College Football Rankings 2014: Latest Look at Week 3 Polls and Standings
Remember Week 2 of the college football season, when games such as Michigan State vs. Oregon, Ohio State vs. Virginia Tech, USC vs. Stanford and Michigan vs. Notre Dame populated the schedule?
Week 3 will be nothing like that.
There likely won't be many significant changes in the polls this week, because only one game features two ranked opponents (Georgia vs. South Carolina). What’s more, the argument can be made that South Carolina doesn't even belong in the Top 25 after getting blown out by Texas A&M and struggling to pull away from East Carolina.
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It is still worth glancing at the two polls before a rather lackluster slate of games in Week 3, but they will probably look awfully similar in Week 4.
| 1 | Florida State (38) | 2-0 | 1,463 |
| 2 | Oregon (16) | 2-0 | 1,415 |
| 3 | Alabama (1) | 2-0 | 1,334 |
| 4 | Oklahoma (2) | 2-0 | 1,303 |
| 5 | Auburn | 2-0 | 1,236 |
| 6 | Georgia (1) | 1-0 | 1,201 |
| 7 | Texas A&M (2) | 2-0 | 1,101 |
| 8 | Baylor | 2-0 | 1,043 |
| 9 | Southern California | 2-0 | 1,039 |
| 10 | LSU | 2-0 | 1,029 |
| 11 | Notre Dame | 2-0 | 815 |
| 12 | UCLA | 2-0 | 779 |
| 13 | Michigan State | 1-1 | 751 |
| 14 | Mississippi | 2-0 | 703 |
| 15 | Stanford | 1-1 | 592 |
| 16 | Arizona State | 2-0 | 570 |
| 17 | Virginia Tech | 2-0 | 532 |
| 18 | Wisconsin | 1-1 | 391 |
| 19 | Kansas State | 2-0 | 285 |
| 20 | Missouri | 2-0 | 237 |
| 21 | Louisville | 2-0 | 234 |
| 22 | Ohio State | 1-1 | 222 |
| 23 | Clemson | 1-1 | 206 |
| 24 | South Carolina | 1-1 | 199 |
| 25 | BYU | 2-0 | 179 |
| 1 | Florida State (51) | 1529 |
| 2 | Alabama (1) | 1435 |
| 3 | Oklahoma (3) | 1408 |
| 4 | Oregon (6) | 1407 |
| 5 | Auburn | 1312 |
| 6 | Georgia (1) | 1209 |
| 7 | Baylor | 1135 |
| 8 | Texas A&M | 1090 |
| 9 | LSU | 1034 |
| 10 | USC | 999 |
| 11 | Notre Dame | 858 |
| 12 | UCLA | 812 |
| 13 | Michigan State | 716 |
| 14 | Arizona State | 646 |
| 15 | Ole Miss | 609 |
| 16 | Stanford | 585 |
| 17 | Wisconsin | 409 |
| 18 | Ohio State | 402 |
| 19 | Virginia Tech | 349 |
| 20 | Kansas State | 333 |
| 21 | Nebraska | 310 |
| 22 | Missouri | 281 |
| 23 | South Carolina | 232 |
| 24 | Clemson | 212 |
| 25 | North Carolina | 129 |
Game to Watch: Tennessee at Oklahoma
South Carolina has given us no reason to think it can hang with a Georgia team that already beat Clemson handily, so we are looking toward a nonconference tilt between Tennessee and Oklahoma for the game to watch this week.
There will be playoff implications for any squad that plays an SEC team out of conference, even if Tennessee is not exactly Alabama or LSU. The general consensus is that the Big 12 is a notch below the SEC and even the Pac-12, so an Oklahoma win in prime time against a recognizable program will certainly help the league as a whole.
It would also continue the Sooners' momentum against the SEC after they manhandled Alabama in the Sugar Bowl to end last season.
Linebacker Geneo Grissom suggested as much, according to The Associated Press, via ESPN.com: "Oh yeah. It’s a nice SEC matchup. It’s going to be a big game, lot of people there. Hopefully a sellout crowd, so we're going to come ready."
There is also some novelty here, as Oklahoma and Tennessee have never played in the regular season and split two Orange Bowls, with the Volunteers winning in 1939 and the Sooners winning in 1968.
This kicks off a crucial stretch for Tennessee. After the trip to Oklahoma, the Vols go to Georgia and then return home to face archrival Florida. Tennessee is 2-0, but the season could go off the rails rather quickly. Of course, the glass-half-full approach would suggest that Tennessee has a chance to announce to the country that it is ready to be on the national stage again with a victory in Norman.
It would certainly be an incredible way to kick off Butch Jones’ second year.
As for Oklahoma, the Sooners travel to West Virginia, play at TCU and then have a showdown with hated Texas in the three games following Saturday. Both teams need a win, as crucial portions of the season are on the horizon.
If Tennessee plans to walk out of Oklahoma with a monumental victory, it needs to get off to a fast start.
The Sooners allowed a meager three points in the first half against Louisiana Tech and then shut out Tulsa before intermission in the second game. In fact, Oklahoma holds a massive 62-3 advantage over its opponents before halftime.
The Volunteers have also impressed on defense at times this year and held Utah State to 244 yards and 3-of-14 on third-down conversions. Arkansas State was only 4-of-17 on third-down conversions in the second game.
However, Oklahoma represents a much more formidable opponent, and the Trevor Knight-Sterling Shepard combination will be difficult to contain. Knight threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns against Tulsa, while Shepard hauled in a touchdown catch and 177 receiving yards.
Outside of the action on the field, another storyline is Bob Stoops versus the SEC. The Oklahoma coach has suggested that the widespread vision of the SEC as the best conference is merely propaganda, and his squad certainly backed him up when it was destroying the mighty Crimson Tide in the Sugar Bowl.
ESPN Stats & Info noted that Oklahoma has matched up rather evenly with the SEC since Stoops took over in 1999:
| Wins | 4 | 4 |
| Points per game | 22.3 | 23.4 |
| Yards per game | 337.1 | 367.8 |
Stoops will add to his resume against the SEC in this one. Oklahoma will get off to a fast start, like it has every week, behind a raucous crowd and will gradually pull away from Tennessee. The Volunteers look improved over last year’s 5-7 team, but they aren’t quite on the Sooners’ level yet.
It will be nearly impossible for Tennessee to overcome a slow start on the road against an elite team. This one will be over by the third quarter.
Prediction: Oklahoma 34, Tennessee 17
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