Oregon’s opening-week escape came with a price in the Coaches Poll.
The Ducks slid four spots to No. 6 in Tuesday’s Week 2 rankings after hanging on for a 34-27 win over Boise State. They still landed inside the top 10, but the respect level took a hit: Oregon collected just one first-place vote after getting six in the preseason.
At the top, Ohio State stayed put at No. 1 after handling Ball State, while Georgia moved up to No. 2 and Texas climbed to No. 3 after beating Texas State. That sets up a massive Week 2 matchup between Ohio State and Texas as a No. 1 vs. No. 3 showdown.
LSU made the biggest splash near the top of the poll. After blasting Clemson 51-10 in one of Week 1’s headliners, the Tigers jumped five spots to No.
- Clemson was the lone team to fall out of the rankings altogether.
LSU’s surge pushed Ole Miss out of the top 10, even though the Rebels beat Louisville on Sunday night. Ole Miss slid from No. 10 to No. 11, while Texas A&M dropped to No. 9 and Oklahoma slipped to No. 10 to make room for the Tigers.
Michigan also stayed in the poll, though barely and not without a drop. The Wolverines landed at No. 24 after a shaky, controversial 13-12 win over Western Michigan. They fell eight places from their previous spot and now turn to a Week 2 meeting with Oklahoma.
The rest of the top 10 mostly held steady after a weekend of lopsided season-openers across the country. Notre Dame moved up to No.
4, Indiana climbed to No. 5, and Miami remained at No. 7.
The full top 25 rounded out with Alabama at No. 12, Texas Tech at No.
13, USC at No. 14, BYU at No.
15, Penn State at No. 16, SMU at No.
17, Tennessee at No. 18, Washington at No.
19, Utah at No. 20, Iowa at No.
21, Houston at No. 22, Missouri at No. 23, and Michigan at No.
- Virginia and Florida tied for No. 25 after entering the poll from outside the rankings.
In Other News...
Michigans Opener Already Sparked A Response Fans Will Notice Against Oklahoma
Rod Moore did not sugarcoat Michigans season-opening showing against Western Michigan, calling it well below the standard the Wolverines expect. The reaction inside the program was immediate, too, with team captains calling an emergency player-only meeting to address what went wrong and to reset the tone before the schedule tightens up.
The response showed up on the practice field, where the defense ramped up its physical intensity in preparation for Oklahoma. Edge defender Dom Nichols also drew attention for both his strong play and his work ethic, a reminder that Michigan is trying to turn a flat opener into a sharper, more urgent version of itself before a much bigger test arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Win Is Now At Center Of A Stunning Official Fight
The final sequence of Michigans 13-12 win over Western Michigan has turned into more than a narrow nonconference finish. A reviewed Hail Mary added one second back onto the clock, and that extra snap led to the game-winning catch that kept the Wolverines on top. The Big Ten later backed the decision after its own video review, treating the ending as a properly administered piece of officiating in a game that was already tense enough on the field.
Now the dispute has moved from the scoreboard to the offices that govern the sport. The Mid-American Conference has formally appealed to the NCAA FBS Oversight Committee and the College Football Playoff, asking them to recognize Western Michigan as the winner. For Michigan, the result stands for now, but the unusual fight over a single second has made this one of the more talked-about finishes of the season. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Win Sparked A Debate Fans Should Care About
Michigans disputed 13-12 win over Western Michigan did more than send people scrambling through the rule book. It also reignited a familiar gripe about how college football handles the last moments of a close game, with ESPNs Rece Davis arguing that fans would be better served by a single shared game clock and by live access to replay officials conversations so the process feels less opaque.
The sequence at the end of the game made the frustration easy to understand: the broadcast clock hit zero, but replay officials restored one second after using a synchronized system, and Michigan turned that final snap into the touchdown that decided it. Officials and conference representatives backed up the replay process, and Western Michigan president Richard N. Yensen acknowledged the clocks did not match while saying he did not view the outcome as unfair, but the larger transparency debate is unlikely to fade soon. [Read more 🡒]