College Football Rankings 2020: Records for Top 25 Teams and Week 2 Standings
As the college football season rolls into Week 2 and the ACC, SEC and Big 12 join the fun, the Top 25 remains unchanged after Week 1.
While the season officially kicked off over Labor Day weekend, there were no ranked teams in action. Navy received six votes in the preseason poll and assuredly has lost them after a 52-3 smackdown at the hands of BYU. However, not enough has gone down that the Associated Press came out with a new poll for Week 2.
That surely won't be the case after the forthcoming gameweek. With the three Power 5 conferences that plan on playing games this fall set to take to the field, there will be six ranked teams in action, with each having the opportunity to make the cases they deserve to be ranked higher.
With all of the teams sitting at 0-0 and hopeful they can run the table in a most unusual season, here's what the poll looks like, the next game for each team and a preview of the biggest matchups in Week 2.
AP Top 25
1. Clemson (0-0, 9/12 at Wake Forest, 7:30 p.m. ET)
2. Ohio State*
3. Alabama (0-0, 9/26 at Missouri)
4. Georgia (0-0, 9/26 at Arkansas)
5. Oklahoma (0-0, 9/12 vs. Missouri State, 7 p.m. ET)
6. LSU (0-0, 9/26 vs. Mississippi State)
7. Penn State*
8. Florida (0-0, 9/26 at Mississippi)
9. Oregon*
10. Notre Dame (0-0, 9/12 vs. Duke, 2:30 p.m. ET)
11. Auburn (0-0, 9/26 vs. Kentucky)
12. Wisconsin*
13. Texas A&M (0-0, 9/26 vs. Vanderbilt)
14. Texas (0-0, 9/12 vs. UTEP, 8 p.m. ET)
15. Oklahoma State (0-0, 9/19 vs. Tulsa)
16. Michigan*
17. USC*
18. North Carolina (0-0, 9/12 vs. Syracuse, noon ET)
19. Minnesota*
20. Cincinnati (0-0, 9/19 vs Austin Peay)
21. UCF (0-0, 9/19 at Georgia Tech)
22. Utah*
23. Iowa State (0-0, 9/12 vs. Louisiana, noon ET)
24. Iowa*
25. Tennessee (0-0, 9/26 at South Carolina)
*Not playing a fall season, barring a change.
UAB at Miami
There aren't a ton of intriguing options within the Top 25 this week. Most of the ranked teams are still waiting one more week for their season openers, and the matchups we are getting look lopsided on paper.
Just outside the Top 25 is a Group of 5 vs. Power 5 conference game that could shape the bottom of the next poll. Miami was 30th with 42 votes in the initial poll, and the Blazers made an appearance in the "others receiving votes" category with one vote.
The pressure is on for Manny Diaz after his first season at the helm in South Florida ended poorly. The Hurricanes finished the season on a three-game losing skid, including losses to Florida International and Lousiana Tech in the Independence Bowl.
That brings us to the Canes' season opener against a UAB team coming off a 45-35 win over Central Arkansas. That score doesn't tell the whole story, as the Blazers turned over the ball three times and gave up two late touchdowns to make a blowout a much closer game on paper.
Miami has a major reason for optimism in D'Eriq King. The former Houston quarterback enters the program as one of the most accomplished transfers in the country and should deliver the consistent quarterback play the program has been missing.
On defense, the Canes will miss stud defensive end Gregory Rousseau, although they can replace some of his production with Temple transfer Quincy Roche. He was the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year last year.
Defensive line play will be important. Miami had one of the most stingy run defenses in the nation last season (3.17 yards allowed per carry). UAB wants to run the ball. Spencer Brown put up his 14th career 100-yard rushing game against Central Arkansas and will be key if the Blazers want to cover the 14.5-point spread on DraftKings.
Duke at No. 10 Notre Dame
It's a sign of the times that Notre Dame will be in the running for a conference championship in football this season. Because of the unique situation of attempting a season in the time of COVID-19, the Fighting Irish are set to play a full ACC schedule.
That campaign to unseat Clemson at the head of the conference starts with a home game against Duke on Saturday afternoon.
Notre Dame comes in with a top-10 ranking and is favored by 20.5 points in its home opener. There are lofty expectations in place and good reasons for them. The Irish bring back a lot of the talent that went 11-2 last year, including a Camping World Bowl win over Iowa State.
Among the returnees is quarterback Ian Book. The signal-caller racked up over 3,000 yards passing with 34 touchdowns to just six interceptions. He's losing his top two receivers in Chase Claypool and tight end Cole Kmet, but there's optimism that Northwestern transfer Ben Skowronek will be able to help fill that void.
The newest member of the Irish receiving corps had 90 catches for 1,206 yards and eight touchdowns in his 2017 and 2018 campaigns with the Wildcats. He will be a player to watch as Notre Dame attempts to show the passing game won't take a step back.
For Duke, Chase Brice's emergence is the storyline to keep an eye on. The longtime Clemson backup has transferred to the Blue Devils to play for David Cutcliffe. Brice was once the 17th-ranked pro-style quarterback in his class, so the talent is there for him to have a breakout season.
Syracuse at No. 18 North Carolina
North Carolina is a 22.5-point favorite here, so this one isn't expected to be close. However, it is expected that both offenses will have success. The over/under is among the highest in the college football slate this week at 65.5, and the smart money will be on the over.
While the Tar Heels are expected to finish third in the ACC, both teams have high-powered offenses that can put up points.
For Syracuse, it comes down to protecting Tommy DeVito. The quarterback is capable of completing the long ball and stretch defenses vertically, but they have to keep him upright. The Orange gave up 50 sacks last season, yet DeVito still threw for 19 touchdowns to five interceptions.
The Heels will have Sam Howell returning at quarterback after one of the best freshman seasons at quarterback.
He threw for 38 touchdowns to seven interceptions while completing 61 percent of his passes.
The Orange secondary was just middle-of-the-road last season, giving up a 125.8 rating to opposing passers. They will need to be much better against Howell and the Tar Heels if they want to keep this game within the spread. Even head coach Dino Babers was blunt about that heading into the matchup.
"You have to find a way to stop North Carolina," Babers said of Mack Brown's offense, per Jacob Payne of Sports Illustrated. "They have both of those options. So obviously, you have to decide what's the most important thing to stop that gives your team the best chance to stay within the 21-point spread."
With Clemson looking ready to make a statement against Wake Forest, it's going to be on the Tar Heels and Irish to prove there will be competition in the conference this season. Big performances Saturday could set that tone.
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