5 biggest losers & winners of Week 2 AP Top 25 Poll ft. Arch Manning's Texas

The AP Top 25 Poll for Week 2 is out, and as expected, there were winners and losers. Several teams in the preseason poll failed to live up to the hype and tumbled down the poll.

Meanwhile, teams from the lower part of the poll had great starts to the season, and moved up. Here are the five biggest losers and winners of the Week 2 AP Top 25 Poll.

Winners

5. Ohio State

The reigning national champions rose two places to No. 1 after beating Texas 14-7 on Saturday.

4. LSU

LSU beat Clemson 17-10 for a strong start to its campaign. Brian Kelly’s team, scaling over what many regarded as a big challenge, rose six places to No. 3.

3. Miami

Mario Cristobal’s team won a hard-fought victory over Notre Dame. The Hurricanes went up five spots to No. 5.

2. Iowa State

The Cyclones are 2-0 after two games. The team won at Kansas State in its season opener, before the blowout victory over South Dakota last weeked. Iowa State rose six spots to No. 16.

1. Florida State

Not many people expected the Seminoles to emerge winners against Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama. Entering Week 1 unranked, Mike Norvell’s program pulled off an upset against the Crimson Tide. The Seminoles are at No. 14.

Losers

5. Boise State

The Broncos were ranked No. 25 in the preseason poll. However, they fell out of the rankings following their 34-7 loss to South Florida.

4. Notre Dame

Marcus Freeman impressed the college football world last season, securing a national championship game berth for the Fighting Irish. However, his 2025 season opener against Miami was not what he wanted.

3. Clemson

The reigning ACC champions hoped for a better opening game than a 17-10 loss to LSU. The Tigers face Troy next, and their fans expect them to spring back to winning.

2. Alabama

Kalen DeBoer’s team dropped 13 spots after losing to Florida State.. The Tide are No. 21 as they prepare to face Louisiana-Monroe.

1. Texas

The Longhorns, buoyed by their hyped quarterback, Arch Manning, were No. 1 heading into Week 1. However, a disappointing offensive display saw them lose 14-7 at Ohio State, dropping six spots to No. 7.

About the author

Kayode is a College and High School Sports writer at Sportskeeda since June 2023. Hailing from Nigeria, he has an undergraduate degree in Linguistics and African Languages, and has previously had stints as an entertainment and politics writer for around 7 months. Adept at creating content around historical perspectives, he strives to report stories based only on verified information. His mantra is - truth is always more important than sensationalism.

A fan of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Kayode admires how Nick Saban developed talent at the team and delivered consistent results, and hopes that the post-Saban era is just as fruitful. He is thoroughly impressed by Johnny Manziel’s talent, and feels that Shedeur Sanders is massively underrated. Nick Saban is his all-time favorite college coach.

While Kayode believes there is little to separate college and mainstream sports, pro leagues absorbing the best athletes leads to their quality being higher. Witnessing the Colorado Buffaloes’ hot streak at start the 2023 football season was one of his all-time favorite college sports moments.

When not writing, Kayode enjoys reading and watching sports documentaries. His most recent watch was "Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In."

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Edited by Victor Ramon Galvez