Amway College Football Poll 2016: Complete Week 3 Rankings Revealed

Hail Marys, major upsets and Heisman Trophy hopefuls emerging—Week 2 of the college football season had it all, and this week's Amway Coaches Poll reflects the madness. 

Below, we'll break down the new poll and analyze a wild weekend of action.

Rankings

Analysis

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The top of the Coaches Poll was always unlikely to see much turnover, as the top four teams all escaped Week 2 with wins. While Alabama, Florida State and Ohio State all rolled, Clemson found itself in a thriller against Troy.

It was a sloppy performance from Clemson, as Heisman hopeful Deshaun Watson threw two interceptions and Ray-Ray McCloud flipped the ball in celebration at the 1-yard line after returning a punt for a would-be touchdown, which was ruled a fumble that Troy recovered.

More troubling, perhaps, is that an offense considered the best in college football coming into the season has now managed just 49 total points against Auburn and Troy and has won those two games by a combined 12 points. 

"Everybody wants to see us score 50 points, 60 points, and everybody wants it now," Watson said after the game, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). "We're not going to do that. First we've got to execute and find our rhythm."

More troubling for Clemson might be that the offensive line struggled against Troy, and the team managed just 122 rushing yards. That left Watson to throw the ball 53 times, the highest number of attempts for the quarterback in the past two seasons.

If this team seems perhaps a bit familiar, Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports suggested you've probably seen this show before:

The 2016 version of the Buckeyes have continued to roll, albeit against Bowling Green and Tulsa. Ditto for Alabama, which has Week 1's impressive blowout over USC on its resume and added to it with a stress-free 38-10 victory over Western Kentucky on Saturday. 

The stress of the SEC schedule will begin next week for the Crimson Tide, however, as they travel to a tough Ole Miss team that recovered from an opening-week loss to Florida State with a 38-13 win over Wofford. 

The Seminoles remained undefeated on Saturday, but they'll face a huge test next week, traveling to Louisville to face the explosive Cardinals. Sophomore quarterback Lamar Jackson has played out of his mind to start the season, passing for 697 yards, seven touchdowns and an interception while also rushing for 318 yards and another six touchdowns.

If Jackson can lead Louisville to an upset of Florida State, it will not only alter the landscape of the college football season, it will put Jackson firmly in the running for the Heisman Trophy given his incredible start to the season. Posting gaudy numbers against Florida State will likely prove to be a bit more difficult than it was against Charlotte and Syracuse, however.

Among the teams that dropped in the rankings included TCU and Oklahoma State, as the Big 12 schools were upset on Saturday, albeit in controversial fashion for the Cowboys, as Central Michigan's game-winning Hail Mary should have never occurred, as the officials misinterpreted the rules and incorrectly gave Central Michigan a play at the end of the game.

"We had conversations with everyone that could help us understand the situation and do something about the outcome," Oklahoma State athletic director Mike Holder told the Associated Press after the game, via ESPN.com. "We were told the result is final and there is nothing we can do about it. In my mind, it is incomprehensible that a misapplication of the rules after time has expired can't be corrected."

It was a huge gaffe that could have major implications for Oklahoma State's playoff aspirations down the line.

Meanwhile, next week's matchups to watch alongside Florida State facing Louisville include intriguing showdowns featuring Michigan State vs. Notre Dame and Ohio State vs. Oklahoma—with the Sooners' and Fighting Irish's playoff aspirations already on the line—and SEC contests including Texas A&M vs. Auburn and Mississippi State vs. LSU 

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