Week 8 college football rankings
The second week of the 2023 college football season is coming to a close and Saturday proved to be even better than Week 1. With all of the games wrapping up, it’s time for our Week 3 college football rankings.
Unsurprisingly, the Colorado Buffaloes, Oregon State Beavers and Penn State Nittany Lions are moving up following stellar victories. With three top programs climbing the rankings, though, several marquee programs are sliding.
Let’s dive into our Week 3 college football rankings.
Dropped from rankings: Texas A&M (23), Wisconsin (21), Tulane (20)
Week 3 college football rankings
25. Miami Hurricanes
- Previously: Unranked
- Next Opponent: Bethune vs Miami (FL)
The Miami Hurricanes saw the Week 1 hype surrounding Texas A&M and wiped it out completely. Tyler Van Dykes looked like the quarterback everyone expected a year ago and Miami’s offense generated 451 total yards. Just as impressive, The U won by 15 despite committing 115 penalty yards.
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24. Arkansas Razorbacks
- Previously: 25th in college football rankings
- Next Opponent: BYU vs Arkansas
It wasn’t the prettiest win for the Arkansas Razorbacks, but they’ll happily take the 2-0 start. If quarterback KJ Jefferson can step up even more and this defense proves to be legitimate, LSU might be on upset alert when these teams meet in Week 4.
Related: College Football Scores
23. Clemson Tigers
- Previously: 19th in college football rankings
- Next Opponent: Florida Atlantic vs Clemson
Congrats to the Clemson Tigers for 66 points against -checks notes- Charleston Southern. We won’t harp on the 14-14 tie after the first quarter, it’s not necessary. Dabo Swinney’s team just isn’t that good, at least compared to many of the best teams in college football this season.
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22. Iowa Hawkeyes
- Previously: 24th in college football rankings
- Next Opponent: Western Michigan vs Iowa
The Iowa Hawkeyes are naturally celebrating after they reclaimed the Cy-Hawk Trophy, but we’re focused on something else. In 2022, the Hawkeyes didn’t score their 44th point until late in the fourth quarter of Week 3. They’ve already reached that mark this season, hats off to the Hawkeys.
21. Duke Blue Devils
- Previously: Unranked
- Next Opponent: Northwestern vs Duke
The Duke Blue Devils might not only be a basketball school anymore. If the trio of Riely Leonard, Jaquez Moore and Jordan Waters can keep this gong, Duke might just roll into its Notre Dame meeting with a 4-0 record. Who could’ve seen that coming?
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20. North Carolina Tar Heels
- Previously: 15th in college football rankings
- Next Opponent: Minnesota vs North Carolina
Saturday reminded us why the North Carolina Tar Heels aren’t viewed as a top program in college football, even with an NFL-caliber quarterback and a ball-carrier like Omarion Hampton. With 51 points allowed in the first two games, we don’t have high hopes for UNC’s defense maintaining this perfect start.
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19. Ole Miss Rebels
- Previously: 22nd in college football rankings
- Next Opponent: Georgia Tech vs Ole Miss
The Ole Miss Rebels passed their first test of the season, though, not how ee expected. After a breakout 2022 season, running back Quinshon Judkins only has 108 rushing yards in two games. Fortunately for Lane Kiffin, they were able to take advantage of Tulane without Michael Pratt. A far better litmus test looms in Week 4 and Nick Saban is counting down the days.
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18. Oklahoma Sooners
- Previously: 16th in college football rankings
- Next Opponent: Oklahoma @ Tulsa
The Oklahoma Sooners didn’t deliver an offensive explosion on Saturday, but a 17-point victory and a four-touchdown performance still left Sooner Nation happy. We’ll be very interested to see how Boomer Sooner fares on the road vs Tulsa.
Related: Best running backs in college football
17. LSU Tigers
- Previously: 14th in college football rankings
- Next Opponent: LSU @ Mississippi State
Jayden Daniels and the LSU Tigers rebounded in Week 2, but that’s also not saying much since they faced Grambling State. We’ll leave the Tigers in the top 18 due to preseason expectations, but there’s no room for them to move up right now and there will be a lot of skeptics until Sep. 30.
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16. Colorado Buffaloes
- Previously: Unranked
- Next Opponent: Colorado State vs Colorado
Deion Sanders might not be the play-caller for the offense or defense, but he changed this program. The Colorado Buffaloes won a single game in 2022. One year later, Shedeuer Sanders and Travis Hunter have the Buffs thinking about winning the Pac-12 conference. Take Colorado seriously and give Sanders credit for this remarkable one-year turnaround.
15. Utah Utes
- Previously:
- Next Opponent:
It’s a temporary drop in the college football rankings with quarterback Cam Rising now having a prolonged absence. Credit to head coach Kyle Whittingham, though, he knows how to win some ugly games and that’s a testament to a great football coach and a leader.
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14. Oregon State Beavers
- Previously: 18th in college football rankings
- Next Opponent: San Diego State vs Oregon State
With Utah and North Carolina narrowly escaping with victories, the Oregon State Beavers keep moving up. One thing is for certain through two weeks this season, quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei was not the problem at Clemson in 2022. Fortunately for Oregon State, it took advantage.
Related: Stanford, California and SMU to join ACC, create 18-team conference
13. Oregon Ducks
- Previously: 13th in college football rankings
- Next Opponent: Hawai’i vs Oregon
Survive and move on. The Oregon Ducks needed a comeback in Week 2 and then still nearly found a way to blow an eight-point lead with 1 minute left. That kind of effort won’t come back to hurt them in Week 3 against Hawai’i, but you can bet Colorado will take advantage of a bad Ducks’ defense
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12. Kansas State Wildcats
- Previously: 17th in college football rankings
- Next Opponent: Kansas State @ Missouri
Will Howard makes the Kansas State Wildcats entertaining. Opening up the 2023 season K-State has already scored over 90 combined points and Howard has eight touchdowns. There are some challenges ahead, but the Wildcats are dangerous to the Big 12.
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11. Tennessee Volunteers
- Previously: 10th in college football rankings
- Next Opponent: Florida @ Tennessee
Week 2 showcased the problem with the Tennessee Volunteers. For nearly three quarters, Joe Milton looked every bit like the quarter who completed fewer than 57 percent of his passes in 2020 at Michigan. It’s great to have one of the strongest arms in the history of college football, but it doesn’t matter as much if you can’t hit the broadside of a barn. Tennessee can be great, but it needs Milton to complete at least 60 percent of his throws.
Top 25 college football rankings after Week 2
10. Alabama Crimson Tide
- Previously: No. 2 in college football rankings
- Next Opponent: South Florida vs Alabama
The Alabama Crimson Tide simply aren’t the powerhouse they used to be. Yes, there are times when they look like one of the best teams in the nation and they’re capable of winning any time they take the field. However, the Crimson Tide’s defensive resume over the last two seasons and the lack of fundamentals from Nick Saban’s entire team captures why Alabama’s days as the dominant team are long gone.
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9. Washington Huskies
- Previously: No. 11 in college football rankings
- Next Opponent:
With two teams dropping out of the top 10, Michael Penix Jr. and the Washington Huskies move in. Penix had a single blemish on Saturday but was otherwise perfect, leading the Huskies’ offense into scoring position on every drive. We expect Washington to be undefeated when it faces Oregon on Oct. 14.
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8. Penn State Nittany Lions
- Previously: No. 9 in college football rankings
- Next Opponent: Penn State @ Illinois
If you love watching a great rushing attack, you need to tune in for the next Penn State game. The Nittany Lions’ duo of Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton is easily the best running-back tandem in college football. Another benefit, it’s allowing Penn State to ease Drew Allar (22-of-26 in Week 2) in.
Related: College Football standings
7. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
- Previously: No. 8 in college football rankings
- Next Opponent: Central Michigan
Sam Hartman is a game-changer for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. In recent years, quarterback play has been one of the primary reasons why the Irish couldn’t get over that final hump. Now, they have a signal-caller who can take over a game and make critical throws in the biggest moments. We can’t wait for Notre Dame vs Ohio State on Sep. 23.
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6. Ohio State Buckeyes
- Previously: No. 6 in college football rankings
- Next Opponent: Western Kentucky vs Ohio State
That’s more like it from the Ohio State Buckeyes. While some would point to this offensive output occurring against Youngstown State, it’s not like Ohio State took advantage of its Week 1 opponent. Quarterback keeps this team from cracking the top-five tier, but this was a much-needed performance.
5. Michigan Wolverines
- Previously: No. 5 in college football rankings
- Next Opponent: Bowling Green vs Michigan
J.J. McCarthy is the most accurate quarterback in college football through two weeks and the Michigan Wolverines offense is rolling. While we saw flashes from Michigan’s passing attack in 2022, it has elevated to another form so far this year. We still need to see a quality win on the resume, but that will come in time.
4. Florida State Seminoles
- Previously: No. 4 in college football rankings
- Next Opponent: Florida State @ Boston College
The Florida State Seminoles look like one of the best teams in college football on both sides of the ball. For now, FSU falls behind USC because of the slight quarterback advantage. If the Seminoles keep things up, though, they could be as high as No. 2 in our top 25 rankings by October.
3. USC Trojans
- Previously: No. 3 in college football rankings
- Next Opponent: USC @ Arizona State
Caleb Williams is the best player in college football and as long as he’s healthy, the USC Trojans have a shot at the playoffs. Of course, Southern Cal’s defense remains a huge question mark. Fortunately, we’ll get an answer to USC’s defensive ability on Sep. 30 against Colorado.
2. Texas Longhorns
- Previously: No. 7 in college football rankings
- Next Opponent: Wyoming vs Texas
That’s why we had the Texas Longhorns at No. 2 in our college football rankings entering the season. In one of the most raucous atmospheres in the United States, Steve Sarkisian’s team went blow-for-blow with Alabama and came out on top. Maybe it will feel premature to some, but Texas is back.
1. Georgia Bulldogs
- Previously: No. 1 in college football rankings
- Next Opponent: South Carolina vs Georgia
After playing with their food for a bit in the first quarter, a habit we saw in 2022, the Georgia Bulldogs blew the doors off Ball State in the second quarter. The rest, as they say, is history. Georgia is the best team in college football.