Poll Problems: Week 1

Clemson took a nice little dive in the rankings after the embarrassing loss to Georgia, while the Bulldogs vaulted into the top 10. The voters apparently forewent any critical analysis and just switched Texas A&M and South Carolina in the poll after the Aggies laid the smackdown in Williams Brice. Really original, guys. The rest of the rankings were largely without change. Let's see who's where.

1. Florida State (Last Week: 1)

The 'Noles received an unexpected scare courtesy of Oklahoma State, but in the end they prevailed and remain atop the poll. Jameis Winston supplied one of his awkward, not-that-athletic, but effective runs to highlight a performance that was not particularly Heisman-worthy.

2. Alabama (Last Week: 2)

Alabama looked equally shaky, if not more so, against a run-of-the-mill West Virginia team. Clint Trickett, of all people, slung it around to the tune of 365 yards, making us all wonder how Alabama will fare against the Texas A&M's of the world this season.

3. Oregon (Last Week: 3)

The Ducks have become pretty accustomed to throwing up 60 points every game, but can they do it against Michigan State's defense? My guess is no. Should be a heck of a game in Eugene on Saturday though.

4. Oklahoma (Last Week: 4)

I'm convinced Oklahoma is flying on the wings of their beatdown of Alabama in last year's Sugar Bowl. This team just screams "overrated." It won't surprise me when a team like West Virginia or TCU knocks them off.

5. Auburn (Last Week: 6)

It's hard to draw much from Auburn's win over Arkansas when Nick Marshall was suspended for a half, although they may have found a replacement for the departed Tre Mason.

6. Georgia (Last Week: 12)

Perhaps the only solace Clemson fans can take from Saturday's loss is that voters obviously think a win over the Tigers is worth a significant jump in the rankings.

7. Michigan State (Last Week: 8)

I'm buying into the Spartans regardless of what happens in this week's game against Oregon, but a road win there would warrant consideration for a No. 1 ranking.

8. Ohio State (Last Week: 5)

The Buckeyes struggled to put Navy away, and the pollsters took notice. They're not a top-10 team without Braxton Miller, but until they lose (which may be a while), they'll hang around the edge of the top 10.

9. Texas A&M (Last Week: 21)

A&M skyrocketed in the rankings after throttling South Carolina, and with good reason. They may be a bit overvalued after just one game, but if "Kenny Trill" can perform even close to as well as he did last week for the duration of the season, Kevin Sumlin's offense may reach heights Johnny Football only dreamed of.

10. Baylor (Last Week: 10)

Heisman hopeful Bryce Petty suffered a back injury in Baylor's ho-hum drubbing of SMU. If he returns at full strength, Baylor is a top-5 team in my eyes. But will he be the same player?

11. UCLA (Last Week: 7)

UCLA dropped four spots after a disturbingly close win against lowly Virginia. I was not on the UCLA hype train coming into this season, and that game did nothing to change my opinion of the Bruins. Brett Hundley is a fine quarterback, but one player does not a team make.

12. LSU (Last Week: 13)

You have to credit Les Miles' bunch for erasing a 17-point second-half deficit against a clock-eating team like Wisconsin and stealing a win. They now own one of the more impressive victories of the young season.

13. Stanford (Last Week:11)

We'll learn a lot more about Stanford this week when they take on USC.

14. USC (Last Week: 15)

And vice-versa.

15. Ole Miss (Last Week: 18)

Ole Miss took a while to shake Boise State but ended up winning by a comfortable margin. This is another team that's a little too high in the poll for my taste. They'll improve upon last season, but I think the young talent may still be a year away from prominence.

16. Notre Dame (Last Week: 17)

The Irish will always be ranked too high, and that will be especially true this season because that killer schedule everybody is talking about really isn't all that tough. For starters, they don't play a road game until Oct. 18. Poor little guys.

17. Arizona State (Last Week: 19)

It's smooth sailing for the Sun Devils until they hit a brutal three-game stretch that features games against UCLA, USC and Stanford.

18. Wisconsin (Last Week: 14)

The Badgers blew a chance at a marquee win when they let a 17-point lead against LSU slip away, and their strength of schedule may not allow for a bid to the College Football Playoff even if they win the rest of their games.

19. Nebraska (Last Week: 22)

Maybe Bo Pelini holds on to his job by drubbing teams like Florida Atlantic to make people forget about how mediocre his teams are against opponents with a pulse. Nice catch though.

20. Kansas State (Last Week: 20)

My darkhorse Big 12 champion will get an excellent chance to test its mettle against Auburn in a couple weeks.

21. South Carolina (Last Week: 9)

The Gamecocks have become accustomed to opening the college football season with a Thursday night win, but they were outplayed from the opening kick as Texas A&M sent them plummeting from the top 10 to outside the top 20.

22. North Carolina (Last Week: 23)

Vastly overrated, and struggling with Liberty did nothing to change that impression. It wouldn't surprise me to see the Tar Heels lose to San Diego State this week.

23. Clemson (Last Week: 16)

I was curious to see if Clemson's ranking this week would reflect voters who saw a 24-point final margin against Georgia or voters who saw a three-point game through three quarters. I would say it was split down the middle and the result was a spot in the 20s.

24. Missouri (Last Week: 24)

Missouri is a team to keep an eye on in what could be a very interesting SEC East race.

25. Louisville (Last Week: NR)

The Cardinals finally pulled away from Miami, and apparently that's good enough to jump into the top 25. They may not be worthy of the spot without Devante Parker, but they should be 6-0 and ranked even higher when they visit Death Valley on Oct. 11.