3 Most Overrated Teams in AP Top 25 CFB Poll After Week 2

The Associated Press released its Week 3 Top 25 on Sunday afternoon, after a college football Saturday that featured wild upsets and near-misses all across the schedule.

For the second week in a row, 20 teams changed positions from last week’s ranking. Texas jumped Ohio State for the No. 2 spot after being Michigan, and No. 7 Tennessee and No. 10 Miami are new entrants into the top 10.

The landscape is particularly chaotic after the top 12 or so. Oklahoma State, Kansas State and Oklahoma — the teams ranked Nos. 13 through 15 — all survived upset bids on Saturday. No. 16 LSU lost last week, and are now grouped together with Week 2 losers Michigan and Notre Dame at Nos. 17 and 18.

The backend of the poll has been refreshed, with No. 21 Iowa State, No. 23 Nebraska , No. 24 Boston College and No. 25 Northern Illinois cracking the rankings for the first time this season.

Three teams stand out as overrated at this point in the season, based on Sunday’s poll.

Related: Quinn Ewers, DJ Lagway Lead 20 College Football Stars From Week 2

No. 8 Penn State Nittany Lions

Penn State looked the part of a top-10 team last week, when it beat West Virginia on the road, 34-12. Saturday’s game against Bowling Green was a step backwards.

The Nittany Lions have a dangerous ground game, with Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen each breaking the 100-yard mark Saturday. The passing game is lagging behind. Quarterback Drew Allar has performed well, and tight end Tyler Warren (eight receptions, 147 yards) is one of the nation’s best. The team’s wide receivers have struggled to get separation in both games so far, and were limited to just three receptions for 37 yard and a touchdown against the Falcons. A strong running game and Warren as a security blanket are enough to outlast a MAC team and will probably get the best of lower-tier Big Ten programs. Penn State is in trouble against the upper echelon of conference foes if it can’t get its wide receivers going.

Penn State’s defense has been a strength under James Franklin, but the unit really struggled in the first half , as BGSU quarterback Connor Bazelak carved it up for 192 yards and two touchdowns on 16-of-20 passing. The Nittany Lions picked him off twice in the second half, but the performance was far from inspiring. Teams behind PSU in the AP Top 25 like Miami and USC have looked far more convincing so far.

No. 15 Oklahoma Sooners

The Houston Cougars’ offseason hire of former Tulane coach Willie Fritz was lauded, and for good reason. Fritz is known as one of college football’s best program builders. His new undertaking at Houston isn’t a plug-and-play situation though. After things deteriorated under Dana Holgorsen, Fritz has taken the program down to the studs. Houston was picked last in Athlon’s preseason Big 12 power rankings , and 15th in the league’s preseason media poll.

And yet, that Coogs team effectively shut down Oklahoma , which expects to be in the mix for a College Football Playoff spot. The Sooners were outgained 318 yards to 252. Third down continues to be a glaring issue for Brent Venables’ team, which is now 5-for-26 on conversions for the third-worst percentage in FBS. After scoring touchdowns in each of the first two quarters, the Sooners offense did not score in the second half — the team’s final two points came on a safety late in the game.

“We deserved to lose because we did everything you can possible do to give someone a chance to win,” Venables said on the SEC Network following the game.

Saturday’s game was Oklahoma’s worst offensive performance since the Sooners’ 2022 beatdown at the hands of Texas. The offense will need to wake up next week, when OU takes on Fritz’s old team, Tulane, which nearly upset Kansas State in Week 2.

No. 16 LSU Tigers

Given all of the upsets on Saturday, LSU’s game against FCS opponent Nicholls flew under the radar. Brian Kelly shouldn’t mind, because it was an ugly performance for the Tigers against what should have been an overmatched opponent.

LSU got pushed around up front on both sides of the ball in the first half, and were within two points after opening the second half with a touchdown. The Colonels outgained the Tigers on the ground 150-to-64, limiting Kelly’s team to just three yards per carry on the game. Nicholls put together two impressive, methodical 13-play scoring drives, one totaling 84 yards and another 75. Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier is a real bright spot with 610 yards, eight touchdowns and just one interception through two games, but he’s getting no help. The Tigers ground game is averaging just 88.5 yards per game and 3.8 yards per carry on the year.

Kelly cited the short turnaround following LSU’s Sunday game against USC in Week 1 for his team looking “tired,” which both may be a legitimate concern and also a tough admission for a team in early September.

LSU moved up two spots this week via inertia, with Michigan and Notre Dame falling behind them after Week 2 losses and voters not fully trusting teams like Louisville and Arizona, who haven’t played premier opponents yet. If LSU doesn’t have a get-right performance against South Carolina — next week’s ESPN College GameDay game — they won’t be long for the Top 25.

Related: College Football Rankings: Athlon Sports Top 25 (After Week 2)

Related: College Football Playoff 12-Team Projections After Week 2