Week 3 truly delivered the kind of chaos fans love, with ranked-on-ranked battles that come down to the final minutes and improbable victories that rewrite our expectations for what we're going to see on Saturdays. When AP Top 25 poll voters convene to release the new college football rankings, they will find plenty of results to prompt changes, including some real questions about whether recently crowned No. 1 Texas has a challenger for the top spot. Yes, the top of the rankings should mostly remain static after each of the top six teams from last week's poll won by double digits.
But five ranked teams took losses that will spark shake-ups, and Ole Miss is set for a move up following its instant classic win in Oxford on Saturday night. There is an argument for the Rebels to get more first-place attention and consideration after the win, as it arguably stands toe-to-toe with Texas' victory against Ohio State as one of the "best" wins of the season. The question is how firmly AP voters are entrenched in their view of the order at the top, and how flexible those views are in the early stages of the season.
Since AP voters offered swift reactions to the Week 1 results, we are projecting that the fall could be hard for the likes of No. 9 Texas A&M after losing to unranked Kentucky and even for No. 16 SMU after losing on the road at Louisville. This is a week where several teams picked up power-conference wins to move to 3-0, and those spots on the edge of the ballot could see a lot of turnover. Here's how we project the new AP Top 25 poll to look on Sunday after Week 3 scores and results: 1.
Texas (Last week — 1): The Longhorns did not have their sharpest performance of the season, struggling to find consistency or real explosiveness on offense in an obvious letdown spot after beating Ohio State and surging to the No. 1 ranking. It's possible some of the 56 voters who had Texas at No. 1 last week pass their votes off elsewhere, but we're projecting no overall changes at the top of the poll. 2. Georgia (2): Overwhelming Arkansas on the road doesn't do a lot to close the gap with the Longhorns, but it should be noted that 51 straight wins against unranked teams is a remarkable mark for Kirby Smart and his Bulldogs' program.
The opportunities to make a real case for No. 1 will come in the weeks ahead, but after a 45-17 win, they should stay close to the previous position. 3. Notre Dame (3): The Fighting Irish defense put on an absolute clinic against Michigan State, holding the Spartans to just 167 yards of offense for the game and snatching two interceptions from Alessio Milivojevic in a 17-point win. 4. Ole Miss (8): A special season could be underway with the nature of these early marquee wins for Ole Miss, but for now we are projecting the move up in the rankings mostly leaves the Rebels just outside the top three. 5.
Indiana (4): Was Western Kentucky ever really threatening to defeat Indiana? But it took a fourth-down stop and a 98-yard touchdown drive to really get the motor going for a Hoosiers squad that was stunningly still tied 0-0 at the end of the first quarter. 6. Miami (5): After moving up two spots last week, Miami could find itself getting clipped for a spot inside the top five as voters rearrange their ballots to account for Ole Miss' win.
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