Was the first week of college football season all that it was cracked up to be? Well, there was a barnburner of a SEC league game on Thursday night (Ole Miss-Vanderbilt), SIX FCS teams defeating FBS teams, thrilling, competitive games between ranked opponents (Georgia-Clemson, LSU-TCU), let alone some near misses (Buffalo-Ohio State, Wyoming-Nebraska, etc.) and virtuoso performances that have us talking Heisman Trophy (Teddy Bridgewater, Jameis Winston). College football, it’s good to have you back!
As we get ready for this week’s action, which includes some very intriguing games (South Carolina-Georgia, Florida-Miami, Notre Dame-Michigan, San José State-Stanford, et al.), here is our latest Top 25 poll after last week’s games. Again, our six pollsters come from different sections of the country make up our poll – Lisa Horne (CFB-NASCAR writer/on-air personality), Basil Mitchell (former TCU and Green Bay Packers RB), T.J. Basalla (super fan, marketing professional, WJPZ Alumni Association President), Matty J. (ThrowTheFlagBlog.com), Adesina Koiki (A Lot Of Sports Talk reporter/writer) and an anonymous staff member at a Division I-FBS school.
So here’s our rankings going into the second weekend:
1. 
Alabama (144 points, 3 first-place votes)
The Crimson Tide’s offensive line did not look to be a cohesive unit as in years past, and it may end up getting AJ McCarron hurt in games down the line if that play continues. However, the defense and special teams saved them against Virginia Tech. (Matty J.)
2. 
Clemson (138, 2 first-place votes)
The Tigers beat Georgia while most FBS teams were playing cupcakes. ‘Nuff said. (Lisa Horne)
3. 
Oregon (132)
Sure the Ducks only played Nicholls State but the speed is still there. In fact, so far, nothing has changed from 2012. If you’re going to play a cupcake, a 66-3 beating validates your awesomeness. (Lisa)
4. 
South Carolina (129)
The Gamecocks have a tendency to underwhelm in week 1. They still dominated a decent UNC team, though. Real test comes this week vs. Todd Gurley and Georgia. (Anonymous D-1 FBS staffer)
5. 
Stanford (128)
The Cardinal got an extra week off before they make their 2013 debut this Saturday against a San José State squad that won 11 games last season and have a potential first-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft in quarterback David Fales. SJSU lost to the Cardinal by only three points last season, 17-20. (Adesina Koiki)
6. 
Ohio State (120, 1 first-place vote)
The Buckeyes did what they had to do last week, which was win. They also let an inferior opponent (Buffalo) play even with them for more than half of the game. If not for an illegal use of hands call on Buffalo that negated an OSU turnover in the third quarter, it might have turned into the 2009 Navy season opener all over again. (Adesina)
7. 
Florida State (104)
Quarterback Jameis Winston was very impressive. The defense looked a little soft but the Seminoles played well for a season opener on the road against a tricky Pitt team. (Lisa)
8. 
LSU (102*)
If the Tigers can show balance on offense the way they did last week in Arlington vs. TCU (197 rushing, 251 passing), watch out for the Bayou Bengals. Zach Mettenberger still only completed 50 percent of his passes, but we’ll give him a pass this time, given that he went up against a tough TCU defense. (Adesina)
9. 
Louisville (102)
Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater made a good case for his Heisman campaign. The Cards looked good but their schedule is so awful, they are going to have to score more points (YES…MORE) to make a big jump. (Lisa)
It is quite possible that last week’s game vs. Ohio turns into Louisville’s best win of the season, in terms of quality opponents. No disrespect to Frank Solich’s men in Athens, because they are a good team. But I’m just sayin’… (Adesina)
10. 
Texas A&M (93)
OK, the Aggies beat Rice. But what happened to that SEC defense? Allowing 31 points doesn’t bode well for Texas A&M. (Lisa)
11. 
Oklahoma State (88)
The Pokes held Mississippi State to only three points (great) but scored only 21 themselves (not so great, given they scored over 45 per game last season). But a 9-0 start is definitely a possibility before the end-of-season stretch, with games at Texas and at home to Oklahoma and Baylor. (Adesina)
12. 
Georgia (86)
The Bulldogs only lost by three points at Clemson. Beat South Carolina and I’m back in love with Georgia. Lose, and Mark Richt will have to buy fire-retardant skivvies. There, I said it. (Lisa)
I’m not going to punish them for walking into Death Valley Jr. (the real one is in Baton Rouge) and losing by three to an experienced Clemson team. The one worry I have is how the Clemson ends absolutely dominated the Georgia tackles in the passing game. On the other hand, Todd Gurley looks like Marshawn Lynch, maybe even a bit better. (Anonymous D-1 FBS staffer)
13. 
Florida (80)
Despite having five players suspended, the Gators and their defense held Toledo to six points. The kicking game and penalties are cause for concern. Also, it may be a good idea for some reporters to check with Will Muschamp before printing a story about a player being suspended. He is not happy to say the very least. (Matty J.)
14. 
Notre Dame (66.33)
Tommy Rees threw for 346 yards and 3 touchdowns with no turnovers vs. Temple. If he can continue that play, they might be just as good as last year. I’m looking forward to seeing the most impressive non-SEC defensive line (along with Stanford) face Michigan’s power backs running behind their big O-line. (Anonymous D-1 FBS staffer)
15. 
Michigan (63.33)
Great balance on offense with Devin Gardner at quarterback and Fitz Toussaint and freshman Derrick Green in the backfield. Big test vs. Notre Dame this week. (Anonymous D-1 FBS staffer)
16. 
Texas (58)
I hate rewarding cupcake victories but 56-7 over New Mexico State is a good start. This weekend’s date at BYU is a bigger test. (Lisa)
17. 
Oklahoma (48)
After being incredibly vanilla on defense last year, Oklahoma showed a variety of fronts and coverages in shutting out Louisiana-Monroe. If they keep up that improvement in Mike Stoops’ second year as def. coordinator, they will have no problem rising in my rankings. (Anonymous D-1 FBS staffer)
18. 
UCLA (40)
The Bruins ran the pistol offense to perfection against the school that perfected the pistol offense. Now a off week before preparing for a trip to Lincoln to play the Cornhuskers…a game which I think the Bruins will win. (Lisa)
19. 
Northwestern (36)
Traveled across two time zones to face a BCS team with a new coaching staff, and came out with the win. They did get a little banged up, but quarterback Trevor Siemian should be good enough to beat Syracuse at home. (Anonymous D-1 FBS staffer)
20. 
Miami, Fla. (31)
Until running back Duke Johnson slows down (which I don’t think he will anytime soon), expect him to just keep rolling through the competition. Hello, Florida Gators! (Lisa)
21. 
Washington (28)
The first game in the renovated Husky Stadium was a smash hit, as Washington eviscerated Boise State, 38-6. A long road trip to play Illinois next weekend may define their season. Grabbing a win 2,000 miles away against a Big Ten team – regardless of caliber – will grab people’s attention. (Adesina)
22. 
Baylor (23)
I somehow omitted them from my pre-season list. Unlike Oregon’s beat-down of an FCS team (Nicholls State), Wofford is actually very good. (Anonymous D-1 FBS staffer)
23. 
TCU (19.33)
Trevone Boykin added a much needed spark to the Horned Frog O vs. LSU, and his growth as a passer may have won him the starting job back, if not force Gary Patterson’s hand to play him even more down the road. (Basil Mitchell)
24. 
Wisconsin (19)
The Badgers beat UMass 45-0. This week is Tennessee Tech. Until Wisconsin plays a decent team, it stays at No. 20-ish. (Lisa)
25. 
Ole Miss (17)
SOCCER ANALOGY ALERT: In 1995, BBC Soccer analyst Alan Hansen famously said, “You can’t win anything with kids” after an early season loss by Manchester United after they had introduced several academy players into the team. United went on to win the Premier League that year. Can Ole Miss disprove logic along those lines on the gridiron? (Anonymous D-1 FBS staffer)
Others receiving votes:
USC (16 points), Nebraska (12), Fresno State (9), Arizona (5), Cincinnati (3), Michigan State (3), Arizona State (3), Georgia Tech (2), Northern Illinois (1), North Dakota State (1)
* – To break ties, we used a three-step criteria; 1) higher number of first-place votes, 2) higher number of ballots (out of six) the teams appeared in, 3) highest single ranking by an individual pollster (e.g. if Team A and Team B are tied cumulatively and appeared in all six polls, but Team A’s highest ranking by an individual pollster was No. 7 and Team B’s highest ranking by an individual pollster was No. 9, Team A wins tiebreaker)
