It should come as no surprise that the top of the S&P+ rankings didn’t change much following the first week of action in the 2017 college football season. The preseason S&P+ projections (found here) are phased out over a period of about seven weeks, and one week into the season only about 10 percent of the ratings are based on 2017 action. Still, there were some early movers, good and bad.
Updated S&P+ rankings: Ohio State and Clemson jump up in top 3
The S&P+ rankings show a little change at the top, but the shuffling in the middle has begun.
Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports
You can find archived S&P+ rankings, from 2005 to present, at Football Outsiders, but below are this week’s updated rankings.
Also, if the chart below isn’t loading friendly on your mobile device, that Football Outsiders link should work.
2017 S&P+ rankings
Team | Rec. | S&P+ (Margin) | Rk | Off. S&P+ | Rk | Def. S&P+ | Rk | ST S&P+ | Rk | Last Wk | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 1-0 | 31.8 | 1 | 38.9 | 13 | 7.2 | 1 | 0.2 | 57 | 1 | 0 |
| Ohio State | 1-0 | 25.0 | 2 | 39.3 | 8 | 14.9 | 7 | 0.6 | 26 | 3 | 1 |
| Clemson | 1-0 | 22.8 | 3 | 36.5 | 28 | 14.2 | 5 | 0.5 | 37 | 6 | 3 |
| LSU | 1-0 | 22.7 | 4 | 37.5 | 19 | 14.3 | 6 | -0.4 | 95 | 4 | 0 |
| Florida State | 0-1 | 22.6 | 5 | 39.2 | 9 | 15.5 | 8 | -1.0 | 128 | 2 | -3 |
| Oklahoma | 1-0 | 21.7 | 6 | 48.9 | 1 | 26.9 | 48 | -0.4 | 93 | 5 | -1 |
| USC | 1-0 | 21.5 | 7 | 41.4 | 3 | 20.4 | 16 | 0.6 | 29 | 7 | 0 |
| Auburn | 1-0 | 21.1 | 8 | 36.9 | 25 | 16.3 | 9 | 0.5 | 30 | 8 | 0 |
| Michigan | 1-0 | 20.2 | 9 | 32.9 | 45 | 13.2 | 2 | 0.5 | 39 | 10 | 1 |
| Penn State | 1-0 | 19.9 | 10 | 40.6 | 6 | 20.2 | 15 | -0.5 | 96 | 9 | -1 |
| Stanford | 1-0 | 19.9 | 11 | 36.4 | 29 | 17.1 | 10 | 0.6 | 24 | 12 | 1 |
| Wisconsin | 1-0 | 19.7 | 12 | 33.0 | 44 | 14.0 | 4 | 0.7 | 19 | 11 | -1 |
| Washington | 1-0 | 16.9 | 13 | 38.9 | 10 | 21.9 | 20 | -0.1 | 73 | 13 | 0 |
| Louisville | 1-0 | 16.7 | 14 | 37.3 | 20 | 20.9 | 18 | 0.3 | 53 | 14 | 0 |
| Florida | 0-1 | 15.8 | 15 | 29.2 | 68 | 13.7 | 3 | 0.3 | 49 | 15 | 0 |
| Miami-FL | 1-0 | 15.7 | 16 | 33.5 | 42 | 18.8 | 13 | 1.0 | 2 | 18 | 2 |
| Notre Dame | 1-0 | 14.5 | 17 | 37.6 | 17 | 22.1 | 22 | -0.9 | 120 | 16 | -1 |
| TCU | 1-0 | 14.2 | 18 | 37.6 | 18 | 23.0 | 26 | -0.3 | 88 | 19 | 1 |
| Oklahoma State | 1-0 | 13.5 | 19 | 43.7 | 2 | 30.0 | 71 | -0.3 | 86 | 20 | 1 |
| Texas A&M | 0-1 | 12.9 | 20 | 35.8 | 33 | 23.6 | 29 | 0.7 | 21 | 22 | 2 |
| Georgia | 1-0 | 12.8 | 21 | 31.4 | 57 | 18.7 | 12 | 0.1 | 62 | 21 | 0 |
| Ole Miss | 1-0 | 11.7 | 22 | 38.8 | 14 | 26.9 | 49 | -0.1 | 76 | 23 | 1 |
| Texas | 0-1 | 11.6 | 23 | 38.9 | 12 | 26.4 | 42 | -0.9 | 118 | 17 | -6 |
| Tennessee | 1-0 | 10.4 | 24 | 36.8 | 26 | 27.2 | 52 | 0.8 | 10 | 25 | 1 |
| Mississippi State | 1-0 | 10.2 | 25 | 37.3 | 21 | 27.5 | 55 | 0.4 | 47 | 33 | 8 |
| Virginia Tech | 1-0 | 10.0 | 26 | 28.8 | 73 | 18.4 | 11 | -0.4 | 94 | 24 | -2 |
| Arkansas | 1-0 | 9.5 | 27 | 35.5 | 35 | 25.5 | 37 | -0.5 | 101 | 29 | 2 |
| Boise State | 1-0 | 9.3 | 28 | 35.3 | 36 | 26.9 | 47 | 0.9 | 8 | 31 | 3 |
| Baylor | 0-1 | 9.3 | 29 | 35.7 | 34 | 27.0 | 50 | 0.5 | 35 | 27 | -2 |
| Oregon | 1-0 | 9.0 | 30 | 40.7 | 5 | 31.3 | 78 | -0.5 | 98 | 30 | 0 |
| Washington State | 1-0 | 8.9 | 31 | 36.0 | 32 | 28.1 | 58 | 1.0 | 1 | 40 | 9 |
| Kansas State | 1-0 | 8.8 | 32 | 36.6 | 27 | 28.1 | 59 | 0.4 | 46 | 34 | 2 |
| NC State | 0-1 | 8.5 | 33 | 32.8 | 47 | 23.5 | 28 | -0.9 | 114 | 26 | -7 |
| Nebraska | 1-0 | 7.8 | 34 | 29.7 | 62 | 22.4 | 24 | 0.5 | 31 | 35 | 1 |
| UCLA | 1-0 | 7.4 | 35 | 32.7 | 49 | 25.2 | 36 | -0.1 | 74 | 32 | -3 |
| Georgia Tech | 0-1 | 7.1 | 36 | 34.3 | 37 | 26.2 | 41 | -1.0 | 125 | 28 | -8 |
| South Carolina | 1-0 | 6.7 | 37 | 29.9 | 61 | 23.6 | 30 | 0.4 | 43 | 39 | 2 |
| North Carolina | 0-1 | 6.6 | 38 | 31.4 | 58 | 25.0 | 35 | 0.3 | 55 | 37 | -1 |
| Utah | 1-0 | 6.1 | 39 | 32.9 | 46 | 27.5 | 56 | 0.7 | 16 | 44 | 5 |
| Missouri | 1-0 | 6.1 | 40 | 40.2 | 7 | 34.8 | 102 | 0.8 | 15 | 47 | 7 |
| Colorado State | 1-1 | 5.8 | 41 | 37.2 | 22 | 32.1 | 85 | 0.7 | 22 | 43 | 2 |
| Northwestern | 1-0 | 5.7 | 42 | 29.7 | 65 | 23.2 | 27 | -0.7 | 107 | 38 | -4 |
| Pittsburgh | 1-0 | 5.7 | 43 | 38.1 | 15 | 31.8 | 82 | -0.7 | 105 | 36 | -7 |
| Houston | 0-0 | 5.5 | 44 | 27.0 | 81 | 21.6 | 19 | 0.0 | 67 | 42 | -2 |
| Iowa | 1-0 | 5.2 | 45 | 23.0 | 114 | 18.8 | 14 | 1.0 | 3 | 52 | 7 |
| Colorado | 1-0 | 5.2 | 46 | 31.8 | 55 | 27.1 | 51 | 0.5 | 34 | 46 | 0 |
| Kentucky | 1-0 | 5.1 | 47 | 32.8 | 48 | 28.6 | 65 | 0.9 | 5 | 45 | -2 |
| Indiana | 0-1 | 4.9 | 48 | 29.2 | 67 | 24.5 | 32 | 0.2 | 58 | 41 | -7 |
| South Florida | 2-0 | 4.9 | 49 | 38.9 | 11 | 34.5 | 101 | 0.5 | 41 | 50 | 1 |
| San Diego State | 1-0 | 4.8 | 50 | 30.7 | 60 | 26.7 | 44 | 0.8 | 13 | 57 | 7 |
| Western Kentucky | 1-0 | 4.7 | 51 | 33.8 | 41 | 29.9 | 70 | 0.8 | 9 | 49 | -2 |
| Toledo | 1-0 | 4.7 | 52 | 37.9 | 16 | 33.5 | 96 | 0.3 | 51 | 56 | 4 |
| Syracuse | 1-0 | 4.7 | 53 | 32.2 | 52 | 28.0 | 57 | 0.5 | 32 | 60 | 7 |
| Michigan State | 1-0 | 4.7 | 54 | 28.1 | 74 | 23.8 | 31 | 0.3 | 48 | 54 | 0 |
| Wake Forest | 1-0 | 3.9 | 55 | 26.9 | 84 | 22.9 | 25 | 0.0 | 69 | 67 | 12 |
| Memphis | 1-0 | 3.9 | 56 | 36.2 | 31 | 32.7 | 90 | 0.4 | 42 | 51 | -5 |
| Duke | 1-0 | 3.7 | 57 | 32.0 | 53 | 28.3 | 62 | 0.0 | 64 | 63 | 6 |
| Iowa State | 1-0 | 3.4 | 58 | 36.3 | 30 | 32.8 | 91 | -0.1 | 75 | 55 | -3 |
| BYU | 1-1 | 3.3 | 59 | 25.6 | 95 | 22.4 | 23 | 0.1 | 61 | 48 | -11 |
| Vanderbilt | 1-0 | 3.1 | 60 | 29.1 | 69 | 25.0 | 34 | -1.0 | 123 | 58 | -2 |
| California | 1-0 | 3.0 | 61 | 36.9 | 24 | 33.4 | 95 | -0.5 | 97 | 53 | -8 |
| Arizona | 1-0 | 2.8 | 62 | 34.3 | 38 | 32.1 | 84 | 0.5 | 33 | 68 | 6 |
| Minnesota | 1-0 | 2.4 | 63 | 24.5 | 101 | 22.0 | 21 | -0.2 | 78 | 61 | -2 |
| Arizona State | 1-0 | 2.1 | 64 | 37.2 | 23 | 35.8 | 109 | 0.7 | 17 | 66 | 2 |
| Appalachian State | 0-1 | 1.9 | 65 | 28.8 | 72 | 26.7 | 45 | -0.2 | 79 | 59 | -6 |
| Texas Tech | 1-0 | 1.7 | 66 | 40.9 | 4 | 39.3 | 122 | 0.1 | 59 | 69 | 3 |
| West Virginia | 0-1 | 1.5 | 67 | 32.6 | 50 | 30.8 | 76 | -0.3 | 85 | 65 | -2 |
| Oregon State | 1-1 | 0.7 | 68 | 29.7 | 63 | 28.2 | 60 | -0.8 | 112 | 64 | -4 |
| Temple | 0-1 | 0.4 | 69 | 25.8 | 94 | 24.9 | 33 | -0.6 | 103 | 62 | -7 |
| Central Florida | 1-0 | -0.1 | 70 | 26.9 | 83 | 27.2 | 54 | 0.2 | 56 | 73 | 3 |
| Maryland | 1-0 | -0.6 | 71 | 27.2 | 79 | 26.9 | 46 | -1.0 | 122 | 70 | -1 |
| Virginia | 1-0 | -0.8 | 72 | 26.6 | 88 | 26.5 | 43 | -0.9 | 116 | 71 | -1 |
| Cincinnati | 1-0 | -1.1 | 73 | 25.4 | 97 | 25.8 | 39 | -0.7 | 106 | 72 | -1 |
| Boston College | 1-0 | -1.4 | 74 | 18.5 | 124 | 20.8 | 17 | 0.8 | 11 | 75 | 1 |
| SMU | 1-0 | -1.9 | 75 | 31.3 | 59 | 33.9 | 99 | 0.7 | 18 | 83 | 8 |
| Navy | 1-0 | -2.3 | 76 | 33.4 | 43 | 35.0 | 104 | -0.8 | 108 | 77 | 1 |
| Troy | 0-1 | -2.6 | 77 | 26.0 | 92 | 28.4 | 63 | -0.2 | 83 | 74 | -3 |
| Western Michigan | 0-1 | -2.8 | 78 | 27.4 | 77 | 30.1 | 72 | -0.1 | 71 | 79 | 1 |
| Utah State | 0-1 | -3.0 | 79 | 26.8 | 87 | 29.7 | 69 | -0.1 | 70 | 76 | -3 |
| Louisiana Tech | 1-0 | -3.0 | 80 | 33.9 | 39 | 36.9 | 113 | 0.0 | 65 | 81 | 1 |
| Arkansas State | 0-1 | -3.8 | 81 | 24.6 | 99 | 29.1 | 66 | 0.7 | 23 | 84 | 3 |
| Tulsa | 0-1 | -4.3 | 82 | 28.0 | 75 | 31.5 | 80 | -0.8 | 111 | 78 | -4 |
| Northern Illinois | 0-1 | -4.4 | 83 | 28.9 | 71 | 32.2 | 86 | -1.0 | 126 | 82 | -1 |
| Illinois | 1-0 | -4.7 | 84 | 23.9 | 107 | 28.3 | 61 | -0.2 | 84 | 85 | 1 |
| Wyoming | 0-1 | -5.2 | 85 | 27.1 | 80 | 31.3 | 79 | -0.9 | 119 | 80 | -5 |
| Southern Miss | 0-1 | -5.2 | 86 | 27.0 | 82 | 31.8 | 83 | -0.4 | 92 | 86 | 0 |
| Old Dominion | 1-0 | -5.6 | 87 | 26.0 | 93 | 32.3 | 87 | 0.8 | 12 | 91 | 4 |
| UTSA | 0-0 | -6.2 | 88 | 23.1 | 111 | 29.3 | 67 | 0.0 | 67 | 88 | 0 |
| Miami-OH | 0-1 | -6.3 | 89 | 24.3 | 103 | 30.4 | 74 | -0.2 | 81 | 89 | 0 |
| Army | 1-0 | -6.4 | 90 | 23.8 | 108 | 30.9 | 77 | 0.8 | 14 | 107 | 17 |
| Air Force | 1-0 | -6.5 | 91 | 31.7 | 56 | 38.2 | 120 | 0.0 | 63 | 103 | 12 |
| Tulane | 1-0 | -6.6 | 92 | 21.1 | 118 | 27.2 | 53 | -0.5 | 100 | 95 | 3 |
| Eastern Michigan | 1-0 | -6.7 | 93 | 29.5 | 66 | 35.9 | 111 | -0.3 | 90 | 90 | -3 |
| Ohio | 1-0 | -7.1 | 94 | 17.9 | 127 | 26.0 | 40 | 0.9 | 6 | 108 | 14 |
| Florida Atlantic | 0-1 | -7.4 | 95 | 31.8 | 54 | 39.8 | 126 | 0.6 | 27 | 97 | 2 |
| Fresno State | 1-0 | -7.5 | 96 | 23.4 | 109 | 31.6 | 81 | 0.7 | 20 | 109 | 13 |
| Purdue | 0-1 | -7.7 | 97 | 26.5 | 89 | 33.3 | 94 | -0.9 | 117 | 92 | -5 |
| Bowling Green | 0-1 | -8.0 | 98 | 26.9 | 85 | 35.3 | 105 | 0.4 | 45 | 94 | -4 |
| Marshall | 1-0 | -8.1 | 99 | 21.6 | 117 | 30.2 | 73 | 0.5 | 38 | 99 | 0 |
| Middle Tennessee | 0-1 | -8.2 | 100 | 32.3 | 51 | 40.3 | 127 | -0.3 | 89 | 87 | -13 |
| Central Michigan | 1-0 | -8.3 | 101 | 24.4 | 102 | 32.5 | 89 | -0.2 | 82 | 100 | -1 |
| Rutgers | 0-1 | -8.6 | 102 | 18.1 | 126 | 25.7 | 38 | -0.9 | 121 | 96 | -6 |
| San Jose State | 1-1 | -8.6 | 103 | 24.0 | 105 | 33.3 | 93 | 0.6 | 25 | 105 | 2 |
| Ball State | 0-1 | -8.8 | 104 | 27.6 | 76 | 35.4 | 106 | -1.1 | 129 | 98 | -6 |
| East Carolina | 0-1 | -9.0 | 105 | 27.2 | 78 | 35.8 | 108 | -0.5 | 99 | 93 | -12 |
| New Mexico | 1-0 | -9.3 | 106 | 33.9 | 40 | 43.5 | 130 | 0.3 | 50 | 111 | 5 |
| Georgia State | 0-1 | -9.4 | 107 | 18.6 | 122 | 28.5 | 64 | 0.5 | 40 | 104 | -3 |
| Hawaii | 2-0 | -9.5 | 108 | 29.0 | 70 | 37.6 | 117 | -0.9 | 115 | 102 | -6 |
| North Texas | 1-0 | -9.9 | 109 | 22.6 | 115 | 32.4 | 88 | -0.2 | 80 | 115 | 6 |
| Coastal Carolina | 1-0 | -10.0 | 110 | 26.3 | 91 | 37.1 | 114 | 0.9 | 7 | 113 | 3 |
| Idaho | 1-0 | -10.5 | 111 | 25.4 | 96 | 36.2 | 112 | 0.3 | 54 | 117 | 6 |
| Kansas | 1-0 | -10.9 | 112 | 23.1 | 112 | 33.7 | 97 | -0.3 | 91 | 118 | 6 |
| Florida International | 0-1 | -11.1 | 113 | 26.3 | 90 | 37.4 | 115 | 0.1 | 60 | 106 | -7 |
| Georgia Southern | 0-1 | -11.1 | 114 | 19.6 | 120 | 29.7 | 68 | -1.0 | 127 | 101 | -13 |
| UNLV | 0-1 | -11.2 | 115 | 29.7 | 64 | 41.2 | 129 | 0.4 | 44 | 119 | 4 |
| Nevada | 0-1 | -11.6 | 116 | 23.9 | 106 | 35.9 | 110 | 0.3 | 52 | 116 | 0 |
| South Alabama | 0-1 | -11.8 | 117 | 23.4 | 110 | 34.8 | 103 | -0.3 | 87 | 112 | -5 |
| UL-Lafayette | 1-0 | -11.8 | 118 | 19.5 | 121 | 30.6 | 75 | -0.8 | 109 | 110 | -8 |
| New Mexico State | 0-1 | -12.6 | 119 | 26.8 | 86 | 39.4 | 125 | 0.0 | 66 | 120 | 1 |
| Massachusetts | 0-2 | -12.7 | 120 | 24.0 | 104 | 35.7 | 107 | -1.1 | 130 | 114 | -6 |
| Connecticut | 1-0 | -13.9 | 121 | 18.5 | 125 | 32.9 | 92 | 0.5 | 36 | 124 | 3 |
| UL-Monroe | 0-1 | -14.7 | 122 | 25.4 | 98 | 39.4 | 124 | -0.7 | 104 | 121 | -1 |
| Kent State | 0-1 | -15.9 | 123 | 18.5 | 123 | 34.3 | 100 | -0.2 | 77 | 122 | -1 |
| UTEP | 0-1 | -16.2 | 124 | 24.6 | 100 | 40.7 | 128 | -0.1 | 72 | 125 | 1 |
| Akron | 0-1 | -16.8 | 125 | 23.1 | 113 | 39.3 | 123 | -0.6 | 102 | 123 | -2 |
| Rice | 0-1 | -18.3 | 126 | 21.8 | 116 | 39.2 | 121 | -0.8 | 113 | 126 | 0 |
| Charlotte | 0-1 | -19.1 | 127 | 19.7 | 119 | 38.1 | 119 | -0.8 | 110 | 127 | 0 |
| Buffalo | 0-1 | -19.9 | 128 | 14.9 | 129 | 33.9 | 98 | -1.0 | 124 | 128 | 0 |
| Texas State | 1-0 | -20.6 | 129 | 16.8 | 128 | 37.9 | 118 | 0.6 | 28 | 129 | 0 |
| UAB | 1-0 | -23.3 | 130 | 13.3 | 130 | 37.5 | 116 | 0.9 | 4 | 130 | 0 |
Thanks in part to a miserable special teams performance from Florida State, Ohio State has now moved up to No. 2. Defending champ Clemson’s dominant performance against Kent State was good enough to move the Tigers to No. 3.
Top movers (good)
- Army (17 spots, from 107th to 90th)
- Ohio (14 spots, from 108th to 94th)
- Fresno State (13 spots, from 109th to 96th)
- Wake Forest (12 spots, from 67th to 55th)
- Air Force (12 spots, from 103rd to 91st)
- Washington State (nine spots, from 40th to 31st)
- Mississippi State (eight spots, from 33rd to 25th)
- SMU (eight spots, from 83rd to 75th)
- Missouri (seven spots, from 47th to 40th)
- Iowa (seven spots, from 52nd to 45th)
- San Diego State (seven spots, from 57th to 50th)
- Syracuse (seven spots, from 60th to 53rd)
Twelve teams moved up at least seven spots; 11 of them played FCS opponents in week 1. You can differentiate yourself a bit no matter the caliber of the opponent, I guess.
Iowa, meanwhile, moved up by obliterating Wyoming’s offense and playing nearly perfect special teams. Consider the Hawkeyes the mover of the week.
Top movers (bad)
- Georgia Southern (13 spots, from 101st to 114th)
- Middle Tennessee (13 spots, from 87th to 100th)
- East Carolina (12 spots, from 93rd to 105th)
- BYU (11 spots, from 48th to 59th)
- UL-Lafayette (eight spots, from 110th to 118th)
- California (eight spots, from 53rd to 61st)
- Georgia Tech (eight spots, from 28th to 36th)
- FIU (seven spots, from 106th to 113th)
- Temple (seven spots, from 62nd to 69th)
- Indiana (seven spots, from 41st to 48th)
- Pitt (seven spots, from 36th to 43rd)
- NC State (seven spots, from 26th to 33rd)
Opponent adjustments are obviously minimal early in the year, so I’m guessing Indiana’s late-game collapse against Ohio State isn’t going to end up hurting the Hoosiers all that much long-term.
There’s always one strange mover, and that award this week goes to California, which traveled across the country, stole a win in Chapel Hill, and moved down. If the Golden Bears really are solid, they’ll move back up soon enough.
The mover of the week, though: Georgia Southern. The Eagles have, in just two years, gone from nearly beating Georgia in 2015 to gaining 78 total yards in a blowout loss to Auburn on Saturday.
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