College Football Rankings 2019: NCAA Top 25 Predictions After Opening Saturday
For many schools, there's one goal for Week 1 of the college football season: Avoid a big upset loss.
Some teams play quality opponents, so that doesn't apply to them. But many of the top programs open a new campaign against a lesser opponent.
So far, so good for most of the schools in the AP Top 25 poll. Of those teams, 22 have opened the 2019 season with a win. Two schools—Oklahoma and Notre Dame—haven't yet played their openers. And the only team to lose so far, No. 11 Oregon, played another ranked team in No. 16 Auburn.
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With most of the first weekend of the college football season complete, here's how the Top 25 poll could look heading into Week 2.
Top 25 Predictions
1. Clemson (1-0)
2. Alabama (1-0)
3. Georgia (1-0)
4. Oklahoma (0-0)
5. Ohio State (1-0)
6. LSU (1-0)
7. Michigan (1-0)
8. Florida (1-0)
9. Notre Dame (0-0)
10. Texas (1-0)
11. Texas A&M (1-0)
12. Washington (1-0)
13. Auburn (1-0)
14. Penn State (1-0)
15. Utah (1-0)
16. Oregon (0-1)
17. UCF (1-0)
18. Michigan State (1-0)
19. Wisconsin (1-0)
20. Iowa (1-0)
21. Iowa State (1-0)
22. Syracuse (1-0)
23. Washington State (1-0)
24. Nebraska (1-0)
25. Stanford (1-0)
Where will Auburn and Oregon move to in the poll?
One of the perks of playing a ranked matchup to open the season is that the winner should move up a few spots in the AP poll ahead of Week 2. However, the loser will likely move down a few spots.
Auburn is going to move closer to the top 10, but it will likely still be just outside, as most of the teams ahead of the Tigers did nothing to lose their spots during their Week 1 victories. But Auburn notched an impressive 27-21 win over Oregon at AT&T Stadium, and that's worthy of it moving up at least three or four spots.
Although the Ducks suffered a season-opening loss, they shouldn't be penalized too greatly for losing to a high-quality opponent, likely only dropping a few spots.
Now, if Oregon loses again next weekend in its home opener against Nevada, then the Ducks will be in some trouble.
Oklahoma, Notre Dame aiming to avoid upsets
Entering Sunday, there are still two top-10 teams that have yet to open their season. If either is upset, then it could cause a bit of a shakeup at the top of the poll.
No. 4 Oklahoma hosts Houston on Sunday night. While many places have the Sooners as at least three-touchdown favorites, this could be a closer game than that. And if the Cougars pull off the upset, it'd surely send Oklahoma down the rankings, potentially out of the top 10.
No. 9 Notre Dame opens the season on the road when it travels to take on Louisville on Monday night. The Fighting Irish would certainly fall out of the top 10 with a loss, so they need to win to maintain their spot in the poll.
While it's likely that both Oklahoma and Notre Dame will win, both schools are playing opponents from quality conferences, so upsets can't entirely be ruled out.
Business as usual for Clemson, Alabama at the top
Clemson and Alabama were the two best teams all of last season, and each took care of business in its 2019 season openers.
The Tigers dominated Georgia Tech on Thursday night, notching a 52-14 win at home. As it looks to defend its national championship, Clemson is likely cemented atop the Top 25 poll unless it loses or has a near scare in the coming weeks.
The Crimson Tide opened with a neutral-site matchup against Duke in Atlanta, and they cruised to a 42-3 win. While it was an impressive victory, they'll stay at No. 2 for now and hope for an opportunity to take over the top spot from Clemson down the line.
Don't expect to see the Tigers or Crimson Tide out of the two top spots anytime soon.
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