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USC’s College Football Playoff stock is rising after Week 2 while Michigan’s is falling. But that’s enough about the postseason picture. Let’s start today with a reminder of what makes college football so great.
Another Saturday to Remember
Why we love college football
Last week reminded us why college football is such a beautiful sport: from Northern Illinois upsetting Notre Dame in South Bend to Iowa State reclaiming an in-state rivalry with a 54-yard field goal by a freshman kicker who had never attempted a college kick before. As The Athletic’s David Ubben wrote today, “Every single weekend, some team is playing a game the players will remember for the rest of their lives.”
David’s column is a must-read and a great reminder — amid realignment, NIL and NCAA drama — what college football is all about. But the glory felt by NIU and Iowa State last weekend is just an example of the emotion that sets CFB apart. I asked David to rank his top three CFB moments that encapsulate the sport best. Here’s what he told me:
Sept. 1, 2007; App State 34, Michigan 32 at Michigan Stadium: It’s the quintessential iconic upset. It seemed impossible that an FCS team could beat a top-10 opponent away from home. But watching it made me reconsider what was possible on a college football field.
Jan. 1, 2007; Boise State 43, Oklahoma 42 in Fiesta Bowl: I was in college, and watching this game taught me that the gap between elite teams outside of the major conferences and those inside is a lot smaller than you might think.
Nov. 30, 2013; Kick Six: The state of Alabama shifted. The SEC title shifted. The national title race shifted. All on one play that I’d never seen on a football field before. It was preposterous and called to mind the famous Mark Twain quote: “Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t.” If I’d seen the Kick Six happen on TV I would have decried it as an absurd fairy tale. But it happened.
Northern Illinois is ranked 25th in the AP poll after beating Notre Dame on Saturday. (Matt Cashore / USA Today)
AP Poll
Modest risers and big fallers
Here are the fallers, risers and newcomers in the AP Top 25 after Week 2 (and check out David’s Bubble Watch here).
📉 No. 3 Ohio State fell one spot — but that’s because new No. 2 Texas’ win at Michigan looks better than the Buckeyes’ Western Michigan and Akron resume. The biggest fallers include No. 17 Michigan, down seven spots to its lowest rank since 2021, and No. 18 Notre Dame, down 13 spots after getting outplayed at home by NIU. Kansas (former No. 19), Iowa (former No. 21), Georgia Tech (former No. 23) and NC State (former No. 24) fell out of the poll after losses.
📈 No. 6 Missouri rose just three spots, but the Tigers are ranked the highest they’ve been since finishing No. 5 in 2013. No. 7 Tennessee jumped seven spots after demolishing NC State 51-10. No. 10 Miami (two spots), No. 11 USC (two spots), No. 13 Oklahoma State (three spots) and No. 14 Kansas State (three spots) each had modest climbs within the top 15. Who can figure out No. 22 Clemson after the Tigers turned the lights out on App State? The Tigers are the third-highest-ranked ACC team behind Miami and No. 19 Louisville.
👋 There are so many exciting newcomers this week! No. 21 Iowa State claimed its second Cy-Hawk win under Matt Campbell to enter the Top 25. No. 23 Nebraska is ranked for the first time since 2019, which is also the last time the Huskers started 2-0. No. 24 Boston College is here for the first time since 2018 (and it’s a good time to read this Bill O’Brien feature). And finally, No. 25 Northern Illinois cracked into the rankings as the only Group of 5 team in the Top 25.
The Athletic’s resident AP voter, Matt Brown, breaks down his ballot here.
Another New 134
Time for some geography
Chris Vannini’s All-134 rankings had a lot of movement this week (including one of the biggest jumps ever by Northern Illinois from No. 106 to No. 21). Last week’s No. 134 Temple moved up two spots despite a 38-11 loss to Navy. Why? Because no team had a worse loss than Kent State’s 23-17 letdown against FCS St. Francis (Pa.).
Where is Kent State? It’s hard to keep track of ALL 134 FBS teams. But in conversations with friends and family, I’ve realized it can be even harder to track down these schools on a map. That’s why I’ve decided to incorporate geography lessons into Until Saturday. Kent State is in Kent, Ohio, which is a little more than 40 miles south of Cleveland and just a short 25-minute drive from MAC rival Akron.
Get to know the Golden Flashes: Success has never been easy at Kent State (despite Nick Saban playing there), which has three winning seasons in the past 22 years (yes, 3-1 in 2020 counts), and five since 1976. Kenni Burns is in his second season and is 1-13, the sole win coming against FCS Central Connecticut State last September.
To get out of No. 134: Unfortunately for Kent State, ranked matchups against No. 7 Tennessee and No. 8 Penn State are on deck. Then, the Golden Flashes start conference play with a home game against Eastern Michigan (No. 112), a bye week and another home game against Ball State (No. 120).
Quick Snaps
Listen to a full debrief of the Week 2 action on the “Until Saturday” podcast.
This week’s Big Ten power rankings place every team on a scale from least panicked (Nebraska, Ohio State) to most (Michigan, Iowa).
Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan stayed loyal to Arizona despite a coaching change that could have shaken the Wildcats’ roster. Brian Hamilton has their story.
College football broadcast rankings from Week 2: ABC crews deliver while NBC prime time falls flat.
You can buy tickets to every college football game here.
For streaming info on Fubo, click here.
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(Top photo: USA Today)
