An opening Saturday to remember found several ranked teams facing off on the same field, and coming out of that action, there were some notable changes on the ESPN top 25 college football rankings as we look ahead to the Week 2 games.
Of course, Week 1 isn’t strictly over just yet, as Notre Dame and Miami are still scheduled to kick off, while South Carolina and Virginia Tech will meet in another non-conference matchup for Sunday viewers.
But there was plenty of action across the country, including a marquee clash between No. 1 (for now) Texas and No. 3 Ohio State, while top 10 foes LSU and Clemson met in one of the Death Valleys, while Alabama ran into some trouble at Florida State.
Football Power Index (FPI) college football rankings and computer prediction model are a measure of team strength that predicts a team’s future performance.Â
Rankings and scores predictions are based on 20,000 simulations of a team’s season and games, using a combination of key analytics, including scores to date, quality of opponents, team talent, recruiting, and a team’s schedule.
Teams are ranked not in order of talent like in other rankings, but by a projected point margin per game against an average team on a neutral field.
Where do things stand in the ESPN top 25 college football rankings this week?
25. Kansas
Rankings change: Up 1
Win projection: 8.0 games
The Jayhawks moved to a perfect 2-0 after dismantling Wagner in a 46-7 decision at home, as quarterback Jalon Daniels hit 280 yards passing with 4 touchdowns. Kansas goes to SEC challenger Missouri next time out in a much tougher assignment.
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24. SMU
Rankings change: Down 5
Win projection: 8.6 games
Not much of a challenge for the Mustangs in the opener, taking care of East Texas A&M in a 42-13 rout as the defense returned two interceptions for touchdowns. Now, the ACC runner-up from last season gets a shot at Baylor, which lost to Auburn in its opener.
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23. Iowa State
Rankings change: Up 10
Win projection: 8.6 games
The second-biggest positive mover in the ESPN rankings this week, the Cyclones returned from a Week 0 victory in Farmageddon to plant South Dakota in a 55-7 demolition, as Rocco Becht set a school record for accuracy, hitting 19 of 20 passes for a 95 percent completion mark.
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22. Oklahoma
Rankings change: Down 2
Win projection: 6.0 games
As was hoped for, John Mateer proved an early upgrade for the Sooners’ offense, as the quarterback went 30 of 37 passing for nearly 400 yards with four all-purpose touchdowns and one pick as OU handled Illinois State in the 2025 debut.
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21. Clemson
Rankings change: Down 5
Win projection: 7.8 games
Cade Klubnik couldn’t hit a late fourth down pass at home in a seven-point loss against LSU, and he didn’t get much help from the ground game, which accounted for just 31 total yards rushing and a paltry 1.6 yards per carry. This marked the seventh-straight loss for Clemson against a ranked SEC opponent.
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20. Michigan
Rankings change: Down 5
Win projection: 8.0 games
No. 1 overall recruit Bryce Underwood threw a touchdown pass while adding 251 yards in the air and transfer back Justice Haynes ran for three touchdowns to help the Wolverines get past New Mexico before a key date at Oklahoma next week.
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19. Utah
Rankings change: Up 26
Win projection: 8.9 games
The biggest mover in the ESPN college football rankings this week, the Utes had a field day on the road against UCLA, spoiling Nico Iamaleava’s debut there, as Devon Dampier went 21 of 25 passing for 206 yards and ran for 87 yards while the Utes rumbled for 286 yards on the ground in a 43-10 win.
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18. Missouri
Rankings change: Up 5
Win projection: 8.0 games
Beau Pribula passed the first test to see if he deserves to be Missouri’s starting quarterback, tallying 283 yards passing with two touchdowns while rushing for two more scores as the Tigers stepped on Central Arkansas in a 61-6 smashup.
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17. BYU
Rankings change: Up 5
Win projection: 9.1 games
No Jake Retzlaff, no problem. At least not yet, as the Cougars powered a strong 69-0 victory over Portland State on the back of 468 rushing yards, including five all-purpose touchdowns from new signal caller Bear Bachmeier in the largest margin of victory in BYU history.
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16. Auburn
Rankings change: Up 5
Win projection: 8.3 games
New transfer quarterback Jackson Arnold showed off his wheels by rushing for 137 yards and 2 touchdowns while Auburn racked up 307 total yards on the ground in a signature 38-24 victory on the road against Big 12 title hopeful Baylor.
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15. Miami
Rankings change: Up 2
Win projection: 9.0 games
We’ll know more about the Hurricanes when they line up against Notre Dame at home in the marquee Sunday night game, but in the meantime they benefit from some other team movement to inch up two spots in the ESPN rankings heading into the game.
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14. Texas A&M
Rankings change: Down 5
Win projection: 7.6 games
Marcel Reed threw for a career-high four touchdown passes and transfer wideout KC Concepcion had a great debut, catching a TD pass and returning a punt 80 yards for a touchdown, but the Aggies struggled to run the ball until late in a win over UTSA.
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13. Alabama
Rankings change: Down 10
Win projection: 6.8 games
Once again, Gus Malzahn gets one over on the Crimson Tide, this time in the role of Florida State’s offensive coordinator, calling a perfect game to pull off a major upset of No. 8 Alabama, casting more doubt on Kalen DeBoer’s coaching tenure as the perennial SEC titans start out 0-1 in 2025. This is the biggest negative mover in the ESPN college football rankings this week.
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12. Florida
Rankings change: Up 1
Win projection: 6.8 games
The Gators ran for 200 total yards and both their quarterbacks accounted for five combined touchdowns in a 55-0 rout against Long Island in the opener heading into a home date against USF before a key road trip against LSU after that.
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11. South Carolina
Rankings change: None
Win projection: 7.9 games
We didn’t see the Gamecocks in action during the Saturday games, but the SEC hopefuls will go up against Virginia Tech on Sunday.
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10. LSU
Rankings change: Up 2
Win projection: 8.6 games
Both quarterbacks in this game were eerily similar, throwing for 230 yards each and both averaging 6.1 yards per pass, but LSU got more from its run game and Garrett Nussmeier threw a touchdown to give Brian Kelly his first Week 1 win with the program. And it was the Tigers’ first Week 1 win since 2019, when they won the national title. Lee Corso did pick this team to go all the way this year…
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9. Tennessee
Rankings change: Down 1
Win projection: 9.5 games
Joey Aguilar looked superb in his debut for the Vols, throwing for 247 yards and three touchdowns to hold off Syracuse in a 19-point victory, piling up almost 500 yards of total offense, while DeSean Bishop and Peyton Lewis both rushed for a touchdown.
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8. Notre Dame
Rankings change: Down 2
Win projection: 9.7 games
College football’s national title runner-up didn’t play on Saturday, but heads into a major matchup on the road against No. 10 Miami on Sunday night.
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7. Oregon
Rankings change: None
Win projection: 9.8 games
Dante Moore predictably got the nod as the Ducks’ starting quarterback, going 18 of 23 with 213 yards and 3 touchdowns, and Oregon added over 200 rushing yards to stomp Montana State in the opener at home.
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6. USC
Rankings change: Up 8
Win projection: 9.9 games
A good first impression for the Trojans’ offense, as Jayden Maiava had almost 300 yards passing and freshman Husan Longstreet ran for two TDs in an explosion that saw this team finish with 602 total yards and score 73 points over Missouri State, the highest point total for the program since 1930.
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5. Penn State
Rankings change: None
Win projection: 10.3 games
Nick Singleton ran for 2 touchdowns and this fearsome Nittany Lions defense forced three turnovers to handle Nevada in the opener from Happy Valley, and they could move into the No. 1 position in the AP rankings.
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4. Ole Miss
Rankings change: Up 6
Win projection: 9.8 games
A monster jump for the Rebels, the third-biggest of any team in the ESPN college football rankings this week. Austin Simmons looked the part at quarterback, stacking up 341 yards in the air with three touchdown passes as Ole Miss smashed Georgia State by a 63-7 count.
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3. Ohio State
Rankings change: Up 1
Win projection: 10.8 games
Matt Patricia’s defense looked fantastic going against Arch Manning in a signature win over No. 1 Texas at home, allaying some early fears that Jim Knowles’ departure could cut into the unit’s production, but the jury’s still out on the offense, which looked sluggish in Julian Sayin’s first outing as the starting QB.
ESPN kept the Buckeyes behind the team they beat, given its computer rankings model still expects the Longhorns to be better than future opponents by a wider margin.
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2. Georgia
Rankings change: None
Win projection: 9.9 games
Some people may cry SEC bias at this positioning, as Georgia checks in ahead of the team that beat a No. 1 opponent. Gunner Stockton threw two touchdowns and the Bulldogs amassed more than 220 yards rushing in a romp over Marshall to start out between the hedges with a date at home against Austin Peay up next.
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1. Texas
Rankings change: None
Win projection: 9.5 games
Yes, the ESPN rankings kept the top-ranked team that lost its season opener in the No. 1 position heading into Week 2, but that’s because the model forecasts the Longhorns will be 23.2 points better than opponents on average going forward, the widest margin of any team in the country.Â
Still, Arch Manning’s debut was forgettable, as the star quarterback, playing under enormous pressure and the subject of intense hype, struggled to find his receivers and was confused by Ohio State’s defense in a seven-point loss on the road against the Buckeyes. There goes the Longhorns’ No. 1 ranking.
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