College football AP Poll Week 2 predictions: Who rises, who falls in the rankings

Big games, shocking losses, and a complete shake-up of power provided drama all over the map to start the 2025 college football season, and it will show in the Week 2 AP Top 25 poll. No.

3 Ohio State, the defending champion, went on the road and knocked off the preseason No. 1, Texas, and No. 4 Florida State, aided by a dominant effort over No. 21 Alabama, among the top wins of the weekend. Since there should be so much movement going on, now you have to wonder how the rankings shake out entering Week 2.

Projected shake-ups after a wild opening weekend

Ohio State is going to be ranked as the No. 1 team, and deservedly so. Penn State, which steamrolled Nevada, might claim that role as Ohio State's nearest pursuer.

They will likely join LSU, coming off a gutty road upset of Clemson, and Georgia, coming off a bludgeoning of its own, at or near the top of the poll. Meanwhile, Florida State put itself back on the national map with a demolition of Alabama, likely moving the Seminoles back to the Top 25 after opening at No.

30.

Here is how one projection sees the Top 10 shaping up for Week 2:

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Who’s rising, and who’s tumbling?

Multiple teams seem to have emerged as overall winners from the first week.

Illinois crushes Western Illinois 52–3 and could reach the top 10 for the first time in decades. Beating Alabama put the wind at the Seminoles' backs to propel them right into the middle of the pack.

Alabama losing to Florida State was one of the bigger losses of the weekend, but one of the bigger gains of the weekend, nonetheless, for the Crimson Tide. After being well-seated in the Top 10, the Crimson Tide now stares at falling well out of the Top 15, and maybe even the Top 25. The Longhorns may stay in the top 10 because of some combination of their talent and looming preseason rankings, but Texas entered the season as the No. 1 team in the country, and a home loss to the Buckeyes could also drop them off a cliff. But challenges still await Clemson, especially after losing to LSU.Tuesday, September 2, 2025, is he official day for the Week 2 AP Top 25 poll release. Updated rankings should be posted around 2 p.m. ET. The release will represent the average of a national media poll, highlighting the top movers, shakers, and surprise entries after the first week of the college football season, as has always been the case.