Kyle Terada-US Presswire
The Doc is in. What a week it was. Several teams are looking better than most thought, others are finding themselves looking for answers only three weeks into the season.
Give credit to the Stanford Cardinal for the biggest shakeup upsetting the 2nd ranked USC Trojans 21-14. Rant Sports college football writers have collectively spoken with this week’s top 25.
Here was the Doctor’s contribution:
1. Alabama
2. LSU
3. Oregon
4. Florida State
5. Oklahoma
6. Georgia
7. Florida
8. Clemson
9. Stanford
10. West Virginia
11. Ohio State
12. South Carolina
13. Texas
14. Kansas State
15. TCU
16. USC
17. Notre Dame
18. UCLA
19. Nebraska
20. Arizona
21. Louisville
22. Oklahoma State
23. Michigan State
24. Boise State
25. Oregon State
Trending up: The Cardinal scored major brownie points by defeating my top ranked Trojans. Stanford was moved up from 22 to nine. I give a lot of credit to the Florida Gators for a win going away at the Tennessee Volunteers. Florida is now my seventh ranked team cracking the top ten.
The Florida State Seminoles demolished the Wake Forest Demon Deacons avoiding early quesitons about their ability to handle lesser opponents, and are in my top five, thanks in part to USC moving down.
Oregon State debuts in my poll mostly because of teams in front of them dropping out, and the lone win against Wisconsin.
Trending down: Obviously the Trojans fell like a rock from one to 16, as I now have major concerns about their depth on the offensive and defensive lines. Additionally, Troy looked soft in general against a physical team like Stanford.
The Michigan State Spartans drew a good Notre Dame Fighting Irish squad in East Lansing and failed to impress. Quarterback is an issue for the Spartans.
Charles LeClaire-US Presswire
Dropping Out: My oh my how pedestrian the Virginia Tech Hokies looked. A loss to a well below average Pitt squad has me scratching my head. I’m sure Frank Beamer is doing the same. Tennessee is no longer in my top 25 but I am open to putting them back in, if can they show me something other than a bad home loss.
What to watch for in week four: All eyes will be on Clemson and Florida State in Tallahassee. Arizona has an opportunity to blow up the top five with a win against the Oregon Ducks in Eugene. The Big 12 showcases Kansas State and Oklahoma in Norman. Michigan, who is out of my 25, is at Notre Dame.
Dr. G’s previous top 25 Week 3
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James Gomez is a Pac-12 and Mountain West columnist for Rant Sports and member of the Football Writers Association of America
You can follow James on Twitter as well.
