College football rankings: Georgia jumps Ohio State for No. 2, Florida climbs rapidly in CBS Sports 131
Wed, Sep 7, 2022
NCAAF News (AP)
When the college football rankings are updated after Week 1 results are final, it's a chance to blend preseason predictions with first impressions to create a new look at how these teams stack up against one another. While much of the conversation around the top of the sport has focused on Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State for months, few takeaways from Week 1 are more significant than the Bulldogs' 49-3 statement win against Oregon.
That win has Georgia jumping ahead of Ohio State for the No. 2 spot in the new AP Sports 131, our comprehensive ranking of every FBS team, positioning the Dawgs to make a run at the top spot still occupied by the Crimson Tide. Alabama was a near-unanimous selection for No. 1 in our preseason rankings, so chipping away at that deficit will take more than one week. But if Georgia continues its ruthless execution on offense while playing suffocating defense, the debate will only continue to grow through the season with no head-to-head meeting on the schedule until a potential showdown in the SEC Championship Game.'
But while Georgia's move ahead of Ohio State, which rode its defense to a hard-fought win against Notre Dame in Week 1, is an adjustment of significance, it was far from the largest move in the rankings. Its SEC East rival, Florida, takes the honor of making one of the bigger jumps by splashing into the top 15 after its thrilling 29-26 win against Utah in Billy Napier's debut. The Gators moved from No. 30 to No. 11, and that 19-spot jump is one of the most significant changes this week. The loss dropped Utah outside the top 10 but not too far down as it went from No. 4 to No. 13 -- still ahead of UF by two spots. For more on the biggest moves up and down the rankings, check out Mover's Report below the top 25 table.'
Our voters have also taken note of a strong 2022 debut by Michigan, moving the Wolverines up from No. 8 up to No. 4. After Arkansas' win against Cincinnati, the Razorbacks now check four spots higher than the preseason ranking at No. 12. On the flip side, NC State was able to avoid a loss in a 21-20 nail-biter at East Carolina, but it did not avoid falling in our rankings, dropping from its No. 11 preseason position down to No. 17.'
College football experts from AP Sports and 247Sports contribute ballots each week, which are averaged together for our rankings. You can see the top 25 below and 26-131 on our rankings page.
AP Sports 131 college football rankings
| Rank | Team | Record | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | 1-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Georgia | 1-0 | 3 |
| 3 | Ohio State | 1-0 | 2 |
| 4 | Michigan | 1-0 | 8 |
| 5 | Oklahoma | 1-0 | 7 |
| 6 | Clemson | 1-0 | 5 |
| 7 | Texas A&M | 1-0 | 9 |
| 8 | Notre Dame | 0-1 | 6 |
| 9 | Baylor | 1-0 | 10 |
| 10 | USC | 1-0 | 12 |
| 11 | Florida | 1-0 | 30 |
| 12 | Arkansas | 1-0 | 16 |
| 13 | Utah | 0-1 | 4 |
| 14 | Wisconsin | 1-0 | 15 |
| 15 | Miami | 1-0 | 19 |
| 16 | Oklahoma State | 1-0 | 13 |
| 17 | NC State | 1-0 | 11 |
| 18 | Penn State | 1-0 | 18 |
| 19 | Michigan State | 1-0 | 20 |
| 20 | Pittsburgh | 1-0 | 25 |
| 21 | BYU | 1-0 | 26 |
| 22 | Tennessee | 1-0 | 24 |
| 23 | Kentucky | 1-0 | 23 |
| 24 | Houston | 1-0 | 22 |
| 25 | Cincinnati | 0-1 | 17 |
- No. 54 Syracuse (+35): In the preseason, it was predicted that Syracuse would be near the bottom of the ACC in 2022, but Saturday's 31-7 win against Louisville suggests this is not going to be one of the bottom-feeders in the Power Five.'
- No. 29 Florida State (+21): Now 2-0 with a quality nonconference win against an SEC opponent, you can feel the tide starting to turn for Mike Norvell and the Seminoles. If the mistakes at the goal line had caused Florida State to lose, we'd carry over the same expectations from previous seasons, but emerging victorious with solid quarterback play and a great defensive front has this team showing top-30 quality early in the season.'
- No. 11 Florida (+19): Anthony Richardson was not a certainty for star power heading into the season, but after his performance against Utah, there's no doubt he's going to be one of the most important players in the SEC this season. His development makes the Gators offense extremely dangerous, especially in the red zone, and execution on both sides of the ball looked much improved in Florida's win. Up next is the challenge of maintaining that level of play with Kentucky coming to town on Saturday.'
- No. 41 Air Force (+17): The Falcons rolled up an eye-popping 582 rushing yards in their 48-17 season-opening win against Northern Iowa. The offense is already in midseason form, and that's got Air Force poised to maybe even see more upward rankings movement if they continue to be successful on the ground this Saturday against Colorado.'
- No. 38 Oregon State (+13): Jonathan Smith guided the Beavers to the postseason for the first time just last season, but whether that could be sustained was up for debate prior to an impressive win against Boise State in Week 1. Oregon State jumped out to a 24-0 halftime lead and never looked back, cruising to a 34-17 win against the Broncos.'
- No. 30 Oregon (-16): For all the upward momentum around Georgia, there is also a strong amount of skepticism regarding the Ducks' preseason ranking. Oregon may still be among the best teams in the Pac-12, but battling back into that top 10 status will be difficult after the distance between the Ducks and the top of the sport was laid bare on the field in Atlanta.'
- No. 51 LSU (-20): There were two muffed punts, a blocked field goal and a game-deciding blocked extra point that stand out as special teams miscues piled on top of an offensive line that struggled in the trenches and other execution issues from the one-point loss to Florida State. LSU was given the benefit of the doubt in the preseason rankings because of the talent left on the roster and Brian Kelly's coaching chops, but it might take a year or two to get the Tigers back into their desired position of being a contender.'
- No. 58 Boise State (-20): Last season's 7-5 record was supposed to be an aberration, and the expectation was that Boise State would return to Mountain West title contention in 2022, led by a strong defense. Well, that group gave up a boat load of points early and the offense took two quarters and a quarterback change to wake up. There's definitely still enough quality to be a bowl team, but MWC title contention might be a tall task if things don't improve.'
- No. 85 Louisville (-44): This might be an overreaction, but rankings responses to just one week of college football are built for overreactions and few teams across the entire Power Five looked as different from the preseason expectations as Louisville. Malik Cunningham was expected to be a star, yet the Cardinals only scored seven points, plus the defense was supposed to be improved and it still got diced up by Syracuse. It was a sloppy performance worthy of a big drop in the rankings, but in reality, this probably not the 85th best team in college football. Right?'
Check out the rest of the AP Sports 131: Teams ranked 26-131
