Delayed Reaction: Week 3 AP Poll
Credit: Northern Illinois University Athletics
By Tucker Harlin
The third AP Poll of the 2024 season was released Sunday afternoon.
Week 2 was an important week in separating the men from the boys in college football, featuring many power four non conference matchups.
This is my reaction to the latest shift in the AP Poll.
Near the top, I’m a little surprised TEXAS jumped OHIO STATE at the #2 spot. I know Michigan was a Top 10 win for the Horns, but I haven’t seen enough evidence to justify the Wolverines as anything more than a fringe Top 25 team.
Right now, I think the voters are just assuming ALABAMA, OLE MISS, and MISSOURI are good. We’ll know if the Tide and Tigers are as good as they’re cracked up to be next week, but I don’t think the Rebels will be challenged till close to the beginning of October.
TENNESSEE is your high climber of the week, jumping seven spots to #7. When you win by 41 against a team that’s supposed to be near the top of its conference and still leave room for growth, that’s a sign of a very healthy team.
I find it interesting the voters have punished OREGON two weeks in a row for letting inferior competition play close but ignoring the sweat PENN STATE went through to get past Bowling Green. It’s still early in the year, but I can confidently say Boise State is quite a bit better than Boise State.
MIAMI and USC received slight bumps up with some Top 10 teams sliding down while UTAH was bumped down a spot. The Utes simply aren’t the same team without Cam Rising at quarterback, and any kind of lengthy absence could put their Big 12 title hopes in jeopardy.
OKLAHOMA STATE, KANSAS STATE, OKLAHOMA, and LSU were a long way from their best efforts on Saturday, but the two jokers now ranked behind them are why none of them took hits in the rankings.
MICHIGAN and NOTRE DAME took the biggest hits this week among teams that fell and remained in the poll, falling seven and 13 spots respectively.
At least Michigan lost to a Top 10 team, unlike the Irish who lost to a thoroughly mediocre MAC team in Northern Illinois after the media made everyone believe they could compete for a title. I’m not surprised the Wolverines stayed in, but the voters were awfully generous keeping Notre Dame around.
LOUISVILLE and CLEMSON were the last ranked teams last week to move up. I guess you can move up if most of the other fringe teams lose, but I honestly didn’t know if Clemson had the offense to beat known group of five nuisance Appalachian State 66-20.
As for teams that broke into the Top 25 this week, I guess its logical IOWA STATE made it after surviving in the Cy-Hawk Trophy game.
What I’m not so keen on is NEBRASKA, BOSTON COLLEGE, and NORTHERN ILLINOIS jumping in ahead of teams like Syracuse or Illinois, who were in the others receiving votes category.
Look, I get it. Nebraska has waited a looooong time to get a win like the one it got over Colorado Saturday. But if you’re actually buying into Colorado as anything more than a six win team, you’re doing it wrong. I think Dylan Raiola is the best thing that’s happened in Lincoln in close to a decade, but I just need to see more to believe.
A 56-point win over Duquesne shouldn’t be enough to move a team into the Top 25, but somehow it did just that for Boston College. On the bright side, the Eagles’ contest in Missouri next week is now a Top 25 matchup.
I don’t understand Northern Illinois getting in at all.
The media wants you to believe Notre Dame should still be a Top 25 team, so there’s that piece.
As for the Huskies, this isn’t Dave Doeren and Jordan Lynch’s Northern Illinois. The Huskies finished 7-6 in 2023. Aside from the MAC title it won in 2021, Northern Illinois has primarily been under .500 in Thomas Hammock’s tenure in DeKalb.
