Ohio State, Alabama and TCU remain the top three schools in both the AP and USA Today Coaches polls for Week 2. But a second Big Ten team, Michigan State, rises in both to No. 4. The Spartans entered the week at No. 6 in the Coaches and No. 5 in the AP, but a 31-28 win over Oregon pushed them up. They even take two No. 1 AP votes away from the Buckeyes.
College football rankings: 3 SEC teams fall out of AP Top 25, but what do computers say?
Below, the composite Top 25, which assembles the two prominent human polls, a well-regarded statistical ranking, and a collection of dozens of rankings.
Three SEC teams fall out of both polls: Arkansas (who lost to Toledo at home), Tennessee (who lost to AP No. 16 Oklahoma in double overtime) and Mississippi State (who lost to AP No. 13 LSU at home). BYU, Northwestern, Wisconsin and Oklahoma State are the four new ranked AP teams.
The computers are still high on those SEC teams, as preseason projections will remain a factor for those systems for a few more weeks. That’s one reason why MSU ranks behind an Oregon team to which it just lost; computers can help guard against overreaction, but they can also take some time to adjust to a new season.
| Composite ranking | AP | Coaches | F/+ | Massey composite | ||
| 1 | Ohio State | 1.25 | Ohio State | Ohio State | Alabama | Ohio State |
| 2 | Alabama | 1.75 | Alabama | Alabama | Ohio State | Alabama |
| 3 | TCU | 4.5 | TCU | TCU | Oregon | TCU |
| 4 | Baylor | 4.75 | Michigan State | Michigan State | Baylor | Georgia |
| 5 | Michigan State | 5.5 | Baylor | Baylor | Georgia | Baylor |
| 6 | Georgia | 6 | USC | Florida State | UCLA | Michigan State |
| 7 | USC | 8.5 | Georgia | USC | Ole Miss | Florida State |
| 8 | Florida State | 8.75 | Notre Dame | Georgia | Michigan State | Ole Miss |
| 9 | UCLA | 10 | Florida State | Clemson | TCU | USC |
| 10 | Ole Miss | 10.25 | UCLA | Notre Dame | LSU | Georgia Tech |
| 10 | Oregon | 10.25 | Clemson | Ole Miss | Georgia Tech | Clemson |
| 12 | Clemson | 11.5 | Oregon | UCLA | USC | UCLA |
| 13 | Notre Dame | 12 | LSU | Oregon | Florida State | Oregon |
| 14 | Georgia Tech | 12.75 | Georgia Tech | LSU | Notre Dame | LSU |
| 14 | LSU | 12.75 | Ole Miss | Auburn | Clemson | Oklahoma |
| 16 | Oklahoma | 16 | Oklahoma | Georgia Tech | Oklahoma | Notre Dame |
| 17 | Auburn | 17.5 | Texas A&M | Oklahoma | Stanford | Texas A&M |
| 18 | Texas A&M | 17.75 | Auburn | Texas A&M | Auburn | Wisconsin |
| 19 | Missouri | 21.25 | BYU | Arizona | Texas A&M | Auburn |
| 20 | Wisconsin | 22.25 | Arizona | Missouri | Arizona State | Kansas State |
| 21 | Utah | 23.75 | Utah | Utah | Boise State | Missouri |
| 22 | Arizona | 24 | Missouri | BYU | Missouri | Utah |
| 23 | BYU | 24.5 | Northwestern | Wisconsin | Arkansas | West Virginia |
| 24 | Kansas State | 26.25 | Wisconsin | Northwestern | Wisconsin | BYU |
| 25 | West Virginia | 28.25 | Oklahoma State | Oklahoma State | Virginia Tech | Arizona |
The four rankings we use:
The Associated Press Top 25: The longest-running and best-respected human poll. Didn't have any official bearing on the latter years of the BCS, and won't have any official bearing on the Playoff. Expect it to set the course for the committee, however, as most outlets (including SB Nation) will use the AP's rankings as the standard until the committee takes over in November. Usually comes out on Sundays around 2 p.m. ET.
The USA Today Coaches Poll: Formerly part of the BCS, and now just a poll. It tends to be more conservative than the AP's. Though polling athletic departments in order to rank other athletic departments is dubious, we still want multiple human polls in here, and it's the other big one. Releases early Sunday afternoons.
The Massey computer composite: A collection of ... every rating out there, that will be included as soon as it is updated. By including it here, we're giving extra weight to the two human polls, since they're already two of the dozens of ratings included in the Massey. It changes over the course of the week as more rankings arrive.
Football Outsiders' F/+ rating: A synthesis of ratings by smart persons Bill Connelly and Brian Fremeau and our personal go-to overall team stat. It tends to come out later than the others, and will also be added as soon as it is updated.
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