College football’s Week 2 reshaped the AP Top 25 in a hurry, and the biggest change was at the top. Texas jumped to No. 1 after its upset of Ohio State, while Oregon and Oklahoma both slid out of the top 20 after losses to unranked Oklahoma State and Michigan. Michigan, meanwhile, landed at No. 19 and is back in the voters’ good graces after last week’s controversial win over Western Michigan.
With Top 25 teams going 22-3 this week, the poll had room for only so much movement. Washington was the team squeezed out after an unconvincing win over Utah State, and that made the Huskies the first name on the list of teams trying to work their way back in.
For Washington, the path is simple enough: the offense has to look alive. Through two weeks, it has been rough going for a unit that was supposed to be one of the country’s most experienced.
The Huskies have dealt with third-down problems, red zone issues, dropped passes and penalties that keep killing drives. The defense has done enough to keep them afloat, though, especially against the run and in creating turnovers.
If the offense shows even a pulse, Washington should be back in the rankings quickly. Eastern Washington, which just gave up 517 yards and 41 points to South Dakota, may be the right matchup to get that done.
Florida has a different problem. The Gators have put points on the board behind quarterback Aaron Philo and wide receiver Vernell Brown III, but the defense has not been nearly as clean.
Florida Atlantic hung 396 yards and 21 points on them, and Campbell opened Week 2 by marching 63 yards in seven plays for a field goal. Florida settled in after that, forcing two turnovers and two sacks while tightening up on third downs.
Still, to convince voters it belongs in the Top 25, Florida will need to slow down a Byrum Brown-led Auburn offense that found its rhythm in Week 2 and piled up 343 rushing yards.
Boise State is in a slightly different spot after its own strong response. The Broncos pushed Oregon in Week 1, then handled fellow Group of 6 power Memphis, 38-20, while averaging 7.6 yards per rush.
That gave them both a near-miss against a Power 4 team and a solid bounce-back against a respected opponent. Now the task is to leave no doubt against South Dakota.
The Coyotes are dangerous offensively, so Boise State will need to clean up the penalties and avoid the slow start it had against Memphis if it wants to make a real impression on the voters.
Oklahoma State’s situation is the most interesting of the bunch. The Cowboys’ win over Oregon was enough to get them 36 votes, even with the memory of a shaky Week 1 loss to Tulsa still hanging around.
Drew Mestemaker showed the kind of mental toughness that mattered most in the biggest moments, but the voters were careful not to go all the way yet. The message was clear: nice win, now do it again.
A convincing showing against Murray State, which is 1-2, could be enough for Oklahoma State to sneak back into next week’s Top 25.
In Other News...
Oregons Playoff Hype Already Looks Shakier Than Washington Fans Expected
Oregon entered the season with playoff buzz and a hefty cushion in the betting market, but Oklahoma State spent the afternoon dragging the Ducks into a far less comfortable conversation. The Cowboys snapped a 21-game losing streak against FBS opponents and handed Oregon a 39-31 defeat, with Drew Mestemaker powering the upset by throwing for 317 yards and two touchdowns while also piling up 109 rushing yards and a score in the opener for coach Eric Morris.
Dante Moore did help steady the Ducks with two second-half touchdown passes, yet the broader picture was hard to ignore for Washington fans tracking the state of the conference race. Oregon was outgained 554 to 281, a lopsided performance that made the loss look less like a stumble and more like an early reminder that preseason hype can vanish quickly when a favored team spends the day chasing an opponent it was expected to handle. [Read more 🡒]
Washingtons 2027 Commits Are Giving Huskies Fans Something To Watch
The early part of the high school season is already giving Washington fans a glimpse at what the Huskies have coming down the line in the 2027 class. Running back Jeremy Adeyanju, quarterback Blake Roskopf and wide receivers Zerek Sidney and Dontay Tyson have all turned in eye-catching performances, a useful reminder that recruiting rankings are only the start of the story once these players hit the field. For a program always looking ahead, those early returns offer plenty to track as the commits keep building their cases.
Adeyanju has been especially productive as a runner and receiver, while Roskopf and Sidney each added another strong outing to their resumes in recent action. Tyson has also been part of the group giving Washington followers a reason to keep tabs on scoreboard updates far from Seattle, with each performance feeding the bigger question of how these future Huskies might fit once they arrive. The competition for playing time does not begin on campus, of course, but it is already easy to see why this class is becoming one worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Gophers Just Triggered An Early Warning Sign In ESPNs Ratings
After a second weekend that shook up ESPNs FPI ratings, Minnesotas loss was enough to send its projection sliding, another reminder that early September already carries more weight than it should. The model also kept sorting out the rest of the Big Ten picture, with Ohio State surging after its upset of Oregon and other league teams moving in different directions as the numbers tried to catch up with the results.
For Washington, the bigger takeaway is how unforgiving those early forecast swings can be. Even after a win over Utah State, the Huskies were still sitting in an uncomfortably low spot in the Big Ten pecking order, and the playoff outlook attached to that standing was already razor-thin. It is only Week 2, so none of this is final, but the first warning lights are on for a team that needs the computers to start liking what they see. [Read more 🡒]