The Tailgater college football rankings: Top 25, week 3

The showdown of the week occurred in College Station, as Alabama beat Texas A&M in a 49-42 barnburner. [USA Today Sports] College football rankings: Top 25, week 3 Three weeks into the season, our ballots are proving fluid as teams win and teams lose — and not just whether they win or lose, but how they achieve their results. At this point, any number of teams could be considered legitimate contenders in a year where everyone seems to have some flaw. But, just as the season opened, the defending national champion remains at the top of the poll after a wild SEC scoreboard scorcher in Texas. Some teams stayed locked in place, while others shifted wildly as each of us adjusted our ballots with one-quarter of the regular season behind us already. As we approach steadily toward October and beyond, the stakes only increase along with the sample size. First, here’s how our ballots combined to form this week’s inaugural poll of the 2013 regular season:   RANK TEAM POINTS LAST WK 1 Alabama (2) 74 1 2 Oregon (1) 73 4 3 Clemson 69 3 4 Stanford 64 2 5 LSU 63 6 6 Florida State 59 9 7 Ohio State 58 5 8 UCLA 51 17 9 Louisville 50 8 10 Texas A&M 44 7 11 Oklahoma State 43 11 12 Miami (FL) 42 12 13 Washington 38 18 14 Georgia 37 12 15 South Carolina 31 18 16 Baylor 29 15 16 Northwestern 29 15 16 Oklahoma 29 14 19 Michigan 21 10 20 Ole Miss 17 NR 21 Florida 11 21 22 UCF 10 NR 22 Texas Tech 10 NR 24 Fresno State 9 25 25 Michigan State 7 NR ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: Notre Dame (6), Arizona State (1)   Oregon got a serious bump at the top, as all three of us pushed the Ducks up our ballots this week after they impressed at home in a 59-14 blowout of Tennessee. Alabama remained at the top, but Zach (full disclosure: current Duck student) shifted Oregon above the Tide after seeing the way both teams have played defense so far this year. And all of us moved them ahead of Stanford, their chief Pac-12 North rival. It was overall an odd week for movement. The team taking the biggest leap up the ladder, UCLA, was down 21-3 in Lincoln at one point before racking up 38 unanswered points in an eventual 41-21 dismantling of Nebraska on the road. The team taking the biggest slide, Michigan, remained undefeated but was one play away from falling to lowly Akron at home. That said, you’ve probably got a different opinion than us. With the spirit of contention in mind, you will find our individual ballots below. Leave your personal picks, acrimonious invective, base insults, or belligerent rants down in the comments below. You’re also always welcome to hit up any of us on Twitter to offer a piece of your mind…   ZACH BIGALKE @zbigalke MATT STROBL @mmstrobl JOHN MITCHELL @jlmitchell93 Oregon Alabama Clemson LSU Florida State Stanford UCLA Oklahoma State Ohio State Louisville Washington Miami (FL) Texas A&M Baylor Northwestern Georgia Fresno State South Carolina Ole Miss Oklahoma UCF Texas Tech Michigan Florida Notre Dame Alabama Oregon Clemson Stanford LSU Ohio State Florida State Louisville UCLA Miami (FL) Washington Oklahoma Texas A&M Oklahoma State Northwestern Georgia South Carolina Michigan Michigan State Baylor Ole Miss Texas Tech Florida UCF Notre Dame Alabama Oregon Clemson Stanford Ohio State LSU Florida State Texas A&M Georgia Louisville UCLA South Carolina Oklahoma State Miami (FL) Baylor Michigan Oklahoma Washington Northwestern Florida Ole Miss Notre Dame UCF Texas Tech Arizona State