Alabama jumps to No. 2 in Second 2015 AP Rankings
Written by Ryan Wright
Twitter: @HogManInLA
Week One of the college football season is in the books and the AP voters see the SEC as the top conference placing a record 10 teams into the Top 25.
The previous record for most teams in the Top 25, also set by the SEC, was eight, a mark that was tied in the preseason polls. The dominance will more than likely be short-lived with No. 14 squaring off against No. 25 Mississippi State this weekend. Alabama jumped past TCU to No. 2, Auburn held at No. 6 after beating Louisville, Georgia dropped a spot to No. 10 after Notre Dame won big over Texas, LSU held at No. 14 despite not playing, Ole Miss (No. 17) and Arkansas (No. 18) held their respective spots, Missouri jumped four slots to No. 20, and MSU was a new entry at No. 25.
Tennessee slid up two spots from No. 25 to No. 23. The Volunteers have a tough draw when visiting No. 19 Oklahoma heads to Knoxville this weekend.
Texas A&M had the biggest jump in the AP rankings going from unranked to No. 16 after upending then No. 15 Arizona State 38-17.
The Pac-12 had a rough opening weekend posting a 7-5 win-loss record. What was gained by Utah beating Michigan was lost with Stanford losing to Northwestern. Utah entered the poll at No. 24 and Stanford was dropped after a preseason ranking of No. 21.
Washington State lost to Portland State (24-17), Colorado was beaten by Hawaii (28-20), and Washington was bounced by Boise State (16-13) leaving a proverbial black eye on the Pac-12 after widely being considered the second best football conference in the nation heading into the season.
Most of the teams in the Top 25 have a fairly easy schedule in Week 2 sans a few teams. Although Arkansas State did not show in a route against USC in Week 1, the Red Wolves could test No. 21 Missouri at home in Week 2. No. 20 Boise State will be on upset alert after BYU took down Nebraska on the road last week.
The top game of the week is No. 7 Oregon at No. 5 Michigan State. Last season Marcus Mariota engineered a 46-27 trouncing of Sparty in Eugene. How well Michigan State fairs in the Top 10 matchup will go a long way with voters and fans alike about the strength of the Big Ten during the 2015 season. The only other Big Ten team ranked is No. 1 Ohio State. Alabama bullied then No. 20 Wisconsin 35-17 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington in Week 1 dropping the Badgers from the poll.
AP Top 25 Week 2
- Ohio State
- Alabama
- TCU
- Baylor
- Michigan State
- Auburn
- Oregon
- USC
- Notre Dame
- Georgia
- Florida State
- Clemson
- UCLA
- LSU
- Georgia Tech
- Texas A&M
- Ole Miss
- Arkansas
- Oklahoma
- Boise State
- Missouri
- Arizona
- Tennessee
- Utah
- Mississippi State
Dropped Out: Wisconsin, Arizona State, Stanford
Photo credit: LM Otero; No. 2 Derrick Henry rushes past Wisconsin defenders in a Week 1 win for Alabama.