NCAA Football Rankings 2014: Full List of Week 3 College Standings and Polls
Thanks to a batch of brave scheduling, there is a lot of noticeable movement to talk about in the Week 3 college football polls.
Both the Amway Coaches poll and Associated Press poll contain plenty of surprises after their Sunday release this time around. Some matchups were obviously going to produce movers (USC-Stanford), while marquee upsets facilitated momentum on their own (Virginia Tech-Stanford).
Below, let's take a look at both polls and key in on a few of the notable movers and what it means for each school's future in the coming weeks.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Amway and AP Week 3 Top 25 Rankings
| 1 | Florida State Seminoles (38) | Florida State Seminoles (51) |
| 2 | Oregon Ducks (16) | Alabama Crimson Tide (1) |
| 3 | Alabama Crimson Tide (1) | Oklahoma Sooners (3) |
| 4 | Oklahoma Sooners (2) | Oregon Ducks (6) |
| 5 | Auburn Tigers | Auburn Tigers |
| 6 | Georgia Bulldogs (1) | Georgia Bulldogs (1) |
| 7 | Texas A&M Aggies (2) | Baylor Bears |
| 8 | Baylor Bears | Texas A&M Aggies |
| 9 | USC Trojans | LSU Tigers |
| 10 | LSU Tigers | USC Trojans |
| 11 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | Notre Dame Fighting Irish |
| 12 | UCLA Bruins | UCLA Bruins |
| 13 | Michigan State Spartans | Michigan State Spartans |
| 14 | Mississippi Rebels | Arizona State Sun Devils |
| 15 | Stanford Cardinal | Mississippi Rebels |
| 16 | Arizona State Sun Devils | Stanford Cardinal |
| 17 | Virginia Tech Hokies | Wisconsin Badgers |
| 18 | Wisconsin Badgers | Ohio State Buckeyes |
| 19 | Kansas State Wildcats | Virginia Tech Hokies |
| 20 | Missouri Tigers | Kansas State Wildcats |
| 21 | Louisville Cardinals | Nebraska Cornhuskers |
| 22 | Ohio State Buckeyes | Missouri Tigers |
| 23 | Clemson Tigers | South Carolina Gamecocks |
| 24 | South Carolina Gamecocks | Clemson Tigers |
| 25 | BYU Cougars | North Carolina Tar Heels |
Breaking Down Notable Movers
Virginia Tech
Hokies fans surely have a mixed reaction to this one.
On one hand, they have to be proud that Virginia Tech makes an appearance in both polls, rising 21 spots alone in the AP poll, but as Fox Sports' Bruce Feldman points out, the other poll seems to have made a tiny mistake:
Not only did Frank Beamer's team go to Columbus and pick up a win, it dominated the Buckeyes, Braxton Miller or not.
Known for his perennially strong defenses, Beamer dialed up a game plan that had Urban Meyer's side on its heels all night. Quarterback J.T. Barrett completed just nine of his 29 attempts, going for 219 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions in the process. Barrett also led the team in rushing with 70 yards and a score.
As ESPN Stats & Info notes, Beamer dialed up a ridiculous amount of aggression to counteract what is supposedly a better team in a hostile environment:
So how does the marquee upset mesh with the rest of the season for the Hokies?
Not so well. Beamer and Co. have a tough schedule if they are to win the ACC, with dates against North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Miami (Fla.) and Duke to come.
The good news is that the Hokies defense should continue to cause issues for any offense it encounters. Quarterback Michael Brewer held up better than anticipated and should only continue to get more comfortable.
Expect the Hokies to hang around in the polls for a while.
Texas A&M
The hype train for the Texas A&M Aggies continues to grow.
One week removed from taking down South Carolina on the road while Kenny Hill beat a Johnny Manziel record on his way to 511 yards and three scores, the Aggies went out Saturday and destroyed Lamar, 73-3.
The rout caused the Aggies to move up two spots in the AP poll (including two first-place votes) and another five in the Amway poll.
At this point, it's as if Manziel never left when it comes to national-title talk. Hill threw for another 283 yards and four scores before getting yanked from the game, and 11 different players caught at least one pass in the process.
Remember, though, that much of the credit can go to coach Kevin Sumlin, as College GameDay illustrates:
Do not expect Texas A&M to stick around with such high marks, though. The next two weeks are simple and will further get the hype train rolling (Rice and SMU), but the schedule is one of the most unkind the country has to offer.
The Aggies have to travel to Alabama, Mississippi State and Auburn, not to mention they welcome Ole Miss and LSU to town.
A playoff berth seems like a possibility, but it's going to take the offense continuing to produce against the best of the best.
Notre Dame
A move up a minimum of four spots in each poll speaks volumes about the job Brian Kelly and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have done to start the season.
The team started with a win over Rice, but Saturday's triumph over Michigan—a jaw-dropping affair at 31-0—has announced that the Fighting Irish are very much playoff contenders. As Matt Fortuna of ESPN notes, the program is finally back up around some of their rivals:
It's certainly not as flashy, but the Notre Dame defense deserves a ton of credit for the victory. It held explosive Wolverines signal-caller Devin Gardner to 189 passing yards, and the entire offense rushed for just 100 yards.
Best of all, Everett Golson is back in full force. He threw for 226 yards and three scores against the Michigan defense, and his comeback story has the attention of many, including Bleacher Report's Matt Miller:
We have always known Golson is a talented player, but nobody could have predicted he would be up to speed this quickly—not even his private coach, George Whitefield. He told Feldman, "I thought it'd take a couple of games before he'd really settle in -- maybe by like Game 5."
So much for that.
It's huge news for the Fighting Irish. Like the Aggies, Kelly's squad has a brutal schedule that includes Stanford, North Carolina, Florida State, Arizona State, Louisville and USC.
In order to get to the coveted playoff, Golson has to play at an elite level in each contest. It's early, but it looks like he will not have any issues doing just that.
Stats via ESPN.com. Amyway poll via USA Today. AP poll via The Associated Press.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
