College Football Week 3 Power Rankings

While it was not a deep slate of big matchups in Week 2, there were some thrilling games and finishes. The biggest one involving Oregon and Michigan State which saw the Ducks go up before the Spartans went up and then the Ducks blew away the Spartans in the end. The Michigan State highlighted a rough day for the Big Ten that also involves Ohio State dropping a primetime game at home to Virginia Tech. The rest of the top 10 in action looked impressive against lowly foes. Stanford was the weekend's other big loser as they threw away multiple scoring opportunities at home against USC. Finally, Notre Dame gave Michigan its first shutout loss in 30 years and put a big exclamation mark on their storied rivalry. The lone casualty to the top 25 was Texas with another rough loss to BYU as Virginia Tech slides into the top 25 after their big road win.

With that, here are Week 3's power rankings:

1)(1) Florida State (BYE)- They get a week off to prepare for another top 25 matchup with Clemson.
2)(3) Oregon (vs Wyoming)- They exploded in the 2nd half last week and they might finish this week's game by halftime.
3)(2) Alabama (vs Southern Mississippi)- They are strong on paper but still molding that talent on the field.
4)(4) Oklahoma (vs Tennessee)- They get a primetime game against a SEC team to showcase where they stand this year.
5)(5) Auburn (BYE)- They have a week off to get ready for what could be a good challenge on the road against Kansas State.
6)(7) Georgia (at South Carolina)- After their opening win, there is some growing hype for this team and they will need to match that against another foe from the state of South Carolina with a seasoned coach.
7)(11) Texas A&M (vs Rice)- Should be another week of dominance by the Aggies.
8)(14) USC (at Boston College)- They should look more like the team everyone saw Week 1 against a lesser opponent.
9)(10) LSU (vs Louisiana-Monroe)- Another chance for a young team to get into proper form before conference play.
10)(13) Baylor (at Buffalo)- They have their quarterback returning and either way this week should be another Bears' rout and victory.
11)(15) Notre Dame (vs Purdue)- They might have had their biggest win against Michigan last week and will need to continue their top play ability to build steam for their season.
12)(12) UCLA (vs Texas)- They have not looked especially great the first two weeks and a team coming off a rough loss could provide them with their first loss if they don't play better.
13)(6) Michigan State (BYE)- They get a week to heal their wounds and regroup after a rough loss.
14)(9) Stanford (vs Army)- A good week and opponent to get back on track after a game they let slip away.
15)(16) Wisconsin (BYE)- They have been strong at times but also have lacked a killer instinct at times.
16)(17) Arizona State (at Colorado)- They get a chance to make a statement in their conference this week and showcase that they are just as good as top conference teams.
17)(18) Mississippi (vs Louisiana-Lafayette)- They played much more efficient in Week 2 and should be able to build on that again this week.
18)(NR) Virginia Tech (vs East Carolina)- They broke a lengthy trend of struggles against top 10 teams unranked and now position themselves to be noticed after going under the radar to start the year.
19)(8) Ohio State (vs Kent State)- Everyone knew they wouldn't be as good with an experienced quarterback at the helm and should be able to regroup as long as they are refocused this week.
20)(19) Nebraska (at Fresno State)- They needed a bit of a Hail Mary to survive against a lesser opponent and have to play better this week or could stumble hard.
21)(20) South Carolina (vs Georgia)- They have a chance to put their opening loss behind them if they can get a huge conference victory at home.
22)(25) Louisville (at Virginia)- They have slowly emerged as a team that is stronger than some expected with a good offense.
23)(23) Clemson (BYE)- They have a week off to prepare to for the top ranked team in the country.
24)(21) Missouri (vs UCF)- They have seemed to go through the motions a bit and will need to be on watch against a gritty team.
25)(22) Kansas State (BYE)- They survived a close one and will now have a week to prepare for a big game at home.

NEXT 5
1) BYU (vs Houston)- They have a team with an elusive quarterback that could slowly make noise this year if they can keep up their play.
2) North Carolina (BYE)- They got lucky with a win and have a week to polish up some rough edges.
3) Oklahoma State (vs UTSA)- They can continue to show the country that they could creep into the Big 12 conversation this year.
4) Penn State (at Rutgers)- They have had movements of great play but still need to monitor turnovers and missed opportunities.
5) Duke (vs Kansas)- They could start to prove that last year was not a fluke.

Not really any major top 25 drama this week as only one matchup of ranked teams (Georgia going to South Carolina) taking place.