B/R Top 25 College Football Poll: Week 2

Welcome to the second week of the Bleacher Report College Football Top 25 poll. There were plenty of changes in the top 25 after another exciting week of college football.

The upcoming week has some big match-ups (Florida State/Oklahoma, Mississippi State/LSU, Ohio State/Miami, to name a few) which will once again undoubtedly change the way these teams rank.

Without further delay, here is the top 25 voted on by 18 B/R writers.

Others Receiving Votes

Michigan: 29

Mississippi State: 28

Tennessee: 14

Houston: 11

Missouri: 10

Central Florida: 10

Georgia Tech: 6

Maryland: 6

Utah: 5

Florida International: 5

Georgia: 5

Navy: 4

Iowa St: 3

UNC: 2

Northwestern: 2

Ole Miss: 1

Penn State: 1

No. 25: Texas Longhorns

Total Points (First Place Votes): 34

Record: 2-0

Last Game: Sept. 10 beat BYU, 17-16

Next Game: Sept. 17 at UCLA

Previous Ranking: N/R

Notes: BYU was dominating Garrett Gilbert and Texas early in the game.  It was so bad that head coach Mack Brown set Gilbert on the bench and rotated quarterbacks Case McCoy and David Ash.

BYU was up at the half but the two Longhorn quarterbacks brought them back to earn a hard fought victory over the Cougars.

No. 24: USC Trojans

Total Points (First Place Votes): 41

Record: 2-0

Last Game: Sept. 10 beat Utah, 23-14

Next Game: Sept. 17 vs. Syracuse

Previous Ranking: 23

Notes: On the final play of the game, USC's Matt Kalil blocked a Utah field goal and returned it for a touchdown to seal the victory for USC. The touchdown didn't count though as the USC bench rushed the field and were given an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty making the final score, 17-14.

Two hours later though, Pac-12 officials ruled that the touchdown did count giving USC the 23-14 victory.

The rushing game, which only had a total of 67 yards against Minnesota, showed up as the Trojans ran for 152 yards and a touchdown against the Utes.

No. 23: TCU Horned Frogs

Total Points (First Place Votes): 50

Record: 1-1

Last Game: Sept. 10 beat Air Force, 35-19

Next Game: Sept. 17 vs. Louisiana-Monroe

Previous Ranking: N/R

Notes: TCU's defense gave up over 400 yards again, but limited Air Force to just 19 points.  Casey Pachall had another solid performance as he threw for 206 yards and two touchdowns.

TCU also had their run game going as they ran for 204 yards and three touchdowns.

No. 22: South Florida Bulls

Total Points (First Place Votes): 71

Record: 2-0

Last Game: Sept. 10 beat Ball State, 37-7

Next Game:  Sept. 17 vs. Florida A&M

Previous Ranking: 25

Notes: B.J. Daniels threw for 359 yards and a touchdown to help the Bulls cruise past the Cardinals 37-7.  The Bulls defense only gave up 225 totals yards, while gaining 519 themselves.

Victor Marc led all receivers with four catches for 81 yards and a touchdown.

No. 21: Auburn Tigers

Total Points (First Place Votes): 83

Record: 2-0

Last Game: Sept. 10 beat No.15 Mississippi State, 41-34

Next Game: Sept. 17 at Clemson

Previous Ranking: N/R

Notes: Auburn gave up 531 total yards to Mississippi State but was still able to hold off the Bulldogs for their second win of the year.

Michael Dyer was the star on the field for the Tigers as he had 18 carries for 150 yards and two touchdowns.

The Bulldogs ran for 333 yards in the losing effort and had a chance to tie the game, but quarterback Chris Welf was stuffed at the 1-yard line to end the game.

No. 20: Baylor Bears

Total Points (First Place Votes): 86

Record: 1-0

Last Game: Sept. 2 beat TCU, 50-48

Next Game: Sept. 17 vs. Stephen F. Austin

Previous Ranking: 21

Notes: Baylor did not play this week.  Their next game is against Stephen F. Austin who is 1-1 on the season.

No. 19: Arizona State Sun Devils

Total Points (First Place Votes): 118

Record: 2-0

Last Game: Sept. 9 beat Missouri, 37-30

Next Game: Sept. 17 at Illinois

Previous Ranking: 22

Notes: In another thrilling Friday match-up, Arizona State scored a touchdown in their first position in overtime to upset the the 20th ranked Tigers.

ASU quarterback Brock Osweiler picked apart the Missouri defense throwing for 353 yards and three touchdowns in the upset. The teams combined for 992 yards of total offense.

No. 18: Ohio State Buckeyes

Total Points (First Place Votes): 121

Record: 2-0

Last Game: Sept. 10 beat Toledo, 27-22

Next Game: Sept. 17 at Miami

Previous Ranking: 16

Notes: Carlos Hyde had 21 rushes for 82 yards and two touchdowns as the Buckeyes snuck by the pesky Toledo Rockets. Toledo out gained Ohio State in total yards, 335 to 303.

The Buckeyes only gave up 90 total yards last week against the Akron Zips.

No. 17: West Virginia Mountaineers

Total Points (First Place Votes): 150

Record: 2-0

Last Game: Sept. 10 beat Norfolk State, 55-17

Next Game: Sept. 17 at Maryland

Previous Ranking: 19

Notes: Norfolk State took a 12-10 lead into halftime but was unable to stop Geno Smith and the West Virginia Mountaineers in the second half.

Smith threw for 372 yards and four touchdowns as West Virginia racked up 548 total yards in the blow out.

No. 16: Florida Gators

Total Points (First Place Votes): 165

Record: 2-0

Last Game: Sept. 10 beat UAB, 39-0

Next Game: Sept. 17 vs. Tennessee

Previous Ranking: 18

Notes: Chris Rainey showed off his running skills again as he rushed for 119 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown.  Florida racked up 512 total yards while limiting UAB to just 212.

Florida has outscored their two opponents this year 80-3, but will have a much stiffer challenge next week when they open up conference play against the undefeated Tennessee Volunteers.

No. 15: Michigan State Spartans

Total Points (First Place Votes): 196

Record: 2-0

Last Game: Sept. 10 beat Florida Atlantic, 44-0

Next Game: Sept. at Notre Dame

Previous Ranking: 17

Notes: If you want to know how dominating Michigan State was all you have to do is look at the box score. The Spartans held the Owls to just 48 total yards and one first down.

Michigan State ended the game with yet another balanced attack, rushing for 188 yards and passing for 246 yards.

No. 14: Virginia Tech Hokies

Total Points (First Place Votes): 219

Record: 2-0

Last Game: Sept. 10 beat Eastern Carolina, 17-10

Next Game: Sept. 17 vs. Arkansas State

Previous Ranking: 11

Notes: Just like last year, East Carolina went into halftime with the lead.  Just like last year, Virginia Tech was able to mount a comeback and win the game.

David Wilson led the charge for the Hokies as he had 138 yards rushing, giving him 300 yards for the year.

Virginia Tech's defense was a good as ever as they limited East Carolina to just 112 total yards.

No. 13: Oregon Ducks

Total Points (First Place Votes): 231

Record: 1-1

Last Game: Sept. 10 beat Nevada, 69-20

Next Game: Sept. 17 vs. Missouri State

Previous Ranking: 14

Notes: Oregon's high powered offense was back at it on Saturday as they gained over 600 total yards against Nevada.  

Quarterback Darron Thomas had 295 yards passing and six touchdowns while freshman De'Anthony Thomas stole the show with 81 yards rushing and 93 yards receiving. He also had two receiving touchdowns.

Heisman hopeful LaMichael James had 67 yards rushing and 57 yards receiving, but was out-shined by the freshman, Thomas.

No. 12: South Carolina Gamecocks

Total Points (First Place Votes): 251

Record: 2-0

Last Game: Sept. 10 beat Georgia, 45-42

Next Game: Sept. 17 vs. Navy

Previous Ranking: 14

Notes: Defensive lineman Melvin Ingram had a fake punt for a touchdown and returned a fumble for a touchdown as South Carolina was able to hold off Georgia on Saturday night.

Stephen Garcia was hardly as good as he was last week against East Carolina as he threw for just 142 yards and had two interceptions.

Running back Marcus Lattimore rushed for 176 yards and a touchdown.

No. 11: Arkansas Razorbacks

Total Points (First Place Votes): 252

Record: 2-0

Last Game: Sept. 10 beat New Mexico, 52-3

Next Game: Sept. 17 vs. Troy

Previous Ranking: 12

Notes: Arkansas gained a total of 632 yards to blow past the New Mexico Lobos on Saturday.  Tyler Wilson led the charge on offense throwing for 259 yards and a touchdown.

Wide receiver Cobi Hamilton finished the game with five catches for 132 yards and a touchdown.

No. 10: Nebraska Cornhuskers

Total Points (First Place Votes): 254

Record: 2-0

Last Game: Sept. 10 beat Fresno State, 42-29

Next Game: Sept. 17 vs. Washington

Previous Ranking: 10

Notes: Nebraska's defense was less than stellar as they gave up 444 total yards to Fresno State, including 169 yards rushing to Robbie Rouse.

Taylor Martinez proved to be too much for the Bulldogs though as he threw for 219 yards and rushed for another 166 yards.  He finished with three total touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions.

No. 9: Oklahoma State Cowboys

Total Points (First Place Votes): 317

Record: 2-0

Last Game: Sept. 8 beat Arizona, 37-14

Next Game: Sept. 17 at Tulsa

Previous Ranking: 9

Notes: After being shutout of a touchdown in the first game of the year, Justin Blackmon made sure he wasn't going to go two straight games without one. Blackmon caught 12 catches for a 128 yards and two touchdowns as the Cowboys racked up 594 yards against the Wildcats.

Brandon Weeden threw for 397 yards and the running game looks good with sophomore Joseph Randle running for his second straight 100-yard game. He now has 250 yards and four touchdowns for the season.

No. 8: Texas A&M Aggies

Total Points (First Place Votes): 333

Record: 1-0

Last Game: Sept. 4 beat SMU, 46-14

Next Game: Sept. 17 vs. Idaho

Previous Ranking: 7

Notes: Texas A&M had a bye week. Next week, they play host to the Idaho Vandals who are 1-1 on the season.

No. 7: Wisconsin Badgers

Total Points (First Place Votes): 338 (2)

Record: 2-0

Last Game: Sept. 10 beat Oregon State, 35-0

Next Game: Sept. 17 vs. Northern Illinois

Previous Ranking: 8

Notes: Russell Wilson threw for 189 yards and three touchdowns as Wisconsin shut out Oregon State. Montee Ball had a great day rushing for the Badgers, carrying 18 times for 118 yards and two touchdowns.

After giving up over 140 rushing yards against UNLV in the first week, the Badgers held the Beavers to just 23 yards on 24 carries.

No. 6: Stanford Cardinal

Total Points (First Place Votes): 350

Record: 2-0

Last Game: Sept. 10 beat Duke, 44-14

Next Game: Sept. 17 at Arizona

Previous Ranking: 6

Notes: Andrew Luck threw for 290 yards and four touchdowns as the Cardinals took down the Blue Devils after only leading at halftime, 17-7.

Stanford has now scored 101 points in just two games this year.

No. 5: Florida State Seminoles

Total Points (First Place Votes): 372

Record: 2-0

Last Game: Sept. 10 beat Charleston Southern, 62-10

Next Game: Sept. 17 vs. No. 1 Oklahoma

Previous Ranking: 5

Notes: EJ Manuel had a career day as his threw for 329 yards and four touchdowns in the stomping of Charleston Southern.

Florida State's defense had an amazing game as well as they held the Buccaneers offense to just 84 total yards.

It will be a very interesting game next weekend when the top ranked Sooners come to Tallahassee.

No. 4: Boise State Broncos

Total Points (First Place Votes): 400 (2)

Record: 1-0

Last Game: Sept. 3 beat Georgia, 35-21

Next Game: Sept. 16 at Toledo

Previous Ranking: 4

Notes: Boise State had a bye week. They face Toledo next week. Toledo is 1-1 but gave Ohio State a run for their money on Saturday losing only by five points.

No. 3: LSU Tigers

Total Points (First Place Votes): 420 (3)

Record: 2-0

Last Game: Sept. 10 beat Northwestern State, 49-3

Next Game: Sept. 15 at Mississippi State

Previous Ranking: 2

Notes: LSU's defense dominated as they held the Demons to negative four yards rushing on 27 carries.  LSU racked up 400 total yards of their own.

Wide receiver Rueben Randle caught five balls for 121 yards as the Tigers rolled.

No. 2: Alabama Crimson Tide

Total Points (First Place Votes): 422

Record: 2-0

Last Game: Sept. 10 beat Penn State, 27-11

Next Game: Sept. 17 vs. North Texas

Previous Ranking: 3

Notes: Although Alabama's offense is nothing like they had last year, their defense looks better than it ever has.  Penn State was unable to get a touchdown until less than two minutes left in the game.

Alabama held Penn State to just 251 total yards.

Heisman candidate Trent Richardson, who only had 37 rushing yards last week, had 111 yards rushing and two touchdowns.