NCAA Football Rankings 2020: Week 2 Polls, Top 25 Standings and Analysis

Clemson, Oklahoma and Notre Dame have an opportunity to reaffirm their status as three of the top teams in college football in Week 2.

The trio of College Football Playoff contenders open their respective seasons with matchups that could result in blowout victories.

Clemson makes a trip to Wake Forest, Oklahoma hosts FCS side Missouri State and Notre Dame welcomes Duke. 

If those three programs win in controlling fashion, the gap between them in the AP Top 25 could shrink since the SEC does not kick off until September 26. 

The preseason AP poll included teams from the Big Ten and Pac-12, but once the power-conference season gets going, those teams should cycle out in favor of programs that are playing this fall.

AP Top 25

1. Clemson

2. Ohio State

3. Alabama

4. Georgia

5. Oklahoma

6. LSU 

7. Penn State

8. Florida

9. Oregon

10. Notre Dame

11. Auburn

12. Wisconsin

13. Texas A&M

14. Texas

15. Oklahoma State

16. Michigan

17, USC

18. North Carolina

19. Minnesota

20. Cincinnati

21. UCF

22. Utah

23. Iowa State

24. Iowa

25. Tennessee

Clemson is viewed as the No. 1 team in the FBS at the moment because of its two main returners. 

Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne boast the most experience of any quarterback-running back duo in the major conferences. 

Alabama, Georgia, LSU and Oklahoma are all replacing their starting signal-callers from 2019. Notre Dame brought back Ian Book but lost a handful of key pieces around him. 

Clemson opens its ACC slate with Wake Forest, who is one of four teams it held to single digits a year ago. 

The Tigers should flex their offensive muscle early and often in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to back up their status on top of the AP poll.

Clemson should stay there for all of September before Alabama, Georgia and other SEC sides have a sample size of games for voters to move them up or down appropriately. 

Notre Dame is the best candidate to move up before the SEC hits the gridiron September 26. The Fighting Irish open with home games against Duke and South Florida before visiting Wake Forest. If Brian Kelly's side wins those contests in dominant fashion, it could sneak up one or two positions. 

We may not learn much about Oklahoma Saturday since the talent gap between it and Missouri State is wide. 

If anything, the expected win over the visiting Bears will give us a glimpse into how good Lincoln Riley's team can be in 2020. 

All eyes will be on Spencer Rattler, who follows in the footsteps of Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield and Jalen Hurts at quarterback. The one difference between this year's starting quarterback and the others is he is not a transfer. 

Texas, North Carolina and Iowa State will all make their first impressions on poll voters in Week 2. 

Of the three, North Carolina is the most intriguing team since it brings back quarterback Sam Howell, who shined in Mack Brown's first season back in charge.

If the Tar Heels improve on a 6-6 regular season, they could contend as the second-or-third-best team in the ACC, and Howell could get some dark-horse Heisman Trophy buzz.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90  

Statistics obtained from ESPN.com