College Football Week 2 Power Rankings

While they did not look as dominant as they were for most of 2013 en route to a national championship, Florida State and QB Jameis Winston were slow and steady and used a few key big plays to set up a solid opening victory. It did not take too long before a top 10 took a loss and a big one at that as South Carolina was humbled and embarrassed by Texas A&M. Alabama, Ohio State, and UCLA among the top 10 teams were tested but found ways to pull away and avoid an opening weekend stumble. Most of the top 25 were able to start the year with a win and a couple who had losses fall out to make room for new additions.

With that, here are Week 2's power rankings:

1)(1) Florida State (vs Citadel)- It should be much easier this week as the champions return home and looking to show more flashes of their greatness.
2)(2) Alabama (vs Florida Atlantic)- The questions at quarterback are slowly being answered but Nick Saban will still expect a much overall performance this week.
3)(3) Oregon (vs Michigan State)- They are right on track offensively and will need to scheme accordingly to keep the Spartans' defense on their toes.
4)(4) Oklahoma (at Tulsa)- Should be another easy for the Sooners as they look to shape into form before conference play.
5)(5) Auburn (vs San Jose State)- They should have any quarterback issues behind them and ready to push ahead as a title contender.
6)(7) Michigan State (at Oregon)- If their defense doesn't bring their A game, their offense will need to be as good as last week if not better.
7)(12) Georgia (BYE)- Talk about a way to start the year as Georgia and their star running back have launched themselves into the national conversation.
8)(6) Ohio State (vs Virginia Tech)- They struggled a bit last week and will need to take lessons from their gritty win into this week.
9)(8) Stanford (vs USC)- They got shocked on the road last year against the Trojans and will be out for revenge as they host this year's contest with one of the best records at home.
10)(13) LSU (vs Sam Houston State)- The Tigers were asleep for 3 quarters before waking up with a mighty roar and should play dominant the whole game this week.
11)(19) Texas A&M (vs Lamar)- Talk about a debut for the new quarterback who can easily repeat that performance this week.
12)(10) UCLA (vs Memphis)- Their defense bailed out their struggling offense who showed some signs of the year ahead late in the second half.
13)(11) Baylor (vs Northwestern State)- The health of their quarterback won't hurt them this week but could against stronger opponents if he is not 100%.
14)(18) USC (at Stanford)- The Trojans offense looks very lethal if clicking and will need to do so against a tough mind Cardinal team.
15)(15) Notre Dame (vs Michigan)- They looked much more like the 2012 team than the 2013 team to start the year and hope to be as efficient in the last battle with the Wolverines for the foreseeable future.
16)(14) Wisconsin (vs Western Illinois)- They pounded the Tigers for much of the game last week and let a big win slip away and will likely take out their frustrations this week.
17)(17) Arizona State (at New Mexico)- They look to have a balanced team that could allow them to be competitive with the high power offenses and stifling defenses in the Pac-12.
18)(20) Mississippi (at Vanderbilt)- They lacked the killer instinct last week and will look to notch their first SEC win of the year in ironing things out.
19)(21) Nebraska (vs McNeese State)- They look like an improved team who can put up some points.
20)(9) South Carolina (vs East Carolina)- They got hit hard at home and will need to be prepared for a team in the Pirates who they cannot sleep on.
21)(22) Missouri (at Toledo)- They will continue to build upon their opening win as they prepare for a tougher challenge this year in the SEC.
22)(24) Kansas State (at Iowa State)- They displayed a lot of good things to start the year and get a team that fell to the same team they did last year to start the year.
23)(16) Clemson (vs South Carolina State)- They seemed poised to not have missed much of a step in the first half before the bottom fell in the second half and their offense will need to solve some issues.
24)(NR) Texas (vs BYU)- They were balanced and improved overall but now lose their starting quarterback for at least this week against a gritty team that blew them out last year.
25)(NR) Louisville (vs Murray State)- They replace a first round quarterback who is in the NFL but showed a steady approach that can lead to some big wins potentially this year.


NEXT 5
1) North Carolina (vs San Diego State)- Another chance to build up some steam for them before ACC play.
2) Oklahoma State (vs Missouri State)- They hung tough with the defending national champions and look to be better than some expected.
3) Penn State (vs Akron)- What a way to start the year and the James Franklin era and this week will be a great chance to build on that win.
4) Michigan (at Notre Dame)- They avoided a repeat loss to a team that beat them 7 years earlier and now prepare for a repeat of last year's meeting with the Fighting Irish as they close for now the storied rivalry between these two historic programs.
5) Virginia Tech (at Ohio State)- They will hope to shock many against a slightly less lethal foe than originally expected on the road.

Like last week, there will be a couple Top 25 contests led by USC visiting Stanford and Michigan State heading to Oregon. Who might move around after this week?