NCAA Football Rankings 2018: Predicting Top Movers in Week 3 Top 25 Standings

The Week 2 college football slate didn't look like much on paper, but this sport never disappoints. 

Most of the top 25 appeared to be excellent shape to cruise to another victory, but multiple games came down to the wire, with Michigan State eventually being the only top 25 squad to fall to an unranked foe. 

Based on the weekend's results, here's a breakdown of how the AP Poll could play out when released on Sunday afternoon. Since most teams played cupcakes, there shouldn't be a significant shakeup, with most schools only shifting up a slot to displace those who fell from the ranks of the undefeated. 

1. Alabama

2. Clemson

3. Georgia

4. Ohio State

5. Wisconsin

6. Oklahoma

7. Auburn

8. Notre Dame

9. Stanford

10. Washington

11. LSU

12. Virginia Tech

13. Penn State

14. West Virginia

15. Mississippi State

16. TCU

17. UCF

18. Boise State

19. Michigan

20. Miami

21. Oregon

22. Oklahoma State

23. Utah

24. Boston College

25. Texas A&M

Mississippi State

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

It's never easy to beat a Bill Snyder-coached team on the road, but Mississippi State took care of business against Kansas State on Saturday afternoon with a convincing 31-10 victory. 

The story of the day was Mississippi State running back Kylin Hill, who needed just 17 carries to run for 211 yards and two touchdowns against a Kansas State squad that ranked 13th in the nation in rushing defense a season ago. 

Hill's performance through two weeks has been enough to convincingly unseat Aeris Williams, who rushed for over 1,000 yards a season ago, as the starting running back for the Bulldogs. 

The dominance of the Bulldogs rushing attack has been a pleasant surprise, but the defense has been every bit as good as advertised. On Saturday, the Bulldogs front seven lived in the Kansas State backfield, racking up four sacks and eight tackles for loss. 

The Bulldogs should be on the rise in this week's polls, and they may continue to climb in the coming weeks. Mississippi State should have two easy wins against Louisiana and Kentucky, before potentially meeting its first test of the year against Florida in late September. 

Georgia

The Georgia Bulldogs probably won't be going anywhere in the polls this week, but they deserve a mention here for their performance nonetheless. 

While most teams were playing cupcakes this weekend, Georgia went on the road to South Carolina for its first SEC game of the year and came away with a convincing 41-17 victory over the Gamecocks. 

The poll voters rarely drop teams in the rankings after a win, so Georgia likely won't jump Clemson and rise to No. 2. However, with Clemson struggling to hold off Texas A&M, some voters will likely give Georgia a boost that should close the gap. 

The Bulldogs now have what appears to be an easy stretch of games before traveling to LSU on October 13, which is one of just three road games remaining on their schedule. 

Due to the relatively easy remaining slate, this victory was a significant step for Georgia in its quest to return to the SEC championship game and make another run at the College Football Playoff. 

Michigan State

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

Everyone tends to be optimistic in the preseason, so with Michigan State coming off a late-season win over Penn State and a convincing bowl victory over Washington State, the Spartans were a trendy pick to contend in the Big Ten. In hindsight, perhaps voters picked the wrong games to focus on, as this same team lost 48-3 to Ohio State and scored 17 or fewer points five times. 

Mark Dantonio's squad needed a late touchdown to pull off a fourth-quarter comeback against Utah State in Week 1 but were unable to pull one out in Arizona State on Saturday night, falling 16-13 to the unranked Sun Devils. 

With two consecutive disappointing performances, the Spartans are likely to fall from the rankings, and they may not return this season. 

Michigan State still has tough battles with Penn State, Michigan and Ohio State ahead, as well as some potentially tricky road games at Indiana, Maryland and Nebraska. 

Given how this season has started, just making a bowl game may need to be the Spartans goal from here on out.