College Football Rankings: Predicting AP Top 25 Poll After Week 3

Georgia football’s quest at an undefeated season is still alive after Saturday night’s game at Kentucky, but the No. 1 Bulldogs were given everything they could handle by the Wildcats. Georgia was held to 262 total yards in the game, and managed just one touchdown in a tight 13-12 win. That score — a three-yard run by Branson Robinson — came early in the fourth quarter, after Georgia trailed for most of the game. The Dawgs defense was in impressive form, holding the Wildcats to just four field goals in the game, but the offense is a real cause for concern, and could knock Georgia from atop the AP Top 25 when it is released on Sunday.

No. 2 Texas lost Quinn Ewers to injury early on in its 56-7 win over UTSA. Losing a Heisman candidate at quarterback would be bad news for most teams, and the Longhorns certainly hope he won’t miss much time, but the injury gave college football its first extended look at Arch Manning. Eli and Peyton’s nephew delivered on the immense hype , accounting for 276 total yards and five touchdowns, including an impressive 53-yard rushing score. The blowout win, combined with Georgia’s scare in Lexington, will likely vault the Longhorns to No. 1 in the AP poll.

Week 3 featured just two matchups between Top 25 teams. No. 14 Kansas State blew out one of its new Big 12 rivals , No. 20 Arizona, 31-7. It was contested as a nonconference matchup as it was scheduled prior to Arizona’s move from the Pac-12. No. 6 Missouri knocked off No. 24 Boston College 27-21 in a tight game at home.

Other big wins for Top 25 programs include No. 4 Alabama’s 42-10 road blowout of Wisconsin , No. 9 Oregon’s 49-14 rivalry win at Oregon State and No. 18 Notre Dame’s bounceback blowout of Purdue on the road, 66-7. No. 15 Oklahoma and No. 16 LSU each landed important wins in tight spots, with the Sooners beating Tulane 34-19 and the Tigers coming back to beat South Carolina on the road, 36-33.

Ahead of Sunday’s release of the updated AP Top 25 poll, here is our projection of the Week 4 rankings. ( Note: these projections were made with some late games still undecided. )

Which teams should be higher or lower in our projections? Sound off in the comments below.

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