AP Top 25 Poll Shakeup: Texas, Alabama, Clemson Drop in Latest Prediction

Meanwhlie, the No. 2 Penn State Nittany Lions, No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs, and No. 7 Oregon Ducks all took care of business at home. Oregon, Georgia, and Penn State might not be rewarded with looking good against lesser opponents, but they could benefit from teams losing around them.

Biggest Risers, Fallers

After an exciting slate of week 1 games, the top-10 is expected to see a decent amount of shuffling.

Florida State beat Alabama by two touchdowns on Saturday, but the Seminoles controlled a majority of the game. Will they jump into the top-25 after starting the season unranked? ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit said the Crimson Tide looked "average." How far will they fall?

Predicting the AP Top 25 Poll after week 1 of the season is tricky because of games scheduled across Labor Day Weekend. The third top-10 matchup of the weekend is set to take place on Sunday night as No. 10 Miami hosts No. 6 Notre Dame, and the Hurricanes can cause even more rearranging at the top of the rankings.

Both Ohio State and LSU will presumably move up in the poll after picking up ranked wins while Texas will lose the top spot after starting the season 0-1. How far will the Longhorns fall after the close contest?

After losing a close one to LSU at home, Clemson can expect to drop outside of the top 10. The College Football Playoff released new strength of schedule metrics before the season that essentially decreases the punishment for losing to a tough opponent, like in the case of Texas and Clemson.

It remains to be seen whether or not the AP voters will be considering strength of schedule like the CFP, but 0-1 teams do not typically fare well in the second edition of the AP Top 25 Poll. In 2024 LSU, Florida State, and Clemson all fell out of the top-15 after suffering early losses.

Farther down the rankings, No. 12 Illinois, No. 15 Florida, No. 18 Oklahoma, No. 21 Ole Miss No. 22 Iowa State all started off on the right foot with decisive wins.

On the other hand, No. 17 Kansas State, No. 19 Texas A&M, and No. 20 Indiana won their respective openers, but all three teams were on upset alert at some point during the day.

Week 2 AP Top 25 Poll Prediction

1. Ohio State
2. LSU
3. Penn State
4. Georgia
5. Notre Dame*
6. Oregon
7. Miami*
8. Arizona State
9. Illinois
10. South Carolina*
11. Clemson
12. Florida
13. Michigan
14. SMU
15. Florida State
16. Oklahoma
17. Iowa State
18. Alabama
19. Ole Miss
20. Texas A&M
21. Indiana
22. Texas Tech
23. Tennessee
24. BYU
25. USC

*Plays on Sunday, Aug. 31

This article will be updated once the AP Top 25 Poll is released.