AP Top 25 and SEC Power Rankings After Week 3

It was a rather underwhelming Week 3 slate of the College Football season that had just two Top 25 matchups and only one ranked team fall to an unranked team (Washington over Michigan State), along with plenty of blowout games. That does, however, set us up for a intriguing Week 4 to look forward to as conference play really starts to heat up.

Here is this week’s AP Top 25 poll, with eight SEC teams ranked and four in the Top 10:

1. Georgia (3-0)
2. Alabama (3-0)
3. Ohio State (3-0)
4. Michigan (3-0)
5. Clemson (3-0)
6. Oklahoma (3-0)
7. USC (3-0)
8. Kentucky (3-0)
9. Oklahoma State (3-0)
10. Arkansas (3-0)
11. Tennessee (3-0)
12. North Carolina State (3-0)
13. Utah (2-1)
14. Penn State (3-0)
15. Oregon (2-1)
16. Ole Miss (3-0)
17. Baylor (2-1)
18. Washington (3-0)
19. BYU (2-1)
20. Florida (2-1)
21. Wake Forest (3-0)
22. Texas (2-1)
23. Texas A&M (2-1)
24. Pittsburgh (2-1)
25. Miami (FL) (2-1)

Others receiving votes:

Michigan State 91, Florida State 85, Appalachian State 77, North Carolina 72, Washington State 62, Cincinnati 52, Oregon State 49, Minnesota 48, Kansas 23, Syracuse 7, LSU 6, Wisconsin 4

Top 25 match ups on the schedule for Week 4:

• No. 5 Clemson at No. 21 Wake Forest — 11:00 a.m. CST (ABC)
• No. 20 Florida at No. 11 Tennessee — 2:30 p.m. CST (CBS)
• No. 10 Arkansas vs No. 23 Texas A&M in Arlington at AT&T Stadium — 6:00 p.m. CST (ESPN)

My Updated SEC Power Rankings After Week 3

1. Georgia: The Bulldogs are far and away the best team in the country right now after a 48-7 road win over South Carolina. Might have to drop them after allowing a touchdown, though. Kidding, of course.
2. Alabama: An easy 63-7 win over UL Monroe but Bryce Young throwing two interceptions might be a bit of a concern.
3. Tennessee: Just an electric offense under Josh Huepel led by quarterback Hendon Hooker. Maybe the only team in the division that can compete with Georgia. College Gameday comes to Knoxville on Saturday for the match up against Florida.
4. Kentucky: Did what they needed to do in a 31-0 win against Youngstown State. The Wildcats can get even better as they will get running back Chris Rodriguez back in their SEC opener at Ole Miss on October 1st.
5. Arkansas: The Razorbacks get dropped two spots because they got a legitimate scare against Missouri State in Bobby Petrino’s return to Fayetteville. However, the Bears are a really good FCS team.
6. Ole Miss: I know Georgia Tech is bad, but shutting out a Power Five opponent 42-0 on the road is still impressive,
7. Texas A&M: It wasn’t pretty, but the Aggies bounced back with a 17-9 win over a Top 25 Miami team after the loss to Appalachian State.
8. LSU: Brian Kelly got a much-needed win in his SEC opener against Mississippi State. Holding a Mike Leach led offense to only 16 points was an impressive defensive performance.
9. Florida: After the big-time win over Utah, things are trending in the wrong direction for the Gators after losing to Kentucky and barely escaping a bad South Florida team.
10. Mississippi State: The Bulldogs had a letdown in Baton Rouge in a game they were favored to win. Schedule only gets tougher for Mike Leach’s group.
11. South Carolina: The Gamecocks shouldn’t really get penalized for losing big to Georgia, but it’s been a rough start to the Spencer Rattler era to say the least.
12. Auburn: After barely beating San Jose State, the Tigers were blown out 41-12 at home by Penn State. Things are really getting ugly for Bryan Harsin. It’s a winnable game for Missouri on Saturday.
13. Missouri: Plenty of red flags after a 34-17 win over FCS Abilene-Chirstian. An average offensive line probably makes Mizzou a competent team.
14. Vanderbilt: The 3-1 Commodores are vastly improved, and they deserve credit for that. However, the wins have come against Hawaii, Elon, and Northern Illinois. Need to see more against legitmate competion before I can move them up.