NCAA Football Rankings 2017: Analyzing Week 3 Polls and Top 25 College Standings

You didn't need a crystal ball to see that the rankings would look different heading into Week 3 of the 2017 college football season. Four matchups among the top 25 all but ordained movement among nearly a third of the teams therein.

The extent of the shakeup was another story. A stunning outcome between two of last week's top-five squads remixed the College Football Playoff race early on in the campaign. So did USC's big win over its most troubling Pac-12 tormentor.

Here's how both polls look after Week 2's slate.

Associated Press Top 25 for Week 3

1. Alabama (Last Week: 1)
2. Oklahoma (Last Week: 5)
3. Clemson (Last Week: 3)
4. USC (Last Week: 6)
5. Penn State (Last Week: 4)
6. Washington (Last Week: 7)
7. Michigan (Last Week: 8)
8. Ohio State (Last Week: 2)
9. Oklahoma State (Last Week: 11)
10. Wisconsin (Last Week: 9)
11. Florida State (Last Week: 10)
12. LSU (Last Week: 12)
13. Georgia (Last Week: 15)
14. Louisville (Last Week: 17)
15. Auburn (Last Week: 13)
16. Virginia Tech (Last Week: 18)
17. Miami (FL) (Last Week: 16)
18. Kansas State (Last Week: 19)
19. Stanford (Last Week: 14)
20. TCU (Last Week: 23)
21. Washington State (Last Week: 20)
22. South Florida (Last Week: 21)
23. Tennessee (Last Week: 25)
24. Florida (Last Week: 22)
25. UCLA (Last Week: Not ranked)

Coaches Poll Top 25 for Week 3

1. Alabama (Last Week: 1)
2. Clemson (Last Week: 3)
3. Oklahoma (Last Week: 6)
4. USC (Last Week: 5)
5. Penn State (Last Week: 4)
6. Washington (Last Week: 7)
7. Michigan (Last Week: 8)
8. Oklahoma State (Last Week: 10)
9. Ohio State (Last Week: 2)
10. Florida State (Last Week: 9)
11. LSU (Last Week: 12)
12. Wisconsin (Last Week: 11)
13. Georgia (Last Week: 15)
14. Louisville (Last Week: 16)
15. Miami (FL) (Last Week: 17)
16. Virginia Tech (Last Week: 18)
17. Auburn (Last Week: 13)
18. Kansas State (Last Week: 19)
19. Stanford (Last Week: 14)
20. TCU (Last Week: Not ranked)
21. South Florida (Last Week: 20)
22. Washington State (Last Week: 22)
23. Tennessee (+5) at No. 25 Florida
24. Utah (Last Week: 23)
25. Florida (-5) vs. No. 23 Tennessee

A dramatic 31-16 win at then-No. 2 Ohio State marked Oklahoma's return to the annual national championship chase. New Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley watched his quarterback Baker Mayfield, last year's third-place finisher in Heisman Trophy balloting, throw for 386 yards and three touchdowns during the game before planting the school flag at midfield in the Horseshoe.

The win was a landmark in more ways than one for the Sooners. Sure, it was the 34-year-old Riley's first win over a ranked opponent—a routine feat for Bob Stoops, his predecessor and the winning coach in school history. And it bumped OU well within range of the College Football Playoff, albeit before the official start of fall.

More impressive still, it marked the Sooners' first road win over an AP top-two team since Sept. 1963, when the legendary Bud Wilkinson, during his last season in Norman, led Oklahoma to a 17-12 win at No. 1 USC.

All that warrants the Sooners stepping into the top three in both polls. They've now exorcised their demons from last year's home loss to the Buckeyes while extending their best-in-the-nation winning streak to 11 games.

As for Ohio State, Urban Meyer's Buckeyes will have five opportunities to fatten up on inferior foes before hosting a currently ranked Penn State squad over the last weekend of October.

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

USC got its own taste of (long-awaited) payback this past Saturday. After three straight defeats to Stanford—including the 2015 Pac-12 Championship Game—the Trojans were ready to trample all over the trees.

And trample they did. Sophomore quarterback Sam Darnold slung his way to 316 yards and four touchdowns, albeit with two interceptions. The Trojans' stable of running backs, led by junior Ronald Jones II, piled up 307 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

A hop into the top four in both polls looks great for Clay Helton's club on paper. So does this Saturday's reboot of the 2005 Rose Bowl, with Texas taking aim at the L.A. Coliseum.

Southern Cal, though, will have to wait for its next true tests afterward, when it heads to Cal and Washington State on consecutive weekends.

At least two of Florida's ranked schools are eying another week of delays caused by Hurricane Irma. Florida State and Miami (FL) have postponed their annual rivalry game until Oct. 17. The time and place of Florida's own season showdown with Tennessee remain up in the air, as well.

That may leave the Sunshine State's three most venerable programs another rung or two lower in the rankings when Week 4 rolls around. They all dropped at least one spot in both Week 3 polls amid storm-forced cancellations. So did South Florida, which nixed its trip to Connecticut.

For the time being, the Gators and Bulls are both aiming to play this weekend. Just don't go looking for USF on Saturday; Charlie Strong's squad is set to host Illinois on Friday.