gamecocks looking much better from Week 1 to Week 2. Kansas State is the big mover this week after a very impressive 52-13 beatdown of Miami. UCLA also jumps into the poll all the way to #16 after they knocked off Nebraska. Oklahoma State and Wisconsin also dropped completely out of my Top-25 this week as the Pokes were beaten up by Arizona and the Badgers went to Corvallis and fell to Oregon State.
21-25: On the flip side of Oklahoma State’s loss was Arizona looking extremely impressive in their win over the Cowboys. Rich Rodriguez’s offense is working in Tuscon with Matt Scott leading the way at QB. Nebraska stays in the ranking despite a loss on the road to the Bruins. Florida jumps in this week after a big road victory against SEC newcomer Texas A&M. Ohio hangs tight at #25. BYU, Mississippi State, Stanford, and Louisiana Monroe garnered consideration this week.
1-10: I have a little shakeup in the Top 5. Same teams, just different order. Alabama remains #1 after a 35-0 win over Western Kentucky, but LSU jumps to #2 after an impressive win over Washington. Oregon remains slightly ahead of USC right now. I still think those four teams are head and shoulders above the rest of the nation. Michigan State jumps into the Top-10 this week at the expense of Arkansas after the Hogs were upset by Louisiana Monroe at home. That loss dropped Arkansas out of my poll completely.11-20: Ohio State and South Carolina both had good wins this week with the Gamecocks looking much better from Week 1 to Week 2. Kansas State is the big mover this week after a very impressive 52-13 beatdown of Miami. UCLA also jumps into the poll all the way to #16 after they knocked off Nebraska. Oklahoma State and Wisconsin also dropped completely out of my Top-25 this week as the Pokes were beaten up by Arizona and the Badgers went to Corvallis and fell to Oregon State.
21-25: On the flip side of Oklahoma State’s loss was Arizona looking extremely impressive in their win over the Cowboys. Rich Rodriguez’s offense is working in Tuscon with Matt Scott leading the way at QB. Nebraska stays in the ranking despite a loss on the road to the Bruins. Florida jumps in this week after a big road victory against SEC newcomer Texas A&M. Ohio hangs tight at #25. BYU, Mississippi State, Stanford, and Louisiana Monroe garnered consideration this week.
Strobl:
1-10: My top 5 remain unchanged from week 1. Alabama did nothing to warrant a drop from the top spot. It appeared that USC’s east coast swing might end poorly as the Trojans struggled early against Syracuse. But all’s well that ends well. LSU, Florida State and Sparty all rolled. Georgia climbed into the #10 spot with a convincing win at Missouri. In spite of four defensive starters being suspended, the Dawgs owned the SEC newcomers.
1-10: My top 5 remain unchanged from week 1. Alabama did nothing to warrant a drop from the top spot. It appeared that USC’s east coast swing might end poorly as the Trojans struggled early against Syracuse. But all’s well that ends well. LSU, Florida State and Sparty all rolled. Georgia climbed into the #10 spot with a convincing win at Missouri. In spite of four defensive starters being suspended, the Dawgs owned the SEC newcomers.
11-20: The upsets had a big impact here. Arkansas’ dreadful loss knocks the Razorbacks out of my poll, and Nebraska, Oklahoma State, and Wisconsin vanish as well. All four will likely claw their way back in, but I can’t ignore the significance of each defeat. Kansas State and UCLA proved they’re more than their respective week 1 “cupcake” wins. Both were solid in big wins on Saturday.
21-25: Oregon State is in by virtue of toppling Wisconsin. TCU also won its first game of the year, and though it was over Grambling, the Horned Frogs have the talent level to warrant inclusion. BYU has had two stellar games to start the season. Michigan fell out of my rankings despite beating Air Force. The Wolverines looked extremely shaky at home, needing a fourth quarter, fourth down stop to preserve a 31-25 win. Someone other than Denard Robinson needs to step up.
About Matt Strobl