College Football Rankings: Movers and Shakers in Week 3

Every week in college football there are teams that are "movers" in that they had a big victory that will shoot them up the rankings on Sunday, and then there are "shakers" that suffered a big loss and will suffer in the polls.

There will be some disagreements here, as maybe your team had a big win, but will not see their rankings improve that much. On the other hand, maybe your team suffered a disappointing loss this week and will end up falling down in the polls.  

So who were the movers and shakers this week? 

Movers- Texas Longhorns

Texas came into this game with a lot of questions. They didn't know who their starting quarterback was. They were not sure who the go-to-player would be that would get them into the end-zone. And they didn't have that ability to put teams away. 

All of that went out of the Rose Bowl, as they demolished the UCLA Bruins 49-20. 

In the next polls, UT should improve well above their ranking of 23rd. Expect Texas to be somewhere around the 16-19 range. 

Shakers- Auburn Tigers

The Auburn Tigers started the year with a lot of people not believing in them. They didn't gain any new believers, or shed their critics, after a win in week-one. It was a win, but they had to come from behind against Utah State.

After the win they were punished with falling out of the Top-25 rankings.

The second week:  same story, different opponent, in Mississippi State; as they won, but had to in the last second.

After that win, they were put back into the Top-25 rankings.

But this week their offense couldn't make up for the bad Auburn defense as Clemson scored 38 points on Auburn defeating them 38-24.

After this loss, they'll be far outside of the Top-25 rankings. 

Movers- Michigan Wolverines

Last week you could have put this Michigan Wolverines team on the list of "movers." They had one of the best victories in Michigan football history. They had a career defining performance by Denard Robinson. And they beat a rival on their home turf. 

Yet, the coaches and the associated press decided to leave Michigan off of their rankings. 

Not this week, as another Michigan victory puts them at 3-0 on the season and primed for a spot on the Top-25 list this week. 

Shaker- Michigan State Spartans

At the start of the game today Michigan State was ranked 15th in the Nation and was about to play a Notre Dame team at without a win this year. They were expected to be able to come into South Bend, Indiana and just dominate the Fighting Irish. 

Then they kicked the ball off to start the game and things changed very quickly. 

Before the fans and players of Michigan State knew it the game was over and they had lost 31-13. 

Let's see how far "Sparty" falls in the rankings this week. 

Movers- West Virginia Mountaineers

They're the best team in the Big East and they're going to be a Top-15 team come the start of next week. They proved it today with a big win on the road in Maryland. Up next for West Virginia is a game at LSU. If they can somehow pull out a victory, this will rocket them up to the Top-10 in the rankings.