Tomorrow's Top 25 Today: Tennessee and Oregon gain ground as college football's top 10 sees changes

In the college football rankings, surprises aren't always needed to bring about change and upheaval. After the events of Week 3, AP Top 25 poll voters have plenty to consider as they fill out their updated ballots. From an upset shock for No. 1 Georgia to a stunning finish from a Notre Dame team that was relegated the week before, a day without any upsets still offered plenty of surprises.

This week, eight ranked teams faced unranked opponents in hostile territory, with four of those matchups representing the resumption of in-state rivalries. And while some of those unranked underdogs did their best to cause chaos, the favorites were able to get away in every scenario. In fact, the only losses for ranked teams came in the only two matchups between ranked teams over the weekend, with No. 20 Arizona losing to No. 14 Kansas State and No. 24 Boston College falling to No. 6 Missouri.

However, this does not mean that the results of the tests of these ranked teams will not lead to changes in the rankings.

Voters in the AP Top 25 poll will be wondering even more if Georgia is actually the No. 1 team in the country after the Bulldogs narrowly defeated Kentucky on the road. In last week's voting, 54 of 63 first-place finishers went to Georgia, and it's likely that some of them (if not more) will change their minds and choose Texas, Ohio State or maybe even Alabama after the Crimson Tide steamrolled Wisconsin in Madison.

Voters will also have to consider how to react to Oregon's best performance of the season yet, Notre Dame's comeback win, Missouri and LSU's close calls and more. Some of these swings in voting points will lead to changes in the rankings and set the tone for where these teams stand, and conference games will dominate the college football schedule in the coming weeks.

Here's what we think the new AP Top 25 poll will look like after the third week's results:

1. Georgia (Last week – 1): We'll likely see Georgia lose some first-place votes after such a close race on the big stage in Kentucky. The Bulldogs made such a strong statement with their season-opening win over Clemson that their front-runner status seemed infallible, but the narrow win over Kentucky has sparked a debate about who the best team in college football is.

2. Texas (2): An injury to Quinn Ewers has brought some big questions to the forefront internally at Texas, especially after Arch Manning's five-touchdown performance. The only thing that concerns AP voters is that the Longhorns now have an even stronger chance at No. 1 after a 56-7 win over UTSA.

3. Ohio State (3): The Buckeyes had Week 3 off and will be back in action next Saturday against Marshall.

4. Alabama (4): Alabama will see a boost in popularity after the Crimson Tide's win over Wisconsin, but given the wide margin in last week's voting, the momentum won't be enough to overtake Ohio State. The changes will likely affect Alabama's rankings, as 10 voters saw the Tide outside the top five with a low ranking of No. 10 on one ballot. That should change after Saturday's big road win, solidifying Alabama's position at No. 4.

5. Ole Miss (5): No major changes are expected for Ole Miss, but a 40-6 win at Wake Forest keeps the momentum going in the right direction for a group looking to compete for a championship this fall. All three of the Rebels' victories have seen at least 40 points scored, and no Ole Miss opponent has scored a touchdown this season.

6. Tennessee (7): There are still a few weeks until the spooky season really starts, but the Vols are scary good. Over the last three weeks, Tennessee's offense has been on fire, never trailing for 180 minutes. The toughest games on Tennessee's schedule are coming up, including a road game against Oklahoma in Week 4 and the traditional October game against Alabama, but it's hard to be unimpressed with what the Vols have done so far in 2024.

7.Oregon (9): The Ducks finally showed something approaching the form that so many AP voters expected when they ranked Oregon No. 3 in the preseason poll. Dan Lanning's team had dropped spots in the rankings after each of its first two wins, and we expect them to regain some of that ground with a quick return of support from voters who have grown increasingly frustrated with results that have fallen short of expectations.

8. Missouri (6): After outscoring its first two opponents 89-0, Missouri faced its first real challenge of the season in Week 3 and delivered mixed results that could lead to a shakeup within the top 10. The offense took a while to get going and the Tigers were never able to shake off Boston College, which amounted to a 27-21 win as three-point favorites. Both Tennessee and Oregon were so close in voting points that the Tigers, despite improving to 3-0, could drop a few spots with the win.

9. Penn State (8): The Nittany Lions had Week 3 off and will be back in action next Saturday against Kent State.

10. Miami (10): On a day of close calls and some exciting moments in the Top 25, Miami left absolutely no doubt with a 62-0 victory over Ball State.

11.USC (11): The Trojans had Week 3 off and will be back in action next Saturday at Michigan.

12.Utah (12): Backup quarterback Isaac Wilson threw three touchdowns in place of Cam Rising (hand injury) and the Utes overcame an early deficit before pulling away late in a 17-point win over home-state rival Utah.

13. State of Oklahoma (13): It was nice to see Oklahoma State step up to the task in a road game against in-state rival Tulsa. The Cowboys jumped out to a 28-0 first-half lead and never let up as they won 45-10, culminating in 396 passing yards and five touchdowns from seventh-year quarterback Alan Bowman.

14. Kansas State (14): Arguably the most impressive win of the week came from Kansas State, which welcomed the challenge of a top-20 team in Arizona on Friday night, scoring 31 unanswered points after the Wildcats scored a touchdown on the game's first possession. There's not much room to move up in the rankings, but voters will be more supportive of Kansas State as a top-15 team after 16 voters saw the Wildcats finish outside the top 15 last week.

15. Oklahoma (15): After a much-needed fast start by the Sooners, Tulane was able to get back into the game and cut the deficit to just five points in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, but Jackson Arnold stepped in with his legs and scored one of his two rushing touchdowns, putting the game out of reach and giving Oklahoma a 3-0 start.

16. Notre-Dame (18): Just when you thought Notre Dame was out of the race, the Fighting Irish scored 66 points against Purdue in an offensive explosion that few saw coming. It's just enough to regain some confidence in a comeback spot with the voter who demoted Notre Dame 13 spots after last week's surprise loss to Northern Illinois.

17.LSU-16: The Tigers showed a lot of resilience as they overcame a 17-0 first-half deficit and snatched the win from a South Carolina team hoping to pull off an upset in Columbia. It was a sloppy game for both sides, but LSU made more key plays at the end and walked away with a 36-33 victory.

18.Michigan (17): The biggest headline from Michigan's 28-18 win over Arkansas State is the quarterback dilemma facing the Wolverines as they prepare for their Big Ten opener against USC next week. Davis Warren was benched after throwing three interceptions and Alex Orji finished the game leading a ground-heavy attack that rushed for 301 yards in the win. Orji threw just four passes, but one of them was a touchdown, and Sherrone Moore said this week in practice will determine who starts next week in the Big Ten opener.

19.Louisville (19): The Cardinals had Week 3 off and will be back in action next Saturday against Georgia Tech.

20. Iowa State (21): The Cyclones had Week 3 off and will be back in action next Saturday against Arkansas State.

21.Clemson (22): The Tigers had Week 3 off and will be back in action next Saturday against NC State.

22. Nebraska (23): No major changes in the standings after a solid, comfortable win over FCS Northern Iowa. Next up is a Friday night showdown against Illinois, who could also move into the standings after improving to 3-0.

23. Northern Illinois (25): The Huskies had Week 3 off and will be back in action next Saturday against Buffalo.

24. Illinois (NC): This will be less of a push into the top 25 based on a 30-9 win over Central Michigan, and more of a recognition of Illinois' ranking profile. Last week's win over Kansas put the Fighting Illini at 26th in voting points, so with some teams dropping out, I expect Illinois to make the jump.

25. Texas A&M (NR): The Aggies were on some ballots last week as a 1-1 team, with their lone win coming against FCS McNeese State. After beating Florida at The Swamp and a quarterback change, Texas A&M is being considered more as a team in the 20s and has a good chance of breaking into the top 25.

Expected exit: No. 20 Arizona, No. 24 Boston College