NCAA Football Rankings 2016: Week 2 Polls, Top 25 Standings and Analysis
College football must have known pigskin fans were longing for its return over the summer, because it provided them with a treat of an opening week.
Appalachian State got things started on Thursday with a near-upset of the SEC’s Tennessee. Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey showed off some of his magic during a Friday win over Kansas State. Wisconsin and Houston turned in narrative-shifting upsets against LSU and Oklahoma, respectively, on Saturday. Then, Texas outlasted Notre Dame in a double-overtime thriller on Sunday.
As if that wasn’t enough, Florida State performed a Houdini act and outscored Ole Miss 32-6 in the second half during a 45-34 win on Monday.
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Naturally, the Top 25 rankings changed heading into Week 2 of the season. With that in mind, here is a look at the updated Associated Press and Amway Coaches polls after the Labor Day weekend action.
| Alabama Crimson Tide (54) | 1 | Alabama Crimson Tide (62) |
| Clemson Tigers (2) | 2 | Clemson Tigers (2) |
| Florida State Seminoles (4) | 3 | Florida State Seminoles |
| Ohio State Buckeyes | 4 | Ohio State Buckeyes |
| Michigan Wolverines | 5 | Stanford Cardinal |
| Houston Cougars | 6 | Michigan Wolverines |
| Stanford Cardinal | 7 | Houston Cougars |
| Washington Huskies | 8 | Michigan State Spartans |
| Georgia Bulldogs | 9 | Georgia Bulldogs |
| Wisconsin Badgers | 10 | Iowa Hawkeyes |
| Texas Longhorns | 11 | Washington Huskies |
| Michigan State Spartans | 12 | TCU Horned Frogs |
| Louisville Cardinals | 13 | Oklahoma Sooners |
| Oklahoma Sooners | 14 | Tennessee Volunteers |
| TCU Horned Frogs | 15 | Louisville Cardinals |
| Iowa Hawkeyes | 16 | Wisconsin Badgers |
| Tennessee Volunteers | 17 | Oklahoma State Cowboys |
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 18 | Mississippi Rebels |
| Mississippi Rebels | 19 | Baylor Bears |
| Texas A&M Aggies | 20 | Texas Longhorns |
| LSU Tigers | 21 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish |
| Oklahoma State Cowboys | 22 | LSU Tigers |
| Baylor Bears | 23 | Oregon Ducks |
| Oregon Ducks | 24 | Texas A&M Aggies |
| Miami Hurricanes | 25 | Florida Gators |
Conference Picture
The SEC won eight of the last 10 national championships and earned its place atop the conference pecking order, but its teams looked far from dominant in Week 1 of the 2016 campaign.
SportsCenter pointed out how badly the conference struggled out of the gates:
Granted, one of the seven losses came from Vanderbilt in a conference game against fellow SEC school South Carolina. Still, it was a lackluster performance from the conference that is typically perceived to be the best entering every season, and it raises questions about whether it will be seen in that light come December.
Wisconsin beat LSU and Florida State beat Ole Miss in two marquee contests pitting SEC teams against foes from other Power Five conferences, but the most embarrassing defeats were suffered by Mississippi State and Kentucky. The Bulldogs lost to the Sun Belt’s South Alabama, and the Wildcats blew a 35-10 lead to the Conference USA’s Southern Mississippi.
It would have been even worse for the conference had Arkansas not survived a challenge from Louisiana Tech and escaped with a one-point win.
It is important to note the SEC’s overall struggles should not take away from Alabama’s dominance. The defending champions destroyed USC, 52-6, and made an overpowering statement to anyone wondering if they are going to challenge for another title this year.
Even with Alabama’s showing, the other conferences made up some ground on the SEC in the perception race. Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports provided some fodder for those who don’t automatically assume the SEC West is the best division in college football based on past seasons:
The Big Ten, ACC and Pac-12 are all in good standing in the early jockeying for College Football Playoff positioning.
Ohio State throttled Bowling Green to the tune of 77-10, Wisconsin made a national statement against LSU, Michigan destroyed Hawaii, and Michigan State and Iowa each won their opener. All five schools are in the current top 16.
Clemson and Florida State are still the class of the ACC with wins against the SEC’s Auburn and Ole Miss, respectively, but Louisville appears to be another threat from the conference at No. 13 in the AP Poll. As for the Pac-12, Stanford and Washington earned wins over power-conference schools (Kansas State and Rutgers) and are within striking distance of the top four.
Alabama is the top team until proven otherwise, but Week 1 indicated the 2016 season will not completely revolve around the SEC.
Playoff Cinderella
Perhaps no team earned a more significant win in the long-term picture than the American Athletic Conference’s Houston. The Cougars moved up to No. 6 in the AP poll and No. 7 in the Coaches poll with their 33-23 win over Oklahoma.
Houston is a Cinderella team by name only after proving itself against a national title contender in Oklahoma. Head coach Tom Herman made himself a household name after winning a national title at Ohio State as an offensive coordinator under Urban Meyer and starting with a sparkling 14-1 record at Houston.
He also indicated he had his team ready to win Saturday, per Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle (h/t the San Antonio Express-News): “We expected to win internally. We were prepared to win. We expected to win. We trained to win. It wasn’t about making a statement. It was just about going 1-0 in the first week of the season and starting the 2016 season off on the right foot.”
It isn’t just Herman. Quarterback Greg Ward Jr. looked like a Heisman Trophy contender with 321 passing yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions, and the opportunistic defense forced two turnovers and held Samaje Perine to 31 rushing yards and quarterback Baker Mayfield to minus-one yard on the ground.
The Cougars now have a legitimate shot to run the table with a relatively light schedule compared to many of the other national title contenders. There are a few potential pitfalls against the likes of Louisville, Tulsa and Cincinnati, but Houston will likely finish the regular season 12-0 if it can replicate its effort Saturday the rest of the year.
Week 2 Look Ahead
Week 2 is much lighter on the high-profile clashes than Week 1. In fact, there are no games between AP Top 25 teams and a large dose of sugary cupcakes for many of the nation’s top squads.
Arkansas faces TCU in an intriguing matchup between two teams that were likely disappointed with their Week 1 efforts. The Razorbacks beat Louisiana Tech by one measly point at 21-20, while the Horned Frogs defense looked helpless at times during a 59-41 win over South Dakota State.
Elsewhere, in-state rivals Iowa State and Iowa play their annual clash, and the Hawkeyes have an opportunity against a Big 12 school to prove they are real contenders again after reaching the Rose Bowl last season.
The game between Virginia Tech and Tennessee is the Week 2 headliner solely based on its location at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Steve Megargee of the Associated Press (h/t ABC News) noted the showdown “is expected to draw over 150,000 fans, which would shatter the current NCAA single-game record of 115,109 at Michigan Stadium, when the Wolverines beat Notre Dame in 2013.”
The Volunteers will look to bounce back from a narrow overtime win over Appalachian State, while the Hokies have a chance to establish themselves as sleeper playoff contenders, thanks to an ACC schedule that doesn’t include Florida State or Clemson.
A record number of spectators will be on hand to see what they have to offer.
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