{"id":434611,"date":"2026-09-13T09:42:33","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T09:42:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/434611\/"},"modified":"2026-09-13T09:42:33","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T09:42:33","slug":"week-3-college-football-power-rankings-texas-michigan-rise-and-oregon-oklahoma-fall-in-top-25-rankings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/434611\/","title":{"rendered":"Week 3 College Football Power Rankings: Texas, Michigan Rise and Oregon, Oklahoma Fall in Top 25 Rankings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Week 2 of the 2026 college football season delivered us a treat, with a primetime matchup between top-10 programs and a few surprises across the country. Needless to say, there\u2019s going to be a bit of a shakeup in the top 25 college football rankings after Saturday.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s dive into our Week 3 college football power rankings.<\/p>\n

Related: Winners, Losers from College Football Week 2<\/a><\/p>\n

1. Texas Longhorns (Previously: 4)<\/p>\n

\"College25<\/a>Bevo, the Texas Longhorns steer, parades past fans rior to the NCAA football game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Darrell K Royal\u2013Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas on Sept. 12, 2026.<\/p>\n

The Texas Longhorns<\/a> earn their spot atop the college football rankings after that fourth-quarter comeback over Ohio State. One thing that truly needs to be mentioned from this matchup is that the Longhorns pulled this off despite losing the turnover battle and gifting Ohio State double-digit points thanks to a dropped touchdown and a lost fumble. How did Texas overcome that? Because it finally has a well-balanced offense that can either let its tandem of running backs carry it for a quarter or let Arch Manning lead the team on a desperately needed touchdown drive. The icing on the cake? Will Muschamp is orchestrating one of the nation\u2019s best defenses. That comeback win should be remembered in Austin for a long time, and it officially signals that Texas is back.<\/p>\n

Related: Winners, Losers from Ohio State vs Texas<\/a><\/p>\n

2. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Previously: 2)<\/p>\n

\"Notre25<\/a>Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

After coming out a bit sluggish at Lambeau Field last Sunday, Marcus Freeman and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish<\/a> made sure that wouldn\u2019t be an issue back at home against Rice. The defense found the end zone first, scooping and scoring on a 25-yard fumble return and then forcing another fumble on the next drive to set up the first offensive touchdown of the day. This was the type of blowout that fans expected to see and the starters got plenty of rest in the second half, giving a little extra time to recover before facing Michigan State in Week 3.<\/p>\n

3. Indiana Hoosiers (Previously: 3)<\/p>\n

\"Week25<\/a>Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

First-half blowouts were a theme for many of the best college football teams in Week 2. Hosting Howard, Curt Cignetti\u2019s Indiana Hoosiers<\/a> led 41-0 at halftime and then pulled their starters with the backups continuing to run all over the Bison. Indiana\u2019s defense is currently without starting cornerbacks<\/a> A.J. Harris and Jamari Sharpe, but they could probably be given another weekend off since the Hoosiers face a Western Kentucky team in Week 3 that was just curb-stomped by Georgia.<\/p>\n

4. Georgia Bulldogs (Previously: 6)<\/p>\n

\"Georgia25<\/a>Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Historic domination from the Georgia Bulldogs was their headline in Week 2. In Saturday\u2019s victory over Western Kentucky, quarterback Gunner Stockton set a career-high in passing touchdowns (five) midway through the second quarter and it came on the team\u2019s first five offensive drives. In related news, the Bulldogs offense tied the program record for points scored in a first half (49). In the first six quarters of the season, Georgia produced 1,003 total yards and 33 first downs with 112 points.<\/p>\n

5. Miami Hurricanes (Previously: 7)<\/p>\n

\"Week25<\/a>Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Just another night of history being made for the Miami Hurricanes. A week after going across the country and seeing Malachi Toney set the program\u2019s single-game receiving yardage record in just three quarters, we saw a new all-time mark set in Week 2. In the home opener against Florida A&M, the Hurricanes offense set a school record with 856 total yards, picking up 42 first downs in the process with nine skill players finding the end zone. Miami has outscored its opponents 122-13 through two games. Putting that another way, the Hurricanes offense has scored more touchdowns (17<\/a>) than its defense has allowed total points.<\/p>\n

6. Ohio State Buckeyes (Previously: 1)<\/p>\n

\"Ohio25<\/a>Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day watches warm ups prior to the NCAA football game against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal\u2013Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas on Sept. 12, 2026.<\/p>\n

What separates the Ohio State Buckeyes from the five best college football teams right now? It\u2019s the quarterback, in our opinion. Julian Sayin can be an accurate passer from a clean pocket, but his limited physical tools become very apparent when the opposition can generate pressure or just force him to make tight-window throws. That was apparent in Week 2, when Ohio State couldn\u2019t get the big throw it needed from Sayin in the fourth quarter. We\u2019re not blaming the kicker for this one, the loss falls on the shoulders of Sayin and the Buckeyes offensive line.<\/p>\n

7. Ole Miss Rebels (Previously: 10)<\/p>\n

\"Week25<\/a>SMandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

There\u2019s the Ole Miss Rebels<\/a> offense that captivated the college football world in 2025 and Lane Kiffin didn\u2019t even need to be involved. Returning home after a hard-fought win in Week 1, Mississippi let Kewan Lacy and Trinidad Chambliss put on a two-man offensive clinic in the first half against Charlotte. It wound up being exactly the kind of tune-up game the Rebels needed ahead of Kiffin\u2019s return to Oxford next Saturday night.<\/p>\n

8. Texas A&M Aggies (Previously: 11)<\/p>\n

\"Week25<\/a>Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

There had to be a slight feeling of concern early on Saturday at Kyle Field. A 58-yard catch-and-run touchdown by Arizona State made it a 24-20 game and the Texas A&M Aggies offense responded immediately after with a three-and-out to enter halftime with just a four-point advantage. Mike Elko\u2019s defense got the crowd back into it with a much-needed spark for the team. Leading 31-20, the Aggies forced an interception at the 45-yard line with Marco Jones taking it to the house. On the very next play for Arizona State, Sam M\u2019Pemba forced a fumble and Texas A&M recovered it at the Sun Devils\u2019 26-yard line. A season after generating just 10 takeaways, this Aggies defense has six in its first two games.<\/p>\n

9. LSU Tigers (Previously: 9)<\/p>\n

\"LSU25<\/a>Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

It\u2019s squarely on the table, especially for a Lane Kiffin team, that the LSU Tigers<\/a> fell into a trap game against Louisiana Tech. The Tigers defense certainly wasn\u2019t the problem, allowing -7 total yards to the Bulldogs offense on their first seven drives. Ordinarily that wouldn\u2019t be super impressive against Louisiana Tech, but it stands out a bit more when the defense has to keep defending short fields because of Sam Leavitt\u2019s three interceptions. Again, we think there\u2019s a very real possibility here that Kiffin had his offense celebrating the humiliation of Clemson a little too much and looking past Louisiana Tech for next week\u2019s trip to face Ole Miss.<\/p>\n

10. BYU Cougars (Previously: 12)<\/p>\n

\"BYU25<\/a>Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

We learned far more about quarterback Bear Bachmeier\u2019s family from the broadcast than we needed to hear, if you know you know. Anyways\u2026 The BYU Cougars let Arizona hang around until the fourth quarter, but the game really flipped in the fourth quarter. Arizona took a gamble on 4th-and-4 at BYU\u2019s 21-yard line and was stopped, with Bachmeier hitting two big-time throws on a four-play, 82-yard touchdown drive to put the game on ice. Bachmeier (217 passing yards and 4 total touchdowns) continues to look like one of the rising stars in college football and he makes BYU a legitimate CFP contender. Again, we just really could\u2019ve gone without knowing the \u201cfun fact\u201d about his family\u2019s occasional dinner-time attire<\/a>.<\/p>\n

11. USC Trojans (Previously: 14)<\/p>\n

\"Week25<\/a>Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Lincoln Riley and the USC Trojans<\/a> have a late kickoff on Saturday (11:00 PM ET), but the team already had a reason to feel good before taking the field. Oregon\u2019s Week 2 loss demonstrated how vulnerable it is, especially defensively. As long as the Trojans take care of business against Louisiana and Rutgers, beating the Ducks on Sept. 26 at the Coliseum now seems very doable.<\/p>\n

12. Alabama Crimson Tide (Previously: 15)<\/p>\n

\"Alabama25<\/a>Mandatory Credit: David Leong-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Frustrations were abundant early in Tuscaloosa when the Alabama Crimson Tide<\/a> turned it over twice in the first quarter and trailed 17-13 at Kentucky heading into the half. Those feelings intensified when the Crimson Tide offense went three-and-out on the first drive out of the half and still trailed 17-16 midway through the third quarter. Alabama\u2019s defense flipped everything. Consecutive turnovers\u2013forced fumble and turnover on downs\u2013put the offense into the red zone and those drives turned a one-point deficit into a 31-17 lead. It proved to be the spark \u2018Bama needed en route to a 45-17 win. Just don\u2019t get too caught up in the final score as this game was close for a while.<\/p>\n

13. Penn State Nittany Lions (Previously: 16)<\/p>\n

\"Week25<\/a>Penn State quarterback Rocco Becht (3) hands the ball off to running back Carson Hansen (21) during an NCAA football game against Marshall at Beaver Stadium, Sept. 5, 2026, in State College.<\/p>\n

The Penn State Nittany Lions<\/a> unexpectedly found themselves in a 3-3 game after the two-minute warning in the first half against Temple. It was a tie heavily influenced by a missed field goal then a turnover on downs on a drive that started at the Owls\u2019 5-yard line. That\u2019s when Rocco Becht and running back Carson Hansen woke up, propelling an 83-yard touchdown drive right before halftime. Penn State controlled this one the rest of the way, with a garbage-time touchdown making the final score (27-9) a bit closer. A fine 2-0 start for head coach Matt Campbell, but there\u2019s plenty of room to improve in the next three weeks before USC comes to town.<\/p>\n

14. Oregon Ducks (Previously: 5)<\/p>\n

\"Oregon25<\/a>Oregon quarterback Dante Moore wipes off his face as the Oregon Ducks host the Boise State Broncos on Sept. 5, 2026, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon.<\/p>\n

That was a team-wide failure by the Oregon Ducks<\/a>. An abysmal first half by quarterback Dante Moore (5-of-15, 45 passing yards and 2 sacks taken) put Oregon in an early hole, Lanning\u2019s baffling fourth-down call in the fourth quarter in Ducks territory was inexplicable, and this defense had no answers for Caleb Hawkins and Drew Mestemaker. This is one of the worst showings we\u2019ve seen for Oregon in years, and in combination with the pedestrian effort against Boise State, dropping 12 spots in our college football power rankings feels warranted.<\/p>\n

15. Tennessee Volunteers (Previously: 19)<\/p>\n

\"Tennessee25<\/a>Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The two big questions with the Tennessee Volunteers<\/a> entering the season centered around true freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon and this new-look defense under coordinator Jim Knowles. Comfortablybeating Georgia Tech in Atlanta tells us a lot more than the blowout victory over Furman. Tennessee\u2019s defense generated two takeaways, including a pick-six, in the first half and that the the tone early. Brandon wasn\u2019t the master of efficiency through the air, but he made some big-time throws and used his athleticism to extend plays. One thing the Vols can do that always gives us more confidence in a program? Run the dang football. Tennessee should have no trouble next week vs Kennesaw State, but the inexperience at quarterback and the unfamiliarity with Knowles\u2019 system will likely catch up to them in two weeks at Neyland Stadium against Texas.<\/p>\n

16. Texas Tech Red Raiders (Previously: 13)<\/p>\n

\"Week25<\/a>Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Texas Tech Red Raiders simply don\u2019t look like the team we saw last season. There were some small signs of it in a 33-10 win at home against Abilene Christian. On Saturday night at Oregon State, it was more apparent. It took until early in the fourth quarter for the Red Raiders to recapture the lead and they had to hang onto it from then on. With a worse quarterback and defense than this program had in 2025, it\u2019s fair to start questioning if Texas Tech has what it takes to make the playoff this year.<\/p>\n

17. Michigan Wolverines (Previously: 24)<\/p>\n

\"Week25<\/a>Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham watches practice ahead of the game between Michigan and Western Michigan at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026.<\/p>\n

This is the version of Bryce Underwood that the Michigan Wolverines<\/a> need for the time being. He didn\u2019t do a ton through the air on Saturday (9-of-17 for 111 passing yards<\/a>), but he protected the football and made some key throws while leading the team in rushing (87 yards and 1 touchdown). Pair that with a defensive clinic, you have a Wolverines team capable of winning nine-plus games. Underwood now gets a few weeks to improve and build on this performance before Michigan\u2019s schedule really gets difficult from Week 7 on.<\/p>\n

18. Oklahoma Sooners (Previously: 8)<\/p>\n

\"Oklahoma25<\/a>Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

John Mateer isn\u2019t the quarterback we thought he was entering the season and the Oklahoma Sooners<\/a> don\u2019t have the personnel on offense to overcome his limitations. We were willing to attribute Mateer\u2019s struggles versus top competition in 2025 (10-9 TD-INT ratio and 60.4% completion rate vs Big Ten and SEC) to the thumb injury. That excuse is thrown out the window now. Oklahoma\u2019s offense isn\u2019t good enough to beat the top teams on its schedule (Georgia, Texas, Ole Miss and Texas A&M). The Sooners just don\u2019t look like a playoff-caliber team anymore.<\/p>\n

19. SMU Mustangs (Previously: 21)<\/p>\n

\"SMU25<\/a>Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

We remain a bit lower on the SMU Mustangs<\/a> in our college football power rankings (20th) than the AP (No. 17 entering Week 2). With that said, Mustangs quarterback Kevin Jennings has always had the physical talent to make this the second-best team in the ACC. The Week 3 matchup at Louisville will be a must-watch, with the loser likely dropping out of the top 25 and the victor pushing their way into the top 15.<\/p>\n

20. Utah Utes (Previously: 17)<\/p>\n

\"Week25<\/a>Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a late kickoff for the Utah Utes<\/a>, hosting Arkansas at 10:15 PM ET. What\u2019s promising coming off their regular-season opener is how good this offense looks with second-year starter Devon Dampier showing so much early comfort in Kevin McGiven\u2019s offense. As long as this offense maintains its efficiency, there\u2019s no reason to think that Utah won\u2019t have a 6-0 record when it hosts Houston on Oct. 24.<\/p>\n

21. Missouri Tigers (Previously: 22)<\/p>\n

\"Missouri25<\/a>Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Safe to say that Eli Drinkwitz and the Missouri Tigers took the Border War rivalry game against Kansas very seriously. Mizzou looked a little too amped early on, with the first half tied at 14 thanks to a fumble and two blocked field goals (one returned for a touchdown). Whatever message Drinkwitz sent to that Tigers locker room at halftime clearly worked. Missouri outscored Kansas 24-7 the rest of the way, and their head coach made it clear embarrassing the Jayhawks<\/a> at home was intentional. If this is how Mizzou can look without running back Ahmad Hardy, we can\u2019t wait to see this balanced offense when he returns and complements Austin Simmons and this defense.<\/p>\n

22. Houston Cougars (Previously: Unranked)<\/p>\n

\"Houston25<\/a>Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

After experiencing a mild scare last weekend against Oregon State, the Houston Cougars were on cruise control in Week 2 against Southern. Connor Weigman had as many passing touchdowns (three) as incompletions and the Cougars\u2019 ground game clawed through the Jaguars\u2019 front seven for over 300 yards with six touchdowns. It\u2019s a solid, but expected, 2-0 start with a great battle coming up in Week 3 at Texas Tech on FOX.<\/p>\n

23. Louisville Cardinals (Previously: 23)<\/p>\n

\"Louisville25<\/a>Louisville Cardinals quarterback Lincoln Kienholz (3) before the game against Villanova Friday Sept. 11, 2026 at L&N Stadium in Louisville, Ky. Sept. 11, 2026.<\/p>\n

We thought this would be Isaac Brown\u2019s team coming into the season. Clearly, the Louisville Cardinals<\/a> have found something in quarterback Lincoln Kienholz. After an impressive debut (376 total yards and 3 total touchdowns) in the heartbreaking loss against Ole Miss, the junior quarterback responded with 4 total touchdowns and 374 total yards in a blowout win over Villanova. With Louisville hosting SMU in Week 3, it will need Brown and Kienholz to put on an offensive clinic.<\/p>\n

24. Virginia Cavaliers (Previously: Unranked)<\/p>\n

\"Week25<\/a>Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Virginia Cavaliers<\/a>\u2018 steady ascent up the college football power rankings is about more than what happened in Week 2. Virginia\u2019s 59 points against Norfolk State were its highest total since 2003 and Tony Elliott\u2019s program has now outscored its opponents 93-11 through two games. Since Week 3 of the 2025 season, the Cavaliers are 12-2 and that includes victories over Duke, Mizzou, Louisville and Cal last season. What a turnaround for a football program that had an 11-23<\/a> record through Elliott\u2019s first three seasons as head coach.<\/p>\n

25. Boise State Broncos (Previously: 25)<\/p>\n

\"Boise25<\/a>Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

We moved the Boise State Broncos<\/a> into our top 25 college football rankings after they went into Eugene and kept things extremely close. While that narrow defeat doesn\u2019t look quite as impressive now, the Broncos still strengthened their resume on Saturday night with an 18-point victory against Memphis. Maddux Madsen played well, but the star of the show on the blue turf was obviously Dylan Riley (217 scrimmage yards on 21 touches). While the record is 1-1, Boise State looks like a top-25 team to us right now and this team should start stringing together a ton of wins in the weeks to come.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"avatar\"<\/p>\n

\t\tMatt Johnson is Senior Editor of NFL and College Football for Sportsnaut. His work, including weekly NFL and college … More about Matt Johnson<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Week 2 of the 2026 college football season delivered us a treat, with a primetime matchup between top-10…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":434612,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[778,132,134,133,793,794,150879,782,2742,768,4856,786,9642,795,787,779,781,772,797,769,771,140437,7284,790,260,537,767,780,762],"class_list":["post-434611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-alabama-crimson-tide","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news","tag-boise-state-broncos","tag-byu-cougars","tag-college-football-analysis","tag-georgia-bulldogs","tag-houston-cougars","tag-indiana-hoosiers","tag-louisville-cardinals","tag-lsu-tigers","tag-miami-hurricanes","tag-michigan-wolverines","tag-missouri-tigers","tag-notre-dame-fighting-irish","tag-ohio-state-buckeyes","tag-oklahoma-sooners","tag-ole-miss-rebels","tag-oregon-ducks","tag-penn-state-nittany-lions","tag-power-rankings","tag-smu-mustangs","tag-tennessee-volunteers","tag-texas-am-aggies","tag-texas-longhorns","tag-usc-trojans","tag-utah-utes","tag-virginia-cavaliers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=434611"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434611\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/434612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=434611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=434611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}