AP poll reaction: What’s next for each Top 25 team

The new AP Top 25 poll is out, and here’s a look at what’s next for every team in the rankings, plus those that dropped out from last week.

New AP Top 25

No. 1 Clemson
It has been a slow start to the season for Trevor Lawrence, who has been good but hasn’t had a breakout game. That didn’t happen Saturday, as he had just nine pass attempts in a blowout of Charlotte. There aren’t going to be many challenges for Lawrence on the remaining schedule, but a road trip to North Carolina next week could at least set the stage for some big numbers. — David M. Hale

No. 2 Alabama
It was another ho-hum dominant performance for the Tide. Tua Tagovailoa threw for more touchdowns (5) than incompletions (4) for the fourth time in his career, and the defense held Southern Miss to 226 total yards and 1.6 yards per carry. The only bright spot for future opponents? Backup QB Mac Jones threw an interception. With three of the Tide’s next four games at home against Ole Miss, Tennessee and Arkansas, only a road trip to Texas A&M in two weeks looks like a test before a collision course with LSU on Nov. 9. — Dave Wilson

No. 3 Georgia
The game started off slowly and the offense was kind of all over the place during the first half, but then Jake Fromm and DeAndre Swift took over. And by doing so, they reminded everyone why Georgia a legit playoff contender. The defense speaks for itself, holding Notre Dame to 46 rushing yards, but when Swift is rolling, he’s a tough man to stop. Fromm, on the other hand, just exudes poise and is the reason why these Bulldogs are never out of a game. — Alex Scarborough

No. 4 LSU
This pass-happy offense looks so good on the Tigers that you wonder why they didn’t go to it years ago. Joe Burrow (398 yards, six TDs) again put up Heisman-worthy stats — in part because the defense was giving up just enough points to Vandy to keep the first-string offense on the field for a while. Now comes a bye week before an interesting run: home games against Utah State, Florida and Auburn sandwiching a trip to Mississippi State. — Bill Connelly

No. 5 Ohio State
Miami will always have those first eight minutes. But after falling behind 5-0, Ohio State obliterated the RedHawks. Following the first 76-5 result in FBS history, the Buckeyes get to prepare for a couple of unique tests: a road trip to Nebraska and a visit from Michigan State. The Buckeyes should win both, but the magnitude of the wins will tell us a lot about OSU’s ability to maintain form over the long haul. — Bill Connelly

No. 6 Oklahoma
Lincoln Riley had a pretty good feel this summer that Jalen Hurts was going to be a perfect fit for Oklahoma’s offense, and the Alabama transfer quarterback has been just that and then some in the Sooners’ first three blowout wins. Hurts has passed for nine touchdowns and run for four scores, and Oklahoma didn’t break a sweat in the nonconference portion of its schedule. After an off week, it’s on to the Big 12 slate, with the biggie against Texas in the Red River Showdown looming in three weeks. — Chris Low

No. 7 Auburn
Auburn now has one of the most impressive resumes in the country – including the season-opening win against Oregon – and yet it’s still premature to talk about the Tigers as playoff contenders because their remaining schedule is so brutal. Quarterback Bo Nix is maturing each week, but the Tigers have three straight October road games AND Georgia and Alabama. Saturday’s win proved they’re capable of more, but how much remains to be seen. — Heather Dinich

No. 8 Wisconsin
The Badgers shut out their first two opponents, but there were still questions whether it was the competition or Wisconsin. It’s safe to say it was Wisconsin after a huge win against Michigan. The defense has been stifling in all three games this season and running back Jonathan Taylor has been outstanding. This team is going to be difficult for any opponent the rest of the way. — Tom VanHaaren

No. 9 Florida
Kyle Trask made his first career start, and he showed plenty of promise — throwing for more yards than Feleipe Franks ever had in a game. But he had his share of mistakes too, including two interceptions and a fumble. Florida still has issues consistently running the ball, and that remains a question moving forward, especially as the heart of the schedule looms. A difficult October schedule awaits after next week’s game against Towson, and Florida is going to have to play nearly perfectly when that stretch begins Oct. 5 against Auburn, then continues with games against LSU, South Carolina and Georgia. The Gators are hopeful that they will have two of their best defenders, CJ Henderson and Jabari Zuniga, healthy in time for those contests. — Andrea Adelson

No. 10 Notre Dame
Try not to take anything away from the Fighting Irish, who gave Georgia all it could handle for three quarters. The offensive line gave Ian Book a clean pocket most of the night, and Book delivered the kind of veteran presence his team needed. But when you can’t run the football — they rushed for just 46 yards against Georgia — you’ve got a problem. Notre Dame’s inability to move the chains and eat up the clock hurt against Georgia, and it will continue to cause problems if it doesn’t change. — Alex Scarborough

No. 11 Texas
The Longhorns have some things to clean up and have a few players banged up, but this is a good team that earned a solid win over an explosive Oklahoma State squad. The defense might be something folks wondered about, and all the questions there aren’t answered yet, but the way the Longhorns made Chuba Hubbard — the nation’s leading rusher coming into the tilt — work for yardage was impressive, and they yielded no touchdown passes to a talented receiving corps led by Tylan Wallace. Texas is on the uptick, and its upcoming off week is timely. — Sam Khan Jr.

No. 12 Penn State
The Nittany Lions, who were off on Saturday, have their Big Ten opener and first road test against Maryland. Nobody has scored more than 17 points against Penn State, which survived a 17-10 scare against Pitt two weeks ago. That’s a win that looks a lot better after Pitt upset UCF on Saturday and ended the Knights’ 27-game regular-season winning streak. — Chris Low

No. 13 Oregon
In the three games since the Ducks gave up a late touchdown to lose to Auburn in the opener, the Oregon defense has allowed a grand total of zero touchdowns. Oregon has a bye next week before hosting No. 23 Cal in another game in which points figure to be at a premium. That contest will mark a homecoming for former Ducks defensive back Justin Wilcox, who has installed an impressive defense as the head coach at Cal. If these two teams end up as the two best in the Pac-12 North, it wouldn’t be a surprise. — Kyle Bonagura

No. 14 Iowa
Coming off of an open date, Iowa has one more tune-up against Middle Tennessee before facing Michigan and Penn State in back-to-back weeks, a stretch that will all but decide whether the Hawkeyes will be players in the Big Ten race. They’ve been terrific on defense and haven’t allowed more than 18 points in any of their first three games.– Chris Low

No. 15 Cal
For a while, it looked like this was going to be a statement win for the Golden Bears. Instead, they ended up having to gut things out, stopping Ole Miss inches short of the goal line on the game’s final play. But this was still Cal’s first road win as a ranked team in nearly 10 years, and the offense showed more life than we’re used to seeing. This could be a very interesting Pac-12 North race. — Bill Connelly

No. 16 Boise State
The deeper Boise State gets into the season, the less noteworthy quarterback Hank Bachmeier‘s true freshman status becomes. On paper, the Broncos’ first third of the season figured to be more difficult than the four-game stretch they’re about to enter. Still, three of the next four games are away from the blue turf, including a trip to BYU on Oct. 19. In the wake of UCF’s loss to Pitt, the Broncos have become the de facto Group of 5 favorites to reach a New Year’s Six bowl. — Kyle Bonagura

No. 17 Washington
Looking ahead, Washington’s lopsided win against BYU is noteworthy if only because the Huskies’ next opponent, USC, lost in Provo a week ago. Against the Cougars, Washington looked every bit like a team that will compete for the Pac-12 title, but it will resume that march next week at 0-1 in conference — and without much margin for error. A loss to USC would mark the first 0-2 Pac-12 start for Washington since 2008. — Kyle Bonagura

No. 18 Virginia
The first-half scare against Old Dominion probably shouldn’t have been a huge surprise for a team coming off an emotional win over Florida State. That the Cavaliers responded with a strong second half shows some maturity and an ability to regroup amid adversity. Virginia isn’t going to out-talent many of its opponents, so those lessons will matter as the season progresses. — David M. Hale

No. 19 Utah
Utah looked nothing like a fringe CFP contender at USC, and the Utes have much to clean up if they want to challenge for their first Pac-12 title. A veteran team built on discipline and not beating itself must take a long look in the mirror after committing 16 penalties, repeatedly coming up empty in plus territory and giving up a safety at the worst time. USC’s receivers exposed cracks in a talented but untested Utah secondary. The Utes’ hold-happy offensive line clearly needs a reset, especially if top running back Zack Moss (shoulder injury) misses any length of time. Utah can still win the Pac-12 South, but it needs a much cleaner performance next week against surging Washington State. — Adam Rittenberg

No. 20 Michigan
The offense is broken for the Wolverines and there doesn’t seem to be a solution. The Wolverines were hoping a bye would help fix its issues with turnovers and a lack of production against Army, but that was hardly the case as the team suffered a lopsided loss to Wisconsin. This game was a pendulum game for Michigan, and now, after a loss, the Wolverines have to try to make it through Iowa, Michigan State, Penn State, Notre Dame and Ohio State throughout the rest of The schedule. — Tom VanHaaren

No. 21 USC
The Trojans stayed unbeaten in the Pac-12 and won with their third quarterback this season when junior Matt Fink replaced Kedon Slovis, who left the game after taking a hit to the head on the second play. The 30-23 triumph over Utah also was the Trojans’ second of the season over a nationally ranked team. For all of the hot seat talk surrounding USC coach Clay Helton, his Trojans seem to find a way to “Fight On!” and keep winning big games. — Chris Low

No. 22 UCF
UCF’s 27-game regular-season winning streak (including conference title games) is over, and honestly, if it was going to end, it might as well have happened this way — a “Philly Special” reverse pass to the QB in the end zone. The loss likely ends any long-shot hopes of a playoff bid for UCF, and it certainly sets the Knights back in their quest for another New Year’s Six bid. But the silver lining is that they erased a 21-0 deficit and had a lead with a minute to play, and freshman QB Dillon Gabriel continues to impress. — David M. Hale

No. 23 Texas A&M
The Aggies’ role this season has become clear: a potential spoiler, but unlikely more. Texas A&M has two losses and hasn’t even faced Alabama, Georgia or LSU yet. If the offense doesn’t find its spark, it could be a five-loss season for Jimbo Fisher. The Aggies’ running game was stifled, and while Kellen Mond made some big plays on third down, they came up short in the red zone and surrendered a touchdown off of a turnover.– Heather Dinich

No. 24 Kansas State
The Wildcats were off after winning at Mississippi State the week before and had an extra week to prepare for their Big 12 opener against Oklahoma State on the road. First-year coach Chris Klieman has this team ahead of where most thought the Wildcats would be at this point and getting it done on defense and special teams. Sound familiar? — Chris Low

No. 25 Michigan State
The Spartans bounced back from a disheartening loss to Arizona State on a brutal penalty to take care of business, beating Northwestern 31-10. Now Mark Dantonio’s crew is home for Indiana before a daunting three-game stretch of games at Ohio State, at Wisconsin and home for Penn State.

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