College Football Rankings 2011: 3 Ranked Teams with Most To Prove in Week 2

The 2011 college football season wasted no time hitting its stride. Just one week into the season and the rankings are already receiving a jolt. In the process, some teams' opening week left them with a lot to prove in the second week if they are going to be believed in as contenders.

The following three teams have the most to prove:

Oregon

Oregon's Week 1 showdown with LSU was an exciting (although at times sloppy) game.

Oregon was its own worst enemy in this one, and as a result it lost by 13. The Ducks lost the turnover battle 4-1. That makes it tough to compete against any team—let alone a team as talented as LSU.

Oregon also struggled without standout cornerback/punt returner Cliff Harris. His punt return fill-in had a costly fumble that LSU recovered, which led to a marching drive down the field that concluded when Jarrett Lee completed a pass over Harris' replacement at corner.

Oregon has to prove it can play cleaner football in its next game against Nevada. Anything more than one turnover in this one will be a disappointment.

Auburn

Auburn began the season ranked No. 23 in the AP Poll. And while the Tigers escaped with the win against Utah State, this was a team they should have dominated, and didn't.

This is a fatally flawed team that is weak in the trenches. It was dominated on the offensive and defensive lines by Utah State. As a result, Utah State took Auburn down to the wire.

Auburn allowed 448 total yards of offense in this game—227 of those yards came via the ground game. Utah State went again and again to the ground game, and it kept working. It had a 4.3 yards-per-carry average on a whopping 53 carries.

This led to Utah State controlling possession. The Aggies led in time of possession by more than 15 minutes, which is not a good sign as Auburn heads into the SEC. The Tigers may hang on to their top 25 ranking, but it won't be for long.

Auburn will return to action against Mississippi State, and it will need to show toughness along the offensive and defensive lines. If it doesn't, it is going to be a long season.

South Carolina

South Carolina rolled into its opening game matchup with big expectations. The Gamecocks had their biggest breakthrough of the Steve Spurrier era by winning the SEC East in 2010, and all signs pointed to them building on that success in 2011.

Stephen Garcia was given a second shot by Spurrier to give his team an experienced and talented QB. Marcus Lattimore, who rushed for 1,197 yards last season, returned. And everyone expected them to also get immediate results from the nation's No. 1 recruit, defensive end Jadeveon Clowney.

They looked every bit the team these expectations pointed toward—in the second half. In the first half, they were a hot mess. They trailed 24-14 at halftime.

At the heart of the problems were third-down failures. In the first half, ECU was 5-10 on third downs, and South Carolina was just 3-7.

While it exploded for 28 points in the third quarter alone, and proved it could play complete football, South Carolina now has to prove it can play it for 60 minutes.

South Carolina's next game is against Georgia. It will not survive another half of football as sloppy as the first half of its first game.