How did Saturday's surprising results affect this week's ESPN Power Rankings?
USC's loss to Stanford dropped it to No. 13, while the Cardinal moved up to No. 8 after their fourth straight win in the series.
Check out the rest of our experts' Top 25 for Week 3 of the season.
Overall | Voters 1-5 | Voters 6-10 | Voters 11-15 | Voters 16-20| College Football Power Rankings - Week 3 | |||||
| RANK | TEAM / RECORD | TRENDING | PTS | COMMENT | |
| 1 | -- Last Week: 1 | 500 | Here's a scary thought for Bama's SEC opponents: The Crimson Tide's D has picked up where it left off last season, posting consecutive shutouts and forcing 12 turnovers in three games. | ||
| 2 | 1 Last Week: 3 | 474 | The Tigers dominated their third straight opponent and extended numerous streaks in the process, including their FBS-record 40th-straight nonconference regular-season victory. Next up: A trip to Auburn. | ||
| 3 | 1 Last Week: 4 | 454 | Can you believe Oregon actually trailed 7-0 against Tennessee Tech? 63 points later, the Ducks ran off with another victory. You'd expect Arizona to give Oregon its biggest test to date. The Ducks won by 25 in Tucson in 2011. | ||
| 4 | 2 Last Week: 6 | 429 | Wake Forest upset Florida State last season, but the Demon Deacons had no shot on Saturday thanks to Chris Thompson. "GameDay" heads to Tallahassee as the Seminoles, who have pitched back-to-back shutouts, host Clemson. | ||
| 5 | -- Last Week: 5 | 411 | The Bulldogs put away Florida Atlantic early in the third quarter, tallying a school-record 713 total yards in the process. Defensive star Jarvis Jones was held out of the game (groin injury), but should return to the lineup vs. Vandy. | ||
| 6 | 1 Last Week: 7 | 384 | The Sooners had the weekend off and will get back on the field when they host Kansas State on Saturday. OU won last season's matchup in Manhattan, 58-17. | ||
| 7 | 1 Last Week: 8 | 380 | If you like touchdowns, WVU is a team you should be watching. The Mountaineers have scored 181 points in their past three games, and Heisman candidate Geno Smith has as many TD passes (nine) as he does incompletions. | ||
| 8 | 13 Last Week: 21 | 332 | Who needs Luck when you have Stepfan Taylor? Stanford made it four straight vs. USC, but it won't get any easier. After a trip to Washington, the Cardinal host ranked Arizona and visit Notre Dame. | ||
| 9 | 1 Last Week: 10 | 329 | The Gamecocks will have uncertainty at QB after Connor Shaw reinjured his throwing shoulder against UAB. Dylan Thompson has proved to be a solid backup, so that should ease some worries in Columbia. | ||
| 10 | 2 Last Week: 12 | 293 | Sammy Watkins scored a TD in his return to the lineup, but Clemson's D has work to do before its trip to Tallahassee. As DC Brent Venables said, "They'll break the scoreboard next week if we don't play better." | ||
| 11 | 8 Last Week: 19 | 287 | Not many expected Notre Dame to walk into East Lansing and shut down the Spartans. The Irish are off to their best start in 10 years and can climb up the rankings if they take care of business against tough competition. Next up? Michigan. | ||
| 12 | 6 Last Week: 18 | 276 | After SEC road victories at College Station and Knoxville, the Gators finally get some home cooking at the Swamp, where they'll play six of their next eight games. Kentucky visits before LSU comes to town. | ||
| 13 | 11 Last Week: 2 | 268 | Lane Kiffin says it's not the end of the world. It just feels like it to USC fans. Matt Barkley struggled against Stanford, throwing two picks and completing less than 50 percent of his passes. | ||
| 14 | -- Last Week: 14 | 265 | So far, so good for David Ash. The soph QB has yet to throw a pick and has seven TDs on the season, while completing over 76 percent of his passes. | ||
| 15 | 4 Last Week: 11 | 255 | The Buckeyes needed some fourth-quarter heroics to beat Cal and stay unbeaten. Ohio State gets one more nonconference game against UAB this weekend before opening Big Ten play at Michigan State on Sept. 29. | ||
| 16 | 3 Last Week: 13 | 238 | Bill Synder wasn't pleased with the Wildcats' execution against North Texas. It will need to get a whole lot better by Saturday, when K-State makes the trek to Norman to face Oklahoma, which handled the Wildcats 58-17 in 2011. | ||
| 17 | 1 Last Week: 16 | 162 | It certainly wasn't pretty, but the Horned Frogs passed their first Big 12 test with a victory against Kansas. TCU overcame four turnovers to extend its win streak to 10. | ||
| 18 | 2 Last Week: 20 | 148 | The talk has been about the success of the Bruins' offense, but UCLA's defense had a standout performance against Houston, forcing six turnovers Saturday and narrowly missed a shutout. | ||
| 19 | 2 Last Week: 17 | 141 | What does Denard Robinson have in store for the Irish this time? Michigan has won the past three meetings by a combined 12 points, including scoring the game-winning TD with two seconds left last season. | ||
| 20 | 3 Last Week: 23 | 118 | The Cardinals know how to start strong, but they'll need to work on a finishing kick after nearly blowing a 25-point, fourth-quarter lead against North Carolina. | ||
| 21 | 12 Last Week: 9 | 103 | The Spartans' 15-game home winning streak ended with their loss to the Irish. The good news? 0-3 Eastern Michigan visits Spartan Stadium on Saturday before MSU hosts Ohio State on Sept. 29. | ||
| 22 | 2 Last Week: 24 | 96 | The Wildcats dominated South Carolina State 56-0 and can turn their full attention to Oregon, when they visit Autzen Stadium for their first road game of the season. | ||
| 23 | 3 Last Week: NR | 37 | Chad Bumphis' six catches for a career-best 180 yards and three TDs helped the Bulldogs get off to their best start since 1999. Mississippi State should be 4-0 after it hosts South Alabama on Saturday. | ||
| 24 | 2 Last Week: NR | 26 | The Broncos won their 11th straight home opener and rebounded from their season-opening setback to Michigan State by routing Miami (Ohio). Next up? A Thursday night date with BYU. | ||
| 25 | 1 Last Week: NR | 21 | Bo Pelini's health scare was just that, and he's back at work after leaving Saturday's game in an ambulance. The Cornhuskers also felt better after dominating Arkansas State. Nebraska hosts Idaho State before opening Big Ten play vs. Wisconsin. | ||
| Others receiving votes: Tennessee (18), Northwestern (16), Oregon State (11), Rutgers (6), Ohio (6), Baylor (5), Virginia Tech (4), Oklahoma State (4), Cincinnati (3) | |||||
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