College Football Rankings 2016: Week 3 Polls, Schedule and Standings Predictions

Following a largely uneventful Week 2, a number of marquee matchups headline the weekend ahead in college football.

Saturday features four games between ranked teams. The No. 14 Oklahoma Sooners host the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes in the day's biggest clash, while the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide will look for revenge on the road against the No. 19 Ole Miss Rebels.

Below are both the Associated Press Top 25 and Amway Coaches Poll for Week 3, along with three predictions for Saturday's action. The full schedule of games is available on ESPN.com.

Associated Press Top 25

Time (ET)	Home	Away	TV Info
12 p.m.	No. 10 Louisville Cardinals	No. 2 Florida State Seminoles	ABC
3:30 p.m.	No. 19 Ole Miss Rebels	No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide	CBS
3:30 p.m.	Nebraska Cornhuskers	No. 22 Oregon Ducks	ABC
7 p.m.	Auburn Tigers	No. 17 Texas A&M Aggies	ESPN
7:30 p.m.	No. 18 Notre Dame Fighting Irish	No. 12 Michigan State Spartans	NBC
7:30 p.m.	No. 14 Oklahoma Sooners	No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes	Fox

Amway Coaches Poll

Week 3 Top 25 Predictions

Alabama Will Retain Top Spot

The Florida State Seminoles have a great opportunity to prove themselves worthy of the top spot in the polls. They go on the road to play the 10th-ranked Louisville Cardinals.

In order to move into No. 1, though, Florida State needs Alabama to lose to Ole Miss for the third year in a row, and quite frankly, that ain't happening.

The Crimson Tide rolled over the USC Trojans in the opening week, and the 52-6 score may not have even demonstrated the gulf between the two teams. Head coach Nick Saban then made it clear he wouldn't accept anything close to what Alabama offered in its 38-10 win over the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.

"I don't know if I've ever been more disappointed after a win, ever," he said after that game, per the Tuscaloosa News' Cecil Hurt.

When the result was well-decided in the fourth quarter, Saban also got into it with offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin.

"There were no arguments," he said of the incident, per Hurt. "Those are called ass-chewings."

Calling a Rebels upset of the Crimson Tide wouldn't be crazy, but Alabama's stout defense should be able to shut down Chad Kelly. On the other side of the ball, Jalen Hurts continues to look like a competent quarterback, which is all he needs to do with the skill position players at his disposal.

There's almost no way Florida State vaults ahead of Alabama if the Tide beat Ole Miss. Both the Seminoles and Crimson Tide would own head-to-head wins over the Rebels, but Florida State's came at a neutral site in Orlando, Florida, compared to Alabama heading into enemy territory in Oxford, Mississippi.

Ohio State Will Fall out of the Top 5

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

After their season-opening 77-10 hammering of the Bowling Green Falcons, Ohio State fell back to earth a bit in Week 2. It defeated the Tulsa Golden Hurricane 48-3, but it was only up 6-3 until two pick-sixes in the final three minutes of the first half.

The Buckeyes are relying on a lot of younger players, and that inexperience could be exposed as Ohio State faces its toughest test so far in the 2016 season.

The stakes for Oklahoma are enormous Saturday. After their loss to the Houston Cougars, the Sooners essentially have to beat Ohio State to have any chance of reaching the College Football Playoff.

Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops and offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley seemingly learned from their biggest mistake from Week 1. After Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine had 12 combined carries against Houston, they rushed for 175 yards on 24 carries in a 59-17 victory over the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks.

The Tulsa World's Eric Bailey shared their numbers after just the first quarter:

Jamie Sabau/Getty Images

Ohio State had to replace seven players along its front seven, and defensive tackle Tracy Sprinkle is almost certainly out for the year after suffering a patellar tendon injury in the opening week.

The Buckeyes allowed 63.5 rushing yards per game through the first two weeks, but Mixon and Perine pose a more difficult challenge than OSU has dealt with so far.

Of course, few things in college football are more reliable than Oklahoma falling apart in a critical game, and Ohio State won a national championship with a team many disregarded as too young to be a title contender.

But a dangerous running game and a partisan Norman crowd will be enough for the Sooners to earn the win Saturday, thus resulting in a drop in the polls for the Buckeyes.

Win or Lose, Miami Will Lose Grip on Top 25 Place

Following their 20-13 win over the Appalachian State Mountaineers, the Tennessee Volunteers dropped eight spots in the AP poll and four spots in the Amway Coaches Poll.

The same fate could befall the Miami Hurricanes, who stayed at No. 25 following their 38-10 win over the Florida Atlantic Owls.

For many fans, Appalachian State is that one team that beat the Michigan Wolverines in the Big House in 2007. After making the move to FBS in 2014, the Mountaineers have continued to be a strong Group of Five program, winning 18 games over the last two years.

Hurricanes quarterback Brad Kaaya knows he and his teammates can't take Appalachian State lightly, per the Sun-Sentinel's Christy Cabrera Chirinos:

"

I think everyone watched them against Tennessee, everyone on our team and it was good for everyone to see. We're expecting a battle coming into next week. Miami's rolling into town and that's always a big game, wherever you go and no matter what the Hurricanes are ranked, it's always a big game. You saw how they played Tennessee. They played them hard through four quarters. They're disciplined. They run the ball good. All kinds of stuff. They have some pretty good athletes.

"

Still, a number of coaches and AP poll voters aren't going to be impressed should Miami, like Tennessee, edge out a narrow victory over a Sun Belt team, even if the Hurricanes are making the trip to Boone, North Carolina.

Opinion on Miami would sour even more should Appalachian State pull off the upset, which is at least a possibility.

The Mountaineers did a great job of stifling Joshua Dobbs. The Volunteers quarterback went 16-of-29 for 192 yards, one touchdown and an interception.

According to Football Outsiders, Appalachian State ranked 60th in S&P+ pass defense rating last year, but three of the four starters in the secondary are back from last year. If the Mountaineers can cause problems for Kaaya, who hasn't looked great through Miami's first two games, then a win will be within reach.

Among the teams hovering near the bottom of the Top 25, Miami is most vulnerable to falling out of the rankings altogether.