No question Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes are the story in college football. Coach Prime and his team of transfers have captured the attention of people across the country. The Buffs may still have doubters out there, but they have fewer than they did a week ago.
Before we see if Colorado can back up their win against TCU this weekend in Boulder against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, let’s allow them to bask in the glory of being voted into the NBC Sports College Football Top 25 Poll.
Here are the full results of NBC Sports’ poll heading into Week 2 with explanations from analysts Vaughn Dalzell, Brad Thomas, and Eric Froton:
1 Georgia | Record: 1-0 | ATS: 0-1 | Last Week: 1
2 Michigan | Record: 1-0 | ATS: 0-1 | Last Week: 2
3 Alabama | Record: 1-0 | ATS: 1-0 | Last Week: 4
4 Ohio State | Record: 1-0 | ATS: 0-1 | Last Week: 3
5 USC | Record: 2-0 | ATS: 1-1 | Last Week: T5
Dalzell (@VmoneySports): USC, Ohio State, or Florida State? You can only pick two of the three and it was not an easy decision. I listed USC at No. 4, Ohio State at No. 5, and FSU at No. 6 in my version of this poll. The three seem interchangeable for now, but consider the Seminoles and Trojans Championship odds over those of the Buckeyes.
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Thomas (@MrBradThomas): Oh, hello, overreaction week! I had Ohio State fans texting me about how their season was over. They have a massive issue at QB, but they must remember it was only Week One. Also, shoutout to all those hating on Bama preseason, now moving them up in their rankings. And yes, FSU is as good as advertised.
Froton (@CFFroton): LSU hits the road after a devastating loss to Florida State, while Alabama rolls over Middle Tennessee State and moves into the Top-3. Ohio State had trouble offensively against Indiana and is still in flux at the QB position, dropping them to the #4 slot. USC’s offense is still so potent that I’m giving them the early nod over Florida State despite their impressive win over LSU.
6 Florida State | Record: 1-0 | ATS: 1-0 | Last Week: 9
7 Penn State | Record: 1-0 | ATS: 1-0 | Last Week: 7
8 Washington | Record: 1-0 | ATS: 1-0 | Last Week: 12
9 Notre Dame | Record: 2-0 | ATS: 2-0 | Last Week: 11
10 Texas | Record: 1-0 | ATS: 0-1 | Last Week: 10
T11 Tennessee | Record: 1-0 | ATS: 1-0 | Last Week: 13
T11 Oregon | Record: 1-0 | ATS: 1-0 | Last Week: T14
13 Utah | Record: 1-0 | ATS: 1-0 | Last Week: T14
14 Wisconsin | Record: 1-0 | ATS: 0-1 | Last Week: 16
T15 LSU | Record: 0-1 | ATS: 0-1 | Last Week: T5
T15 Kansas State | Record: 1-0 | ATS: 1-0 | Last Week: 17
Dalzell: LSU dropped all the way from tied at No. 5 with USC to the No. 15 spot after being embarrassed by Florida State in the second half of their Sunday Night showdown. The Tigers cannot lose another game if they want to make the College Football Playoff yet they still have games scheduled with Alabama, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Florida, and Texas A&M. So, their season is all but over.
Thomas: You could argue for each team (except LSU) to be as high as sixth and as low as 15th. I didn’t downgrade LSU too much for losing to Florida State in Florida. However, Clemson, yeah… they got the boot. Just terrible on both sides of the ball against Duke. Your Heisman Trophy winner is among one of these teams.
Froton: Texas A&M had an easy test Week 1, but I still very much liked what I saw from the Aggies, with QB Connor Weigman going 18-23 for 236 yards and five passing touchdowns in a 52-10 evisceration of New Mexico. They have a major test this week at Miami, which I think they win. Washington smoked Boise State in Week 1, earning a bump up the rankings. The Huskies are on the doorstep of the Top 10 pending Texas’ big game against Alabama this Saturday. Wisconsin sticks at 15, but had some hiccups in the passing game against Buffalo that they will need to iron out if they want to avenge last year’s upset loss to Washington State this week.
17 Oregon State | Record: 1-0 | ATS: 1-0 | Last Week: 18
18 Texas A&M | Record: 1-0 | ATS: 1-0 | Last Week: 20
19 North Carolina | Record: 1-0 | ATS: 1-0 | Last Week: 25
20 Oklahoma | Record: 1-0 | ATS: 1-0 | Last Week: T22
21 Iowa | Record: 1-0 | ATS: 0-1 | Last Week: 19
22 Clemson | Record: 0-1 | ATS: 0-1 | Last Week: 8
23 Mississippi | Record: 1-0 | ATS: 1-0 | Last Week: 22
24 Tulane | Record: 1-0 | ATS: 1-0 | Last Week: Unranked
25 Colorado | Record: 1-0 | ATS: 1-0 | Last Week: Unranked
Honorable mentions: Duke, UCLA
Fell out of the Top 25: South Carolina, TCU
Dalzell: The Colorado Buffaloes!! You have to love to see it, but I would have loved to see the Duke Blue Devils on this list too. Eric and I put Duke at No. 23 and 24, while Brad chose Tulane, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and Colorado over Duke. You can’t really argue too much with Brad’s opinion, but if Clemson is at No. 22, Duke has to be on this list too (in my opinion).
Thomas: Hello Coach Prime, and welcome to the Top 25. I think they face some bumps along the road, but they deserve to have the ranking by their name following a massive victory over TCU.
Froton: Iowa sticks around, but their position in the Top 25 is tenuous considering their listless 24-14 offensive performance against a beatable Utah State D. Colorado’s upset of TCU was the unquestioned story of Week 1, with the transfer-heavy Buffaloes emphatically taking their place in the Top 25, with TCU heading out of it. Duke and defensive guru HC Mike Elko also deserve praise for taking out the once unquestioned kings of the ACC in Clemson. UCLA could be dangerous if HC Chip Kelly makes the full time switch to five-star freshman QB Dante Moore over Chase Garbers. Moore is the real deal and has field tilting downfield accuracy.
As the boys mentioned, there are some intriguing matchups this weekend.
Enjoy the games and enjoy the sweat.
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